Love is...

I am sure we have all heard the popular "wedding" verses from 1 Corinthians 13. When I was in confirmation we all had to pick a scripture verse or two that we really enjoyed. I picked 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, much to my mother's disapproval. To her, that was only for a wedding, not something which was to be read on our confirmation day, and being that she was my teacher, I had to convice her that it could be used otherwise. I told her my second choice (which I do not remember) and she responded saying it was a verse for funerals and she would rather I use the first selection.

Is 1 Cornithians 13 only for weddings? No. We are instructed to love each other as our brother or sister and so the love verses very much apply to our everyday life as a Christian.

The KJV uses charity instead of love. Although the greek definition of the word agapē translated to mean charity is love, when we think of charity, what often comes to mind? I think of a place or person whom needs my help or giving something to charity is giving something to the needy. I do not think of charity as being love, although I suppose it could be.

For devotions one Sunday, the brother went through the four verses explaining what each of the things love is. I do not remember all that he said, but I do remember one specific comment.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

In verse 5, it was mentioned that the word "easily" was added to make us feel like we can attain not being easily provoked, afterall, who will not be provoked by anything? In the NKJV and NASB, the word easily is left out. In the german Bible, a different word is used rather than easily, one that is harsher, but I do not remember what it was.

I believe these verses are all what we should strive for in our love towards others. Jesus set a wonderful example for us with His love and now it is our turn to be disciples of Christ and show our love to the world.
Blessings in Christ,

Modesty

One thing I have been thinking about lately is how can I, as a Christian sister, help my Christian brothers not lust after me?

Lust is such a hard thing to avoid as each man is triggered by different things. Some may be triggered by a woman's hair, some by a woman's eyes, some by a woman's smile, etc etc. So how can I prevent all these different lusts? Am I not supposed to smile? Am I not supposed to open my eyes when in the presence of a man? Of course not. All we can do as sisters is do our very best, follow scripture and the convictions God has laid upon each one of us.

I personally feel the best way I can do this is to dress modestly. That will help many boys and men stray away from lust. I have my own convictions on what is modest as does each one of you, that does not make it wrong per-say as long as we are obeying God's word on the topic and we feel that He has made our convictions and not that we are making our convictions His...

What is modest?

The Bible has this to say:
1 Timothy 2:9 - In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.

The word "modest" in greek is kosmios (2887). This greek word is used in 1 Timothy 3:2 as "of good behavior". In greek, kosmios is defined as well ordered, orderly, that is to say well behaved, discreet, decorous for the useage of "modest" in 1 Tim 2:9 and well ordered, of persons, orderly, well behaved, discreet, etc for the useage of "good behavior" in 1 Tim 3:2.

The greek word for apparel is katastolē (2689). The only place this word is used is in this verse. It is defined as "equipment, dress, properly a long garment or robe reaching down to the feet" which is derived from katastellō (2687) meaning to "send or let down".

Array is defined (from the greek word) as apparel. This last statement adds to the modest part that we should not wear expensive apparel. Each of us has our own convictions on what "expensive" means. The greek word for "costly" does not give us a price point, it simply says "the very uttermost or highest cost, very expensive or costly". We are left to determine what is expensive and what is not.

I still struggle with some aspects of the Biblical definition of a Christian woman in 1 Tim 2:9. I once wore earrings and a necklace. I no longer regularly wear them but I still do want to wear the earrings every once in a while. I wear a watch, but I do not feel that a watch is "jewelry" per-say because it has a practical use, although some of the watches that are sold today are very well jewelry. It all depends on the style in which one chooses. Even though the definition of katastolē is "reaching down to the feet" I do not feel convicted that my dresses have to reach the floor. Some of them do, but not all of them. Some of my skirts are mid-calf length and for working I truly do not feel that is inappropriate. Maybe one day my convictions will change, but right now, I do not feel like I am dishonoring the Lord by wearing a little bit shorter dress or skirt.

The only part in the verse discussing a woman's hair says that it should not be braided, however, the greek definition for braided hair is "broided hair (sometimes wrongly printed as broidered or braided) anything twined or plaited". This leads me to believe that it may not necessarily be the same as what we would think of as braided today. Scripture does not tell us the exact style we must wear our hair in.

Modest does not mean old-time or "unfashionable". You can be fashionable and modest at the same time. By fashionable I mean, not prarie (or Amish) as is what a lot of our society thinks of when someone says modest. If someone attends a church where their dress is dictated, then so be it, she should follow the rules set out by her church, but if she does not have those rules set for her, there are so many varieties of modest dress. None of them are the "right" one and nor are any of the styles "wrong" as long as the woman feels convicted by the Lord.

Blessings in Christ,

Headcovering Styles Continued...

I have decided to continue this topic due to some points that I feel need to be clarified.

Paul called us to cover our heads...not our hair. If we look at scripture, nowhere does it say a woman must cover her hair, but rather she must cover her head while praying and prophesying as a symbol of authority. An authority over us by our husbands and God.

Another argument is that it must be solid so that someone else may not see our hair... This relates back to the last point, there is nothing saying we must cover our hair. The only thing the passage mentions is that our hair is given to us for glory. I do not feel that a solid covering is necessary based on scripture. I love my mesh coverings, I believe they hold up better and are more practical than a solid covering, but I know some people really love their solid coverings as well. That is why there are so many different types of coverings!!

Now onto the big question :) What is our head? If we want to be literal, it would be our whole area above our neck. How would we cover the whole area? We could not walk without a guide if our face were covered fully too. My personal conviction is that our head is the crown of our head. Any of the coverings in the last post could cover the crown of the head...the first covering may be argued that it is not covering the crown of her head, but if a woman and her husband feel that is a covering God wants her to wear then who am I to tell them that it is not covering enough of her head?

It was pointed out to me that the covering in some of the Mennonite churches decreased in size until it was no longer practiced. That is true. The same person made the point that the coverings in my last post were merely a symbol because they showed the womans hair and did not cover enough. Again, who are we to say it does not cover enough? But besides that, the covering is a symbol. A symbol of our submission to our husbands and to God our Father.

To me, the covering by itself means nothing. A covering by itself is just a piece of fabric. But rather, when a woman believes in why she is wearing it, that is when it becomes more than a simple piece of fabric. When a woman is convicted of 1 Corinthians 11, the covering is a symbol...a symbol of her submission to her husband. To God her Father. It is a symbol of her Christian life she is leading. It is much more than a piece of fabric when she believes in the reason why she is wearing it.

Also, I just want to clarify that I have nothing against churches that specify a covering for its members to wear. The last post was more so for those of us who do not attend a church that specifies the covering we need to wear.

Blessings in Christ,

Styles of Coverings

It bothers me when someone tries to say that there is only one type of covering that a woman should wear, that it needs to cover so much, it needs to be this certain style, and that it needs to be a certain color. Someone...please tell me where it says this in the Bible!! It doesn't!!

There is no difference between this covering...



Or this one...



Or this one...



Or this one...



Or...



At least scripturally. They all fit in what Paul gave instruction on, that a woman should cover her head while praying and prophesying. Now we are all going to have different levels of convictions... some of us might feel that to be covered our ears have to be covered, while others may feel that anything on their head is okay.

There are so many different coverings that these are just a few... If you have a style that you want to share, let me know!

Blessings in Christ,

National Day of Prayer

There has been some advertisement locally for today, the National Day of Prayer, but not nearly as much as I saw or heard before I moved. Anyway, it got me thinking, do we need a National Day of Prayer? I don't think so. The purpose of today is to unite everyone in prayer. Isn't this something that as Christians we should be doing everyday anyway? Why do we need a special day for everyone to "unite in prayer"?

The Bible does not command us just to pray when there is a National Day of Prayer but rather to "pray without ceasing". As Christians, we need to continuously pray and not just on this one day a year.

National Day of Prayer should be National Year of Prayer... EVERY YEAR!!

Blessings in Christ,

Children's Bedtime Prayers

My aunt asked me if I knew any 'easy' bedtime prayers to teach my 4 year old cousin. My dad would say the Lord's Prayer with us before bed. I am wondering what you teach your children or what you would say when you were a child?

Blessings in Christ,

One of the Ultimate Sins

In today's society, I feel pressured to accept homosexuality as "okay". Not only do I feel pressured by society, but I feel slightly pressured by my family. That is because I have a cousin who has chosen that path... We also have several other family friends who have chosen that path too. I used to think that it was okay because God created each person as who they are and we are to accept them they way they are. But as I have grown older and read more of the Bible, I have learned that God did not create us to be attracted to people of the same sex. There are no instances in the Bible where God blessed a same-sex couple, rather He laid His wrath upon them! God blessed the couples who were of different sexes, look at Abraham and Sarah who after some mistakes in putting their wants before God's timing, were blessed with a child. There are many other examples throughout the Bible which support this as well.

How should we handle this sin when it is within our own family? I tyipcally try to stay out of the discussion about it because I know I am probably the only one in my family who does not accept it as "okay", but this cannot be avoided forever. My cousin has said she hopes my move to a more conservative church will not change how I view her and her living decisions. That's exactly what they are... decisions. We all have the ability to stay away from sin if we simply rely on God, but if we give in to temptation, that is when we encounter trouble. My friend once said (about this topic) "I support the person, but not their decision". I think that is the stance that I have to take on this issue, especially if the person is one whom I care about, but I cannot support their decision to live in sin, but I can support and love them as a person.

I have heard churches preach on "keeping homosexuality out of OUR church" to the extent of not allowing homosexuals to step foot in their church. Should we take it that far? I understand not allowing membership to people who choose that path, but should we not allow them to come to our churches so that they could have the chance to hear the truth and realize that their chosen lifestyle is sinful? Yes, God detests this sin, but it does not mean that He will not forgive those living this lifestyle if they truly repent and change their ways. That should be our goal...to spread the truth about this choice that is becoming more and more common rather than trying to keep it out of OUR churches.

Blessings in Christ,