Is Wearing A Headcovering Distracting?

Our church recently had a modesty class for ladies Sunday School in which the associate pastor's wife and I taught. We got both extremes in feedback. Some women loved it and thanked us and others.... not so much.

One thing we discussed was how modesty goes beyond just dressing sexually. It's a much bigger issue than just worrying about men lusting after you. We can be immodest in our behavior, our hearts, our home decorating and most importantly in our hearts. One way we can be immodest is in being distracting by wearing flashy things that draw attention to us.

"I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes..." 1 Timothy 2:9

I think that is what Paul is getting at in this passage. I think we can be immodest by spending an unreasonable amount of time on our looks and wearing things that are elaborate or "over the top".
One of the things we tried to major on in this modesty class was that each person needed to search their own hearts and look for areas of pride in their relationship to modesty. But unfortunately, when you talk to ladies about modesty and clothing we struggle with "keeping our eyes on our own page". We struggle with truly praying for the Lord to help us in our own lives without worrying about what others are or aren't wearing.

I have had a couple women now (one right after this modesty class) tell me: "Your headcovering is very distracting." Ouch. My response to the second woman was: "It wouldn't be such a distraction if more women in the church would obey the bible." Um... did that just come out of my mouth?! :) It is how I feel though.

It seems clear to me that the main reason so many women don't wear headcoverings to public worship is because so many women don't wear headcoverings to public worship. There is safety in numbers. People will often justify things and it is even more tempting to do so if some of "the most godly women" you know don't wear one. 

Please search the scriptures and your hearts for yourselves and see what His Word says about wearing a symbol of authority on your head.

Be sure to check out this new sermon series I found on headcoverings! You will have to scroll down a bit to get to the actual sermons. Also if you haven't seen my other posts be sure to check them out here and here.

My Favorite Places Online!

The internet can be such a blessing... and a distraction. Let's use it more for the blessing part and look for ways to build ourselves and our homes up spiritually! 

Here are some of my favorite places to do that:

Looking for some awesome audio messages on godly womanhood?! 
https://www.reviveourhearts.com/resource-library/programs/p/Revive%20Our%20Hearts/topic/Womanhood/ 

A great resource for bible study! 
https://www.biblegateway.com/

Our associate pastor's wife's blog! I met her through her wonderful blog! 
http://jessconnell.com/

I have been following Kelly's blog for years and have been so encouraged! 
http://www.generationcedar.com/main/

Another great resourse for bible study! 
http://www.blueletterbible.org/

Got questions about the bible or Christianity in general? This place has solid answers! 
http://www.gotquestions.org/

Our church website and audio sermon page! 
http://woodlandchristian.net/messages.php?show=messages

Endless sermon options here!
 http://www.sermonaudio.com/main.asp

Looking for solid homeschooling info?
 https://www.christianheritageonline.org/

Looking for godly tv? Hard to find I know. Look no further! Joni did an awesome job creating a tv series that will build your family up! 
http://www.joniandfriends.org/television/

Headcovering Movement

There seems to be much talk about headcoverings around me lately. In person and on the web.

Here are some great online resources/links I would recommend if you are wanting some further reading/studying.

This one is a short book written by India Evangelist K.P. Yohannon.

Here is a great sermon on why wearing a head covering is not cultural but biblical:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=731&v=pe8BZ_Lbwsc

Here are a number of great articles too: http://www.headcoveringmovement.com/articles-series

Great video answering why the passage is talking about an actual head covering and not saying that your covering is your hair: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqzYQR2olF4


Ladies! Don't do what every one else is or isn't doing around you. Decide for yourselves what the Scriptures say. Be sure to read my post on why I wear a headcovering to public worship. 

1 Cor. 11:2-16

Instructions for Public Worship

2 I am so glad that you always keep me in your thoughts, and that you are following the teachings I passed on to you. 3 But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.[a] 4 A man dishonors his head[b] if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. 5 But a woman dishonors her head[c] if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. 6 Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.[d]

7 A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. And woman reflects man’s glory.8 For the first man didn’t come from woman, but the first woman came from man. 9 And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man.10 For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority.[e]

11 But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. 12 For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God.

13 Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? 14 Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair? 15 And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. 16 But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.

The VERY BEST Way to Make Money From Home!

Okay, are you ready? You want to hear the very best way to make money from home?! Here it goes....

DON'T SPEND MONEY!

Yep. That's it. So many women go back to work because "they have to" (don't get me wrong! I know there are cases in which women really do have to go back to work). But many women actually could stay home if they just wouldn't spend the money their husband is making.

I know it's impossible to not spend ANY money, but so many women WASTE money. How many actually buy what they need instead of what they want? How many women are looking for ways to save by not spending rather than shopping the sales? Many of those "sale purchases" are unnecessary and shouldn't have been purchased in the first place! Just because something is on sale doesn't mean you should buy it!

Think of ALL THE MONEY you would have if you didn't waste it! Think of all the money you would have if you didn't waste it on meals to go because you did a better job planning meals for the week! Think of all the money you would have if you simply stopped spending it!

Those $40 shoes that you "have to have", not so much. That "special" toy that you MUST buy your 5 year old only so they can toss it to the side in a week in hopes of getting something else, not so much.

STOP SPENDING MONEY AND WATCH YOUR MONEY GROW!

Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.
(Proverbs 21:20)

So, that's my advice for a stay at home business! You will make big bucks for sure!

P.s. Be sure to check out HOW WE PAID OFF OUR MORTGAGE ON ONE INCOME (I'll give you a hint, a lot of it has to do with NOT SPENDING MONEY :)

I'm Going Back to School...

Well, that's what it feels like at least. You see, I spent 13 years going from kindergarten through my senior year and then I spent another 6 years getting my BS in psychology. What. A. Waste. OK, I know it wasn't ALL a waste. I did learn my alphabet and how to read. But as far as learning how to be a homemaker, mother and wife I learned nothing. Even my home economics class in high school has proven to be of no worth in terms of benefiting my current day to day life. 

I am putting myself back in school. I am studying homemaking, motherhood and being a godly wife like I am getting degrees in all three! 

Ladies, I am already seeing the fruit of this endeavor! As I am diligent in studying and putting into practice what I am learning, I am being blessed with visible fruit!

Why in the world don't we study for these major roles? Why spend so much time studying and investing in things that have little value eternally or even practically, for how we will spend most of our lives (as mothers, wives and homemakers). 

God addresses older women to train the younger women in Titus 2 to: keep the home, love their husbands and love their children (among other things). According to God these are the things He wants me to be trained in. These are the things He wants me to be investing in. 

That is why I am looking for Titus 2 women on-line to teach and train me! What a blessing to have so many godly women available to us 24/7 to train us in the things God desires for us to be trained in! We have no excuse.

I am by nature a very unorganized woman. This does not work out well for me when it comes to being a keeper of the home and training my children. There is hope though! With God's help we can change! If you are like me, believe with me that we can become organized! I have been praying that God would help me to think differently since that is how we change ourselves! (Romans 12:2) He is changing the way I think and He is using my investment in studying in keeping the home to actually keep it! 

Study the Word of God first and foremost, seek His Kingdom first and He will add unto you what you need. Don't neglect the study of His Word to study even good things like keeping the home, loving your husband and children. Read it first and then go to studying practical ways to live out His design for your life!

I feel a bit like a guinea pig for y'all! I am going to be checking in every once in a while over the next few months to share with you what worked and what didn't work. What was worth investing in and what wasn't. I will be sharing practical ways to better keep the home, love your children and love your husband.

Stay focused on these few things God has called you to ladies! Don't get distracted by all the things there are to pursue in this world. (For me this means no facebook :) If you are feeling overwhelmed cry out to God and ask Him to reveal to you what needs to be removed from your life to be able to carry out His will. Remember, there is ALWAYS TIME FOR THE WILL OF GOD. 

There is a lot at stake when we don't live out God's design. 

It actually says that His Word is dishonored. Let's honor God today and every day by pursuing His best and endeavoring to be excellent in the few roles He has called us to!

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.…" Titus 2:3-5

Are You a Martha or Mary During Christmas Time?

Read with me the classic story of Mary and Martha and ask yourself who you are more like during Christmas time (verses in italics):

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him."

Martha often gets a bad wrap. But this verse gives the first insight into why we shouldn’t think too poorly of Martha. She opened her home. She was practicing hospitality which is actually commanded in the New Testament. She was also a servant. But some let their gift of service become a source of irritation for them rather than a gift for others which we will see Martha demonstrate in a couple verses. Do you serve but find you are often irritated with the "burden" of it?....

^"She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said."

Imagine Jesus is coming to your house. Kind of a big deal right? The Savior of the world coming to eat at YOUR house?! You would probably appreciate a little help right? Nowimagine your sister comes over and just plops herself down in front of Jesus feet while you are trying to serve and make food for everyone, including Mary!

"But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." (Let’s pause there). This part of the verse is the main reason I chose this passage. The ESV says: But Martha was distracted with much serving. Anything strike you as peculiar about that?  She was distracted with SERVING. Seems like a pretty good thing to be distracted with if you ask me. I would like for you to ponder what distracts you from time with the Lord? What keeps you out of His Word? Are there even some good things you can think of that maybe aren’t the best things? Are there some obviously bad or not beneficial things that distract you that you can easily get rid of? What distracts you during this holiday season? The very season that is supposed to be all about Christ...

This word for distracted is perispao in the greek and it means: to draw around, to draw away, to be driven about mentally, to be over-occupied, too busy, about a thing. I love that definition! Something fascinating about this word too is that this is the only place it is used in the bible! Let’s look at that definition again: to draw around, to draw away, distract to be driven about mentally, to be over-occupied, too busy, about a thing.

Our minds are so full they distract us from God’s true purpose for us. It’s like our thoughts are driving us around distracting us from Him. The last part of the definition is “over occupied and too busy”. That pretty much describes everyone. It takes great intention to not over occupy ourselves or be too busy. Especially now a days. 1 Thess. 4:11 says to "make it our ambition to lead a quiet life and mind our own business"… I have a feeling that if we did make this our ambition our lives would be much less complicated and distracting.

Let’s continue with verse 40. “She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Not sure I have words for this one. How can you use the word Lord and “tell her” in the same quote? Martha is clearly what we call a Type A personality. Focused and determined and bossy or maybe even controlling. Some may relate to Martha more than others. She seems to be focused more on the physical than the spiritual and she also pictures the opposite of that gentle and quiet spirit. Does your family see you like this during Christmas? Let’s see how the Lord responds in verse 41:

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

This is how the Lord would respond to us as well. I can just picture Him saying to me Katie, Katie you are worried and upset about many things…. During the holidays it seems we become even more worried and upset about MANY things. Jesus probably doesn’t care about most of those things that are distracting us. He is probably calling us away from those things and convicting us to choose the better thing. He says there are a few things needed, indeed only one and that Mary chose what was better. She chose Christ. The question is are we doing that? In the midst of much planning and organizing and hosting and cooking and prepping and crafting and decorating and shopping are we choosing, moment by moment, the better thing? Are we distracted from the world and looking to Christ or are we distracted like Martha and looking to things that draw us away from Christ?

In the midst of holidays it is good for us to remember Col. 3:1-2 which exhorts us to “keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth…”

Practice sitting at the feet of Christ like Mary by setting your minds on things above the temporary things of this earth. When we practice Col. 3:1-2 we are choosing the better thing. We are choosing Christ. In the commotion of this time of year I hope you will remember what I have shared and ask the Lord through out your days if you are being more of a Martha or a Mary.

Are You Too Messed Up To Be Used By God?

Are you feeling "too messed up" to be used by God? Feeling like you never "measure up"? Well, that's a good place to be. God uses people like that the most! It's the prideful and the "I've got it all figured out" folks that are difficult to use.

"And He has said to me (and He says the same to YOU), 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.'" (2 Cor. 12:9)

Think about what God is really saying there. He is saying WHEN YOU ARE WEAK YOU ARE STRONG. When you feel strong and confident in yourself you are really weak. Your strength is to be found in Him alone. He works best in weakness and He uses those who are desperate for Him not independent of Him.
Our Creator doesn't choose the powerful and wise and perfect. He chooses the weak and the messed up so that they have nothing to boast about except Him!

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'" (1 Cor. 1:26-31)

Thank the Lord that He chooses the foolish! Thank Him that it is only because of Christ Jesus that we have any wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption! He is able to take fallen men and women like you and I and turn us into men and women of God not because of our own doing but because of what He has done and can do.

He is able. Are you willing?

Oh that believers could be like Isaiah and say: “Here I am! Send me.” I love the section of scripture in Isaiah 6 where this quote comes from! First Isaiah sees the Lord, then he recognizes how unclean he is, next his guilt is taken away and his sin atoned for and he is able to say: "Send me."

That should be the process that takes place with every believer. We all must come to the end of ourselves, recognizing how unclean we are, look to Christ to remove our guilt and atone for our sin and then we are able to say: "Send me."

Don't wallow around in your guilt and shame. Don't whine and complain about all your weaknesses. Don't find your confidence or lack of confidence in your ability, personality or skills but find your confidence in God's ability to work in and through you.

If His work in our lives were dependent on us we would be in big trouble, but His work is always dependent on Him.

"...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2)

"God—not humanity—is always the Hero." -Preston Sprinkle

Thank God that you don't have to be the hero, you just have to be willing like Isaiah... David... Abraham... Paul...

Don't wait until you are "worthy" to be used. If you are in Christ, then you are already worthy.

Get over yourself and let God use you today!

When Helping Others Is No Longer Helping... Or Loving

There is A LOT in the bible about helping others... and/or thinking of others first...

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (Hebrews 13:16)

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Phil. 2:4)

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal. 6:2)

Here's the hardest exhortation from Christ on helping others:

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹ To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. ³¹ And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.³² “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. ³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. ³⁶ Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:27-36)

Yowzers. If that's all you read in the bible well by golly you would be straight up wrong to not help EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT WANTED SOMETHING. And who can forget the "Good Samaritan"?!

Here's the important part though, there are other scriptures that give insight into the fact that sometimes helping people is really no longer helping them. And as always, look at Scripture in light of Scripture.

"For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed." (2 Thess. 3:10-15)

Let's dissect these verses a bit...

First, notice how Paul says it is a COMMAND to not help those who are unwilling to work. Food is one of the bare necessities of life and yet Paul says if someone won't work don't even give them food. That doesn't seem very helpful! Why would Paul command that? Well, hunger is a great motivator :) God designed us to work. Work is a good thing. God instituted work BEFORE the fall, it is not part of the curse. It is no longer helping someone when you give to those who are not willing to work. It is in fact unloving to continue to give to them because you are taking away an opportunity for God to work through trials to bring them to Himself and get them to work.

Secondly, notice toward the end that Paul says if someone is not willing to obey this command (along with whatever else he commands in the letter) to have NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM. Well geez Paul, that doesn't seem very loving at all either! But if the Word of God commands it then it is the loving thing to do! When people are shut out, or not provided for, God can often use that in their lives to cry out to Him and to seek to do right. But if people keep enabling then they see no need for God and don't experience His work in their life through suffering.

Let's look at another verse: "For each will have to bear his own load." (Gal.6:5) It is good for each of us to bear our own load. We should be responsible hard working adults enjoying the lot the Lord has given us. What is my load? My home, my husband and my children. But right before verse 5 in verse 2 it instructs us to bear one another burdens... what is the difference between a burden and our load? A burden may be when someone in the family is very ill and I need extra help. Or when I have a brand new baby and I am pulled in many directions. You get the idea. We SHOULD carry one another's burdens but we should each bear our own load. When we take another's load and put it on our back as if it were a burden, we are taking on something we don't need to or are called to and we could even be taking away from potential growth and opportunity for that person!

I have seen many well meaning parents take on their children's loads only to regret it big time. Their children get to be in there thirties, forties.... etc. and they are still children because they never learned how to carry their own load! This also happens in friendships and with other family members. God designed us (within reason because I know there are legitimate/difficult handicaps) to grow in our ability to take care of ourselves and bear our own load. When others come and "rescue" us from this process they stunt our growth.

The book of proverbs is full of principles that are almost always true. For example: "A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich." (Prov. 10:4) 

Often times, people are in poverty because of a bad decision or many bad decisions (ie. buying what you can't afford over and over or in the case of this verse laziness). I know that sounds harsh... but I think it's often the case (not always). You would not believe the sense of entitlement we get from so many as a pastor and pastor's wife. People often call the church expecting us to bail them out of bad decisions and all we ask is that they come to a church service so we can meet them, most aren't even willing to do that!

Proverbs is full of warnings of dealing with fools and often promotes staying away from them. Sometimes the best thing for a fool is to find himself alone and desperate so that He can cry out to his Maker and find out why he is in the mess he is in. Sometimes the very best thing for a fool to do is "hit rock bottom" so that he is motivated enough to change. If people constantly rescue fools why should they change?

"Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge." (Prov. 14:7)

There are actually many places in Scripture (including the verses from 2 Thess. above) that encourage us to avoid/have nothing to do with someone and if we are called to have nothing to do with them then surely we are not to help them.

"For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. " (2 Tim. 3:2-5)

"Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them." Titus 3:10

"Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds." (2 John 1:9-11)

Now since God is love we must believe His instructions here are loving. The best thing for people like this, described in these verses, is to stay away because hopefully they come to their senses. Think of the prodigal son, it would have been bad if someone chased him or helped him when he was down and out! Read this: "he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything." (Luke 15:16) The very next verse says: "he came to himself..." Imagine if someone would have given him what he wanted? Maybe he never would have came to himself and returned to the Father!

My husband does a good job at helping when God would have him help or not helping when that is what God would have him do. That doesn't mean we have done it perfectly. There is one time in particular where we helped a woman over and over only to have it thrown in our face (we were warned). In the long run, us helping her did not benefit her at all... it actually only made things worse. Now we have no relationship with her and she is bitter. 

One of my very favorite non-enabling stories is about a mom and a son. This young man was doing drugs and when he came to his mom's house to try and get "help" she said: "I'm going to do this because I love you." And then she shut the door in his face and locked the door. Her son said: "She wouldn't even give me a taco!" :) And then, she called the cops on him and had him arrested! His testimony was that that was the most loving thing she could have done. He came to truly know Christ in jail! The best way for her to help him was to not. The best way for her to love him was to call the cops.

Which reminds me, ladies, don't buck against your husbands leading in these matters. Present your side and let him lead. Even if he made the wrong decision, God will honor your submission to your husband. There may be times you really want to help someone (and it may even be a wonderful, biblical time to do so) but your husband doesn't, explain to your husband your thoughts and move on, allowing him to make the final decision and not throwing it in his face later if he was wrong. 

Lastly, mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13) More often than not, we should probably help. Pray for discernment! Pray for wisdom! Ask God: would helping this person shortchange the growth you would like to see in their life? He delights in His children seeking His leading in all things.

Do You Have the Liberty to do that?

My husband preached two excellent sermons the last couple weeks on Christian liberty. You can listen to part 1 here and part 2 here. God used him to bring so much clarity to me in regards to Christian liberty and not judging other Christians on their liberties.

There is a big difference between sin and liberty. Sin is when we deliberately disobey God/scripture. Liberties are more of those gray areas: how we dress, what we watch, what we do with our time, homeschool vs. public school etc. These are areas we have the liberty to decide how we feel led and go forward as long as we are not going against our conscience/conviction. To read more about this from the Word of God read Romans chapter 14 and 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and be sure to listen to my husband's sermon because he lays it out much better than I ever could.

One concern I have is this: can we use our liberties in such a way that we are sinning? Can someone say: "I have the liberty to watch movies." and then watch them all day long and/or watch something that's content is what the bible calls evil? There is nothing in the bible that says: "Don't watch tv all day."

How do we know if we have a liberty to watch certain things or to dress a certain way or to be involved in a certain activity? How do we know when we are crossing the line of living out our freedom in Christ verses when we are abusing that freedom? When asking these questions I can't help but think of these verses:
 
1. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship." Rom. 12:1 Is this liberty going to cause you to use your body in a way that is holy and pleasing to God? If not, then you might want to rethink it. 


2. "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." Col. 1:10 Does this liberty afford you the opportunity to walk in a manner worthy of your God? Will it please Him in all respects and bear good fruit? Or will it compromise your walk and not please Him?

3. "I have the right to do anything," you say--but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"--but I will not be mastered by anything." 1 Cor. 6:12. Another verse almost identical: "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." 1 Cor. 10:23 Is this liberty beneficial? Does this liberty tend to master you or control you more than you master it or control it? Does it edify or compromise? If it is not beneficial, if it masters and controls you, if it comprises your witness more than it is a means of edifying you might want to reavalutate if this is a liberty Christ would have you participate in. 

These verses come to mind when I am making decisions on how to spend my time and in what liberties I choose to be involved in. We shouldn't be seeking to live as close to the world as we can while still calling ourselves Christians. We should seek to live a life worthy of Christ and sometimes that means being strange... set apart... different... peculiar...maybe even what many consider "extreme".  


This is how God views us: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9

Many liberties Christians participate in look like the same activities the world participates in. Often times Christians will say they didn't have time to read their bible today but when you find out what they did have time for it is obvious that their liberties are taking priority over their relationship with God, this should never be so. If your Christian liberties are getting in the way of you growing as a Christian you should probably put those liberties aside. 

The idea that someone is "weak" in their faith because they choose not to watch television is silly. The idea that someone is more mature or "stronger" spiritually because they have the "freedom in Christ" to watch lots of television is equally silly. If someone is choosing to have little to do with the world and worldly entertainment this does not make them weak, it makes them set-apart. It is their way of recognizing that "friendship with the world is enmity with God." (James 4:4) Our homes and lives should look much different than a non-believers home and life. The way we spend our time should look much different than how a non-believer spends their lives. We should be, as Jesus said, about our Father's business and His agenda and His kingdom... not our own. Our liberties should not stand in the way of accomplishing this.

When looking at and praying about how you will spend your time and deciding what liberties you have as a Christian it is my hope and prayer that some of the things I have written will encourage you and give you direction. 
 
I would like to conclude with one of my favorite site's, http://www.gotquestions.org/, thoughts on this subject: Christian liberty can mean that Christians are freed in respect to such activity that is not expressly forbidden in the Bible. Therefore one can feel free to engage in such activity as long as it doesn't "stumble" or "offend" another Christian (Romans 14:12-16). Most of these activities revolve around social "do's" and "don'ts, such as whether or not to wear certain kinds of clothes, make-up, jewelry, tattoos, piercings, and/or practicing certain things, such as smoking, social drinking, recreational gambling, dancing, or viewing movies or videos. As the passage in Romans 14 says, these things may not be strictly prohibited by God's Word, but they can be bad for one's spiritual growth or Christian testimony and can cause other Christians to stumble.

Furthermore, Christians who tend to vigorously promote such liberties can sometimes fall into a loose lifestyle of undisciplined living, while, on the other hand, Christians who tend to vigorously limit such liberties can sometimes fall into a legalistic lifestyle of being defined by what they are "against." So, it is wise to seek God in prayer and His Word to determine whether or not a particular activity is actually forbidden in Scripture. If it is, it should be avoided. If it is not forbidden, then we should seek to determine how the activity reflects on our reputation as Christians and whether it will help us or hinder us in representing Jesus to unbelievers around us, whether it edifies them or not.

The ultimate goal for the Christian should be to glorify God, edify fellow believers, and have a good reputation before unbelievers (Psalm 19:14; Romans 15:1-2; 1 Peter 2:11-12). "For you brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Galatians 5:13).

Why I Wear a Head-Covering

I have been wearing a head covering to "public worship" for about 2 years now. I have been a Christian for 13 years. I was not raised Christian and I definitely wasn't raised around women who wore head coverings.

When I became a Christian I remember reading 1 Cor. 11 and wondering: "Why don't women still wear head coverings? If God says it's a shame for women to have their head uncovered then shouldn't what He considers a shame be important to us?" The fact that it was in the new testament carried a lot of weight with me too in that it wasn't under the old covenant, this was a new covenant guideline.

The argument I often/almost always heard was: "it's a cultural thing." hmmmm, how do we get to decide what is cultural? Shouldn't God decide that? If He says a woman should have her head covered shouldn't we do that regardless of what the culture is doing? Since when is a Christian called to do what culture dictates? Don't we allow the Word of God to direct our lives/decisions?

I moved to WA about 3.5 years ago. When we came there was one family here that had a couple of the ladies wearing one. It intrigued me. So I asked them about it and how they came to that conviction. Fast forward a few months and I am on the phone with a friend that went to a church where there was a woman teaching pastor. I asked her: "How can you choose to go to a church where a woman is teaching men when the bible clearly teaches that shouldn't happen?" (1 tim. 2:12) Her response: "I'll give you the same reason that you aren't wearing a head covering, it's cultural." Oops. Can't argue with that. She was letting the current culture which says women should be able to teach man dictate that it was okay for women to teach men just as I was letting the current culture decide whether or not I needed to wear a head covering. I was convicted and on a mission to figure out once for all if God wanted women to wear head coverings and if He did, I would.

Let's look through 1 Cor. 11 together. Some of the information here was taken from a helpful website you can see by clicking here.

Paul starts out with saying in verse 2: "Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you." Interesting. Maintain traditions? Isn't our current culture all about doing away with traditions? Well, I guess that isn't just the current culture, looks like it's always been the case for people to stray from traditions and let the world determine what they will or won't do. Traditions aren't always popular but they often serve a purpose, especially if they are biblical (like head coverings). Paul commends the Corinthians for maintaining traditions.

Verse 3:  "But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God." This is the beginning of explaining the symbolism of a head covering. We are to wear one as women as a symbol that man is the head of his wife. When I put my head covering on it reminds me of this. I remember that Scott is the head of me and our home, not me. This is also why I believe headcoverings are for married women.

Verses 4 & 5: " Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, ⁵ but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven." This verse particularly intrigued me. MEN STILL PRACTICE THIS TODAY. They recognize it isn't talking about long hair but as an actual covering.  They have decided to not go with the culture, but to maintain this tradition, why haven't ladies made the same decision? In fact, it is seen as disrespectful and shameful to keep a hat on when we pray, just as God said it was a shame for a woman to pray with her head uncovered. 

Verses 6-9: "For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. ⁷ For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. ⁸ For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. ⁹ Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man." These verses again demonstrate the symbolism of head coverings, men are the head. The end of verse 6 confirms again that it is a literal covering and not long hair because it says: "let her cover her head."

Verse 10:  ^"That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels." This was one of the "clinchers" for me. This verse helped me in great ways to confirm that head coverings were not cultural. Angels do not change with the culture. Angels do not let the world determine what is right, they go by the Word of God and if they are involved with head coverings then I have all the more reason to wear one.


Verses 11-15 "Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; ¹² for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. ¹³ Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴ Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, ¹⁵ but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. " Verse 15 tripped me up for years and gave me "permission" to not wear a head covering because I decided my hair was my covering. But, as I clarified earlier there were a couple verses prior to this that confirmed it was an actual covering. (When I went to a young lady who wears one and asked her about this verse she said: "Oh yes, people who don't want to wear a head covering love that verse." :)

There are also several passages indicating headcovering was a common practice among married/betrothed women. "And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself." Genesis 24:64,65
Another verse showing the practice of wifely headcovering was an established practice is in the case of a woman before the priest when her husband suspects infidelity. And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering...." Numbers 5:18 In order for her head to be uncovered it must have first been covered.

When I studied the greek I found further confirmation that our hair is described as a different type of covering.


Paul said that men should not cover/katakalupto (Strong's 2619) their heads. And in verse 11 Paul contrasts that with: "Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered/akatakaluptos?" (Strong's 177) Note that 'uncovered'/akatakaluptos is the opposite of 'to cover'/katakalupto. Katakaluptos basically means to UNcover or UNveil. So far, we have a 'men uncover, women cover' command. Now for where the confusion comes in: When Paul refers to a woman's natural hair covering, he uses an altogether different word: "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering/peribolaion." (Strong's 4018). Peribolaion means something thrown around (loose items like a veil, a mantle, a vesture). Hair is more like a glorious decoration given to woman. Now if Paul had meant the naturally occuring hair covering and the headship-type covering to be one and the same, he would have used the same word for each. Instead, a woman's natural hair covering (peribolaion) is being contrasted to this other covering (katakalupto) that women wear. In fact, the katakalupto actually *covers* the peribolaion.
 
Paul has begun this passage showing the contrasts between men and women in this passage: men are uncovered, women are covered. Then Paul supports his case for headcovering by pointing out that even in nature a women is given a covering -- by her long hair. But Paul never makes the leap that hair itself *is* a suitable headcover alone. If such a natural covering sufficed, then Paul is wasting his time teaching this since the women already had a natural hair covering. Paul deliberately used different words for the two coverings so we would understand they were complementary to each other but not identical. So there is no choice offered in this passage that one may choose to either shave one's head and cover it, or to leave one's hair long and remain uncovered. The natural order is to either wear a covering over the hair or to fully exploit the shame of being uncovered by also shaving off one's hair too. Better: if you resist submitting to the customary female headcovering, you may as well reject your natural hair as well. 

These are all the reasons I wear a head covering. I should also mention I only wear it to "public worship" since the chapter seems to be addressing "public worship" (which some of your bibles may state). It would also make sense that if it is a shame for a woman to have her head uncovered publicly than it would also be a sin for a man to wear a hat/be covered publicly. I believe the context is for public worship.


For further reading I highly recommend: www.headcoveringmovement.com This site is very helpful and encouraging and seems to prove that God is stirring women's hearts everywhere to cover their heads.
 
Lastly, the pretty girl pictured in this post wearing the headcoverings is not me :) She sells a plethora of beautiful headcoverings that can be found at: http://garlandsofgrace.com/


Be sure to check out a second post here that has some more links!
http://mrsscottlapierre.blogspot.com/2015/08/headcovering-movement.html

Where is your identity?

I love this definition of identity according to dictionary.com: "the state or fact of remaining the same one or ones, as under varying aspects or conditions." 

Let's look at how the Lord describes our identity if we are genuine, born again believers in Christ: 

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Cor. 5:17)

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20)

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Col. 3:3)

So let's see here. If you are a believer then you are:
 

Chosen.

For His own possession, 

Crucified with Christ 

Hidden with Christ in God.

That is your identity. You no longer are your own. You no longer are identified with your past, with the world, with your flesh... You are officially HIS.

How should this affect our day to day life? How does this influence us hour by hour? 

Let's look back at our definition of identity: "the state or fact of remaining the same one or ones, as under varying aspects or conditions." Hmmm, in other words, our state... or our identity in Christ remains the same regardless of the varying aspects or conditions of our lives. That's powerful! That's life changing!

Your identity should be "wrapped up" in Christ. Not in motherhood. Not in your marriage. Not in your occupation. Not in your home. Not in what others say or don't say about you. Your identity is in Christ ALONE.  Now marriage, motherhood, work, your home and people are important and gifts from God but they do not constitute who we are in Christ. If all those things fade or change or waver your identity in Christ doesn't fade, change or waver.

When your identity is wrapped up in who you are in Christ then the way you respond to the various aspects, conditions and circumstances in your life will be vastly different than the way those in the world respond to those same things. When your identity however is wrapped up in the passing things of this world then you will reap the consequences of that.

Fighting with your husband? Having a rough day with the kids? Find out that someone is talking trash about you? Get some bad news? Well, none of that changes the state of your identity. You are still His. You are still hidden in Christ. You are still crucified with Christ. You are still His possession.

Your life will continue to have MANY ups and downs. Don't let your identity be shaped by the ups and downs, let it be continuously shaped by who you are in Him. 

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)