Wedding clothes

Isaiah 61:10

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord...My soul will exult my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels.

This verse takes me to my study in the Song of Solomon (and there is one also being currently run by Nancy Leigh DeMoss through Revive Our Hearts). There is sooooo much talk of the bride and groom, the loveliness of their garments and the exhileration of the wedding day. There is such rejoicing on most wedding days. You wouldn't know it from tv, where people are getting married for all of the wrong reasons, make themselves sick pondering whether they are marrying the right person, or wonder if it is all a trap. There is much apprehension and not much joy there. If babies are on the way or a third person is in the back of someone's mind, there is not joy.

But in this verse, there is none of that. God has come to collect His bride...He gets all dressed up and brings her the clothes...garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness. Remember that in Jewish tradition, they get betrothed, then the man goes and prepares their home. This can take months! She doesn't get much of a notice of when he is coming for her...she can't send out invitations because she doesn't know the date herself! So she may or may not know that he is on his way unless someone sees him coming and runs to warn her! But when he shows up at the door to take her to his home there is a huge procession and he wants her to look her best, so he brings the clothing...she puts it on, accepting his invitation, and off they go. The marriage feast is prepared for them and everyone around comes.

So to marry God, so to speak, what kind of clothes are we to wear? First, we must have salvation...that eternal call to our lives. He saves us through the death of His Son, providing the purifying so that we can be with Him for no unholy thing can come into His presence and dwell there forever. And the robe of righteousness covers it all...the outward expression of our inward salvation. We look like Him, and are presented to the world as His...His bride for today and always. He has to provide both of these pieces of clothing...and the fact that He would adorn us with such lovely and precious garments speaks to our hearts of His everlasting love for us. Who would not rejoice like a gal just asked to marry? That yes, yes, yes!!! I thought you would never ask! There is exultation and elation and energy and enthusiasm. These unfortunately are not the words I think of when I think of salvation and righteousness. These are serious terms in my solemn brain. But to Isaiah, they are far more exciting than just sitting in a church pew. This is a new life! It is the wedding day when everything is going to change! We get to be with our beloved finally, after that long waited promise that it would indeed happen...that he would come to get us. There is song and dance, smiles and tears of joy, and feasting and ultimately alone time with the groom...this is what every gal dreams of...more than any other thing. Getting to marry this guy means that everything will change...where you live, your household routine and chores, sleeping and eating, and the possibility of children, etc. It is a whole new life that is made possible because He has clothed us and brought us to Himself. We join Him in His world and that is where all good things are.

Has He brought you your wedding clothes of salvation and righteousness? Have you put them on and gone to join Him in His life? Are you exulting in Him because He wanted you as His precious bride? Then let the party begin! If not, accept the invitation to be His bride and wait patiently for those robes to show up at your door. He will bring them, sometimes when you least expect it! Then the joy will be more than you ever dreamed.

Setting up tents

I never know from one day to the next where God will take me on this adventure of finding fabric in the scriptures...today we are in Jeremiah 10: 20.

“My tent is destroyed and all my ropes are broken. My sons have gone from me and are no more, and there is no one to stretch out my tent again or to set up my curtains.”

Well, that is depressing! Let's see what he is talking about. Jeremiah had no family, so these aren't his sons. These are the last of the Judeans being finally foisted from their home once and for all. The armies have overtaken them and they are fleeing for their lives. Their families are separated from them or have died. Their homes, even in the city, were reverted back to tents...they were not living in the buildings that had been destroyed during the first run-through of the enemy. And now even the tents were torn down and the ropes broken or cut so as to be worthless to the cause of holding up their shelters. These tents are not like our one-piece things for camping...they were a series of curtains strung together so they could be rolled up and moved...a series of poles, ropes, and panels of cloth to shade, to keep out the driving winds and dirt (like a sand-blaster, soil blown by the wind stings!), and to keep a fire going inside. These were not small things like tepees, but more like the large tents used at fairs for sheltering people eating or watching entertainment. They were big for tents, and the curtains would separate the large structure into rooms. They were quite ornately embroidered or appliqued if you had any money.

Now picture this thing being destroyed by marauders. They come and slice holes in the tent, then cut the ropes. The poles are broken and used as weapons against you. You flee, the family heads for the hills and doesn't come back. What is a person to do? How can they weave new cloth, make new rope, make new curtains, and try to make a new home all by oneself? Trying to set up any tent is usually at least a two-man job, at least. One of these things, even a small one, would take more than one person to set up.

We Christians are like this. We can not build our lives and homes alone. We need others who know how this whole building process works, knows how to weave or spin rope or hook it all together. God is the master builder, but He puts us to work with each other to protect each one of us. When we are faithful to trust Him, He surrounds us with fellow believers who help to build us up, to help us build, and to shelter us from the attacks of the enemies around us. Those who think they do not need fellowship of other believers, strong and true to God's Word, will never get their tent up, let alone restore it when the enemy of our souls gets in and wreaks havoc. The ropes and panels must be stretched out. There must be tension to keep the tent standing and to hold things in place. Those who avoid the pulling process and the tension that must be applied to get everything in place will not have a tent that stands. It will hang limp if we can even get it off the ground. If the ropes get tight, cutting them will not help. Once a rope breaks, it is worthless. New rope must be employed. We do have a tendency to cut our ropes, or let others saw on them as we run the other direction, unable to fight off the destroyers in our lives.

We need each other. We need to shelter one another with the tents, give them privacy with the curtains, and pull the ropes to keep them aligned and properly in place. We are building the Kingdom one tent at a time. If we are able, let no man mourn that he is alone with no one to help him build.

Clean Hands

The earth is the Lord's, and all that is in it...Who may stand in the holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Psalm 24: 1a & 4a

This is a great Psalm...if you have a Bible handy or can go to a Bible site from this blog, read it all. But to keep this on one page, this is where I want to focus.

I am a quilter...I piece more than I actually quilt, but I sit with a quilt on my lap almost every night. There are things I love...and one of them is M&Ms. I put on weight in college eating M&Ms. I put on weight in my older age eating Blue Bunny Chocolate Synphony (yes, I spelled that right) ice cream. I love the Harry and David peppermint bark. I also love Good and Plenty. So what does this have to do with sewing and quilting?

Everything in the earth belongs to God and to properly worship Him we must come with clean hands. It is truly interesting for me to think in terms of what makes my heart impure and my hands dirty. When I sit down to sew or quilt, knit or embroider, I often have to wash my hands first. If they are sweaty, if I have been pulling weeds, if I have used the restroom, if I have just sorted laundry, if I have wiped floors or cooked food, my hands have stuff on them that will not just make cloth dirty, it will ruin it over time. Grease will stain, sweat will show up as a stain later, dirt will change the color and make the fabric lose its beauty, and germs will help spread disease and contaminate things. There are a million reasons we wash our hands, but usually it is to prevent the other things we touch in life from being altered and ruined. Soil is good outside for growing plants, but it will ruin cloth. Sweat is necessary to prevent our bodies from overheating, but it will soil the materials to the point of early decay and color change. God was big on hand washing. The priests had to do it, the sick had to do it. Washing was a big part of the culture. I didn't realize that most third-world countries that do not have a Judeo-Christian base also do not have a culture of washing. So much disease and misery could be prevented with basic washing...and clean water. God knew this, and demanded it for the health and safety of the priests, the people, and as a symbol of purity.

So I wash my hands when I am going to handle fabric. I down M&Ms and Good and Plenty while I sew, but the ice cream and peppermint bark stay in a separate room. I can not keep clean hands eating certain things, but can with the others. I must maintain the clean hands while I work, not just before I start working. I must think before touching things. I must make trips to the sink if there are other things like tissues that must be handled. There will be the natural body oils that cannot be avoided, but no lotion is on my hands during the quilting process...clean means free of any and all things that can soil the things we touch. Even Good and Plentys might have to be avoided if the heat and humidity are too high because the shells might get melty and turn my fingers sticky pink and white.

This is the story of our Christian lives. We are called to wash our hands and purify our hearts and other things in this passage, to live for God. We want to glorify God with the works of our hands and with our hearts, but there is little glory for Him if our works are covered in fingerprints and sticky, dirty, ruinous filth that will be destructive either now or further down the road. I may love the world that God created and rejoice in it, but those things, as sweet and good as they are consumed properly and at the right time, can also destroy the fabric of our lives if they mess with our commitment to God. We are going to the Holy Place to receive a blessing from the Lord. He cannot put his Holy, clean and pure blessing into dirty hands, or hands that are full of the things of this world. We have to leave worldly things behind, wash away the residue, and hold them upward and open for Him to fill them. We seek Him, His face, but the promise is that when we see Him, He will draw near, come in, and fill us. Like any dish, we clean it before we fill it. When it is emptied, we wash it again so it can be filled again. The residue of what was once a blessing, good food, can become a curse...a moldy, germ-infested plate will not nourish, but destroy and sicken. The same with our hands. We use our hands to do the work God has called us to do, but we cannot go on day after day doing it without cleaning them up. The things we touch without washing daily will not be a blessing, but a curse if they are stained, germy, and show evidence of the natural dirtiness of our own selves or the world around us. God has to take away that dirt, clean us, so that we can be willing servants. No one would let someone with dirty, muddy garden hands come into their sewing room and start sorting the fabric, patterns, scissors, etc. The time it would take to undo the damage, the more thorough scrubbing, the need for more soap and detergents, the grease cutters...some things may be able to be scoured back into usefulness, but some might end up trashed because the stains just won't come out, or the treatment might discolor and ruin the gloss of the original fabric. The pages of the books will never be ridded of the vestiges of muddy fingers. No, even those with good intentions must wash their hands to serve us, and we must wash to serve God. How we hate to be told we are dirty. If we look at our own hands, others will not have to point them out to us. We can look and clean them, knowing that they will again get dirty, but God understands that. That is why we get to wash every time we come toward Him. And it's for our good as well as His glory. That is how He is. When we seek to bless Him, He instructs us in ways that help us, too. So break out the soap...

Rend your hearts, not your clothes

2 Kings 6:24-7:2

An interesting passage that shows that clothes do not show the heart of the matter.

Here sits the King of Israel...he hears women talking about eating their children due to the siege the city was under. This is heartbreaking and he tore his clothes, revealing the sackcloth he was wearing underneath. You would think...wow, what a great king, rending his clothes in repentance and sorrow and wearing sackcloth as a sign of humility before God.

But we find out that he was not sincere...

He blamed it all on Elisha. Now Elisha was the man of God who had called this king and kingdom to repent. The king tells him that if this is what the Lord does to him, that he will not listen to Him anymore and will, therefore kill his prophet. Nice guy.

How do we try to appeal to God? Do we do all of the right things like rend our clothes due to extreme sadness, wear the sackcloth of outward humility under them so people think we are really serious about the trouble they and their people are in? It is easy to say, “OK, God, here I am, making myself uncomfortable, showing all of the signs I am supposed to show to show You that I am upset about what is happening around me, and You are doing nothing. What more do You want? Am I supposed to wait around for You to do what You are supposed to do because of what I have done? I tore my clothes...I wore sackcloth. My people are suffering and You are a lousy god for not hearing us...so I give up. I won't listen to you any more, and your prophets are going to be rejected. I will do to them what I want to do to you. So, here you go, God, DROP DEAD!”

So here is the deal. If you are not truly doing your repentance from the heart, don't even try it. You can't manipulate God. He knows what is going on in your head. He knows your heart. Nothing you do in the flesh that is done solely as symbolism is going to sway the arm of God on your behalf. And the longer you wait for something that is not going to happen, the more frustrated we get to the point of instead of blaming ourselves or others who have sinned, or grieving the consequences of sin in the world, the more likely it is that we will blame God and walk away. The women eating their kids were not repentant, they were “fair.” We ate mine, now we should eat hers! No crying out to God in sorrow that they would even be tempted to think such thoughts, let alone do such things. There was no repentance on the part of the leader, so there was no repentance on the part of the people. God knew it and sent the prophets to call them to repentance. So they did the outward stuff. They tore clothes. They sat and waited for God to do something. And they gave up on God and got mad at those who spoke for Him. But they did not rend their hearts, which is what it takes for God to act on our behalf. He does want to save, and He did the very next day, not due to their repentance, but to take out the king who cursed Him and attempted to murder His voice that sought to correct him. There are certainly times when we sin and then we wonder where God went and why He doesn't hear. We read the Bible, give our tithe, and offer to take a meal or something. But we don't repent. We don't ask God to show us our faults, to confess our known sin with a broken heart, and seek to bring ourselves, our families, and our communities to the conclusion that God may have something against us that we are refusing to deal with. Are we approving sin in our culture because it is politically correct and we are afraid someone will call us a prude? Are we justifying our sins and telling God that His opinions don't matter? Do we look at the people who speak the Word of God into our lives and blame them for making us feel bad when we are already down and out instead of seeing how that Word explains our condition and taking a new path which is the narrow way of the Lord? Do we believe God to be too narrow and unacceptting and turn from Him instead of our sin?

No sackcloth, self-imposed misery...no torn clothes, self-sacrifice, can replace repentance.

And that can save our wardrobe from becoming tattered rags trying to get God's attention when the problem might be God trying to get our attention instead.

Clothed in Power

Luke 24:49

And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

Right there in the church pew today I was led to the verse after, but the word clothed jumps off the page at me these days.

Clothed in power! What power? Where do we go to buy these clothes?

The power is the Holy Spirit, sent by God to us. Not for us to own, but for Him to cover us. They were told, as are we, to stay put and do nothing for God until we have this power...or we are either dressed in dirty clothes that need to be changed, or naked and in need of these clothes to be able to go out into the world and speak on God's behalf, His Word spoken in His Power. Not ours. His clothing of us, not our fashion sense.

Jesus promised that when He left that He would not leave us naked and alone. The disciples saw and heard so much from Jesus. They had traveled with Him for 3 years, though much of the time they didn't know what He was really saying and doing...and then watched Him died and thought all was lost...and then He came back to them and trained them for a few more weeks. Then He says He is off to heaven until the End of Days, when He will come again...

They had to believe that they were being left to a task far greater than they could even think about, having seen what happened to Jesus. They were going to be left on their own...11 or 12 guys and a few hundred part-timers, given the job of telling the whole world, starting in the city and going out to the ends of the earth, to preach the gospel to every creature. And that He would be with them always...but He was leaving...again, a lot of what He said, they did not understand. But they could easily understand a few words...DO NOT LEAVE THE CITY UNTIL...you are clothed.

The Kingeth Jameth Bible says “endued”, and the New Living says “fills you with”, but the New American Standard doesn't say anything but CLOTHED. To endue is to provide or endow, to put on or assume...which shows an option of receiving, but the other definition is to clothe. If God clothes us, we have it on whether we choose it or not. Someone can provide you clothes, but you don't have to put them on...you can assume the role of having been given something or being something, but that doesn't mean anyone is going to see us dressed in it. The soldier may have the uniform, but he doesn't wear it all of the time...but we are clothed with POWER from ON HIGH. This is put on and gives us something on our exterior that was not original equipment in us. The Spirit would come to live in us, and that is good. But the power would show on the exterior if He was on the interior...and both came from God, not from ourselves.

Power clothing in our day and age is a business suit or a tux or litergical garments. They are clothes that reflect a position of influence, prestige, and wealth. We have those as children of God, but the power here is the power of God in our lives to live for Him. Jesus had this power to make God known, and it took that power being place on the disciples and believers for them to understand and use the Word of God in the lives of those around them. Clothed with the power from on High is to be clothed from God with God through God. We are now identified as His, with the garment of Him. And that power is something we can not find at any store or have made by any tailor. It is God's design and His fashioning. We have no idea what it looks like to even knock it off. We have to wait and be clothed by Him, and then we can leave the place where we are. No shopping from store to store, no selection of fashion or fabric. We wait and He brings is to us and covers us with it. They had no idea what to expect, but it had to be good. Unlike Adam and Eve covering with leaves, the disciples let God give them the appropriate clothing that would allow us to serve and show God to the world.

That is truly being Clothed.

Veiled

Song of Solomon 6:7

Your temples (or cheeks) are like a slice of pomegranate behind your veil.

When I think of veils I think of mid-eastern belly dancers, brides, or the curtain in the temple. I don't think this veil was any of these. It was probably a semi-sheer scarf wrapped about the face. It would protect from the sun (she had commented about being dark from the sun earlier in her life), keep her warm and guarded at night (she had spent the night looking for where he had gone), and for modesty (the guards at night couldn't tell who she was). The veils could be quite beautiful and she did use one at her wedding. It indicated that she was still a bit of a mystery to him, but the veil would be removed and he would see her for who she really was once they were married. I don't know how much you could see through it. She would have to be able to see out, but Jacob couldn't tell Leah from Rachel at his wedding, so seeing in must have posed a challenge to some extent. Or Jacob was the reason they say Love is Blind...he was too excited to pay enough attention to what was happening...he just wanted to get through the wedding and love on his wife...but the veil covered what was really going on underneath. There was fear of getting caught, a bit of shame in not being loved and married before her little sister, and wondering what he would do once he removed the veil and it was too late to go back.

But Solomon was close enough to this wife to see through her veil. She was blushing...soft reddish brown cheeks were defined behind that covering. She was smiling...defining those cheeks like pomegranate slices. She couldn't hide her delight in being in his presence. She was delighting in him behind that piece of cloth. There were eyes piercing through him so intently that he asked her to look away...he could hardly control himself! He loved those white teeth that shone while the smile rounded her cheeks. Veil or no veil, she could not hide her love for him.

Are we Leah or the bride of Solomon...are we hiding ourselves, or being modest? Are we fearful, or hopeful? Are we cowering in fear hiding who we really are, or smiling at the mere thought of being close to our true love, Christ? Are we ready to be loved by deceiving, or by lifting the veil in private moments and letting our true selves be known? Are we fearing rejection or anticipating intimacy?

She was close enough to her love that he could see right through us, and God can, too, whether or not we are trying to hide ourselves. He sees us as His beautiful bride looking adoringly at him, or hanging our heads in shame over things we are trying to hide. We might as well get used to the fact that He sees it all, veiled or not. We might as well enjoy His presence, for we are His bride, after all. Marriage used to be for life, and was not as oppressive as our culture would like us to believe. God wanted men and women to delight in the differences they had, not resent them or fear them. And He wants that in our relationship with Him. He is wholy other, so different and yet so like us. To be known, and yet not totally knowable.

So let's smile under the veil...what's not to Love about Him? Let's draw so close that there is no doubt that He can see that smile shining through.

Cloth on a mission

Missionaries...they are a courageous bunch. Jesus sent out His own little band of missionaries on a short term mission. He told them to go out with nothing except...”a mere staff-no bread, no bag (knapsack or beggar's bag), no money in their belt- but to wear sandals; and He added,”Do not put on two tunics (or inner garments).”” They were not supposed to even take a change of underwear! Now that is living on faith!

So what is Jesus up to? Mind you that this was for a short period of time, and it was a test of the places that they went more so than the people He was sending. They were going to people that knew Jesus's reputation. They knew what His disciples stood for. It would be akin to sending Billy Graham's Crusade staff to a big city and seeing who would be willing to put them up in a hotel or homes, feed and clothes them, and make provision for them while they prepared for the main event and until it was over. Would they identify with the ministry or reject it? Would they show hospitality and participate in the ministry by taking on these responsibilities so the staff could invest their time and energy on the mission to that town. It says that even Herod was aware of what Jesus was doing and the effect that it was having on the country. So this was not a mission trip to the far reaches, but a sign of who accepted and rejected the working of Christ in their midst. It did make the missionaries test their faith and it says they were so busy that they didn't even have time to eat! And when they reported back to Jesus, they were amazed at the things that God had enabled them to do...and that is how it will be if we are living for God. He will amaze us. Then He called them away for a time of rest and restoration.

So the things that they were to leave behind...if you are on a mission that HE has ordained.

No beggars bag or knapsack...a piece of cloth used like a suitcase to carry spare clothes or to lay out on the ground to be used for begging if you were lame or blind...

• Take no extra clothes...let God provide them. It doesn't say how long the trip was, but once we know how long, that is what we pack for. We feel like when we are out of clean clothes that we are close to done with the trip. Or we worry ahead of time about what we will need...they didn't need to plan or worry about unimportant things like how much to pack...and He didn't limit their mission by what they would pack. He would continue to provide until they were done on His terms.
• Don't beg for what you need...God has promised to meet your need. The people of the church are to respond to God's prompting to give you what you need, and not rely on random strangers.

No money in their belt...I don't know what a money belt looked like, but the money was in coin, so I imagine cloth tied around their tunics with the coins knotted in place so they would not fall out or be easily stolen. Or notches in leather. Most times we think of money bags tied with rope, and that may have been worn around their waist as well.

• Don't take your money nor put faith in it.
• Again, do not limit your mission according to the amount of money you have
• Do not hold your money tightly or too close to your heart.
• Do not let it have a grip on you.
• Look to God to provide for your needs...not your wants.
• Christians are called to meet the needs of those who are spreading the gospel.
• Money does not meet needs, people do.
• Money doesn't hold you together.
• When we worry about money, we will guard it instead of use it.

Wear sandals...

-Keep on the move, especially when the gospel goes unheeded.

-These are working shoes...go to work.

-Dirty feet are beautiful feet if they spread the gospel.

-Those who wash your feet will show themselves servants of God.

-You can let God know when people are rejecting Him and walk away uncontaminated.

Do not take 2 tunics - (some say undergarments, some say coats)

-Don't try to protect yourself...let God do it

-Even your most intimate needs will be met

-One of anything is enough

-Change is not important...clean up and go on

-Whatever God clothes you in...it will be enough for the gospel to be heard...it doesn't have to be taylored for various settings

The other thing He told them was to accept from those who would give...stay in one home and accept their hospitality. Don't be afraid to bless people with the opportunity to serve God by serving you. You don't need to hop around seeking what God wants to provide you.

Are you on a mission sent by Jesus? Paul was, and was content when he had a little or a lot, for he knew God would provide, sometimes in cloth.

Sweat Suits

Luke 22:41-46

This passage does not directly mention cloth, but it can be infered quite easily. Jesus is in Gethsemane praying...He is stressed, his disciples have never seen him like this and they are sorrowful that He is so upset. Jesus was so done-in that the angels had to come and strengthen Him. Even with all of this...he sweat so profusely that it was like blood drops pouring out of open wounds, pouring out on the ground, and by default, being absorbed by His clothing.

We see the movies of Jesus...He always appears clean, happy, calm, cool, and collected. I think that since the scriptures say that He was tested and tempted in every way like we are, yet was without sin, that He was not this halo-shadowed figure that we are often shown. He scolded His disciples, called Pharasees snakes, and overturned tables like a mad-man. He wept at the grave of Lazarus. This man showed emotion and physically bore burdens of stress like we do. He sweated. He got dirty...otherwise people wouldn't have washed Him! He agonized over things...like the idea of having to bear the sins of every man and woman in the world, even if it was for 3 hours...those would be hell on earth hours.

This has been a hard time in the lives of so many people I know. My friend lost her husband. A lot of good has come out of it, but there is still the nagging question...did he, she, her family, and the rest of us have to suffer such loss to get these results? Couldn't there be a different way? An easier way?

Another friend found out she will be a grandma...and her son is not married. The pain is real and though she loves the Lord with all of her heart, wants her son to repent, wants God to be glorified, she is struggling...asking if it had to be this way...

My dear 103 year old friend is slowing deteriorating after all these years of really good health. She is finally ready to go to her eternal home, but it is not happening and she is showing signs of the battle to trust God and to fight staying here. Her loving daughter looks on in sorrow. Does it have to be this way? Can't God take her without her having to suffer?

And when we have these thoughts we want to run and hide from God, thinking that it is a sin to ask that question, “Does it have to be this way...isn't there another way to do this and still get the same results...the salvation of friends and family, repentance of a wayward son without life-long consequences involving innocent children, and getting to heaven without having to wear out first?

The clothes of Jesus tells us that He understands this better than we can ever know. He begged His Father to find another way to save the souls of man. He was talking directly to God in prayer when He was sweating those drops, which poured off of Him. It says He was in agony...we think of the agony of the crucifixion, but we do not really see the agony BEFORE the event. He was torn, broken, wrenched, and pleading. Begging. Mark 14 says He asked that God remove this cup of suffering from Him. He said...Daddy, please, You are able to do anything. Don't let me have to suffer this...but not what I want, but what You will to happen in my life.” (My paraphrase) He understood that the cup of suffering had to be drunk by Him for God's plan to work, and though He really resisted the idea, He accepted it, but not without great inner turmoil.The fight was internal and intense. He wrestled with God and no wrestler comes out of the battle without sweat...without pain...without knowing that they were in a battle. There was no condemnation for the wrestling match...quite the contrary...God sent angels to comfort. He sent an angel to Jacob for him to fight with...while Jacob insisted that he be blessed.He walked with a limp for the rest of his life due to the struggle, but he was blessed, not rebuked, for struggling with God in faith. That is the issue...faith. We know as Christ did that God knows what He is doing, and He knows that our spirits are willing to see God's will done, but our flesh fights that it has to be so hard. And so often someone has to die or suffer greatly for that will to come to pass. Does it mean our God is mean? No. But we are fighting a fight that is so much greater than we imagine. It is a fight against sin and its consequences, and against our own self-interest. And God understands that for those who trust Him, it will still be hard. We will still plead and beg that if it doesn't have to be this way, that God would find another way. If Jesus could ask it knowing the outcome, we can, too, knowing only that God is good and His mercies endure forever. I LOVE Hebrews 4: 15 more every day...Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses, not because He is so much better, has everything in perspective, and can be calm about it, but because HE HAS BEEN THERE and come through the other side.

Whatever you are wrestling with God over, just make sure that when you end the struggle, you humbly conclude as Jesus did, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

Then go change your clothes...for they will be sweaty.

His Banner over me is LOVE

Song of Solomon 6:4

You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem. As awesome as an army with banners.

Well, I suppose if you are a guy, this is a compliment. You are as pretty as cities dazzling in the sunlight. You look like an army with banners. If we refer back to 2:4, there was the banner over her that was Love. The banner identified the tribes of Israel when they gathered to follow Moses. It probably did a similar thing for the armies, which often were also identified with those tribal families. You belonged to Judah or Asher or Gad, and you were proud of it. God blessed whole tribes and their armies, and often they fought each other when they betrayed each other or their God. But there were banners.

They had to have been a spectacle to behold. Thousands of soldiers with their glimmering swords and shields, with colorful flags flapping in the wind. I don't know if their flags were the colors of the stones that represented them on the priestly ephod or that will on the gates that bear their names in heaven, but this is one area where God puts color on display.

The flag is a beautiful thing to any countryman. When they fly the flags at the Olympics or other world-wide sporting events, each nation chokes up with pride. That flag represents them and defines who they are as a people. Most flags have color and shape that also defines their country. Red, white, and blue make Americans, Englishmen, and French glow with pride, while red and white define some, and add green and the Italians will glow. There is something about the national colors that instill in us a pride, a longing, an emotion that we cannot quite understand. And that must have been part of what Solomon was expressing here...he sees his darling one and he is overwhelmed with love, pride, awe, and the overwhelming power of her smiling eyes. He stands in awe of what the mere sight of her can do to him to arouse such love and emotion.

The only word she can put to the banner that flies over her is His Love. It is greater than country or sentiment. It is more powerful than an army. It is more inviting than a city full of riches and art and spices and opportunities for adventure and shopping. The Love of Christ for us is our banner, and He delights in seeing us more than all of the majesty the world has to offer.

The next banner you see, a flag, the I-O-W-A carriers at a football or basketball game, a streamer floating from a car dealership...all that attract our attention to the things of this world that we take pride in, remember the banner that He has placed over you, drawing attention to nothing more than how much He loves you, which is more than all the teams, all the countries, and all of the pageantry of the world. Use it as a reminder...from now on, every one of them says from Jesus to You...LOVE! I LOVE YOU! I mark you as my own. I draw attention to you, I claim you, and I am overwhelmed at the thought of you being mine! LOVE!

Seeing the Need

After writing More Best Robes, I was haunted with where the scripture was that said Satan was the accuser of the brethren...well, I didn't have a concordance handy and couldn't find it on my own...then it came to me...google it! Revelation 12:10, right there in plain sight. I should have thought of that. So if you are on your computer or need to find a verse, google it with all of the words you can think of in the order you can and you will be amazed that they are found pretty easily.

Not satisfied that that was the only verse, I looked at some other references, which took me to 1 Corinthians 4 about not judging people before the Lord comes, because that is when all of men's hearts will be disclosed and God will PRAISE them. Not condemn them, but praise them. Whew. See how Satan condemns us...I had always looked at those verses as -see, He's gonna show everyone just how rotten you really were...but after those fires burn away the wood, hay, and stubble, He praises and rewards, not condemns. What a merciful Father, looking for the good and rewarding those who live for His glory.

And just down the page was a scripture that had caught my eye...I am now marking my Bible up when I find any passage about clothing, etc...anyway, 1 Corinthians 4:11-13. So that is where we go today. “To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless, and we toil, working with our own hands;when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world (earth), the dregs of all things, even until now.

Ok, this seems to be a far cry from the verses before it. He tells us that God is going to reward him greatly at the return of Christ, and then says that nothing is going right in the here and now. He is poor and poorly clothed. He has to work hard to make enough to live on, and others look down on him, tear apart his reputation, and think he is the worst thing in the world. The scum of the earth. Now the Apostle Paul is the last person I would have thought would be described that way. When we use that term, we think of child molesters or people who scam old folks out of their life savings. But this was how he was accused by people IN THE CHURCH! After all he had done for them, bringing them the gospel, establishing the church, teaching and preaching and requiring nothing from their hands, they didn't even clothe the man nor feed him. He calls them his children and he their father. He gave up everything for them and received nothing in return. He warns those in scripture throughout that they should not preach for gain, but in the church one should never be left to preach and have to eek out a living. He says he has learned to be content in all circumstances in Phil 4: 12-14, but here he can say that they did try to help him. Finally in 1 Timothy 5: 17-18, he instructs them to take good care of their elders who rule well, their spiritual leaders that preach and teach and work hard at it, leaving them no time to carry on a regular job. They should receive double honor. They should not be working hard for their spiritual benefit without receiving more than a mouthful of the grain they are treading.

My husband joking says that most small churches have the philosophy, the Lord will keep them humble and we will keep them poor. These ministers of the gospel are expected to fulfill their ministry duties on top of a full time job to feed their families. More than one has given up the calling because they wear themselves out doing everything for everybody and they are not appreciated for it.

Is your pastor's family in a position of need? Thankfully, we appreciate our pastor and elders, and offerings are often taken to meet their needs if something arises, or they given testimony of how someone gave to them not knowing that a need had arisen! This is how it should be. When God shows us needs in the lives of spiritual workers, we need not think that God is testing them, but that He is giving opportunity for us to come along side and meet those needs. Let us be like Philippi, and not like Cornith in our provision for those who are our spiritual fathers, and for others who lead around the world. Their clothing may be one indicator of the level of their need, but not the only one. Let us clothe, encourage, and see that they are not exhausting themselves to bring the gospel to a needy world.

Clothed in New Bodies

Tonight at church we studied heaven. We have had 2 people from our congregation go there these past few months, and several relatives of other people. It has been a time of reflection on what we have lost and what they have gained. We are happy for them rejoicing together in the presence of the Lord, but we miss them and hurt for those who were closest to them. And thus the study on heaven.
One of the passages we gleaned from was 2 Corinthians 5: 1-9, but the first few verses make those clothing references. "For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life."
Our bodies are a tent, a temporary shelter for our souls. It will be torn down someday, as will all flesh, But God will then build us our eternal home...a body that will not wear out or be destroyed for all eternity. He will not weave it or hammer and nail it into being...He speaks things into existence, remember? And it will be good...so good that we will not want for anything else. We long for that clothing, not desiring to be left naked, cold, and ashamed, but again, covered in the righteousness of Christ, which is eternal glory.We don't want to be mortal, but we are for a time...in body, that is, but not forever. Our new house (body) will be solid structure built on the foundation of Christ. We, according to 1 Peter 2:4-6, are living stones built onto the foundation of Christ Jesus and are being built into that spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. He is also a living stone, the chief cornerstone that  God chose to be built upon...and we are stones...our buildings are His ultimate building when put altogether. Revelation 3 says some will be pillars in the temple of My God...
So still we do not want to be naked...there is still clothing in heaven...robes, buildings, sashes, God's train filling them temple...the angels cover parts of their bodies with wings, like their faces or feet...but we are dressed with the clothing designed for heaven. We want to be covered with the eternal life to be given us, even though we have no idea what glory it will be. We LONG for it...our hearts yearn for it. To be before God, in His presence properly covered with the garments of His choosing. No wardrobe worries. I hate going places and standing there at the closet wondering if people will be casual or semi-casual, or all gowned up when I go to any sort of affair. In Iowa, not many people really dress up, and it is not unusual to go to a wedding where people are decked out sitting next to guys in blue jeans and their "best" western shirt. There is even a parable where the guy gets thrown out of the wedding feast for not dressing appropriately. How do we dress for heaven? Good grief! Wouldn't that be the ultimate wardrobe choice? What do you wear before the God of Gods and King of Kings? It would make anything we have seem totally inadequate for the occasion. And it is. That is why no hand makes that clothing. God knows what we should wear for Him glory for all eternity. That is such a relief. We don't have to dress to impress...He impressed us with the seal of His Spirit and that is the only impression that matters. It is not about us impressing Him. It's about Him clothing us to make us acceptable to worship Him for all eternity.
We long to see that, like a groom longs to see his bride come down the aisle...what will she look like? He has seen her before, but this day is different. The dress will be different. It is a symbol of her earthly joining to him, and he knows she will never be more beautiful than that day when she glows with her love for him. We want to see the dress...the body that we will be given on that great wedding day when we become His forever in the perfect place...we don't want to groan that we have nothing to wear on that day...but He has gone dress shopping for us and knows just which style, cut, ornamentation, and size will make us the most beautiful in His eyes. There is something in a bride's heart that leaps when she finds "the one", that dress that was perfect for her wedding....the tears that well up when she realizes that she will wed in it and it is perfect. We will all have that experience, man or woman, married or single, on the day when we are forever clothed as the bride of Christ in our new bodies...and we will rejoice.
Come, Lord Jesus. Your bride awaits!

Another Best Robe Story

I have seldom delved into the old testament minor prophets, but God took me there this morning...to Zechariah! Chapter 3:1-7 takes us into the throneroom of God...one of the few places where God and Satan talk face to face. And they are talking about Joshua the high priest. As you read this, think of the prodigal son...he stands before God, Satan, and the angel of God in filthy clothes. This is not how high priests are supposed to be dressed. They wear linen ephods and wash all the time. But this guy is not clean before the Lord. Israel has sinned and he along with them. But Zechariah is the prophet of restoration of God's rule in Israel...He is the compassionate father restoring the corrupted son. We are told that Satan is standing there to accuse Joshua. That is his role in the world, to accuse sinners before a Holy God. He fell and stands in rebellion and has been cursed to hell for all eternity some day, and he plans on taking as many people with him as he can. See, God, they sinned, too! Condemn them as You condemned me! But God is merciful. He rebukes Satan in His own Name! Then he describes Joshua's condition...he was partially burnt...a burning stick rescued from the fire. He was filthy, covered with the ashes and soot of the smoldering burn. The angel was told to take the filthy garments off of him. From him. And then He told Joshua, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal (rich, new, clean) robes. Then I said,”Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.” God then charged him to fulfill his duties as a priest so God could bless him in many ways.

Satan sounds like the older brother in the prodigal son story, accusing his younger brother of not being worthy to wear the robe he had been given. God restored this sorry excuse for a priest to full function even though he had been charred by the sinfulness of himself and his nation. But we will all face that fire someday...1 Corinthians 3 says our works will be measured with the fires...to see what they were made of and if they had any eternal merit. And that some people will be saved, but as those who are plucked from the fire, says Jude 23, saying that we should hate even the garment polluted by the flesh. It is amazing that scripture is so consistent. God hated the dirty garments, and they must be plucked from the fire if they are true believers who are going astray. Those who were not saved He roundly pronounced judgment on and condemned. Those who failed in life, but truly trusted God, were salvaged, but there is loss- he himself will be saved, but as through fire. 1Cor. 3:15 This is to be expected of God. He lets us do what we will do, but when we get burned, he pulls us out before we are destroyed. He is merciful as a Father in doing that. 2 Tim 2:26, which tells us that Satan holds us captive to do his will, kind of like a kidnapped prostitute or drug dealer. The threat that they are told...the consequences of trying to escape, seem overwhelming and keep them captive though many could flee at some point. They have to come to their senses and escape the snare, like those who plead with them to some to safety. Nothing has changed in the thousands of years since these verses were written. The battle to escape the captivity (and the flames) continues, and God grants them the repentance that leads to life. They are plucked from the flames and they are cleaned up.

The thing that could not be salvaged was the clothing...the cloth would have been ruined by flame, smoke, and soot. The cloth would have to be replaced. If you have ever had a fire, trying to get smoke damage out of textiles is quiet a chore, even with modern technology. Again, God does not pass out second-hand clothes. He reclothes us in the righteousness of Christ, and that is no small, inexpensive thing. The blood of Christ is priceless, so the garments of righteousness are the same. We are restored to being what God had called us to be, and clothed. Reclothed to serve God, and to come back to the place of blessing. That is mercy...that is amazing grace.

Proper Clothing

Does God take you to passages of scripture so often that you swear that there is nothing more to be gleaned from them? I must admit that I cringe every time someone goes to Psalm 1. It has been a recurring theme in Bible studies, Sunday school, visiting ministers who don't realize that we seem to have beaten the passage to death over the past 10 years.

And then there is Genesis 1-3. Adam and Eve. Creation. Yah, yah, yah. Here we go again, 66 books and we are back here AGAIN. If you think this blogger is some spiritual giant, think again. She is a sinner saved by grace and still rebellious as all get out. What more could God say that He hasn't already said through this passage of scripture? More than I want to hear...

You see, this is where the very first mention of sewing takes place. Adam and Eve “sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings (aprons, coverings, around their hips). Gen. 3:7 Interesting. God had created everything but clothes. And when Adam and Eve figured out that they “needed” them to cover their shame, they chose their own wardrobes. No asking God why they weren't provided to them before now. No asking what they should be wearing. No asking why they suddenly felt they needed clothing. They sacrificed the lives of a few leaves and then hid.

I still do not get why they, the perfect specimen of human bodily form, would suddenly think that their private areas were shameful. God had created them and put them in the garden that way. He would not have created them sinful and let them run around naked if that had been evil. They ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...and suddenly they thought something God had done was evil...leaving them uncovered. Hmmmm...

I have been studying the book True Woman 101: Divine Design, and there is a point that they keep making that sort of makes me cringe...God chose how to design man and woman and He gave them no choice in the matter. Adam named Eve. Just like any other the other animals, he gave her her name. Not that she was just another animal...she was his completion...made to make him complete, not the other way around.

And God did not let them decide how to clothe themselves, either. He didn't think the whole fig leaf wardrobe was adequate and “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Gen. 3:21 Well. How picky is God? Very. Does He care what we wear? Apparently so. At least He cared about what they wore. Was it because He was going to send them out into the cold, cruel world that they needed skins instead of leaves that would shrivel and dry up? Was it because the leaves weren't covering enough? After all, we women cover more than our bottoms like men do to be considered modest. No, it was because, as my friend Jan says, all scripture points to Christ. Something had to die to cover their sins and ours. In their case, animals had to die to cover their sin, and in all cases, Christ had to die to cover our sins. He had to come in the flesh, be slain, and cover us in His righteousness for God to be able to fellowship with us and us with Him. Because of this covering we can come to Him fully clothed and accepted in His presence. We can “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

I always looked at that passage as drawing near when times were hard and things were not going my way. But when do I need mercy and grace? When did Adam and Eve need mercy and grace? It is when we sin. This passage tells us that Jesus is our high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses. Our biggest weakness is that we sin. Everything we do, however we want to look at it, has an element of selfishness and sinfulness to it. We serve God, but often hoping that He will serve us as payback. We forgive others (or not) because we know that God says He can't work with us until we do...so we grudgingly try to obey. I cannot think of a single thing I do that has a totally pure, God-centered, unselfish-to-some-extent motivation. We sin. We are sinful. And we need covered because of that just to appear at the throne for mercy and grace.

The passages I love in scripture tell us over and over that every man will eventually bow before the throne of God in worship of Christ. Some will be covered, but more will not be. We will all come, but not all will find mercy and grace in that day. God chose the covering, and those who reject it will not come boldly, but want to hide from God. Those who still hide from God are still sewing their own fig leaves, hoping to make designer aprons that will cover their shame...and they are still hiding from the God who is calling out their names and offering them the proper clothing that He requires.

Are you covered, my soul? Are you coming dressed in the righteousness of Christ to receive the mercy and grace you need today and every day? And are you the voice of God in this world, calling others to come to the Great Tailor who has the garment that will make them presentable in His sight? May it ever be so!

Long Robes of Leisure

When I began this adventure into Bible study, I wondered how many references to cloth there were in scriptures and the volume has amazed me...

Some are positive and some are negative. Today's verses are the later. Luke 20:46. Love those verses that start with the words BEWARE OF...

“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets...”

Is Christ condemning long robes? Every picture we see depicting him, he is wearing a long robe. In Rev 1, he is wearing a long robe. Song of Solomon describes him having alabaster, or white legs, which meant they were covered by a robe. Obviously, the robe was not the issue...it was what it represented and the priviledges that it awarded them. It was putting on a show of religion when in the next verse it told of them not acting in anything but self-interest and self-importance.

When we see pictures of Peter fishing, he was wrapped only in his loin cloth, and had to put his outer robe on to go to shore. One cannot fish with cumbersome clothing on. Roman soldiers had their little skirts and leg guards, but one doesn't fight in long robes. Jesus removed his robe and washed the disciple's feet...so servants did not wear long robes to serve. Maybe we have gotten the wrong image of the clothing of ancient days. The togas of Rome were often short, the skirts of Egypt were above the knees. The belts were often used to raise the skirts up for men to run. To wear a long robe meant that none of these things were happening. It was a leisurely life...not a physically active one. It was the equivalent of the three-piece suit. You wouldn't ask the man dressed in that to help push the car off the side of the road or change your tire...you'd pick the guy in jeans and a t-shirt. These guys knew that if they dressed the role of important people, they would be treated that way. They weren't scribes and priests to love the Lord God and serve Him only, they were in it for the prestige.

I come from a Bible-based, non-denominational background where if you would meet my minister on the street, you wouldn't know he was one. Many other denominations have the clergy “uniform”, the black robe or the white collar, or nun's habits, etc. You can tell by looking at their clothing that they are in the ministry. And that is power. Not that I care that they wear them, and I don't. But people treat them differently. They will be treated better or worse for having that identity. People will honor them and give them deference...giving them better seats, letting them go ahead in line, or just not swearing or telling coarse jokes in their presence. Or they will mock and scorn them, challenge and hate them. They represent authority and truth and some people hate that idea. And the type of “work” you can do in them is restricted by them. The priests were told what to wear from the beginning of temple worship, so that is fine...but they were not worn away from temple service. They were Holy unto the Lord.

But these fellows were in it for all of the wrong reasons. Jesus accused them of piling on the load and never helping anyone bear it...they were dressed to not work, but to be lords and masters and bosses. They wanted to be treated like they were better, more spiritual, and more worthy than the average Joe. I often find the choices Jesus made in disciples amusing...sweaty fishermen, hard-working average guys, for the most part. Matthew (Levi) was the exception to that rule, just to prove that the wealthy could be redeemed, but not in as great of numbers. I don't think Jesus wore long robes as a carpenter. He sweated it out with his dad making furniture, carts and wagons and wheels and buckets...whatever the wood could do best. He was not afraid of work, and didn't run around in long robes to attract the attention and respect of the people around him. And yet they came. Isaiah tells us there was nothing attractive about him...nothing that would make people look and go – WOW! Look at that guy! He must be the Son of God because He looks like a religious guy, a royal son, or a glowing angel. He was so normal that the scribes hated him getting all of that attention. They were being shown up and their long robes did not impress any longer. They questioned his authority because he was not one of them...he hadn't stayed in their seminary and graduated with the degree and donned the robe of spiritual knowledge and privilege. He was not to be honored for his spiritual insight and healing love.

But they had earned it...earned the robes of privilege and ease and respectability and honor. But they were sadly mistaken.

Are we willing to gird up our robes and get to work for the kingdom, or do we expect honor here on earth for following Christ? Is our priority to serve or to be served, to show honor or to be honored? Does our position in Christ come in the form of robes of self-importance or of service? Sometimes we expect the world to treat us better because we name the name of Christ and are offended when they act like Jesus said they would...angry and resentful. We try to use our religion to make our lives better instead of using it to serve. We make the same mistake the scribes did. May the world be drawn to us like they were drawn to Him...by what came out of His heart, and not how He clothed himself...always expecting to do the work of the Father and not being honored in this life, but in the life to come.

Worn Out

Hebrews 1:10-12
In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.

I had to replace my Bible cover today...well I guess I didn't have to, but the zipper was and to keep things from falling out or falling open, the zipper pull had to be put halfway up the side. That kept the two sides together, whether the zipper teeth held together or not. I have loved that piece of fabric...it was a floral and had GOD BLESS YOU on the sides. It was easy for me to find my Bible in a crowd. There were pockets on both the front and back, collecting sermon notes, nursery and music schedules, and prayer request sheets.  It was fabric that reflected my personality at the time. Classic, calm, and practical. It lasted me a long time...a LONG time. But it wore out. Like a garment. Much of my wardrobe is in the same condition. It is wearing out. The sleeves on sweaters loose their elasticity and hang limp. Holes and worn spots show signs of abrasion after years of faithful service. There are clothes you love that just loose their function, their newness, and their threads...leading them to not even be fit to donate to Goodwill. The wear out.
Then things just get dirty. We wear clothes, sweat and slough off skin cells, and the clothes become soiled, on the outside, or from the inside out. Dirt and dust, skin and sweat...it's not the fault of the clothes, but they need to be removed to be cleaned. We take them off and roll them up to be put through a cleaning. They are changed for another set of clothing. We don't shower in the clothes...we remove them and trade them for others.
The scriptures say that some day God will roll back the clouds, the skies, and the whole heavens. They will perish. They will have served their purpose, and they will be cast aside. Everything except God Himself will be exchanged for something new. A new heaven where Satan never walked or talked and no evil ever existed. Our bodies are exchanged for new ones. A new earth will be built that will never have temptation because the tempter will be burning in a lake of fire.
We see the earth aging...we see parts of it wearing out daily. Erosion happens, decay and mold take over places, and everything we build eventually wears away through time and elements. Few if any buildings from a thousand years ago stand today. We see vestiges of ruins, and that is what we call them, because that is what they are. They are in pieces. We can see a bit of what they used to be in all of their grandeur, but they are no longer glorious.
All things are wearing out except God. He never wears out... He never needs replaced or renewed. He watches generations come and go and doesn't blink an eye. We get to the end of any day and we need rest and renewal, cleaning and changing. Not our God. He is...I AM. This day, this night, and the next and the next.
The image of the clothing is something we can see and experience. Cloth is one thing that really does not survive long. Preservation of material is very difficult. Air and light, abrasion and use all take it's toll to the point that textiles lasting several generations are either brittle, rotted, or so delicate that we cannot use them for their intended purpose. The rug will fall apart under our feet, the quilt will tear at the seams or even in the main fabric, and the gloves or socks will not stand the stretching and pulling to get them on. They may be put into a shadow box or museum, but they are not what they were...they become useless for anything but looking at. They may be displayed for short periods of time, but then are stored away so that even light will not touch and further destroy them. Go to the Herbert Hoover Museum in West Branch, Iowa, and you may or may not get to see the embroidered flour sacks made by those grateful to the US for keeping them alive with food sent in them during the war. They were strong bags in their day, but now to keep them as a momento of history, they are rotated in and out of display. They are changed, cleaned again, and stored in humidity and light controlled environments in acid-free paper and boxes. There is a quilt preservation area at the University of Nebraska that fulfills a similar mission...preserving quilts for future generations to enjoy because the ones we use wear out. My mother-in-law made us quilts, and the ones the kids and we as adults used are showing their age. The embroidery on my son's baby quilt is almost totally gone, loved off over the years. The fabric from some of the quilts has holes worn in them because of the dyes used, the handling and weight, and the other factors that make cloth destroy itself. Bugs, dust, and other factors do it in...and the only way to preserve it is not to use it, store it in the dark, and only bring it out to admire and store away again. The earth doesn't work that way...the water cycle, the air cycle, the digging and burning and building and blowing all take their toll.
And heaven...apparently even it is wearing away by the battles fought in the heavenlies as described in the book of Daniel. There are forces of evil working outside of our realm that we can't begin to understand, but they, too, will be conquered and defeated, and the place they occupied replaced like a dirty robe after a long battle.
But God is not touched by even this. He never changes...and is the only Thing in the universe that doesn't need to...and for our sakes is the stabilizing force in life. When the world around us appears to be falling apart, IT IS. BUT I AM is still there, unchanged, unchanging, and perfect in all HE IS. Amazing...and reassuring. We will all be changed, but not forsaken. It will be the best change...a perfect fit! And that will never wear out again.

The Best Robes

Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet...for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again. He was lost and has been found. Luke 15:22, 24

The robe...the best robe...goes to.........the runaway, poor excuse for a son. The one who squandered all of his inheritance...who didn't want daddy to tell him what to do, how to do it, or where. He didn't want to work, but party. He spent it all frivolously and ended up with NOTHING. Not a penny for food, let alone a nice wardrobe. He was dirty, filthy, and scrawny. He lost all of his respectability, and self-respect. And coming home was a matter of self-preservation. He rehearses his confession speech hoping for a job, a way of making a new life as a slave. That, according to daddy, was not going to happen.

I can see re-dressing the poor boy. No one wants a kid smelling like a pig barn hanging around the family. A change of clothes, sure, but the best robe? He hadn't taken care of anything he had been given as his inheritance, so why give him the best of anything? Didn't he have to prove he was going to turn over a new leaf...to be a different person than the one who had left in pride and self-indulgence? The sandals, too, would match the quality of the robe. The ring gave him authority as a member of the family again. So restoration was full. No consequences...just the best.

So those of us with a sense of fairness think this is just the most unjust thing ever. Why trust the boy at all, let alone treat him like royalty? The best, remember, for the worst... We sympathize with the brother who feels neglected for sticking around like a good kid.

This takes me to the end of the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia”. The kids have participated in the war, done their part, as did multitudes of others, but in the end, those 4 children were given crowns by Aslan, including Edmond who had caused so much of the problems in the first place. I can not sit and look at the scene without envisioning the day when we receive our crowns and rewards in heaven, when the whole world knows that we are the true children of God. There will be no missing jewels, no tarnish, no second-best in the kingdom of heaven. If we are the children of God, we ARE the Children of GOD. We will be washed clean of all that we have done wrong, cleaned up and dressed up in white robes. Don't ask me if we will have shoes...everyone had to take them off when they were in God's presence...but we will have the best robes, whether we are clean-cut Baptists or reformed prostitutes. We will all have all of the advantages of sonship. This is a reality described in this parable. We are all equal in the eyes of God. We are the thief on the cross, Mary at the foot of the cross, and Edmond of the Spare Room...and we will all be in heaven, dressed in the best. Lord knows we don't deserve it, but we get it anyway. We squandered all of our inheritance and wasted our lives and made fools of ourselves first. We have no where else to turn, so we turn in desperation to God. We come ashamed, embarassed, ill-clad and starving, He sees us coming, and runs to make sure we don't loose our nerve and try to find another way to make a living without Him. His Son's Blood does the cleaning, and the robes are given out. Not servant robes, but robes of righteousness put on by His servants. And they are pleased to do His bidding. Scriptures say that angels long to look into this strange interest that God has with man, that He would buy them back, to why Christ would do all this suffering and redeem the empty bottles of our lives. He isn't buying full bottles of cool drink, but buying back the empty trash bottles that are good for recycling. He washes us and fills us with something better than what we contained before, ourselves, and that is part of Him, His Holy Spirit. And why wouldn't He give that Spirit in us the best He has to offer. We are the empty vessels refilled! And re-clothed.

Wow...that is true for me and for you if you are a child of God. Come home and He will come running, and all that He has is yours. Wow...if that doesn't fill your eyes with tears of gratitude, you need a heart check. Maybe a movie about a Lion could help your perspective.

Grave Clothes

This has been a difficult week. We lost a friend...young father of 3 kids. Sudden. Very sudden.

Grave clothes...a tough subject. My grandma was buried in a nightgown, but most people are buried in their favorite clothes or a suit and tie. They are dressed in the clothes that people think best reflect them, or in something formal. I supposed there is nothing that is wrong with that. I remember my first funeral as a child, and wondered why Uncle Matt was wearing a watch. I was pretty young...

I remember reading somewhere that when John and Peter reached the tomb after Christ arose that his head cloth was folded neatly. Even in death and re-life, Jesus did things decently and in order! Or maybe the angels wanted things to be neat when the ladies and disciples showed up. I don't know. But there was nothing haphazard about the resurrection, and there will be nothing overlooked when we are resurrected, either.

When Lazarus was raised, I picture him hopping to the entrance...Jesus had to tell them to take the clothes off of his face and let him go! What a picture. Jesus told him to COME FORTH, and he came, wrapped up. Jesus let them undo the binding of the dead. They had wrapped him and He let them unwrap him to show them his ultimate power. They expected a deteriorated, smelly body, and they unwrapped a perfect specimen of a healthy man. They must have looked at those grave clothes and seen the signs of death, and yet their eyes showed them that the results of death were not evidence of the true life given in Christ. The grave clothes of Jesus, hurriedly buried, had to have had blood all over it. It was all there...evidence of His death, but death did not have the ultimate say. There was proof of the torture, proof of the death with the herbs and such, but there was also proof that death does not have the last say.

It didn't for them, and it won't for us. Thank God. Unwrapped we will be someday, clothed in the righteousness of Christ and not in any grave clothes picked by ourselves or our loved ones. I can't wait to see my new wardrobe someday!

Uncovered

I have been doing a verse by verse study of Song of Solomon this year. It has always been a book I have seemed to avoid, but the end of the book 1000 Gifts takes us there, as did the True Woman 2012 conference, so I took the plunge and dove in.

By chapter 5, they are married and the dailyness of life sets in. He wants to come to bed late and she responds,”I have taken off my dress, How can I put it on again?” That translates into,”Why are you bothering me at this hour?” I don't doubt that it may have taken a while to put enough on to run to the door, but really? My clothes are off, and it's too much bother to run to the door or have a servant open it for you (she is the king's wife, after all). She's worried about dressing and having no slippers when he is out in the cold and damp trying to come in to see her, get warm and dry, and to cuddle and see her after a long day's rule. How true to life this is, gals. I know once I am tucked in, I don't want to uncover and move either. She refuses for a long time to budge, but she then is moved with love and does what she needs to do, only to find that he got the message that he was not as important as her own comfort, and he went elsewhere to find the sheltering love he had sought with sweet words and gentle actions. He did not burst in, demand her to arise, or open the latch through the hole without her permission. He was a perfect gentleman.

So now she feels the fool. Where did he go? She grabs her shawl or veil and runs around the streets of the city to make it up to him. Now both of them are cold and exposed, and she is about to be further exposed...the watchmen grab her shawl or veil from her, supposing she is a prostitute running about in the night! It is dark and they don't recognize her. No self-respecting woman is out alone in the dark, covering herself from sight. She is exposed...her covering stripped from her, and she is beaten out of disrepect for her supposed intentions.

So she has gone from uncovering herself with clothes, covering with blankets, refusing to take off the blankets and clothe herself, to clothing herself, covering to shelter from the night, to being stripped of that covering all in a matter of a few minutes. And why? Because she did not respond in love to the person that mattered the most to her. Not only did she not respond in love, she responded with selfishness and total disregard for his comfort, safety, and well-being. By staying covered in her own warmth, she has sent forth a chain-reaction of chilling the relationship, body, and soul. Instead of getting up and letting herself be a little chilled momentarily and letting their joint-warmth fill their souls and bodies, she has reaped the consequences of her selfishness. It is now evident to others and him that she has responded wrongly and that she has some making up to do. She is suffering the same fate as he...drenched with the dew, chilled in the night, and longing for the fellowship of a warming relationship with her husband. The whole of the night world can see it. Once they figure out that she is not what she first appeared to be. The whole of the town will be called in to find him. The sorted story of her rejection and laziness will be heard by every girl in town. The personal problem of selfish sin doesn't stay personal. The covering may or may not be restored, but the sin of selfishness is never hidden from the world. It is one of the most evident of the sins. And the effects spread whether we like it or not.

So are we willing to uncover for our loved ones? It is a temporary uncovering, just a few seconds of service, that they ask for. We try to make up for our unwillingness, but that pursuit only makes us desperate-looking, misunderstood by others, and breaks the fellowship we could have enjoyed. That nice warm bed wouldn't have been cold and empty that night had her heart not been that way first.

Arise, women, and then enjoy the warmth of the covering that you give to others, for it will warm you, too.