What are you wearing?

Like everyday, after waking up and doing my morning routine, I go into my closet and decide what am I going to wear.  Some days are easy.  If I know I will be at my desk writing for most of the day, I put on some comfy clothes (you know, pants with the elastic waistband, for ease and comfort ;0 ).  If on that day, I know I will be at the church or meeting with folks at various coffee shops, I then need to consider, will I be doing a lot of walking? If so, maybe I should wear pants and comfy shoes. If I will be rather stationary, I can pull out the heels, maybe even a cute dress. And then there is the weather to consider. I also think about the vibe I am going for. Is this a professional meeting?  Or am I meeting a friend?  Do I feel fun? Or should I dress to be taken seriously?

I actually think about what it is I am trying to communicate in the clothes that I choose to wear. So many factors to consider, just in getting dressed!

The Apostle Paul understood that clothes reflect who we are and what we want to communicate.

In Colossians 3:12, he writes: 

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Paul encourages us to clothe ourselves with the traits of our God, so that we may look more like Jesus.

So how do we do that?

Maybe a place to start is to think about the struggles in our lives that keep us from living more like Jesus, and then replace them with different actions.

• for instance, if we are generally sarcastic and cutting we choose to say something kind instead (clothing ourselves with kindness).

• If we tend to come across harsh, we choose to be gentle in our response (clothing ourselves with gentleness).

• If we are holding a grudge, we choose to forgive and let it go (clothing ourselves with humility).

As we put on the qualities of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience the changes it produces will be evident in the way that we treat those around us.

So, what are you wearing today?

Create in me

A few weeks back I had the privilege of speaking at a Women’s conference where the  theme verse was, “Create in me a pure heart”.  Such a great verse and one that I can certainly relate too.

King David of the Old Testament wrote that verse as part of a bigger prayer to God in Psalm 51. David is known as a man after God’s own heart but he is also known to have made some pretty terrible mistakes. Like when he had an affair with Bathsheba, and then attempted to conceal the secret by arranging the murder of her husband.  Hmmm, sounds like a script for a movie, right? Yet, scripture tells us that David confessed his sin against the Lord (1 Samuel 12:13) and he prayed for mercy in Psalm 51.  He cried out,

“Create in my a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (vs 10)

The word CREATE in the Hebrew is the same word that is used when God created the heavens and the earth — the sense of being created out of nothing. It is the work of God.

When David prays this prayer he realizes that there is nothing he can do on his own to make it right. He’s been in denial, he made excuses, he rationalized, he wanted this woman for himself and he did whatever it took. One thing compounded on the other and it was a horrible mess.  I’ve been there, maybe not specifically this situation, but I have been in a place where I have done something terrible and cried out to God, for help and forgiveness.

Perhaps we’ve all been there at one time or another?

I think the hard part, even when we come and say “Lord, I am sorry”, is the reality that we may do it again. Right? Try as I might…how can I ever stay on the right track?

That’s where the second part of the prayer comes in. David says, RENEW a steadfast spirit within me.  Inside of me…not externally, but internally.

He’s saying, God cleanse my heart from the things that separate me from YOU and grant me the strength to continue to live on the right path. Now that is a prayer I need to pray!

I believe that “sin” at its heart is always relational. It’s when we realize that we broke God’s heart, that we severed a relationship with God. When we come to God in that way, with that understanding, I believe 100% of the time God will, indeed, create in us a new heart and renew within us a steadfast spirit.

If you are looking for a second chance or craving a relationship with God, but not sure where to start, borrow the words of David.

Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me.

When we seek God, we realize that God has already been seeking us!

Don't worry about it

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”  John 14:1-3

This is such a powerful verse. Jesus was sitting with a messy group of humans, not unlike us, a group of disciples from every walk of like who had just heard what was going to happen. I am pretty sure they were feeling overwhelmed, anxious and likely scared.

It would be easy to read this verse as though I were saying to glibly to myself, “Hey Mona, don’t worry about it.”  But that is not the heart of Jesus. To his distraught friends he said, “I know you are going to see trouble but I am coming to comfort you so you don’t have to worry. Not because things won’t be scary or you won’t feel anxious but because your faith is not in your feelings or circumstances. Your faith is in me and my Father.”

How quickly I forget this when I am in the midst of chaos!

And I love how this verse ends. Jesus says to them and to us that there is something ahead. He said, “What you are going through is right now, in this moment. But remember child, I am making a home for you, far away, and one day you are going to get there but in the meantime I am with you, walking through the valley with you, right now.”

I don’t know about you but I find that incredibly comforting.

So what ever you are going through - I want to encourage you — hear Jesus speaking to you in a gentle way… “ I love you, don’t be troubled, yes the world may be troubling but because I am with you, because your faith is in me, you can walk through a troubled world without a troubled heart. I am preparing a place for you. This is not the end, there is an eternity ahead. This moment will pass and there is so much hope to come!”