Questions We Should Ask Ouselves About Our Apparel (Nancy Leigh Demoss)

• • What statement do my clothes make about my heart?
  • In choosing what clothes to wear today, whose attention do I desire, and whose approval do I crave? Am I seeking to please God or impress others?
  • Is what I wear consistent with the biblical values of modesty, self-control, and respectable apparel, or does my dress reveal an inordinate identification and fascination with sinful cultural values?
  • Who am I trying to identify with through my dress? Is the Word of God my standard or is it the latest fashion? 
  • Have I asked other godly individuals to evaluate my wardrobe?
  • Does my clothing reveal an allegiance to the gospel, or is there any contradiction between my profession of faith and my practice of godliness?¹
• • Ask a godly family member or a close friend to give you their honest opinion about your clothing choices. Ask yourself, “Why do I want to wear this particular outfit?” and “Do I truly believe God would be pleased with the way I look in this outfit?”

  • Is there writing (or pictures) on my clothing that emphasizes private parts of my body?
  • If someone were to look at me, where would their eyes naturally go—to my face, eyes, hips, thighs, breasts, etc.? Where do I want men looking when I come into view?
  • Is the fabric that I’m wearing too sheer? Could someone see through it to private parts of my body?
  • Am I wearing tight, form-fitting clothes? (A well-known designer once said, “Your clothing should be tight enough to show that you’re a woman, but loose enough to show that you’re a lady!"
  • Am I wearing anything provocative? (Today, underwear has become outerwear—often designed to be provocative. To expose undergarments is to tease men.) 

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More Beautiful Than Imagined!

When William Montague Dyke was ten years old, he was blinded in an accident. Despite his disability, William graduated from a university in England with high honors. While he was in school, he fell in love with the daughter of a high-ranking British naval officer, and they became engaged.

          Not long before the wedding, William had eye surgery in the hope that the operation would restore his sight. If it failed, he would remain blind for the rest of his life. William insisted on keeping the bandages on his face until his wedding day. If the surgery was successful, he wanted the first person he saw to be his new bride.

          The wedding day arrived. The many guests—including royalty, cabinet members, and distinguished men and women of society—assembled together to witness the exchange of vows. William's father, Sir William Hart Dyke, and the doctor who performed the surgery stood next to the groom, whose eyes were still covered with bandages. The organ trumpeted the wedding march, and the bride slowly walked down the aisle to the front of the church.

As soon as she arrived at the altar, the surgeon took a pair of scissors out of his pocket and cut the bandages from William's eyes.

          Tension filled the room. The congregation of witnesses held their breath as they waited to find out if William could see the woman standing before him. As he stood face-to-face with his bride-to-be, William’s words echoed throughout the cathedral, "You are more beautiful than I ever imagined!"

          One day the bandages that cover our eyes will be removed. When we stand face-to-face with Jesus Christ and see His face for the very first time, His glory will be far more splendid than anything we have ever imagined in this life. (Kent Crockett, Making Today Count for Eternity, Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001, pp. 101-102)  Follow @ddevonshire

The Danger Of Delay

The Danger Of Delay

A German farmer settled in Guatemala and became very prosperous. After a while he decided he would go back to visit his family in Germany. So he saved his money and got on a ship.
After a few days at sea he noticed he had an infection in his toe and realized that a small tropical flea was under the nail and had laid its eggs. This caused him terrible itching and inflammation. The cure was to take a needle and bore through the nail and remove it.

The German farmer decided to do that. So he got a needle and sat down. Then he thought, “My uncle and his family in Hamburg have never seen one of these tropical flees.” So he decided to leave it under the nail and after he had shown them he would remove it.

By the time he reached Hamburg his toe was swollen and his foot was hurting terribly. He showed it to his Uncle Otto who looked and said, “Aw, the whole family would like to see this.” So he left it in until all the family could see it. But the difficulty was that the infection got out of control and got into the blood and he died of sepsis. (Adapted from The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Charles Swindoll, p. 471)

-If you want to commit spiritual suicide, that might even lead to physical death, let something smolder in your heart and in your mind. Nurse it. Coddle it. Reason with it. Justify it. . . . but most of all look for a convenient season to deal with it. . . .

(from a sermon by Phillip Harrelson)

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