Who Gets You Dressed in the Morning?

(pinterest)

 We recently talked about clothes and the garments God has for us, but today I’d like to explore for a minute the topic of who dresses you? We’re not earthly royalty with paid staff to select our clothes and keep them looking their best, who present them to us and then dresses us as if we’re children.

So – who dresses you? Of course, you do, unless you’ve been physically compromised in some way.

As I mentioned before, there are many garments God provides for us. But we don’t stand at our closet choosing between the garments of praise vs attire of gloom and heaviness. Or do we?

Let me ask again, who gets you dressed? You? Or… your worst critic?

If I think of myself as a failure, the cynic in my head may get to be the one who picks out the clothes I’ll wear tomorrow. If I think of myself as not worthy of wearing the nicest clothes in my closet, I may well wind up walking around in public tomorrow looking “less than” as perhaps I don my most faded jeans and the blouse that’s seen a few too many days, or torn sweatpants and that saggy t-shirt that’s faded and stained.

Won’t everyone I meet be impressed?!

Now that’s not to say that these selections might be all that’s in your physical wardrobe, at the moment. But remember, God looks at the heart, only man looks at the appearance.

(pinterest - no my closet doesn't look like this either.)

If we see ourselves as the royalty we truly are, we’ll reach for that newer blouse and our best fitting slacks! (Unless we’re painting the bathroom today.) We’ve all heard phrases like “Dress for Success” or “Dress for the job you WANT to have”.

But what if we just dress as who we are in Christ? I’m His Princess. You may hear me call most every woman and girl I meet “Princess”. That’s because in Christ, that’s exactly who she is! She’s the daughter of the King of kings!

If you find yourself standing on the outside looking in, longing to belong to the kingdom of God – please ask me to introduce you to Him so you can take your rightful place seated with Jesus in heavenly places, at the right hand of God the Father, Himself! (See Ephesians 2:5-7 here.)

But even as Princesses, we all have days where we “just don’t feel like Princesses”. We trip occasionally and listen to a lie or two of the enemy and fall for them.

(pinterest - no, my closet doesn't look like this one, either.)

We ARE the righteousness of God, through Christ Jesus! We don’t have to work at being righteous. We probably need to work the holiness gig a bit, but when we submit our lives to Jesus, He puts His Robe of Righteousness on us Himself. We are righteous – in Him. Righteousness and holiness are not the same thing. Jesus came to earth to trade His Righteousness for our sin. We got the best end of that deal!

Holiness is walking out that righteousness, turning away from sin every time we’re tempted by the enemy of our soul, the one who’s plans include stealing us away from God. But God isn’t about to let that happen.

So today, spiritually speaking, let’s reach for the royal gown, not the filthy rags Jesus already tossed into the fire. Let’s walk with our head held high and our hand in the hand of the Man that stilled the waters and calmed the seas. Take a good look at yourself using the Word of God as your mirror. You are God’s royalty! (See 1 Peter 2:9 here.)

 

(slator .com)

 

“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Ephesian 2:5-7

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” 1 Peter 2:9

Me, too!

 

(picture from Pinterest)

The other morning and God spoke to me so clearly; it made me cry.

I write poetry, often provoking tears in the readers, but usually touching their hearts in a special way. Though I’ve been a Christian, encouraging others for a long time now, I’ve often felt less than worthy of the blessings God pours out on me.

But through the blood of Jesus – I am MADE worthy! Hallelujah!

Someone referred to the gifts God placed inside of us. I naturally thought of poetry; my mind fluttered through the only verses I have memorized – one of my favorite poems. I was halted as I rehearsed the lines in my head with the most wonderful interruption. I’ll include the poem here for reference, I want you to know what I’m referring to:

If you picked a flower for every care in your mind,
how many different flowers do you think that you could find?
If you put them all together and made a huge bouquet,
wouldn’t it give your heart a rest to give them all away?
But, who would want these flowers that represent pains and grief?
I came to bear your burdens, Child, will you give your bouquet to Me?
- Jesus
(Helen Williams! 2002)

The interruption? As I recalled the last line, Jesus lovingly whispered to me, “Yes, that means you, too.”

To you, that might seem obvious. But to me, it felt like my brain had just been dunked into soapy bathwater and pulled out clean! Yes, of course it applies to me, too! I was so excited I cried. But knowing that in my head and knowing it in my heart are two totally different lines of reality.

I am among the redeemed.
I am made righteous by the blood of Jesus.
God doesn’t require perfection from me, He requires that I believe in Him and in His Word; the sacrificial Lamb (Jesus) Who died to pay for my sin.

(picture from 3wordwisdom)

So – why WOULDN’T the poem (and every other word of encouragement) apply to me?

God is always speaking to our hearts. Yet we seldom listen for what He has to say to us as individuals.

Several decades ago, I turned away from God. I stuck my fingers in my ears and didn’t want to hear what He was saying to me. I knew He was still God, and I knew I still wanted His protection and love and blessings, but I turned inward and became very selfish.

It wasn’t long until God once again captivated my attention and by His loving kindness drew me back to Himself. I repented of my sin and turned my heart back to Him. I hurt a lot of people through that painful detour, but God loved me still. Most of those people still love me, too.

The enemy taunted me, insisting that I was no longer worthy of God’s grace. He used truth to weave a lie.

Of course, I wasn’t worthy of God’s grace – that’s what grace is all about! It can’t be earned.

But I was no less worthy of that grace than I was the first time I submitted myself to God’s love and asked Him to reign in my heart. Herein is the message of grace: He loves us anyway.

Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking to kill, steal and destroy – our faith.
(John 10:10)

I took a stance and declared in my heart that even if God could no longer accept me as His own, I would declare His grace to others. How’s that for an oxymoron? How could I effectively share grace if I wasn’t even applying it to myself?

I was the prodigal daughter, willing to return home to be my Father’s slave, yet He wanted me to return to be His bride!

So, let’s talk about worthiness and settle the matter once and for all. In our flesh, we are not worthy of God’s grace or His love. But He chooses to love us anyway.

(picture from pinterest)

There is nothing we can do to stop His unending, unconditional love towards us. Nothing. NOTHING!

No matter how sinful we become, we are not beyond the reach of His love and forgiveness.

He is constantly reaching for us, longing for us to receive His love. When we hear a story about unrequited love, we have NO idea how deep that love can run until we look at the One Who created us, Who walks with us – Whom we don’t even know or desire intimacy with. We search, as through fancy jewelry stores, in every nook and cranny – for plastic baubles to love.

It is the goodness and kindness of God that calls us to repentance. (Romans 2:4)

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:38-39)

“YES, THAT MEANS YOU, TOO!”

Are Praise and Worship Simply to Butter-Up?

(photo courtesy of christcenteredmall.com)

Jesus Himself said, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is a spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24 (NIV)

Praise and worship is not to be used to “butter up” our Father. It’s given from a pure heart that wants nothing more than to climb up on to His lap and to love on Him and to take in His love. It’s not something we put out there trying to manipulate Him into giving us the things we want. He knows our hearts, our thought and intentions; do we really think we can our smart Him or put together a magic formula to make things go the way we want them to?

There are so many things I don’t understand. There are so many things I’d do differently than God is doing them – but only because I don’t always know why He’s doing them the way He does. I know that He sees the whole of everything, and that I merely catch glimpses of His kingdom as He sees it. Since I don’t see the end from the beginning like He does, I can’t possibly expect to see clearly why He does what He does, when He does it.

How many times have you said, or heard said, “Well, if I was God ____________”?

I’m relieved that none of us is God, with our limited scope of everything, we’d surely mess things up. And how many of us would have thought of grace all by ourselves?

The Psalmist wrote, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4 (NIV) He didn’t give us this instruction as a magic wand to gain entrance to the throne room of God for our own personal venues.

As Christians, we’re told, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…..” Ephesians 2:6 (NIV)

We not only have permission to enter the God’s throne room, spiritually speaking, we’re sitting there already, with Jesus our Savior, as joint heirs with Him. God welcomes our thanks, our praise, our worship, our love, our obedience – and yearns to take us in His arms and love us in ways we still feel so unworthy to receive.

Twice in the gospels Jesus says, “…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” Matthew 23:27 & Luke 13:34 (NIV)

Let’s let go of our inhibitions, and like David, dance before the Lord, thanking Him, praising Him, honoring Him and worshiping Him with all that’s within us!

Matthew 6:33 tells us that when we seek first the kingdom of God, everything else will be given to us. So why do we seek the things and ignore the kingdom?