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.