30-Day TRUE WOMAN Make-Over Day 29

WOW... so much catching up to do... but praise the Lord for an eventful week...

Today's topic is - THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS
Today's verse is Proverbs 31:29 - "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."

"The goal of being pure of heart is not to make us look good. That's self-righteousness. The goal is to make God look good." ~Nancy Leigh DeMoss in today's devotional.

How 'beautiful' are you? I am not talking physically, I am talking spiritually. Holiness is something that is developed on the inside. Is holiness what you long for and need? Remember that holiness is what God wants from us.

Are you a 'good girl gone bad' or a 'bad girl gone good' ? This world is full of wild women, who are living by their fleshy desires. We however, as our friend the 'virtuous woman', need to live by our spiritual desires. Our spirit desires should link up with the desires that God has for us as well.

Holiness by definition is:
Wait, let me guess... 'the state or quality of being holy'... LOL!
–noun

1.the quality or state of being holy; sanctity.
2.(initial capital letter) a title of the pope, formerly used also of other high ecclesiastics (usually prec. by His or Your).

Ha! Ha! The quality or state of being holy. What then is 'holy'?
–adjective

1.specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated: holy ground.
2.dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion: a holy man.
3.saintly; godly; pious; devout: a holy life.
4.having a spiritually pure quality: a holy love.
5.entitled to worship or veneration as or as if sacred: a holy relic.
6.religious: holy rites.
7.inspiring fear, awe, or grave distress: The director, when angry, is a holy terror.

Are YOU specially recognized or declared sacred? Are YOU dedicated or devoted to service of God, the church or religion? Are YOU saintly, godly, & devout? Are YOU living a life that is spiritually pure? WOW... this is alot to undertake as a 'Christian'. Some people only think God is holy, and that we as humans can never be holy. But as we have said, GOD DESIRES THAT WE BE HOLY, just as He is holy. "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:15-16 NIV

When we live a life of holiness, we become an heir... and when we become an heir we gain nobility. This leads us to our verse, "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." We can DO all kinds of noble and good things in this world, but LIVING a LIFE of HOLINESS will allow you to surpass all others. God is pleased with us when we choose to do His will instead of our own. Religion and Christianity is not about DOING... it's about BEING! Christianity itself is a religion, however being a Christian doesn't make you religious. A Christian walk is based on relationship rather than religion. We walk out a relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit/Ghost. All three of these are n



HOLINESS by SONIC FLOOD...

30-Day TRUE WOMAN Make-Over Day 11

WEHOO... DAY #11 -- The 'Make-Over' is going well... I am excited to learn more about the M.E. that God made me to be (while reading The Me I Want To Be, by John Ortberg) and also to become a 'True Woman of God' through this '30-Day TRUE WOMAN Make-Over'!


Today's topic - "WOMEN IN THE CHURCH"
Today's verse is Proverbs 31:11 -- "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value."


Women in the church... now that's a topic of discussion that is frequented in most circles of conversation. How a woman should act, dress, be, & what she should say... Most people still think under the 'old covenant' where women in the church were separated, and told to be quiet. However, today, women are taking a stand in the church, and be counted. Not because of 'feminism', but because they are being allowed to take their rightful place in the Kingdom, as man's helpmate. Men are still directed to be the spiritual head of the household, and are admonished by the Lord to do and be what He desires of them. Yet women also are admonished by the Lord to do and become that which He has created, designed and called us to be.


In the devotional by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, she quotes 1 Timothy 2:9-10 which says, "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."




Modesty:
–adjective


1.having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one's merits, importance, etc.; free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions.
2.free from ostentation or showy extravagance: a modest house.
3.having or showing regard for the decencies of behavior, speech, dress, etc.; decent: a modest neckline on a dress.
4.limited or moderate in amount, extent, etc.: a modest increase in salary.


Decency:
–noun,plural-cies.




1.the state or quality of being decent.


2.conformity to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc.


3.decencies,


a.the recognized standards of decent or proper behavior; proprieties: The least you can expect from them is some respect for the decencies.


b.the requirements or amenities for decent or comfortable living: to be able to afford the decencies.


Propriety
–noun
1.conformity to established standards of good or proper behavior or manners.


2.appropriateness to the purpose or circumstances; suitability.


3.rightness or justness.


4.the proprieties, the conventional standards of proper behavior; manners: to observe the proprieties.


5.Obsolete. a property.


6.Obsolete. a peculiarity or characteristic of something.


Use propriety in a Sentence










the way these women dress is a reflection of their heart and their character. If they have right attitudes, that will produce a right appearance.


_--- TO BE CONTINUED ---_

30-Day TRUE WOMAN Make-Over Day 3

So, here we are at DAY 3! Today was a fun-filled, yet an interesting day to prove what I am learning, and and to live it out. What a fun time it is to walk the walk and talk the talk... Thank You Lord for Your blessing, favour, joy and more!!


Today's theme is "MODELING HUMILITY"


Today's verse is found in Proverbs 31:3 - "do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings."

Humility definition: "the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc."

"a prominent Christian grace (Rom. 12:3; 15:17, 18; 1 Cor. 3:5-7; 2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 4:11-13). It is a state of mind well pleasing to God (1 Pet. 3:4); it preserves the soul in tranquillity (Ps. 69:32, 33), and makes us patient under trials (Job 1:22). Christ has set us an example of humility (Phil. 2:6-8). We should be led thereto by a remembrance of our sins (Lam. 3:39), and by the thought that it is the way to honour (Prov. 16:18), and that the greatest promises are made to the humble (Ps. 147:6; Isa. 57:15; 66:2; 1 Pet. 5:5). It is a 'great paradox in Christianity that it makes humility the avenue to glory'."

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

HUMILITY - the quality or condition of being humble. "Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way!" The ol' song gets you thinking, some people actually believe this way. Perfection is what God desires, but we can only be made perfect through Him. We are called to be virtuous women or men, strength in spirit & character, yet we do not showcase our strength, because our strength is only made possible through the Father. Nothing that we do well is actually done by us alone. The Father has His hand in all that we say and do. We are not to seek after the praise of men, we are to seek after the praise of our Father who is in Heaven. All things that we do we should do as working for the Lord. ("Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24)

Now, going back to the verse, this is the beginning of the lesson that Lemuel's mother taught him. Very first off she wanted him to know that he should not waste his strength on loose women, or things that actually wanted to destroy Kings. This is a warning, and his mother wanted him to heed to this warning. She knew that other women would come along, especially to flirt with a King, and she wanted him to know that they were not worthy of anything that he possessed. His strength physically and spiritually could be harmed just by following and being suckered in by feminine wiles (Think back to Samson and Delilah).

Lemuel's mother wanted her son to grow into a strong & wise King, and that is why she taught him all these things as a young prince. As a King, you have the position over people, and the strength to attain all that you desire, yet he is asked to remain humble, and not seek after the things of this world basically. God is telling us as women, to not be like these 'loose women' of the world. We are not to be following after people because of their strength or their position. Worldliness may seem fun at first, but after a while, it eventually will bring you to ruin. These sentences lead into Lemuel's lesson on how to find a virtuous wife, one that the Lord is pleased with. One that loves the Lord, and seeks to do His Will, and desires Him above all else. We should not be ladies seeking after Kings, or earthly men, we should desire our HEAVENLY KING above all else. For it is when we are soooo lost in Him, that our future spouse has to seek Him above all else to find us! <3

Humility is also the ability to admit when you've blown it. You cannot be 'all that and a bag of chips', especially when you have publicly made a mistake or had a bad day. We need to admit when we have short-comings, and we need to take steps towards fixing that to achieve our goal of living life in the path that the Father wants us to take. God loves when we admit our failures to Him, because in our weaknesses, He makes us strong. You cannot fix that which isn't broken. A good ol' line from "Beauty and the Beast", "If it's BAROQUE, don't fix it!" LOL! =)

It's a process, a journey, NO ONE 'has arrived'... only Jesus!

*DEVOTIONAL to be CONTINUED...*

Be blessed and be a BLESSING!