Monday, August 10, 2015

I was not born into this world to win a beauty contest.

As some may know I recently had my front tooth pulled in Mexico. About 26 years ago I disobeyed my mom & in the midst of my mischief I fell off the bike I was riding (where I was told not to go) and broke my front tooth. After years of living with a root canal & having issues with the tooth I thought it best for the overall state of my health to have it pulled. (By the way, I highly discourage root canals).
I have heard it said, your sin will find you out. I like sharing my story with children to help inspire the fear of God in them. We may think we are getting away with things when mommy & daddy don't see us, but the Father of all knows when we are in obedience or not. There are consequences for our choices.
We were born into this world for a purpose. That purpose is not to gain: fame, friends, wealth & health. The purpose is to do what we were created to do. Consider the spider, it spins webs, catches bugs & eats them. It does what it needs to do for basic survival. For example:
  "A spider starts life inside an egg.  The mother spider lays many eggs.  Sometimes the mother spider dies after laying her eggs.  The eggs usually hatch in a very short time.  A baby spider is shaped like its mother, but may be lighter in color.  The baby spider is soon able to spin its own web and capture its own food.  It does not have to be taught.  This comes naturally.  Just like when you learn how to crawl or walk when you were a baby.
The spider's skeleton is on the outside of its body.  It looks like skin.  When the baby spider, or spiderling, grows too big it must shed its skeleton.  The old skeleton splits and the spider steps out of it.  This soft, new skeleton soon grows hard.  The spider is now an adult. ...These small creatures help plants reproduce by pollinating them.  They also help recycle dead trees and animals back into the earth.  They are also a vital source of food for birds, fish, and small mammals.  Without invertebrates, like spiders and insects, many other living things would not survive.
...Spiders eat many types of harmful insects, helping to keep your garden free of pests. ...Webs get dirty and torn, so lots of spiders make a new one every day.  They don't waste the old one, though--they roll it up into a ball and eat it!" (info found at: http://www.tooter4kids.com/Spiders/facts.htm)


As you can clearly see from some basic spider facts; spiders do not experience spiritual warfare. They do not experience the kind of temptations we humans do. Their purpose for being created is different then ours (I have highlighted their purpose). I can't imagine there is disobedience seen in the life of a spider to their purpose. They just simply do what they were meant to do.
For us humans life is more challenging. We were created in the image of the Creator! We have a soul. We seem to need inspiration & reasons to live. Although, many humans go through life simply doing what other humans around them do. Thus, having little to no thought about the consequences of the things they do.
At some point in life the grace of God appears to us;
Titus 2:11-15  "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;   Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.   These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." 
As the days of our lives go by & the grace becomes apparent to us in various aspects of our lives we either grow in grace as we embrace it, or we grow further from it as we reject it. Some people receive His grace in some areas of their lives, but reject it in others. And so there is much confusion in life as we try to understand how it is someone can hold so much truth in some areas of their lives but not in others.
Many profess to be Christians -which should actually mean that not only do they believe that God sent His anointed son into the world, who was crucified, buried, & rose again; but that they obey His teachings. We learn His teachings not only from the preservation of the writings of His early followers, but also through His grace. So, as many profess to know Him, yet in practicality/ daily life (i.e. works) they deny Him. (Titus 1:16) Thus, the good that they do know is reprobate/not acceptable to God.
For what use are we to our Maker when we only choose to obey some of what His grace teaches us? How can we receive all of what His grace would teach us if we do not as Brother James says, " But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." (James 4:6)
He gives "more grace", many of us have received some grace, but there is yet MORE to receive if we are willing. And that is the wonderful difference between the things of creation. Humans were created with their own will. That is why the life of a spider differs from the life of a human. We were both created for a purpose; the spiders purpose comes naturally to them, they have no need of grace. The purpose of humans must be sought after. If we seek we will find our purpose for being on earth & better yet, if we humble ourselves, grace will teach us how to avoid the many dangers of this life & how to live a life acceptable to the One that created us.

(2 Corinthians 10:4-6)  "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."
The weapons of a spiders defense are carnal-they are full of poisonous venom.The spider is not fighting for it's soul, it's fighting for it's life on earth. Human beings face a war, whether they can see it or not; and it is for their soul. It is to attain unto the eternal place where the One who not only Created us, but loves us is.Thus, we see the only way love can exist between a thing created & it's Creator is if the thing Created has free-will, otherwise you'd simply be programmed. No one feels truly loved by their cell-phone when they program it to say "I love you!" God did not only create us to eat, drink, work, (for our food & drink) sleep, breed. God did not create us to simply repeat this cycle until our beings expire as other created things do. The spider helps sustain the homeostasis of the earth we live in, and so do animals & other insects.
We on the other hand are on a pilgrimage. We are in travel to eternity. A realm beyond our complete understanding where time no longer exists; it's simply never-ending. Life as we know it here comes to an end. But the soul continues the life without the present body. Our choices here on earth have eternal consequences. Losing my tooth was the result of a choice I made to disobey my mom. It's consequence has effected the rest of my existence on earth. Thanks be to the grace of God that teaches us,  "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)
I do not have to mourn the aesthetic loss of my tooth; God would rather have me learn to obey. "having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."
We must obey what the grace of God teaches us so we can go forth revenging/amending the disobedience we have either knowingly or ignorantly lived out.  I spent years of my life being careful & troubled over my physical aesthetics. When I first learned: through seeking the Creator, the grace of God, the example of others & the word of God, about God’s purpose for me in life I began to make the necessary changes to fulfill that purpose.
I learned:
  •  that my hair is a glory & given for a covering, so I stopped putting it up & cutting it. I left it down & I covered myself with it. (I used to do that naturally when I was young without even knowing; due to shyness/self-consciousness I hid behind my hair.)
  • Then about 15 years later as I grew in God's grace I learned that we women are to cover that glory with a cloth covering. It is to be kept for the husband we have, or may have in the future. We reverence God and husband when we keep this glory from being a distraction. 
  • The grace of God also taught me about the way I carried myself/my body language. I realized that it had been sensual. I had lived so long in darkness that I wasn’t fully conscious of my behaviors, & the spirit of those behaviors.
  • I stopped going to concerts,
  • lost interest in certain music,
  • God’s grace convicted me of dancing the way I did,
  • I stopped wearing tank-tops after the Spirit of God clearly reproved me for the nakedness of my arms,
  • I stopped wearing pants,
  • I stopped wearing skirts & dress that showed my skin, or that were form revealing,
  • I hardly ever wore make up, but His grace completely took the desire out of my heart-it was clearly un-profitable for God’s purpose in my life I had no interest in it. It was obviously created to appeal to the lust of men,
  • I never wore high heels again (also created for the lusty appeal of men),
  • God’s grace taught me a pure language that took away the desire to use foul words in conversation,
  • God’s grace stilled & quieted me internally as well as externally,
  • God’s word & grace taught me not to have fellowship with works of darkness (i.e. watching t.v. shows, violent & sexually perverted movies, spending time alone with men, having “boyfriends”, having physical contact with men,…)
God’s grace, word, & the examples of others was teaching me how to love my neighbor as myself. The list could go on & on. We could all make lists & I am sure there could be differences in those lists. Maybe your list doesn’t have “stopped wearing pants” maybe you never realized your pants are contrary to God’s purpose for your life; maybe you never realized your pants reveal your shape in a way that makes men to stumble, the pants naturally bring out the shape of your body which maybe attractive to some. You may think, “Bah! I’m an old lady”, “no man is going to stumble over me”, or, “My shape is so far from sexy in these pants”, or, “men shouldn’t let their minds go there!” , or, “It’s not practical to do everything I do in a skirt!” What ever your excuse may be, I am persuaded that the Holy angels in heaven that stand before the Holy One are not wearing pants. The Holy men & women of old did not wear pants, & if they did they were called undergarments or they were baggy & had a long garment over them for modesty. For thousands of years men & women have upheld modest clothing in various cultures. I was blessed to come across this picture from the early 1900’s.

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http://www.istpravda.ru/pictures/947/
 Although they have a pant like garment on it is worn under long loose fitted garments.These women are not in America. American Women at this time were already losing their sense of shame.
If you do a history search on why people started wearing pants you will learn some interesting facts:
  • In Ancient times men & women both wore skirts/robes. (they still do in some countries).
  • Men first started wearing pants when they started ridding horses for battle.  First Century Roman soldiers started trading their robes for pants. It became a symbol of desirable  masculinity & modernization.
  • It is also reported that in the 1701 decree of Peter the Great, Russian men were told to retire their robes & skirts so they could get with the Western times.  "Peter worked hard to modernize his country. ...he wanted Russians to adopt more “modern” clothing fashions.  ...henceforth, in accordance with this, His Majesty’s decree, all court attendants…provincial service men, government officials of all ranks, military men,…members of the wholesale merchants’ guild, and members of guilds purveying for our household must shave their beards and moustaches. But, if it happens that some of them do not wish to shave their beards and moustaches, let a year tax be collected from such persons… ...Until that time the Russians had always worn long beards...Officials were stationed at the gates of the towns to collect that tax, which the Russians regarded as an enormous sin on the part of the tsar and as a thing which tended to the abolition of their religion."  (-- http://www.westshore.edu/personal/MWNagle/Wciv/Peter.htm )
  • So it seems that up until the 1700's not only did men wear robes & skirt like garments in Russia but they also kept their beards. It was through a vain man's desire to keep up with a modern culture that men started denying the grace of God. Men being in a place of headship paved the way for women to follow in their rebellion. You will see this repeated in the history of fashion. When swimming became a public event men fought to go topless in their swimwear & now women are.

Dear friends, follow not a multitude to do evil. Be wise & search out a matter. The world is such a dark place & many are blindly following each other without investigating the nature behind the things people do. Pants made life easier for horse riding warriors. The weapons of a Christians warfare are not carnal & therefore, it is unnecessary for women to be prancing about in pants. If you do have pants, then the women in the above picture would be a good example as to how to wear them. And the same goes for the men, they should not wear them without a proper loose fitting garment over them. God created the same design of clothing for men & women (Adam & Eve ) to be modest & that basic idea has been kept by mankind for thousands of years except in areas where people have rejected God's grace concerning modesty. 


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Here is a modern example of 2 men that have upheld godly modesty & 1 man that has not.
One of the men in the above picture is a potato farmer.(picture from 
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Afghanistan#/media/File:People_of_Bamyan-6.jpg

 “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou perfected praise, because of thine enemies; that thou mightest put down the enemy and avenger.-Psalm 8:2
My husband and a brother were recently in a grocery store when a young boy saw them and asked them, "Are you God & Jesus?" They were wearing long robe like shirts, and they have beards. I am so thankful for this young boys innocence enabling him to discern that they were reflecting the glory of God in their modest appearance. On the contrary many adults corrupted by modernization & media propaganda, fear anything that resembles godliness (including the garb of Muslims that are dedicated to their beliefs). It is a shame to those who call themselves Christians when they are out done in modesty by non-Christian nations. Tertullian makes mention of this in 198 A.D. when he states, "Arabia's heathen females will be your judges,..." . They went above and beyond what was necessary for modesty. And they have upheld modesty much more than the so called Christian nation. Today many adults (who claim to be Christian) look upon our modesty as a threat & a thing to fear, as bondage & a lack of liberty.
"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.  Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.  Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it".
-Jeremiah 6:16-19

The good & right way was the way that both men & women lived out their God given purpose for life & covered themselves with the design of modesty God originally gave them. Their first style of covering (the loin cloth) was unacceptable.
Evil will come upon those who do not STAND IN HIS WAYS & SEEK THE OLD PATHS, THE GOOD WAY AND WALK IN IT. WE must walk in it. 

 Be not ashamed to receive the Grace of God in the midst of this crooked & perverse generation. God’s invention of clothing was Tov Meod = very good. Our purpose for being created by Him was to  glorify Him by choosing to love Him with our free will.  It is not to follow vain fashions & trends.







These are modern day Christian women who have received the grace of God concerning modesty. (I distorted their faces for privacy)I want you to focus on their godly example of modest apparel. They are all blessed in the Lord & free in Christ. The choice is yours.





  "Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times."
Psalm 106:3


" Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.   Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors."  -Proverbs 8:32-34