So often, we wake up each morning feeling like-- "Do I really have to go today?" Or while at work we think "I wish I had a better job or 'Are they even paying attention to the bard work I'm putting in? Do tbey even care? Can't I atleast get a thank you? We are constantly searching for approval from man it hurts. We want to feel like we are worth something. We want things to be easy and at our comfort. But as fallen people with imperfections, we will always have conflict among us. Things will not always go the way we want or expect. Man will always fail us. But we are reminded in Colossians 3:23:
--- "Work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."--- If Jesus means the world to you and more...do it all for Him. Do it because He loves you and says you're worth it because you belong to Him. Do it because He sacrificed Himself for you to be where you are today. I feel so relieved to know that I don't have to be enslaved to how man will treat me or what they will say or not say when Im doing what I know I should be doing with ALL OF ME-- not for them but for my first love Jesus. He deserves that. When no one else is paying attention , He IS keeping record and is so pleased.
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Since I was a little girl, I've always been into dressing up and trying to keep up with the latest trends or what my friends thought was "in"-- hairstyles, clothing, makeup, shoes, sneakers, etc. Always tried to be someone I wasn't just to be "accepted" or "good" by others. And now looking back, it took time to realize how much TIME I wasted trying to fix and be "in" and "good" on the outside. The inside--my heart--was neglected and malnourished. I tried to find my identity in those things only to find out I had a lot of work to do with who I was as a person. That begins with inside. I thank God though, that after accepting Christ as my Savior in high school, that God began to help me see that though there was nothing wrong with looking "good" on the outside--that it had to start with my heart. The inward appearance mattered more to Him and should matter to me too. When it comes to the outward appearance, how we carry ourselves, how we speak, and how we dress IS important. It defines what we represent. It let's others know what we stand for as individuals and what we believe to be true..especially about ourselves. But the inward appearance (the heart), is far more worth the reconstruction. When we think about the term "makeover" we think of our whole wardrobe (hair, shoes, clothes, etc.)..but the heart, the heart is what needs to be "madeover"...and it is in Christ that we have a new heart and are made new. The heart influences who we are in character as well as how we speak, how we dress, how we see ourselves and others around us. Luke 6:45 (ESV) says "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks". It is the heart that determines who a person truly is and will affect all that is around her. What we choose to nourish our heart with--whether good or bad-- will eventually flow out to the outward. Thank God ladies, we have our Father in heaven who has given us provision through His Word to meditate on day and night so that our new hearts are nourished with the truth about ourselves, about others around us and most importantly about God Himself and His plan in creating us. So now how we think begins to change, how we speak begins to change, how we see others begins to change, how we dress will definitely change, how we act will change. Deutoronomy 6:6 (NIV) says "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts". And so as it says, we must guard our hearts with the truth DAILY and also be sure that we are in connection with God throughout the day. I say that because though we do have the Word of God, we also have the LIVING GOD walking with us and in us to help us with the daily decisions we have to make. There are countless times where I've asked the Lord to help me choose my wardrobe, or to give me wisdom on how I should confront someone about something so I don't offend them or react rudely and He has definitely come through! So its meditating on His Word but also cultivating a relationship and staying connected with Him in order to please Him in all that we do. That's what we were created as His creation to do. So yes, the outward appearance is important but it MUST first start with our heart ladies, the inward man. That others may see Christ in us and through us, the inward man must be in full submission to Christ and His Word. Only then, will everyone including ourselves be able to see that true "makeover". There will be a difference. We won't have to try to be what we are not because we know who we are. We can be in style and look good not because we want to be "in" or accepted by man but because we know our worth and we want to look, act, our best for God, who is the best and deserves our best. Our heart is what we seek to make sure is in accordance with Him and His Word. Be encouraged ladies!
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November 2020
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