What is modesty?

(Note: This is just the beginning of an ongoing conversation I hope to have as I wade through what the Bible says about modesty.)

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The word "modest" is only found in the Bible once. Are you surprised? People make such a big deal about it, it's as though it's the number one sin. Maybe even the 11th commandment.

Here is the one occurrence:

"Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works." (I Timothy 5:9-10)

The word for modesty there is kosmios: well arranged, seemly, modest.

That Greek word is only found one other time in the New Testament, and in that instance, it is talking about men, and it's translated instead "above reproach."

"Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach." (I timothy 3:2)


A simple word study, then, does not shed any light, really, on this touchy topic.


So what is modesty?


I do believe that the Bible contains everything we need for life and godliness (II Peter 1:3), but it's going to take a little more digging for me to see for myself God's plan for our wardrobes. I'm up for the challenge. Want to join me?

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How do you feel about sheep?

On the way to church, my 8 YO daughter was studying her memory verse.

Isaiah 53:6

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, 

each of us has turned to his own way; 

and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

After a few moments, she said, "I think this is a really funny verse."

Of course I asked her why. I didn't see the humor in it. In fact, it's pretty serious.

"Because," she explained, "it says that everyone likes sheep, but I don't think I like sheep."

You can imagine the laughter from my husband and I as we explained the importance of the commas in that verse!

Have you ever read a Bible passage and done a double-take? This morning I read:

"Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night." 

I Chronicles 9:32

It brought back memories of my grandpa at our family reunions. He and the other older men would always be crooning out the lovely parts on an old song. My favorite story is when we found them in the bathroom -- because the acoustics were better! I wish people sang all the time like that now.

The Matthew Henry Commentary says that the older men sang all the time, symbolizing the praise that goes on at the throne of God day and night, always singing, "Holy, holy, holy!"

So maybe in eternity singing will be back in style. In fact, I can picture my grandpa now, standing before the throne, singing the harmony to Amazing Grace. It will be fun when we join him, praising the true lamb of God who took the iniquity of us all.

So if Jesus is the lamb of God, and knowing that one day we all will bow, I suppose it is true that we all do indeed like sheep.

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Because you prayed

My heart is full. I read II Kings 18-20 this morning, the life of Hezekiah, a man who was praised above all others. "There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him." Before or after? Really? Even David?

Read what it says about him:

 ⁵ Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. 

There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.  

⁶ He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following him; 

he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.  

⁷ And the LORD was with him; 

he was successful in whatever he undertook. (Chapter 18)

I looked up the word "held fast." The NASB uses the word "clung." It also means "abide." It reminded me of what Jesus said in John 15:4, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."

Hezekiah's life was marked by prayer and trust in God. When he received word that an army was about to attack, he prayed. When he was told he was about to die, he prayed, and God gave him fifteen more years of life.

Oh, to have that be my first response!

The phrase that made me look twice was God's response to his prayer.

"Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you."

Because you have prayed.

I was recently challenged, "What if God only gave you today what you prayed for?"

Because you have prayed.

That's enough to chew on for the day, don't you think?

Wow, God!

Three stooges. Three muskateers. Three amigos. Three Blind Mice. Many things come in groups of three.

It's true for my life as well, as three separate areas are currently pointing in the same direction, leading me to declare, "Wow, God!"


1.) I & II Kings

In reading through I & II Kings, I see that over and over, God promises to do something great, people doubt, and He does it above and beyond all they'd asked or thought was even possible. (And an important note: Those who doubted usually met with a hard end! Just read II Kings 6 and 7.)

In these books, laws of physics are defied, nations are rerouted, and even bears are sent to do His will! It leads me to ask, "Is anything impossible with God?" And of course the resounding answer that shouts loudly from these pages is, "No!"  I am consistently inspired to say, "Wow, God! You are amazing!"

2.) True Woman

I attended the True Woman conference this weekend here in Indianapolis. I came away with pages of notes, but there was one single lesson that settled on my heart for me to grasp and take a hold of:

I need to pray.

Oh, I pray. I pray for my kids. I pray for my day. I pray through my quiet time and for my own issues of sanctification. I pray before meals and I pray here and there. All of this is good!

But it was more: my prayers need to be less self-focused, and I was inspired to be an intercessor for others and God's work here and around the world.

I was also encouraged to not rely on my natural giftedness but on the super natural power of God. I should be praying that God would never let me get to the place where I can do it without Him. I should be asking for a ministry that can only be explained by God, rather than relying on tools, resources, and programs. Then I can step back, look at the work He's accomplished, and say, "Wow, God!"


3.) One Cry.

Have you heard about One Cry? I was exposed to it at the conference this weekend. The message: A call for Spiritual Revival through prayer. 

The aim? To gather 50,000 prayer warriors to band together, seeking the face of God for revival.

Their goals?

• to engage in earnest, intercessory prayer for revival
• to walk in brokenness, humbly repenting of every sin God reveals to us
• to seek the manifest presence of God, believing that a revived church will advance the gospel of Christ throughout the world
• to unite with others who share this revival vision 

"If my people, who are called by my name, 

will humble themselves and pray and seek my face 

and turn from their wicked ways, 

then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin 

and will heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14

I asked myself: Why wouldn't I get involved in something like this? Why wouldn't I sign up and tell my friends? What do I make more important in my life than seeking God's face on behalf of others?



OneCry from Life Action Ministries on Vimeo.

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Combine these three elements and you have a recipe for praying in faith! What is this going to look like? My brain wants to immediately go to the details: When I should pray. How I should organize my prayer journal. What tools I need. But I'm trying to avoid letting all of that delay my obedience. I'm just going to pray. Do you want to join me?

We'll then be able to stand back together and say, "Wow, God!"

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Organized Simplicity

On my path to simplification, I just read a great book: Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider.

Can I just say that this is a must-have on every book shelf? Not only is it very readable, it's practical and inspiring, without being over the top. She has a chapter about finding your family's purpose and then arranging your life around that. At the end of the book, she has simple, natural cleaning recipes.

It reads very quickly. If you have a heart to simplify, this is a guilt-free read that could set you on the right track.

Here's what Tsh says about her book: "Organized Simplicity‘s the name, and yes, it’s about getting organized and simplifying things. But really, it’s about being intentional. Intentional living — making your life on purpose – is what revs my juices, what gets me up in the morning."

What does that look like for our family? It means making space for art supplies and drawing paper, since that is something the kids and I all love to do. It means having a few more board games than the average family. It also means not feeling like we have to fill our lives around sporting events and extra curricular activities out of social pressure. It means saying no to evening activities so we can have dinner as a family or impulsively invite friends over.

Simple means something different for everyone. What does it look like for your family?

Simplify

Simplify: That word sounds like a perfect pair of jeans with my favorite soft t-shirt. It's a cup of tea with milk and sugar and a black and white movie. My heart's desire to simplify is so that I will be freed up from the clutter of things and activities in order to make room for what matters most.

We're in the process of simplifying right now in a big way with a move. (Not far, just a local jaunt back into a little piece of country.) I'm selling furniture, digging through files, sorting through kitchen gadgets, and pairing down our toys. My mantra:

"Only keep my favorite things! Donate or sell the rest." 

I want the new place to be like a vacation condo, where you have everything you need, but that's about it, and you can relax easily without all the stuff.

It's hard to do, though, and I don't know if I'll succeed. Clothes are a big problem, as well as my stock-piles of things I've acquired through sales and deals, like an entire shelf of first aid supplies that will last us quite a few years. That stuff is expensive, so I don't want to just donate with it.

And, I'm a home schooling mom, so don't even get me started about books!

As I painstakingly pick through boxes and totes and tubs and junk drawers that have hidden the items I don't usually want to deal with, I'm trying to optimistically look ahead to a simpler life.

Now switch gears...

I left my moving boxes and piles to have dinner tonight with missionary friends from Asia. They showed us pictures of how they and others lived. They talked about their daily lives and the work they are doing. And when I got into bed tonight, it hit me: I have not even begun to simplify my life!

Reducing my skirts from 21 to 12 seems insignificant when I hear that once, when she was at the hospital having a baby, she came home to find ALL of her clothing stolen from her closet. Narrowing down my beloved kitchen gadgets to just my "needs," debating about keeping one crock pot or two, is nothing compared to the single spoon many families share while sitting on the ground around a fire.

I felt so proud of my friend, but honestly, I left very unsettled inside.  At 3 AM I woke up with this thought:

You have not yet resisted in sin to the point of death.

You know that passage in Hebrews 12?

I'm on the grace-filled road of sanctification, but that verse is right--I have not yet resisted sin to the point of death! The striking contrast between my life and my friend's is immense, but it is nothing in comparison to the contrast between my puny struggle against sin and the perfect example Jesus set!

What does that look like? 

It's dying to myself on a minute by minute basis so I can live as God wants me to live. Throwing off every sin that hinders and entangles me. Allowing myself to be trained by God's discipline instead of rationalizing. Making every effort to live in peace. Not allowing bitterness to grow. Not craving the "one thing" I am not to have, while forsaking the entire garden of life God has planned for me.

God woke me up tonight to tap me on the shoulder. He pulled me aside and said, "Becky, I have something I really want you to learn." It's a lesson not only about simplifying but about complete, unwavering, unquestioning, sold-out obedience.

Sins were confessed. Changes must be made, and by God's grace, I want to be different. I have a long way to go.

I'm so thankful that He loves me enough to correct me, for His patience as I deal with things He's been trying to teach me for years, and that He enables me by His Spirit to even have a heart that wants to change. I'm so thankful that He's already forgiven all my sins--past, present, and future--and that He cares enough to instruct me in the way I should go.

What a loving God we serve! Let's simplify our lives, by reducing the "stuff," but also the sins as well. Throwing off everything that so easily entangles.

What are you going to throw off?

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"Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
Hebrews 12:10-11
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I Bravely Saw Courageous, the Movie

I walked hesitantly into the movie theater last night. I skipped the popcorn, being way too stuffed from our dinner at Texas Road House to enjoy the buttery goodness. I think I had one too many roles with cinnamon butter, but they were so worth it!

We took our seats and the previews began. Still, I wasn't as excited as I had been when I went with friends to watch Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30 (I was a HUGE Alias fan) or the new Star Trek Movie. I might even have been more excited to see Cars 2. But I wanted to support the film, so there I was, a little disappointed that the movie was $7.50 instead of $5 because I had gotten the details wrong.

The previews were nothing to speak of. (We think they usually say a lot for a movie.) My friend took out her kleenex packets, having been warned by her mom, and I just laughed. I was not in an emotional mood, and I was not planning on crying. It takes too much energy.

Then the film began. I was prepared for mediocre acting, but I knew I'd be proud of them for trying really hard. I was prepared for awkward pauses in the cinemetography that leave conversations dangling in a strange silence. I was prepared for a cliche storyline that tells men to be good fathers. I was prepared to hear the song, "Courageous," that's been playing constantly on K-Love.

I thought I was prepared. But I wasn't prepared at all.

The actors did a believable job, and within the first moments, I forgot that they weren't straight from the red carpet. The cinemetography was so excellent, I completely forgot to notice it. Now that says something huge!

And the story line... I couldn't wait to see who the writer was during the end credits. He wove a tale so perfectly that included realistic characters you grow to love, scenarios that worked, drama that was relatable, humor that had the whole room laughing multiple times, and he included a message that came across clearly without being over the top.

This was a movie with top-notch acting, fimmaking, story-line, AND message, all in one! I have never been more proud!

We walked out the theater hand in hand, and my husband's first words were, "Wow, convicting." He's only cried two times in his adult life, so there were no tears from him, but he did get emotional, and when speaking about one particular scene, he said, "Yeah, now, that just wasn't fair!" Meaning, it almost drew a tear!

So yes, bring your kleenex. I had to borrow a few from my friend. And it's ok to keep your expectations low, but prepare to be challenged. As they said, we all might be good enough parents. But that's not good enough.