Sunday, January 20, 2013

What Are You Wearing?




“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God’s sight. (1 Peter 3:3-4)

What do you clothe yourself with in the morning? Do you worry or fuss about what to wear so that you will make a good impression to your family, friends, and/or co-workers? Or perhaps it is in garments suitable for a day of housework, hiking, or sports events. Appearance is quite the deal in today’s society, and people are often even judged by what they wear and how they present themselves. Every morning we get up and spend time taking great care in clothing ourselves, and the daily dilemma of what to wear can be exhausting! But at what point are we more concerned about our outward appearance than what we wear in our heart? I am pretty sure that what we wear doesn’t have near the impact on others as what is in our hearts.

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:14)

What attitude do you put on in the morning and wear throughout the day? Do you spend time getting ready to ensure that your attitude and actions will line up with scripture? We are instructed to clothe our spirits with kindheartedness, humility, tenderness, patience, and compassion. But do we sometimes (or often) carry around blame, resentment, unforgiveness, or jealousy?  Sometimes we let life “stuff” sneak up on us and rob us of our joy and peace, and most of us can identify when our bad attitude and behavior is displayed outwardly in our words or conduct. There are times when we react with negativeness, criticism, impatience, self-centeredness and rudeness (to name a few!). These are attitudes we must reject, because it is our duty in all circumstances to have a humble and submissive heart as defined by scripture. Our wardrobe should consist of encouragement, humility, unselfishness, generosity, comfort, joy, thankfulness, and victory! And as we clothe ourselves with these virtues, the last garment we are to put on is love, which holds all the others in place.



“Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth, and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6:14,15,17)


God gives us the perfect dress code in the Bible; His dress code is about the heart. When we dress ourselves in the mornings we need to clothe ourselves with the beauty that comes from within and put on God’s armor. We must put on…

  • ·         The belt of truth that helps dismiss the lies Satan tempts us with

  • ·         The body armor of God’s righteousness to guard our hearts throughout the day

  • ·         The gospel of peace so that we are prepared for any circumstance that comes our way

  • ·         The helmet of salvation which protects our thoughts and helps us to speak the truth from God’s Word

To dress up spiritually fashionable we must make a commitment every day to doing life God’s way. What matters the most is that our manners, character, opinions, and the way we treat others reflect our love for Him. It is our obligation to clothe ourselves with tender-hearted mercy, confident and with the full assurance of the armor of God. No matter where we are, we must always take great care to wear love, clothe ourselves spiritually just as much as physically, and make a conscientious effort to put on the attire of a servant.

 Linking up this week with:

USE this for BLOG

37 comments:

  1. Love it Denise! The armor of GOD is the best thing to put on daily.
    Have a great day!
    Chelle

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    1. Thanks Chelle! Blessings for a great week my friend!

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  2. Denise, thank-you for being bold enough to print hard words. If we cared half as much about the heart as we did about what 'man sees on the outward' we would be such a kinder lot. I was just contemplating what to wear today. That 'I have nothing to wear!' thing was tempting me and now suddenly it seems not such a big deal. thank-you again.

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    1. That tempts me way too much too Janet; time for a new heart and new attitude! :) Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  3. Oh Girl, you hit the nail on the head with this post today.....Outter adorement verses heart attitude......and most important putting on that armour that God has provided for us....Why do we not take advantage of the gifts He has provided for us and choose instead to put our days at risk for sin and evil....
    You have a gift with words and I am so blessed to be able to read them....By the way, I love the new look of your blog...so pretty and bright....

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    1. Thanks Nancy; so good to hear from you! I have thought of you often; hope all is well...blessings and love sister!

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  4. Hi Denise
    All these things will be added unto us when we first seek the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus and ask Him to clothe us with Himself. Thank you for reminding us! Thanks for linking your wise words at Barbie's!
    Much love XX
    Mia

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    1. Beautiful thoughts here Mia! As always, thanks for your wonderful comments! Much love to you too!

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  5. Love this post Denise, next Sunday I will be teaching on what we wear, I will be sharing how we are to put on the whole armor of God on everyday. And than I come to your site today and see you are sharing the same thing with your readers. God is trying to tell us something that is for sure. AMEN

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    1. Awesome that we are on the same thought path Desi; can't wait to read your post! God bless you my friend!

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  6. Yes, there is something more important than the style of clothes we were. Our heart attitudes matter.

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  7. Denise,
    This is a wonderful post. I'm taking a few minutes from my art studio to comment. Sometimes, we become overly concerned with the way we look and our possessions. How shallow we can be, at times. That's why we must stay steeped in The Word and not in the world. I try to always seek my Father and keep my mind trained on His paths. We all know that our own paths will lead to self-centeredness and greed, which leads to thinking of our outward appearance and such.... Blessings!

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    1. Hi Cynthia; so glad you stopped by! :) It shames me, to be so shallow sometimes. So thankful that His WORD reminds me that what really matters is the beauty in my heart! Blessings! I need to visit and look at your latest projects!

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  8. Your post reminds me of pretending to put on the armor each day with my children. I always enjoy seeing your graphics, too. "Your inner beauty needs no makeup." Love that!

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    1. Thanks Pamela; I miss the days of dress up with my girls! :) Blessings sweet lady!

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  9. Hi Denise,
    Awesome post! Jesus said, "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." The Bible also said, "the heart is deceitful above all things..." If we do not take the time to dress as the Lord has said in His word, the evil in our heart will come out. We must abide in the vine (Jesus)and we will bear much fruit. We have been set free in Christ Jesus, but we must pick up our cross daily and follow Him along with putting on the full armor of God or else our sin nature will bring out the ugly in our hearts. We should want to be a light on the hill for all to see that Jesus is real. So it is most important that we dress each day as scripture instructs us to. In doing so the Lord will give us victory over our sin and we can live life to bring Him glory. Thank you for sharing and God bless,
    Ken

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    1. Thanks for these awesome words my friend; your comments always bring me such joy Ken! Oh yes, "a light on the hill for all to see", what better attire could we desire? :) Blessings my good friend!

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  10. Oh yes, that we might wear LOVE...that we might clothe ourselves in Him & His ever-lasting goodness. All day! Everyday! Great word, my friend! ~ jen

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    1. Thanks Jen; as Ken said, so that we may shine to give Him glory! Amen!

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  11. Amen to this post, girlie! The armor - I remember talking to my mom about it, as I was trying to encourage her to get in the word. I remember saying "When's the last time you upgraded your armor?" Just like technology continually advances, we need to continually upgrade our armor. Complacency will leave us vulnerable.

    Servant fashion - I like it! With love holding it all in place. Thanks for sharing your "outfit" with us today. Gotta say, it looks good on you! :)

    Falen

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    1. Oh how I love the thought of upgrading our armor! Thanks for your wonderful words Falen; you rock! :)

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  12. Your art is beautiful! As I get ready this morning so that I will be comfortable with myself throughout the day and not worry about my fashion after I leave the house - oh, how I want to make sure I am clothed in His grace and His ways! Wishing you blessings today!

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    1. Thank you my friend; it's amazing how much more content we are with ourselves when all we really have to worry about is wearing His armor to guide and protect us! Blessings!

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  13. What a great reminder Denise! I used to wake up and go through the process of putting on the armor each morning. I said it in my head and it was so helpful. Maybe I need to get back to doing that.

    Blessings and love,
    Debbie

    PS. It's the beautiful time of year in Phoenix. February is actually my favorite month.

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    1. I needed the reminder to Debbie! :)
      How I would love for any reason to visit Phoenix right now; it is SO cold here in Boise! Anxiously waiting for warmer weather! :) Blessings sweet friend!

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  14. Hi Denise, such great points you make my friend. I need to be putting on my armour of God every morning (love the pic by the way, lol) Thank you for the encouragement to "dress" correctly
    God bless
    Tracy

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    1. Thanks Tracy; you have been in my thoughts a lot lately. I know you have a lot going on and need lots of God's protective armor! Keeping you in my prayers sweet friend!

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  15. Inner beauty always wins! But I do like a little help from L'Oreal!

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    1. Ha ha; as do I Esther! :) Thanks for visiting; blessings!

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  16. Thank you for sharing this thought provoking post. It is much needed in our society today, and I suppose at any time in history as well.
    Blessings,
    Charlotte

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    1. I know I surely need His protective armor everyday Charlotte! :) Thanks for stopping by, and for the wonderful opportunity to link up every week. Blessings!

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  17. Thank you Denise, for the great comment on my blog. This posting of you I love. Inner beauty is so important and in Him we shine :-)

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  18. I love that last image, Denise. It's kind of tongue-in-cheek, but it's true. I'm really astonished at the difference I feel when I'm prepared, fortified and when the slings and arrows of the world manage to penetrate my armor because I haven't put in the work. Thanks for the reminder!

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