Sin- a big deal

 Sins that once bothered you- won’t affect you anymore. It doesn’t just happen in a day, it happens over a long period of time. I mean, look what happens throughout the world. What used to be appalling starts to become the norm- Abortions, couples living together out of wedlock, teen pregnancy, immodesty, bad morals.

The first example that came to mind was bikinis. I know, they are popular today, even for Christians. But your choices are seen by the non-believing world. 

In the 1890’s, ladies swimwear had weights sewn into the bottoms to prevent the suit from riding up and their legs showing. Then as time moves on, in 1907, Australian swimmer and performer Annette Kellerman(to the left) was arrested on a Boston beach for wearing a formfitting one piece. Then in the 1940’s, midriffs were exposed and swimsuits became made of less and less material.  In 1946, Louis Reard, came up with the “smaller than the world’s smallest swimsuit” and named in the Bikini because he predicted that it would be as explosive as the U.S. military’s nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. At first, none of the Parisian models dared to wear the design. So a nude dancer was the first woman to ever wear and model a bikini. A nude dancer was the only woman daring enough to begin the new trend, you know why? Cause she was a nude dancer. From there- women in bikinis were shown on the covers of Playboy and Sports Illustrated. Today, no one has a problem with everyone wearing them. Of course it is legalistic to say that no woman who respects herself should wear such a swimsuit. Of course time has changed our view of what is acceptable in woman’s dress, but have we evaluated what we think is right and why our culture has decided that these things are right?

Don’t base your judgment on someone else’s judgment. You have to decide what is right and wrong for you according to God’s Word. My point is- have we really sat down and thought through why something is and is not okay? Or have we desensitized ourselves to something that is blatantly wrong?

God’s people have done it all through scripture, so this isn’t anything surprising. But in Leviticus, when God gave the law to His people, the theme behind it was “Be holy, just as I am holy”. We’ve seem to have strayed a long distance from that statement. If I reminded myself of that statement every day and multiple times a day, it would change me. How haunting is that statement? Be holy, just as God is holy. The man who is without fault and that is how we are supposed to be. We mess up, because we are not perfect, but we are called to live to the highest standard!

 In 2 Kings 22-23, the book of the law was rediscovered in the time of King Josiah. God’s people LOST His Word’s to them. Why? Because over time God’s people slowly became less and less interested in His words.

I pray that God gives me a sensitivity to sin, that I would be evaluating my choices and actions and making sure that His opinion of me is the only one that would affect me. Just as David said in Psalm 51:

1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.

The whole chapter is David pouring out his heart and feeling the guilt of his sin. And he felt that way, because he was sensitive to sin. When we care more about God’s commandments and pleasing him with our lives, then we will understand what He thinks is acceptable and worthy of bringing Him praise.

How empty would your life be without God? What purpose is there other than pleasing Him?

I was going to write a different article about pleasing God, but it fits in pretty well with what I just talked about.

Newsflash people: Praying "the prayer" isn’t a get out of hell free card. When you decide to follow God and love Him, your life changes. You become sensitive to sin. How can you love someone and NOT show them? If you don’t show them, what are the chances that they really matter to you? Very slim. That sounds like a pretty miserable marriage going on.

Love is about seeing what someone else needs and putting your own selfish desires aside. So, if that is the case, why have we made it seem like you can just “pray the prayer of salvation” and then you will magically end up in heaven after living a life that has nothing to do with pleasing a real God. If you live your life like God doesn’t exist, then I’d say that’s exactly what you believe. I’m thinking a lot of people are going to end up in Hell when they’ve gone through their whole life thinking they were in the safe-zone of Christianity.

You’re saved by God’s grace. Why live in sin any longer? That is what God freed you from! Romans 6:1-4 says it perfectly:

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

How you live your life reflects your true beliefs. So -how are you living?

Redefining Modesty

 I think it is safe to say that our society’s dress code has definitely changed over the years.

And so has our personal view of what is appropriate and what is not as time changes the norm. Some lean toward the conservative side and others jump in and join the culture.

As a young Christian woman, I have been taught about dressing modestly my entire life, from my mother, older women in our church, and pastor’s wives. They always stress the importance of making sure that you don’t cause your any men in your life to stumble and to keep your body covered. They are sure to tell you what is and isn’t appropriate. That’s awesome. I am so glad that they instilled that in me as I grew up. But one thing they didn’t tell me. Modesty starts in the heart and flows out of it.

It’s easy to turn Christianity into a check-list, a rule book of ‘do this’ and ‘don’t do that’. But we can get so caught up in the actions of that, and it then becomes monotonous.

I love hearing about other results of doing the right thing. Such as, don’t have sex because:

•  You might get an STD. 
• You might become pregnant. 
• You will carry around baggage. 
• You won’t find as much fulfillment in your marriage. 

But what about this: DON’T HAVE SEX CAUSE GOD TOLD YOU NOT TO AND YOUR LOVE FOR HIM SHOULD CAUSE YOU NOT TO UNTIL YOU’RE MARRIED. Hmmm, never thought of that one, eh?

Of course, not every article that is written is like that. Most of the articles I've read are though, and it is easy to start thinking like that. I should dress modestly because I want to save myself for my husband and not to cause my Christian brothers to be tempted to sin. BUT, most of all, I should dress modestly because that is what I have been told to do by the One who loves me most, by God.

So let’s talk about modesty and what it is. Modesty and humbleness are synonyms. Modesty, according to Dictionary.com, is said to be- the quality of not being too proud or confident about yourself or your abilities. It’s the same in how you dress, deflecting attention from yourself.

A friend of mine was complaining to me about how someone she knows dresses. She seems to write her off for it, because she thinks she knows her heart. I’m sad that most people can’t be friends with someone because they have “big sin” in their lives. As humans, we all have sin in our lives, but if it is concealed and hidden well enough, it doesn't affect anyone or anything… that’s all a big, fat LIE! Your sin affects those around you whether it is obvious or hidden, so it’s not fair to write someone off because you think that you know their heart.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is, it is wrong to dress immodestly. But to see someone who has not grown up being told how you should and shouldn't dress and then writing them off because you think “they are seeking attention” is mean and unfair.

I could (and have before) dressed in, what some would say is, perfectly modest clothing and still be immodest. If I was wearing something that I had planned to wear and thought to myself “I’m going to wear this so that others compliment me and think I have great style”, it’s immodest. When you think of it in this way, it’s easier to see the flaws of ‘is this appropriate or not’. And it can bring to light the immodesty of some men too.

Please. Please, please, please be careful about what you wear as a woman who is trying to guard herself and protect her brothers in Christ. But it all begins in your heart. And most importantly, be modest during worship.

Which is what Paul writes about in 1 Timothy 1:9&10- When they come to pray, likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.

Your goal on Sundays, and anytime you are going to corporate worship, should be not to distract anyone by your appearance and you should not be looking to stick out. But, you should want others to see your good works which is announcing the reverence of the Holy One through your actions.

Modesty is important in a world that lives free and wild. Like everything else in our Christian walk, it sets us apart. So maybe the next time you put an article of clothing and you stand in the mirror, maybe you should ask yourself- “is this going to draw or deflect attention to myself today?”

Ladies, please stop.

I found a gold mine. Seriously, I was on a plane when I came across it. So I dug in. It was so refreshing. No, I didn’t strike rich, at least not literally. Figuratively though, I’m more wealthy than a millionaire. I love 1^st Peter.  And 2^nd Peter, but as I studied 1^st Peter on the plane home from visiting Washington state, I just kept finding more things that got my mind thinking…. Thinking how sad it is that not many people like what the Bible has to say. I agree, the Bible is controversial, it goes against pretty much everything the culture tell us is right. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s a fountain of wisdom that just keeps giving. I have to do things that I don’t want to, because I understand that I don't understand what is always good for me, but I know the only God who does. 

So, 1^st Peter- I was getting lost in chapter 2 and 3. (I’m going to try to explain why I loved it so much, emphasis on the try part.) The end of chapter 1 talks about how great it is that we were saved by the grace of God. Jump into chapter 2, since that is such a great thing, this is what we should do- put away your former ways of living and change your worldview to a Biblical and Godly one. Crave the Word of God, knowing that He and His ways were rejected by men. We were made by Him and for Him, to proclaim Him.

Christians, if truly following the Word, are going to stick out like a sore thumb….. I’m now sitting here thinking about that saying. Seriously, that sounds as lame as the actual word ‘lame’. Maybe I should have said, ‘sticks out like broken bone’. Anddddd now I’m sorry for that mental picture.

People are watching Christians, waiting for them to mess up and when they do, to kick them while they’re down. As the world watches, we are told to submit. It’s a pretty common word and to us it seems to come across as the worst thing in the world. It’s not easy, although, truthfully nothing beneficial is. “What?! You want me to place myself under someone else’s authority? That can’t be right.” Yep, you read that right. Submit to the king and governors. So that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. We are supposed to listen to the rules of those who are over you in power. Shocker. No, not really, but it is easier said than done. Of course, if it goes against the Word of God, the Word of God will always trump, but for those other rules and laws that seem unimportant to you, follow them anyway. Why? Because the God of the universe commanded you to and I’m 1,000 percent sure that He knows what He is doing. It gets more difficult, later on in the passage it says honor the king. Ouch, that’s worse. I have to submit to and honor a man that I don’t even like as a president to our country? Yikes. It’s life. In comes verse 18, “servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.” Need I say more?

I’ve been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for me. He left me an example to follow, while being beaten and mocked and laughed at, He entrusted Himself to the Lord. You know why? He went through that that we might die to ourselves and live to righteousness.

These commands seem like a foreign language to the watching world. But the next part seems insulting to the women of this day and age.

3:1- IN THE SAME WAY, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives.

I don’t think it could have been spoken any plainer. Jesus was submissive to God and let the outcome up to Him, wives are supposed to do the same thing! Women, your submission is supposed to be a testimony to others! In this verse it is referencing a marriage when both husband and wife, at one time, were unbelievers and the woman was converted. The passage goes on to say to wives that their husbands should see that their actions are not merely external, which is sometimes the most obvious way, but also that their heart has changed.

3:7- You husbands IN THE SAME WAY, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

I thought that statement would bother me, “as with someone weaker”. How have we looked at that as a bad thing?! Why do we feel that, as women, we need to be as great as or greater than men? We have different roles, it’s incomparable. I read a Matt Walsh post a while back and thought it explained things perfectly how I had imagined it, although I might have been less harsh about it. This was from that post:

You know, maybe it would be wise to raise our daughters to have an appreciation for manhood. Maybe we should stop filling her head with this “you can do everything a man can do” garbage. Maybe she isn’t benefitted by this lie. Maybe it will only make her bitter and arrogant. Maybe it will cause her to see men as worthless, with the only characteristics particular to them being negative stereotypes about leaving the toilet seat up and drinking too much beer.

Maybe we should tell her that it is men who fight the wars, and men who are best equipped for the task. This is not because of “discrimination” or “glass ceilings,” it’s because men are men, and women are not. Women need men. GASP. What a scandalous notion. But I say it again: women need men.

In some ways, being “treated as someone weaker” is a beautiful picture in my mind. It means that men shouldn’t treat us like they do their manly-men-friends. Men are supposed to treat us like we’re special and valuable. But instead, we can’t embrace it because we are too busy getting caught up by the fact that we aren’t on the same level as men. We aren't in charge. Guess what, dear? You’re gonna have to get over it and accept that that’s not your job. For me, I don’t want to be a man, that’s too much responsibility. I want to be able to learn and practice submission and properly portray it as an example of Christ’s submission to His Father.

I’m starting. I’m starting to get over it. I grew up somehow convincing myself that it wasn’t okay to be treated as someone weaker. I needed to be as good at everything as my brothers. I had to play with GI Joe’s cause Barbie’s were too girly. Never cry! Crying is a sign of weakness, I wasn’t weak… or so I tried to convince myself. I wanted their respect, but I went about it in the wrong way. Then, as I grew and matured, I started to embrace it all, all the differences. I’m still the same girl who doesn’t like to be prissy or one who chooses to be proper all the time, but I was a bit extreme. Now, I’m learning to embrace it. It’s okay that I’m not as strong as men and that I can’t be the leader of a household.

In fact, I love that we are different. Women are confusing and I apologize to any man that tries to understand us, cause I don’t always understand. Culture has brainwashed women into thinking that they aren’t good enough if they aren’t on the same level as men and in leadership positions. That’s the curse. It’s not a new thing, in fact, it came into the world when sin did.

Submitting to someone is an unnatural thing, especially since it has been engrained in us to be in a competition with the men in our lives. As women, it’s part of our testimony, whether to an unbelieving husband or a believing husband. No, I’m not married, so I can’t really give advice to people who are married, but I can shine a light on Biblical truth. It does look different for me at this stage in my life, I don’t have a husband to submit to, but that doesn’t mean I get out of practicing submission. I still have people over me- my parent, my supervisors and bosses, the church, etc. I’m not saying it will be easy, but I’m saying it will be worth it.