purity

Purity and Social Media… Not Mutually Exclusive

30 Oct

My husband and I were hanging out in the living room, he watching sports on TV as I scanned my iPhone Instagram App. Wading through pictures of friend’s children and the latest meme, I was jolted by the next photo that flashed on my screen. A former student from our ministry days was posed in her bathing suit bottoms, showing off her hard earned assets… I think you get the picture.

I stammered over my thoughts as I turned to my husband, Ron, and said, “It is really disheartening when I see former students who profess faith in Christ showing off their bodies and bad decisions on social media.” Without showing him the picture, I described the image. Without responding, Ron continued to fiddle with his iPad and watch the game. No reply from him led me to assume he has heard my modesty rant mortification spiel one too many times. However, imagine my surprise when Ron’s Facebook status popped up on my feed, seconds later.

“I am going to go out on a limb here and ask you girls who are working out like fiends and look great to protect us guys who are trying to be faithful to our spouses. Please save those photos for your husband either now or one day. #thinkbeforeyoupost Thanks!”

Read the rest over at iBelieve. (Click here.)

Adorning the Bride

14 May

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10, ESV)

I struggle with my flesh and anxiety on the topic of dressing with modesty. This isn’t an everyday/ every-time-I-get-dressed struggle; however, I am a person who has a very sensitive conscience. Therefore, what I consider immodest the next woman might feel the freedom to dress in and vice versa: I may dress in something another women would not feel the freedom to wear. Even so, there are questions we can ask ourselves, as the Bride of Christ, and some tips to remember to help our men in the area of lust while we women purse purity in modesty of dress.

Will this cause a man to stumble or my sister to grumble that I have worn this in her man’s presence?
Have I kept my cleavage in its context? That is, am I covering my cleavage in public and revealing it in the master suite?
Are only two cheeks visible and lifted in a smile? Or,are four revealed when I bend over?
Are my clothes as tight as a wet suit and I look better prepared to plunge into the ocean with an oxygen tank than to go out for dinner? Or, have I left room to breath?
What is the status of my heart’s intent? Am I dressing to purposely turn the heads of men or a certain man, or am I presenting myself in such a way that communicates I care about my appearance?

Purity is ultimately a matter of the heart, mind, and inner man. God’s word provides the ultimate answers for the questions we face weather in specific guidelines or generalities. Concerning the topic of purity, I return to Psalm 119 again and again.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. with my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statues!

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statues; I will not forget your word. (Psalm 119:9-12, 15-16, ESV)

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity of speaking with the women of our church on the topics of envy, jealousy, and modesty. The forum came half-way through our pastor’s wonderful sermon series entitled, Pure: Discover the Pathway to Intimacy. (If you attend Calvary with me and missed either the men’s or women’s forum there are CDs available at the Welcome Desk that you can purchase for both.)

Last night on Pinterest I found several other posts and videos on the topic of modesty to share.

First, this post by Courtney at Women Living Well. I highly recommend this read. I especially enjoyed the portion in which she compares godly, beautiful women of the Bible to the description of the Proverbs 31 woman. The comments are additionally worth skimming.

Second, this video was helpful to consider our men’s point of view on the clothes we wear and how this affects our relationships with men.

So now it is your turn:

Women, consider: How do you determine what is appropriate or inappropriate for your apparel?

Men, what is your reaction to the viewpoint presented in the video above?

To Be Known

27 Jun

You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. ~Psalm 139:3

We had talked about familiarity on the ride home. “Why is it that when you first start dating your mate those butterfly tingly feelings are there but as your progress in your marriage relationship they come and go?” This after he put his hand on my leg.

For me it seemed a dangerous question to ask Ron. Like saying hey, I don’t get all warm and fuzzy when we hold hands (although it is something I like very much). He responded that it is because we are familiar with each other.

I awoke the next morning thinking about our conversation and the above words of Psalm 139. God is familiar with all my ways and the level to which I can continue to know Him is never ending. As I come to know more of Christ and become familiar with His teachings and His ways there is always more to be learned. Similarly in my marriage relationship, although I am familiar with Ron and he with me, we are changing and growing so that there is always something more to know and discover.

Awaking with Psalm 139 on my mind and these thoughts racing through my head, I knew it was impossible to return to sleep so I gave in and awoke to some early morning reading. Here is what I read:

That ache in your heart to be known by and to truly know one man was placed in you to be a revelation of a much deeper love. When you are in intimate physical and emotional communion with your husband, it will be a mere picture of the passionate love of a God who has been seeking your heart since before you were born. ~ Dannah Gresh, What Are You Waiting For? The One Thing No One Ever Tells You About Sex

In Psalm 139 we read of how God knows us. The Hebrew word for know in this case is yada. Yes, like yada, yada, yada, blah, blah,blah! Yada is a verb which means to know, to be known, to be deeply respected. In Dannah’s book she reveals how this verb is used to describe how God knows us and also how a husband knows a wife in their physical, spiritual, and emotional union.

I knew the the Bible is full of references to Christ loving the church as his bride and how a husband should love his wife as Christ loves the church, but yada?, that was new to me.

In, What Are You Waiting For?, Dannah teaches about Christ’s intentions for marriage and the physical union in marriage. She addresses purity from all angles presenting the facts on such issues as premarital sex, pornography, self pleasing, and homosexuality. This is a must read for parents, students, and singles of all ages. These are topics that we must address with our young people or the world will address it for them contrary to the ways of Christ.

In aiming to restore godly marriages in our culture and for the continuity of the church this is an important read.

See Dannah talk about the book in her FOX News interview here.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to read what is written here!

Purity and Social Media… Not Mutually Exclusive

Adorning the Bride

To Be Known

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