Farewell Message

This message was especially intended for our church family at Shell Lake Full Gospel on October 4, 2014.

My brother recently told me that it is easy to see what we are leaving behind, but without faith it is difficult to see what we’re moving toward.

God has so profoundly opened the doors for us to move forward in our move to Iowa that when our faith is challenged in the future we must remember the amazing miracles God has given us in this past month

Russell and I want to express our thanks and appreciation to all of you for your prayerful support to us during these past 21 years of our being here in this area. Thanks to all of you who have visited us, sent cards of encouragement and phoned just to see how Russell is doing during the past 13 years in which his health has been challenged with PD. We want you to know we appreciate it all.

I realize what an amazing opportunity we have to worship together in this gathering place with pastors who really care for all of us. I understand that they often wish they could fix us and our problems when in reality we, along with God’s help are the only ones who can fix them. I want to thank the pastors for their care of and commitment to Russell and me.

When I was a young girl a friend knew that I loved art work and gave me a ‘paint-by-number’ set. I hated it. I didn’t appreciate the confinement. I am also not a “well, whatever” type person, but a “thus saith the Lord” type. God has not allowed my spirit to be quiet and content with status quo.

The truth of I John 3:17 burns a challenge in me to share what God has given me. I do not want God to question me about His love being manifested through my life. With time I have learned that for some pain, poverty and discomfort become people’s comfort zone. I realize that people like me can bring discomfort to that zone of uncomfortable comfort.

I want to take this opportunity to ask your forgiveness if I have offended any of you. And I want to tell you personally and corporately that I love you sincerely. We can remain connected in the unity of the Spirit even when we are miles apart. Unfortunately I will not be around after the service as I have another commitment down the road this morning. I will miss you as we search for a new congregation to fellowship with.

Making Summer Last

Summer is passing like running deer on open land. I want to hold onto it with fisted hands.

To dig my nails into its warmth, Inhale the heat while there’s still time.

My days are passing way too fast, Time feels like covers pulled off at night.

I want to linger in the sun, even though the fall has nigh begun.

I want to hike, explore and sit where I can bring out my paint kit

I want to write of azure skies and lakes over which the sailboat flies.

I want to stop along the way and pick wild flowers while still I may.

Oh, why must winter seem so long and summer whiz by as whispered song

How will I prepare myself to love my winter as I do sunshine from above?

Lord, I need grace to guide my days, to serve You as ever I may

So help me live, and love and work, to help someone – not duty shirk

For as I reach to others here Heaven’s record will make it clear

That summer on earth will turn to cold, but in Heaven it will be the purest gold.

How Do We View Our Experiences

The Book of Ruth is a record of one of God’s families from Bethlehem Judah. Elimilech, his wife, Naomi and their two sons named Mahlon and Chilion faced a time of famine in their land. They packed up and went to Moab where they hoped to survive. For a time things were going well. The sons married wives of the Moabites, however evil seemed to follow the family. First Elimilech passed away and then the two sons died also! What a heavy heart Naomi had!

After this the father and then the sons all died in Moab. One morning Naomi rose up and told her daughters in law that she was returning to Bethlehem as she heard that the famine had lifted. She told her girls to return to their parent’s homes as she was going back to her people. Orpah was persuaded to return to her home, but Ruth would not be enticed to stay in Moab.

Ruth 1:16 and 17 record the words of Ruth: “Do not plead with me to leave you or to return from following after you, for wherever you go, I shall go. And where you lodge, I shall lodge. Your people are my people, and your God is my God. Where you die, I shall die and there I shall be buried: The Lord do so to me, more also, if anything but death part you and me.”

Finally Naomi realized that she would be unable to dissuade Ruth from following her, the two returned to Bethlehem together. When they arrived the whole city was moved with Naomi’s return and said, “Isn’t this Naomi?”

To this she replied, “Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, Bitter, for the Almighty has dealt very bitter me, I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, seeing the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

On the surface evil seems to have befallen Naomi and she has become bitter in her sorrow. She seems to be crediting God with her misfortune and is not counting the fact that she has resources at her fingertips that will bring her into the linage of our Savior, Messiah, Jesus Christ!

As the account progresses, Ruth provides for her mother in law and then married Boaz. The two are blessed with a son named Obed who becomes one of the people in the linage of Jesus. Naomi had no idea of the outcome of the situation, and had considered the loss of her men-folks as finality to the worthlessness of her life.

As it turned out she had her greatest resource still remaining. The devotion in the life of Ruth was the most valuable possession that Naomi had ever had. Ruth adapted to Naomi’s needs to the fact that she gave her first-born son to her mother in law.

When we have someone who is committed, devoted, adapted and purposed to cling to us and to the values God has placed inside of us, we may well have unlimited resources. Just because those we thought would be there for us weren’t there, doesn’t mean that God can’t raise up someone or something much better than the first.

As we see in this case, God took the seemingly evil circumstances and brought a beautiful picture of His grace, restoration, mercy and love into view. So what’s so bad in your life? What do I think is bad in my life? It’s time to wait on God and be assured that He has a greater and better plan in view for us. Let us be encouraged and encouraged the discouraged!

An Invitation to a Great Occasion

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The Riches of Worship

I recently heard a story told by a TV preacher. The story went something like this.

One night an old farmer in Nebraska rushed to his basement as a storm hit his area. He heard the rushing sound of the wind, and the banging noises of his shingles being torn off the house. Since it was midnight when the storm hit, he stayed holed-up until early morning.

In the faint rays of dawn he pushed open his front door to survey the damage the storm had brought him. He looked to the barn which was missing portions of its roof. Debris was scattered all across the yard. The large oak that had graced the homestead now lay uprooted. The chicken house lay in a heap of shambles and featherless dead chickens scattered the barnyard.

As the old farmer stood trying to collect his emotions he noticed a movement low in the heap of leftover chicken house. He wondered what could still be moving there. As he watched a half-featherless rooster pushed against the tangled mass and emerged. Unfalteringly he climbed to the highest peak and flapped his scrawny bare wings and crowed to the top of his voice. Somehow he seemed to know God was still in charge though his companions lay dead all about him.

This should be a lesson, not only to the farmer, but to each of us. No matter what…God is still worthy of praise. No matter what…He still rules and is still in control. Regardless of all the things we think are adverse in our lives, God is still in control and He loves us. He needs our praise, but we need to praise Him even more!

As I took my husband for a walk the other afternoon, we talked about the worthiness of God. We realized that if we lost everything but still had our voices with which we could praise Him, we would be rich!

There is nothing richer than God’s very presence! When we praise Him we bring down His presence. We bring Him near to us because He lives in the praises of His people! How awesome is that!

To be able to worship God in Spirit and in Truth makes us Rich! John 4:24

Inspirations From Nature

I’ve been wanting to get away and just sit by a quiet stream somewhere or by a magnificent waterfalls. I’ve longed for a day away from the routine of house and yard work, of care-giving and of our home business. I’ve wished I could just hole-up somewhere and sit and sing and listen. I might bring my drawing pens or writing materials and just sit and soak in the sun and shade.

This early morning I took the opportunity to step outside. The almost-summer air was cool and breezy. Clouds slid silently overhead arranging themselves in amazing shapes of swirly circles and swishes of wispiness. The circles—holes in the cloud cover—were opening that I envisioned the Lord Jesus Christ riding through on His white horse when He returns for His children.

But then the thought came to me…Christ does not need a hole in the clouds to come through when He returns. He will burst through the darkest most turbulent-appearing clouds and His light will contrast the darkness. Every eye shall see Him according to Revelation 1:7.

As I sat with God’s open Word before me the skies were full of air-traffic. I sat and listened and the wonderful things I heard are often missed by the human ear. the soft cooing voice of the turtle dove, the sweet “Tweedy-tweedy” of the chickadee, the contrasting caw-caw of the big black crow, the robin with it’s distinguished song, the ‘cheer-upping’ of the sparrow and the miraculous song of the mocking bird.

These and others filled the whole area with their unashamed song. It was then that my attention was called to their activities. Some where searching for their breakfast and for a means to feed their young.

I watched a turtle dove fly off into the distance, return and perch upon the power line where she surveyed her area to see if it was safe to dive into her hiding place with the pieces of grass and weeds she carried in her mouth. She flew in and out, in and out carrying her sought-out supplies for her nest. How hard she worked! She didn’t give up. She didn’t despair because we trim and rake our yards which made her job more difficult. She kept right on flying, taking time in between to preen herself and then she was off again.

I thought, how often do I want to give up in the middle of my projects. If I don’t get the days away that I long for, I have the opportunity to refresh myself in God’s presence just by stilling myself and coming away into the presence of God. I can sing in the middle of a testing day. I can keep on building my business when it’s not easy. I can keep watching for my Lord’s return, for He shall come in the moment, in the blinking of an eye.

God’s marvelous nature can teach us many things if we but listen. 

Honoring Our Children

At Shell Lake Full Gospel  our ministers have been bringing us a series of messages on “Honor.” Pastor Amundson shared a wonderful word on honoring our family especially that of honoring our children. I always like to have “how to” points or principles so folks can make personal application to the message.

The points were well laid out this morning, but the Spirit of the Lord stirred my heart to share some further concepts to those I heard and want to confirm in this post. Our children truly are our treasures. They have the potential to greatness that far exceed the effectiveness for God’s kingdom increase that we in former generations have ever had.

The way we talk to our children are some of the first points of influence in their lives. God has placed on my heart that we have the privilege to talk up to our children just by the way we address them or talk about them.

I believe that God is glorified when we address our offspring as children, boys, girls, youth, young people, young adults, toddlers, grandchildren, babies, and even as God’s little lambs. When we reference them by any of these titles we are giving them an honorable affirmation.

According to what I have read, the title “kids” started in 1840’s. I truly believe that this title was influenced by demonic deception. Besides believing that God has given me convictions on this matter, the plain truth is that I am not a goat, so I did not give birth to a kid. I gave birth to children.

Now lets look at Scriptures to bear this out. Matthew 25:31-34 records the words of Jesus. He is talking about when He returns and we face his judgment throne. This is what He said, “And he shall separate them one from another…and he will set his sheep on his right hand, but on the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you…”Skip to verse 41 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

So as I read this, goats in Scripture are those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The sheep are those who know the shepherd. I will let you, the reader, decide how God would have you respond to this post—a concept that we have not heard much about.

In whatever way you decide to do it, I make an appeal to you to honor your children, your grandchildren and even your great-grandchildren. Be blessed in whatever way God lays it on your heart to do it.  

Time and Timelessness

Time is an occupied space that is allotted to mankind of the period in which we live on earth. God - the timeless One preceded time.  He is pre-time and antedates it. Yet He is the creator of time.

He created time yet abides independent of it. He is not governed by it, but time is governed by its Creator. Time is obedient to God and He is never rushed by it or controlled by its schedules.

God never checks to see what time it is because He abides in an untimed era – that of eternity. He decrees events by His plan and desires. Time occupies space in God. God doesn’t occupy space in time, for God is greater than time. He is also the timeless One. He is the instigator or it, yet remains unhindered or unmotivated by it.

Time is a segment of God’s great gift to us. It is significant to us, but only in this lifetime. After this life time will have no meaning to us. Eternity contains no clocks, calendars or watches. The allotted years – the timeframe of our humanity – is lavished on us so that we might prepare for the era of timelessness.

Whether we spend eternity with God in Heaven or with the devil in Hell, there will be no measure of time then. Eternity is the era of forever – a measureless space that occupies a realm yet to be which always has been. There time shall be no more (Revelation 10:6).

Therefore since God is the ‘timeless One’ it behooves us to live and move and have our being in Him now. (Acts 17:28) Now is the accepted time, now is the day of our salvation (II Corinthians 6:2). ‘Now’ is the epoch given to us – a term of lifespan in which we must choose where we will spend eternity.

After this time-paced life the decision of our eternal destination will already have been established. The question as to where we will spend our timeless and untimed space in eternity will be settled. After death here on earth there will be no more time for decision making. The allotted period of what we know as time will be over.

Today measures my time. Tomorrow it may be over and I may be stepping into the era of timelessness. How I spend this interval on earth will spell out how and where I will spend eternity. Today I will permit to elapse the seconds, the minutes and the hours which will lead to untimed days of eternity – the period of untimed life or death in the immeasurable ‘no-time’ zone.

With THIS BREATH I need to choose to take Jesus Christ as my Savior and as my Lord. If I have another breath, I must embrace that decision and live the hours of time here where time matters most to glorify God.

Jesus wants each of us to rule and reign with Him in eternity. We must use the time called “NOW” to choose to live for Him. In eternity the timeless One decrees that time will be no more! Today’s time is the “NOW” to come to Jesus and to take Him as your Savior.

Family Time

It all started in too much of an hurry 45 years ago. Russell and I married, still being strangers, after just a few months of dating. A year after our marriage we had our first daughter, Bonita. She is married to Jerry and they have blessed us with three children, Logan 9, Sierra 7, and Vayla 4.

Three and a half years later Valencia came along. She is now married to Ken and they have given us 4 grandchildren. Micah is 15, Karis is 13, Moriah almost 5 and Judah almost 3. They reside in Spokane and pastor a church there, and are over a church plant in Moses Lake and over two Christian Schools.

Just after Bonita turned seven we had our third daughter, Lacinda. She was born to us at a time of extreme tests, but she added a lot to our home. She is married to Chris and the couple has four youngsters. Eliana is 8, Seth 7, Ashley 4 and Gracia 18 months.

Our children are a credit to the kingdom of God and we are blessed to have had spent time with them this past week. We have more blessings than we can count! Children are the glory to the grey head and can take God’s message where we will never be able to.

To Jerry and Bonita, Ken and Valencia and Chris and Lacinda…thank you for raising our grandchildren in the fear of God. They are destined to be God’s little lambs. We bless you all in the Name of Jesus.

My Rippling Stream

By Lydia Chorpening

 

I sat beside my rippling stream - thinking

And into its chilly waters - plinking

Little pebbles that lined the shoreline there

I looked around and saw a robin - hopping

And watched as he was often - stopping

Listening for the worms beneath the mosses green

I looked heavenward and saw white fluffy clouds - gliding

Driven by the wind in no particular shape -abiding

Released as lambs in early spring

The sun of late afternoon kept creeping - peeking

As out from behind the clouds - sneaking

Into its bed where it would spend my night

I thought beyond the clouds and sunshine - praying

That I might be always in God's presence - staying

Though I could not always sit beside my rippling stream

Psalm 16:11 “”You will show me the path of life: in your presence is

fullness of joy: at your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

Early American Revivals

Before mounting into his pulpit Jonathan Edwards had knelt to pray.  Should he preach what the people wanted or should he tell the truth?

Concern pressed in upon him.  Gone was that God fearing generation that have settled the land, but that day in 1734 marked the birth of what in many respects was the most notable revival of religion in America that has ever experienced.

There was a remnant of godly left.  They soon realized that the halfway covenant was a terrible mistake.  Something was desperately needed to keep the flickering flame of vital Christianity from wholly being snuffed out.

As God of often does, he chose a man to unlatched the windows of darkened churches to let the light in.  This man was Jonathan Edwards.  He had a religious bent early in life.  He struggled to know that true plan of salvation.Finally he came upon the passage in Timothy; “now unto the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and Glory for ever and ever. Amen.”  That one sentence gave Edwards a new sense of things.  A sense of God's Glory filled him.

George Whitefield fanned the fire of God. He came from a England.  And spoke with quiet  intensity.  He painted pictures with his words.  He built truth upon truth.  In his most famous sermon entitled, “sinners in the hands of an angry God,” he compared the sinner to a spider suspended over the flames of hell.  He said, you hang by a slender thread, with flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe and burn it asunder.

Whitefield preached in meeting houses, in barns, in fields, from wagons.  Everywhere it was the same.  People were convicted of their sin and driven to the foot of the cross.  There was never an invitation given.  Whitefield merely preached and waited for the Spirit to move.  People wept, some from remorse others with joy.

Prayer, fasting and boldness brought on great revivals in the 1700s.  If that could happen then it can happen again.  Who was willing to pay the price?  Who was willing to move away from status quo?  I leave you with those two questions

To Love Unashamedly

To me the summer seemed long and extremely hot. The year was in the mid 1950’s and I spent my long days tucked into the lonely countryside in Missouri. My parents and older brothers did custom hay baling in the surrounding areas and I, during my adolescent years was left at home to care for my infant and toddling siblings, plus take care of chores, gardening and canning.

The days seemed unbearable as fear and heat mixed together to make me think about ‘hell’. I was taught that hell was real and to me it was more real than heaven. There were five things I believed in. Those were, God, the devil, heaven, hell and eternity. There was something (and I know now that that something was Someone) missing in my equation. Looking back now I am so ashamed to say that it was Jesus and my love for Him.

Years later after I had made my confession of faith, went through excommunication, and received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, I still remember a time when I found it difficult to say, “I love You, Jesus.”

God has been so patient with me. I wish that I could say there was an ‘ah-ha moment’ early in my life where I could remember just realizing that Jesus paid it all so that I could fall in love with Him. It must be that I grew in that love, for my heart is touched, it is tender before Him when I think of how much He loved me.

Jesus was not ashamed to stripped bare for my shame and disgrace. He humbled Himself to take the stripes on His back because of my very sins. He made Himself sinful that I might be guiltless. He went to hell that I might inherit an eternity in Heaven with Him, sitting with Him in that fathomless beauty.

Somewhere in the 98 years of my mother’s life she had grown deeply in love with Jesus. The first person she wanted to see in Heaven was “the LORD” as she called Him. She sang of Him until breath would not allow her to sing any longer. When she stepped into His presence I am sure she was still singing. What a gift of dedicated, unashamed love she left to all of us! What a heart-after-God she exemplified! How deep her insight was of the love of Jesus for her and all of us!

One example of her unashamed love was that on her death-bed and in her dying days, she grabbed every doctor’s hand and every nurse’s hand that she could reach and lifted it to her lips, planting a firm kiss on that hand and then boldly said, “God bless you!”

And I now am here, left after her to carry on that ‘unashamed-love-legacy!’ What a privilege! What a responsibility! What an honor! Lord, make my love for You, bold, honorable, unrelenting, and responsible!

The Resurrected Life

The resurrected life is first the

   Buried-with-Christ life

If we have been risen with Christ

   Then first we have to die with Him.

The resurrected life is the

   dying-to-the-flesh life.

For we dare not make ourselves

of those who compare themselves by themselves

or of those who measure themselves among themselves.

The resurrected life doesn’t ask,”what will others think?”

   It’s the set-apart life

It is the circumcised – that is the

   cutting-away-of-the-flesh life

It is the circumspect life.

   the diligent life

   the exact life

   the careful life’'

   the accurate life

   the focused life

The resurrected life will never be experienced until

   we experience the death of fleshly desires

The resurrected life is the living-in-victory life

   It is the triumphing-over-sin life

The resurrected life is the

   justified-by-faith life

It no longer depends on its own good works

The resurrected life is the

   loving-God-enough-to-die-for-Him life

The resurrected life is

  the knowing-God life

It is experiencing the intimacy-of-His-love life

It is living a more-than-a-conqueror life

The Resurrected life is

    the focused life

   the unselfish life

   the overcoming life

The Resurrected life is

   OUR ETERNAL LIFE!

What Make You You?

In the beginning we were created in the image of God.

How long did the devil badger Eve before she gave in and ate the fruit that God had forbidden them?

We really don’t know, and we don’t know how long she may have been trying to persuade Adam to eat before he ate, but at any rate…sin came into the world and is passed down to all of us.

So we are made up of spiritual needs, Thankfully God sent us a Savior in Jesus Christ who came to earth to take our sinful place in Hell, but then rise again. Thus our spiritual needs was covered.

Our spiritual need is our primary need. However, we also need health and financial freedom. For too long we have bought into the concepts taken from the garbage heap of pharmaceutical concepts. All these medications produce side affects and we try to cover them with more medications. It is a vicious cycle, so why not get off the medication merry-go-round?

John wants us to prosper and also to be in health (see III John 2).

We can help folks with obtain optimal health and build a residual income.

We are excited to see who the next person is who wants to see reality by getting results!

Christ’s Love My Release

 

The blood that stained that rugged cross

Has to washed my sins away

Redemptions price for all my sins

Was more than I could pay

Christ did not have to die for me

Yet love compelled him there

He could have called an angel band

God would have heard his prayer

But love – the love I cannot comprehend

Led Jesus to His death

There He died on Calvary

That I might have eternal rest

His body cold lay in the tomb

Where only dead men lay

When morning came on that third dawn

The angel rolled the stone away

Christ was no longer in the tomb

God had raised Him from the dead

The place He lay is empty now

He’s risen as He said

and I, through faith, have now obtained

The blessings bought by blood

I now am cleansed from all my sins

By Calvary’s crimson flood

I seek no more another love

For Christ gave all for me

I dedicate myself afresh – anew

To walk in His liberty

How Rich We Are

Having been raised in poverty and inherited a poverty mentality, I had many things to unlearn. During the years that my parents were excommunicated from their strict Amish denomination and until we moved north to Iowa where they belonged to a more liberal branch of Amish, we did a lot of ‘church-hopping.’

One of the groups that my folks attended pounded their Bibles to stress the imperative demands of giving. I remember one of the Scriptures that was often used was found in II Corinthians 9:6 “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

I had a hard time wrapping my young mind around that. I felt that I had nothing to give. I looked at my tattered dress with the hem hanging down. I often had to be careful not to trip on the hem. It was not unusual for my feet to be forced into a ‘much-too-small-for-me’ shoe, or to wear one with the sole flapping and loose. I never owned a penny and felt that I honestly had nothing I could give.

How could I sow bountifully when I really owned nothing in this world’s goods? I felt that God was being unfair and that I would never get ahead of things.

I heard Joyce Meyer say that each one us has everything that matters to God. Our possessions begin with our faith. Romans 12:3 tells us that God has given to each of us a measure of faith. Faith in God’s redemptive work – through Christ – is what generates our redemption. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

When we have faith we will find that we are truly rich. We have something to give away. We can pray for those in need. We can speak a word of testimony.

Sowing bountifully or sparingly has to do with our attitude and not our possessions. To sow sparingly is to give with a stingy attitude. To sow bountifully is to give with a generous attitude.

Let’s give something away today! A smile! A hug! A word of encouragement! A note in the mail  or perhaps a phone call! We are so rich! We have so much to give! You will be blessed in your giving..

Possessing Life

Life is a conquest - One to be conquered.

Live lived as “Well, whatever” - Never leads to fulfillment.

When life presents us with mountains - They are to be climbed.

When it leads us to valleys - They are to be inherited.

When life leads to ease -It is to be traveled,

For it will lead to trials after a while.

It’s the conquest that wins us the gold

and the life of overcoming that forms the victor.

For strength beyond one’s self – magnifies our Creator!

JESUS SAID: (John 10:10)

“I am come that you might have life and that more abundantly.”

Without the need for conquest – the need for Christ’s abundant life is needless.

The key to life’s conquests is to embrace each moment with a grateful heart.

This will lead to victory, deliverance and possessions in life’s journey.

What is Modesty

If you stood two ladies beside each other, the one dressed in her down-to-the-ankle dark dress, the other dressed a bright red suit with slacks and jacket. Which woman would be the most modest?

We may readily think that the woman with the long dark dress is the most modest, but this is not necessarily true. Modesty is a condition of the heart. It is a heart after God. Modesty dresses for God and not to please self or others.

When we dress because of style or other people’ expectations of us, we may well be forgetting the values that make up modesty. We cannot be modest as long as the fashions of the world, or the legalistic ordinances of men dictate us.

I cannot tell anyone the details of modesty. I cannot tell someone how to dot their ‘I’s’ or cross their ‘t’s’. I am sure, however, that any of us who dress with uncovered flesh in places that should be off limits to the eyes of the public are not being modest.

I have lived almost 70 years and according to Titus 2:3-5 I have, not only the privilege, but also the mandate to speak out concerning the conduct and heart issues of younger women. Chastity, discretion and love for family all tie in with our lifestyle and our appearance. Many women have only a vague idea of Scriptural values and commandments,

With warmer weather coming around the corner it is important for us to remember that the person with a garment over the skin is no hotter than to have the sun beat down on bare skin. Let’s represent, honor and respect the Lord in our dress. Before we step out of our dressing room into public area, I recommend that we stand in front of our mirrors and check to see if we will represent the Lord in a reverent way.

I am open to hear your comments. God bless you all.

The Benefits of Modesty

 

Let’s face it, Modesty is not a popular subject, but it is one that is one the Bible addresses. Even in the Old Testament God commanded the priests to make no stairs up onto His altar because He didn’t want the priest’s nakedness to be seen. Imagine what this really means. The priests’ garment reached to their ankles so there would be very little skin showing in this instance. (See Exodus 20:26)

I am not saying that we need to wear our clothes down to the ankles nor live under the regulations of the law. If we live according to the law of love, we will also live a modest lifestyle.

Benefits of Modesty:

1. We all know that there is great virtue in obeying the Word of God. Although I know that modesty is not is not a subject that is readily addressed, it is a step in obedience to Scriptural commands. II Timothy 2:9 commands women to be dressed in modest apparel. Obedience to God’s will leads to His peace.

2. Modesty leads to a clear conscience. My husband says that if a woman dresses indecently she may well be seductive to those around her. Therefore if she dresses as women who profess to be Godly she will have a conscience free of offense.

3. Modesty shows respect to God, to self and to others. In Colossians 3:17 the apostle Paul commands us to do all we do in the Name of Jesus Christ. He says that everything we say and everything we do needs to be for God’s glory.

4. Modesty helps prevent the fear of rape. I John :15-17 lists three things that are in the world (which will pass away). They are:

The lust of the flesh

The lust of the eyes

The pride of life

The immodest person dresses according to what their flesh lusts after, the eyes of others lust after their fleshly lusts. Modesty helps prevent the fear of rape or extra-marital sex.

5. Modesty can also help prevent our legalistic brethren from stumbling. We are not to use our liberty as an occasion to please our flesh.

There are also other benefits to being modest. It can help secure the marriage relationships. It can help prevent jealousy and it leaves a good example to the generations coming after us.

Perhaps you can come up with your own thoughts on modesty. I would love to see your comments.

Next time: What is modesty?

The Amish and Legalism

Having been raised in a strict Amish home, I was also raised with the bondage of legalism. I was afraid of almost everything. I was afraid of being rejected, of saying the wrong things, of doing something that would break the church rules and my list went on and on.

The way we dressed was about the biggest factor. As the only Amish-clad child in a public school setting, I often wished to wear the lovely colors of pink, red and yellow the other girls wore. I longed to wear a skirt, blouse and matching sweater, but then felt guilty for wishing for something so worldly. 

The fact that I adhered to the church laws, rules and regulations, did not quiet the guilty conscience within me. The harder I tried to please those imposing the law brought me under more bondage of fear and depression. I missed many days of school due to my distraught attitude.

Today I am thankful for the revelation of Galatians 5:13 which tells us that we are called to liberty, but we are not to use our liberty for an occasion to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Romans 13:14 also commands us not to make provision for the flesh to fulfill its desires.

Let me ask you a question: In today’s world, when the designers of our clothes are coming up with new patterns, are they designing them to cover the body or to reveal as much shape and flesh as they can and still sell their product?

You already know what the answer is. Sensuality, lust and seduction are behind their efforts. Their evil minds are always conniving ways to allure their victims, be it youth or the aged. This trap is set to get the consumer to buy their less-than-modest apparel.  Clothing that show cracks in the behind and in the bodice tops are NOT modest.

Let me ask you another question: Does the professing Christian in the church world today really dress differently from those who don’t darken the doors of our churches?

Again, I believe you know the answer to that question.

So in conclusion I would like to make an appeal to everyone who professes to be a born again Christian to dress as one. I am not being legalistic here. I am standing up for modesty. I am appealing to those who see this and who can forward it, to not give the Amish more fuel for their legalistic philosophies which will lead them to a dark death of not knowing God’s love and grace.

Watch for my blog “The Benefits of Being Modest.”

Our Family in the 1960's

Our family all dressed up in our Sunday best.
taken in 1963
The Lord brought me up out of an horrible pit
 out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock
And established my going.
He has put a new song in my mouth
Even praise to our God
Many shall see it and fear
and trust in the Lord.
Taken from Psalm 0:2,3

That's me in the light blue

Faith Makes us Righteous

“It is a beautiful evening for a walk and if we get to the pastures early maybe your papa will have time to tell you a story.” Rachel tells her son, Joseph.

“I love Papa’s stories.Papa and his sheep are right over there. May I please run to him so he can gin his story?”

“I will run with you, Joseph!” Rachel answers.

Rachel hikes her long brightly colored skirt to her knees, and the two race across the distance as the horizon spreads an endless canvas of vivid pinks and lavenders high in the sky. The sight of his father energizes Joseph’s steps. As the two near the shepherd, it is easy to see he is also wearing his simlah, a sleeveless, loose-fitting robe. Joseph giggles at the sight, knowing that his father will toss him high into the air with those strong arms.

“Oh, Papa, Papa, we have come so you’ll tell me a story! Mama said we might have time for one.”

“What story would you like to hear?” Jacob asks, also being glad for someone to talk to.

“Tell me the story about my grandfather,” is Joseph’s ready response.

“I should have guessed the story you’d choose,” teases Jacob with delight as he tosses Joseph heavenward and catches him.

Knowing he is in for an eventful story, Joseph giggles as he settled onto a grassy spot left by the sheep.

“Come sit by me, my dear,” Jacob motions to a grassy spot as he starts his story.

“There are three important facts that you must remember as I tell you this story.

The first is that my grandfather heard God speak.

The second is that he obeyed the command of God.

The last is that God honored my grandfather’s faith and credited it to him for his righteousness. Do you know what righteousness is?”

Joseph is quiet for a moment as if in deep thought. “Didn’t you say that righteousness was like a robe that we put on by faith over our heart?” Joseph asks.

“Yes, son, when you put on your simlah, your shepherd’s robe, you use your hands to put it on. In the same way faith is a symbol of your hands and takes hold of righteousness to cover your heart,” Jacob explains. “Because we believe our outward clothes carry great significance to our identification and feelings, so it is important for our hearts to always have on the robe of God’s righteousness,” Jacob continues. “Just as ministers, educators, and wealthy men wear only the meil-type clothes of a high ranking professional, so we, as God’s children must never display anything from our heart except for God’s righteousness.”

From there the story unfolds, “Abraham recognized God’s voice as he commanded him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and chose obedience to the command. My grandfather believed that God would raise his son from the dead if He actually required my father’s life,” Jacob says.

Joseph shivers as the sunlight wanes and at the thought of what could have happened. Jacob wraps Joseph into the folds of his own simlah robe to keep the young boy secure.

“God told Abraham to take wood, fire, and his promised son to a mountain in Moriah that He’d point out to him. Obediently Abraham took Isaac, his thirteen-year-old son, up the mountain. On the way Isaac asked him concerning the sacrifice, ‘You have wood and you have fire, but what about a sacrifice?’”

“Giving Isaac an answer of faith Abraham replied, ‘God will provide the sacrifice that is needed’”, Jacob recounts.

Jacob explains that Abraham took rocks that he found on the mountaintop and built an altar. Then he tied his son and laid him on the altar.

Joseph shivers within the folds of his father’s robe at the thought of his grandfather lying on the altar with his great-grandfather lifting the knife to slay him.

“It’s alright, Joseph,” Jacob reassures his young son. “Just in time God said, “stop! Now I know you’ll obey Me because you have not withheld your son from Me. You allowed your faith to lead you beyond your doubt and fear. Now look in the thicket and you’ll find a sacrifice acceptable to Me.’”

“Try to imagine how relieved your grandfather was when Abraham saw a ram caught by his horns in the thicket!” Jacob says.

Joseph sits in wide-eyed amazement realizing the goodness of God and how He had rewarded his great-grandfather’s faith and obedience.

“Now remember, Son,” Jacob breaks into his young son’s deep thoughts, “my grandfather’s faith was accounted to him for righteousness. Our faith in God becomes our righteousness in His sight. It wraps us in with God, just like I am wrapping you in my shepherd’s robe. Your great-grandfather’s faith was the spiritual robe he always wore. His symbolic robe is referred to as the ‘robe of righteousness.’ We can obtain our own robe of righteousness by faith and obedience.”

Good Bible Stories

Did you ever question why we have the ancient accounts of the Old Testament patriots?

We all like a good story, don’t we?

I know my grandchildren love for me to read their little books to them, but shouldn’t the Bible be more than just reading stories of history, poetry and great conquests?

Why then do we have the accounts of Abraham, his son Isaac, Jacob and Joseph? Why the account of the children of Israel’s journey through the wilderness? What is the importance of Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s accounts of rebuilding the temple and the walls of Jerusalem?

You are right, there is much more here than just a story laid down in history. There are lessons to be learned from these stalwart men and women of God. This is why I love the account of the life of Joseph. This is also why I have studied extensively about him and also written about him.

Joseph, I believe, is our best figure of Christ Jesus. He shows how to fulfill the call that God has called him to. Jesus also did this. Joseph was despised by his brothers, as was Christ. Joseph saw his dreams fulfilled and became a savior to his family. Jesus became the Savior to the whole world. He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Every Bible account has a purpose to lead us to becoming Christ-like. No matter what the mess we see ourselves in, we can find ourselves in an overcoming position. These Bible accounts can help us reach those goals.