My Sisters in Christ...
The next couple of post will be over a couple of scriptures that many of us have confused God's true meaning. I prayed about it and have done a lot of studying so that I could deliver God's true intended message. It became very interesting to me to notice the different laws, and extremists validations that many of our young women are being introduced with. Before I gave my input on any of these scriptures and their meaning, I wanted to go to God and receive clarification, understanding, confirmation, and revelation on what God really is trying to tell me. Different religions have various interpretations of what they believe God is actually saying, yet still miss it, and end up using it as a crutch on our young women of today. Man's interpretation and thought process is infant-like in comparison with God's divine wisdom. And once we grasp this concept, we will then begin to shift our eye's back on Him who is the Supreme Divine Author of His Holy Word. The One who can help you interpret His true message. Hence me saying, once you step foot out of your church, get back into that same scripture and dig deeper, so that God can speak to you HIMSELF about what He truly means. to receive more revelation, and more clarity on what is actually being said. This is so that you are not tricked into believing religious ideologies and actually receiving from the Lord Himself.
Acts 17:11
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said
was true.
2 Peter 1: 20-21
Above all, you must udnerstand tha no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit
Colossians 2:8
Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.
Meditate on Colossians 2 when Paul speaks about false teachers and man-made religions. "We cannot reach up to God by following rules of pious self-denial, by observing rituals, or by practicing religion. Paul isn't saying all rules are bad, but no keeping of laws or rules will earn salvation. Man-made religions focus on human effort (dressing a certain way, walking a certain way, wearing blue and not any other color, etc. etc., and by giving these rules they threaten the Body by saying their going to go to hell if they don't abide by them, and even use God's name to support their rules) Christianity focuses on Christ's work. Our salvation does not depend on our own discipline and rule keeping, but on the power of Christ's death and resurrection.
To the Colossians, the discipline demanded by the false teachers seemed good, and legalism still attracts many people today. Following a long list of religious rules requires strong self-discipline and can make a person APPEAR moral, but religious rules cannot change a person's heart. Only the Holy Spirit can do that!
With this being said....
The Message
1 Tim 2: 8-10
Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray--not shaking angry fists at enemies, but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it,!
NLT version:
I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves not w/elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship!
Ladies,
I pondered over this scripture for a while&did a lot of studying. Some religions interpretation of this scripture is that women shouldn't wear jewelry or wear makeup, or even look nice at all,... however, that was never God's intent of interpretation, some of you probably may disagree based on what you've been taught or how you've been raised, but God actually wants us women to look nice, in Proverbs 31 it speaks about her wearing beautiful garments in colorful linens and silks,&how her clothes are well-made and elegant! This woman was a show-stopper, truly someone who dressed modestly in the most up to-date fashions and set the example for other young women to follow! However, she DID NOT let her jewels, nice garments, or her outer appearance consume her and become an idol in her life and not only that, but she didn't use these things as a mechanism to attract and distract the eyes of man!
What God is saying is that we should not allow the elaborate jewelry, makeup, hairstyles, or expensive clothes to become an IDOL in our life. If the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning is what you're going to look like and not JESUS then these things become the primary focus in your life. If your number one worry is to wear the most expensive designer clothes or to always look better than other young women, than your focus has been distracted. Do not allow these things to steer your focus off of your Creator. God is a jealous God and if ANYTHING, yes, even makeup&fancy clothes, are put before Him, He gets really upset!
Where is your focus ladies? Are you more interested in creating an image as you are being an example? Is God the Father in Heaven the Lord of your life, or are material things the Lord of your life? You have to make a choice& decide to put down that makeup brush&pick up that Bible!
So ladies, it's okay to look nice,&don't ever get caught in man's laws&doctrine's of how to dress, whether in long skirts&dresses, or wearing clothes that cover your entire body until the point where you only see your eyeballs. That's man's interpretation, you are a princess in the Royal Kingdom preparing for your King to sweep you off your feet! So look like so inside and out!
If Jesus were to come today, how would you dress? Although, He isn't worried about the exterior, how will you be clothed? Will you be clothed with things that really aren't important, or will you be clothed with the grace and knowledge of our Father in Heaven? Keep your eyes penetrated on Him&He will give you the desires of your heart!
P.S. Don't overindulge yourselves with these fading items. Everything in moderation! It is not unscriptural for a woman to want to be attractive. Today, however, to what degree should us women take this advice about fixing our hair or wearing gold, pearls, or expensive clothes? Remember that beauty begins on the inside. A carefully groomed and well-decorated exterior is artificial and cold unless inner beauty is present. Modesty is Power!
-Refer to my recent blog post about being Beautiful Modestly!:)
love you ladies,!
-tay
