Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do,whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:12-17
THIS is truly how we are to clothe ourselves. What a great and fresh reminder of what is truly important during this Clothes Fast time. May I be as focused on my behavior, my character as I am on the 10 items I have chosen to wear this week. I want to "read" to you some of the things I read out of this book this morning:
(again, referencing Instruments in the Hands of the Redeemer by Paul David Tripp and Timothy Lane.)
"In these verses Paul uses a very important metaphor, the metaphor of clothing. Clothing is important because it covers us. Clothing identifies us. Clothing describes our function. Paul is reminding us that what we wear to moments of personal ministry is as important as what we say. ("Wear" here does not refer to physical clothes but the clothing of a Christlike character.) Essentially, Paul is saying, "If you are going to be involved in what I am doing in the lives of others, come dressed for the job."
"What is that clothing? These are not just isolated items of character. The qualities listed here add up to the character of Christ. Paul is saying, 'You are called to put on Christ as you minister to others.' God changes people not simply because we have said the hard words of truth to them but because those strong words were said with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love. When we do this, we actually become the physical evidence of the very things we are presenting to others. When this happens, we are not only incarnating truth; we are incarnating Christ, who is with us and our only hope."
WOW.
And, something that came to mind for me...perhaps shallow thoughts, but nonetheless I thought I'd share: what I wear matters to me and how I feel, how I present myself to the world. If I stay in my PJs all day or sweats and don't do my hair and makeup, I personally feel slumpy, dumpy and just don't have my head in the game. When I get up, get dressed, do something with myself, I am ready to tackle the day in a more organized, prepared way.
Similarly, spending time regularly in God's Word, listening to His voice and talking with Him in prayer dresses us for success God's way. The more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him and His character. A good reminder for me that it is worth it to get up, get dressed in His character and start my day ready to face the world.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do,whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:12-17
THIS is truly how we are to clothe ourselves. What a great and fresh reminder of what is truly important during this Clothes Fast time. May I be as focused on my behavior, my character as I am on the 10 items I have chosen to wear this week. I want to "read" to you some of the things I read out of this book this morning:
(again, referencing Instruments in the Hands of the Redeemer by Paul David Tripp and Timothy Lane.)
"In these verses Paul uses a very important metaphor, the metaphor of clothing. Clothing is important because it covers us. Clothing identifies us. Clothing describes our function. Paul is reminding us that what we wear to moments of personal ministry is as important as what we say. ("Wear" here does not refer to physical clothes but the clothing of a Christlike character.) Essentially, Paul is saying, "If you are going to be involved in what I am doing in the lives of others, come dressed for the job."
"What is that clothing? These are not just isolated items of character. The qualities listed here add up to the character of Christ. Paul is saying, 'You are called to put on Christ as you minister to others.' God changes people not simply because we have said the hard words of truth to them but because those strong words were said with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love. When we do this, we actually become the physical evidence of the very things we are presenting to others. When this happens, we are not only incarnating truth; we are incarnating Christ, who is with us and our only hope."
WOW.
And, something that came to mind for me...perhaps shallow thoughts, but nonetheless I thought I'd share: what I wear matters to me and how I feel, how I present myself to the world. If I stay in my PJs all day or sweats and don't do my hair and makeup, I personally feel slumpy, dumpy and just don't have my head in the game. When I get up, get dressed, do something with myself, I am ready to tackle the day in a more organized, prepared way.
Similarly, spending time regularly in God's Word, listening to His voice and talking with Him in prayer dresses us for success God's way. The more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him and His character. A good reminder for me that it is worth it to get up, get dressed in His character and start my day ready to face the world.
Colossians 3:12-17
THIS is truly how we are to clothe ourselves. What a great and fresh reminder of what is truly important during this Clothes Fast time. May I be as focused on my behavior, my character as I am on the 10 items I have chosen to wear this week. I want to "read" to you some of the things I read out of this book this morning:
(again, referencing Instruments in the Hands of the Redeemer by Paul David Tripp and Timothy Lane.)
"In these verses Paul uses a very important metaphor, the metaphor of clothing. Clothing is important because it covers us. Clothing identifies us. Clothing describes our function. Paul is reminding us that what we wear to moments of personal ministry is as important as what we say. ("Wear" here does not refer to physical clothes but the clothing of a Christlike character.) Essentially, Paul is saying, "If you are going to be involved in what I am doing in the lives of others, come dressed for the job."
"What is that clothing? These are not just isolated items of character. The qualities listed here add up to the character of Christ. Paul is saying, 'You are called to put on Christ as you minister to others.' God changes people not simply because we have said the hard words of truth to them but because those strong words were said with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love. When we do this, we actually become the physical evidence of the very things we are presenting to others. When this happens, we are not only incarnating truth; we are incarnating Christ, who is with us and our only hope."
WOW.
And, something that came to mind for me...perhaps shallow thoughts, but nonetheless I thought I'd share: what I wear matters to me and how I feel, how I present myself to the world. If I stay in my PJs all day or sweats and don't do my hair and makeup, I personally feel slumpy, dumpy and just don't have my head in the game. When I get up, get dressed, do something with myself, I am ready to tackle the day in a more organized, prepared way.
Similarly, spending time regularly in God's Word, listening to His voice and talking with Him in prayer dresses us for success God's way. The more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him and His character. A good reminder for me that it is worth it to get up, get dressed in His character and start my day ready to face the world.
yes. those last two paragraphs are so so so true!
ReplyDeleteI think it is so neat that God brought us both to this scripture during our clothing fast, and by totally different avenues. He's so amazaing and His word is true for all His children, and this is just a reminder of how the same Spirit teaches us. BTW, I'm continuing to pray for your adoption journey, I can't wait to see how He answers, so please keep me updated. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks SO much for praying!!! I will keep you updated....no other phone calls so far. I'm enjoying your blog. :-)
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