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4 Ways to Dress in God’s Best

May 22, 2018 By Jennifer H. Yates Leave a Comment

22 May
4 Ways to Dress in God's Best

I’m not really a girly-girl. Never have been. I hate to shop, and it takes me forever to pick out something to wear when I have to be dressed up. If I could live the rest of my life in jeans, t-shirts, and flip flops, I would.

But sometimes I have to dress up for special occasions. When I do, I put on and take off, put on and take off, put on and take off. It’s exhausting.

4 Ways to Dress in God’s Best

God calls us to put on and take off some things as well. And if we do it right, it won’t be tiresome; it’ll be awesome.

“The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Romans 13:12-14, NIV

Paul is saying that now that the death and resurrection of Jesus have taken place, we are closer to the time of His return, and we need to act like it. We need to take off sinful behavior and put on Jesus by changing the way we think.

The thing about finding something to wear is that we get to choose. When we’re trying on outfits before we go somewhere, we have to make a choice about what to wear–pants or skirt, prints or solids, sandals or pumps.

The closer it gets to our time to leave, the more panicked we become, especially if we can’t find just the right accessory or outfit that we feel good in.

Put on Christ

We should be just as concerned about the way we live our lives the closer we get to judgment day. The Bible says we will give an account before God for every careless word we’ve spoken (Matthew 12:36). We need to choose to put on Christ every day.

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

Galatians 3:26-27

This Scripture tells me that sometimes we are already wearing the right thing, we just don’t know it. We need to take ownership of what God has deposited in us (the Holy Spirit) and walk in it.

But that old sinful nature keeps creeping in with the wrong attitudes. We feel like we have to dress to impress or try to be something that we’re not. We try to camouflage those areas we feel aren’t good enough instead of just letting God make it into something new.

“You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 4:22-24

Take Off Sin

We must believe by faith that God does the work of changing us from the inside out and then make the choice to lay aside those old patterns of thinking and bad habits. Then we can walk in the newness of life He died to give us.

Paul goes on to tell us in this passage that we need to put off falsehood and “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (4:25, 31). He tells us to instead be “kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other” (32).

You see, even though we have been changed by God, those old sinful patterns and ways of the world are sometimes hard to let go of. We also have an enemy who will constantly bombard our minds with thoughts that lead us astray. That’s why we have to be reminded to take off and put on.

Arm Yourselves

One of the most important pieces of our wardrobe is the armor of God. Paul tells us that some of it we already have, we just need to stand firm in it:

“Stand firm them, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”

Ephesians 6:14-15

We already have the truth: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). We already have righteousness. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). And we can stand on the gospel of peace because it is by this gospel that we are saved (1 Corinthians 15:2). We just need to “stand firm” in these truths.

But then we have some accessories to add before we walk out the door:

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Ephesians 6:16-17

These pieces require us to take them up. In other words, we have to choose each day to walk in faith, to hope in our salvation, and to speak the Word of God over our lives.

Just as we choose each day what we will wear around the house, to work, to church, or to run errands, we must choose how we will act towards our family, our coworkers, our church family, and in our community.

“Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14

We will never be more beautiful than when we are clothed in God’s character. We will be attractive to others. We’ll have confidence in our witness. And we will be at peace with ourselves and with God.

Go In God’s Beauty

So, the next time you’re like me standing in front of the mirror, running out of time to get somewhere, and still not happy with what you have to wear, just remember this Word:

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful”.

1 Peter 3:3-5

I love this passage, because even the Bible acknowledges that as women, we want to feel beautiful. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We can fix our hair and wear jewelry and nice clothes. Peter is saying just don’t get all wrapped up in that, because what makes you beautiful is what’s on the inside shining through.

So choose to get dressed each day in the character of Christ. You already have Him in you. Just choose to live it and walk on out the door.

Need encouragement and support as you walk out your faith? Join our private Facebook group, Growing Your Faith.

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Filed Under: Spiritual Growth Tagged With: Bible, Bible study, Christian, Christian devotional, devotional, faith, God's Word, Jennifer H Yates, love, one thing, praise, quiet time, religion vs. relationship, the Word, worship

« What Mothers Teach Us about the Gospel
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About Jennifer H Yates

About Jennifer H Yates

Hey, friends! I'm Jen--wife, mama, and empty-nester. I love to write, read, and drink coffee, especially with friends.

I've found that many women struggle to find time and focus to grow their relationship with God through studying His Word. I encourage and challenge women with practical strategies and helpful resources for quality study in as little as fifteen minutes a day.

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We all have a place in the Kingdom. ⁠
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We all have a place in the Kingdom. ⁠
⁠
Click link in bio to read post.⁠
⁠
#prayerwarrior #bedeeplyrooted #prayerispowerful #praywithoutceasing #christianpost #christianblogger #womenintheword #livewithintention #shareyourheart #faithwriter #womenencouragingwomen #wordoflife #seekgoddaily #wordbeforeworld #jesusandcoffee #daughteroftheking #fiercelyhis #womenlivingwell #girlfriendsintheworld #faithblogger #givemejesus #graceupongrace #faithoverfear #seekhimfirst #growingyourfaith #womenoftheworld #intheword #lampandlight #shereadstruth #butfirstjesus

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel--the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:1-4, NIV).
All of Scripture, all of history, all of time has been about Jesus Christ, Son of God. 
Do you know Him? You can. His life, death, and resurrection are historical fact. All so that you could know Him and have eternal life.
Jesus loves you! ❤

"The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee fo
"The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment" (Luke 23:55-56).
Can you imagine the horror these women had witnessed? Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others had followed Jesus and helped support his ministry (Luke 8:3).
Now all their hopes had been crushed as they stood at a distance and witnessed Jesus' agonizing death on the cross (Luke 23:49). His own mother had to stand by helplessly as her son cried out, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46).
As we women often do, they looked for a way to still serve Him, even in His death, by preparing His body for burial. Sometimes, it's the little things.
When our hearts are breaking and we think we can't take another breath, sometimes we need something in our hands--a burial spice, a casserole, a text that says I'm here.
We can't make the hurt go away, but we can channel it into something useful, something hopeful, something comforting.
As they rested on the Sabbath, I'm sure they anticipated the opportunity to see Him one more time, to minister to Him once more with the spices and perfumes they had prepared.
Hearts crushed, hands open.
Grieved but grateful. Resting but ready.
Because if there was anything they knew for sure, it's that Jesus was no ordinary man. And when hearts are turned toward Him, anything can happen.

God never called us to “blind” faith. We may b
God never called us to “blind” faith. We may believe without seeing, but faith is being sure and certain of what we don’t see, not what we don’t know. ⁠
The Israelites had historical facts on which to base their faith. That’s why God constantly told them to remember what He had done and tell it to their children. Their faith was in what they knew to be true, even though they didn’t always see it with their own eyes. ⁠
We, too, have facts on which to base our faith. The Bible is historically accurate and verified. If ever we needed to know what we believe, it’s now.⁠
⁠
Click link in bio to read post.⁠
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#prayerwarrior #bedeeplyrooted #prayerispowerful #praywithoutceasing #christianpost #christianblogger #womenintheword #livewithintention #shareyourheart #faithwriter #womenencouragingwomen #wordoflife #seekgoddaily #wordbeforeworld #jesusandcoffee #daughteroftheking #fiercelyhis #womenlivingwell #girlfriendsintheworld #faithblogger #givemejesus #graceupongrace #faithoverfear #seekhimfirst #growingyourfaith #womenoftheworld #intheword #lampandlight #shereadstruth #butfirstjesus

It’s something I have a hard time doing. Like mo
It’s something I have a hard time doing. Like most women, when I do get still, my mind is still going 90 mph. I’m so distracted by all the preparations for the day. Sounds a little like Martha, who, by the way, is the one who invited Jesus over in the first place. But like Martha, I have felt the Lord’s gentle rebuke. He wants me at His feet. And really, that’s where I want to be. It’s not about time and focus. It’s about heart and desire. The rest will come. ❤️ #growingyourfaith #jesusfirst #wordbeforeworld #seekhimfirst #javawithjesus #womenintheword

Do you really want to grow your faith? What we fee
Do you really want to grow your faith? What we feed the most is what grows the most. 🍽️⁠
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What are you feeding?⁠
⁠
Click the link in my bio to read this week's post.⁠
#prayerwarrior #bedeeplyrooted #prayerispowerful #praywithoutceasing #christianpost #christianblogger #womenintheword #livewithintention #shareyourheart #faithwriter #womenencouragingwomen #wordoflife #seekgoddaily #wordbeforeworld #jesusandcoffee #daughteroftheking #fiercelyhis #womenlivingwell #girlfriendsintheworld #faithblogger #givemejesus #graceupongrace #faithoverfear #seekhimfirst #growingyourfaith #womenoftheworld #intheword #lampandlight #shereadstruth #butfirstjesus ⁠


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