I pray you’ll join us and learn new and exciting things too from His Word.
This Week We're Looking at Garment
How do you feel about clothing? There’s no doubt that what we wear speaks to who we are. Some prefer the classic lines of a business suit. Others feel comfy in yoga pants and a T-shirt. Sometimes our circumstances dictate the appropriate garment to don. A bride usually wears white, while those in mourning wear black. We can glean so much about someone simply by the clothes they wear.
Did you realize the Bible has quite a bit to say about garments? The first time we see anyone using clothing, Adam and Eve were ashamed after committing that first and far-reaching sin. As time went on, ancient peoples regarded clothing as a status symbol, a spiritual expression, and even a means to healing.
Dressed with Strength
The highly-regarded Proverbs 31 woman made linen garments to sell. (Proverbs 31:24) How she would have toiled to grow the fax plants, harvest them, spin the linen fibers, and weave beautiful cloth. This process was more labor intensive than creating wool fabric due to the fragility of the linen fiber. Linen, though, provided people in the sun-drenched Middle East with protection from the blazing rays while being breathable and cool. How clever and industrious was this woman with the unmatched drive to provide for her family! Hearts or Garments? In ancient days, mourners tore their clothing and sprinkled themselves with ashes. These outward signs of grief indicated their sorrowful state. Joel, however, records God beseeching His people to rip apart their hearts, not their garments, as a symbol of contrition and repentance. (Joel 2:13) We would do well to learn from this example, allowing our own hearts to break for individual and collective sins and seeking God as our True Hope and Restoration. A Healing Faith Do you remember the woman who had a bleeding disorder? For 12 years this woman suffered, spending everything she had just to be healed. To no avail.
What faith it took, following the failure of every doctor, for her to press through the crowds with the goal of simply touching His garment. (Mark 5:28) What a swirl of emotions must have assailed her when she approached Jesus, looking Him in the eye to confess what she had done. Imagine the overwhelming joy she experienced to know her illness was finally over… all because she had the faith to touch the garment of God incarnate.
Our Eternal Wardrobe
We may all have different tastes and preferences in our clothing, but one thing is true for all Christians: when Jesus returns, we’ll be clothed in beautiful white garments, never to be blotted from the Book of Life. (Revelation 3:5) What a glorious promise. What will we do until we receive our eternal wardrobe? God calls us to be faithful and abide in Jesus, keeping His commands and relying on the Holy Spirit for guidance, teaching, and intercession. This final garment will, without a doubt, be the most costly and dear that we will ever wear. Jesus gave His own life for it. May we be found worthy to don it.
In 2017, fulfilling a long-time dream, she self-published a children’s book, The Little Vessel.
The Little Vessel is a modern-day parable, perfect for reading to children. Following the story you'll find several questions designed to help the more mature reader (tweens, teens, and adults as well) delve deeper into God's Word.
Drawing parallels with the little vessel's experiences, the questions encourage consideration of how God is working in the reader's life to accomplish His will.
LeighAnne's favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."
The ABCs of God's Love Letter Scripture Memory Cards
The ABCs of God's Love Letter Bible Study is accompanied by a collection of 25 5 X 5 Scripture Memory Cards. We'll utilize this great tool to help us memorize a Scripture verse once a week that goes with the topic we're studying that week. Hiding God's Word in our heart is so important!
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What does Garment mean to you?
20 Comments
9/22/2020 09:09:19 am
I'm so thankful God provides garments more than adequate and appropriate, from covering Adam and Eve in a way they could not, to those glorious white robes in heaven through the grace of Christ. The verse that first came to mind when I saw the word "garment" was Isaiah 61:3: "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."
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9/22/2020 09:37:08 am
I love this verse, and the promise of God's comfort that it provides. He's always there to trade in our mourning and heaviness for joy, praises, and His glory! What a sweet, sweet reassurance!
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9/22/2020 09:34:33 am
Isn't it beautiful how God speaks to us every day in ways that we never noticed before? Have a blessed day!
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9/22/2020 09:27:18 am
A very timely post as we are in the change of seasons. This morning I put on my shorts and tshirt from yesterday but discovered I was cold, so I went back to the closet and pulled out a long-sleeve shirt instead. I'm grateful that God provides us with a fully-stocked closet for every season in our spiritual lives as well!
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9/22/2020 10:09:19 am
I love the verse from Joel you highlighted in this post. Yes, let's allow our hearts to break for injustices and sins, both individual and collective. Rather than ripping our garments as a sign of contrition, let's be soft-hearted instead.
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9/22/2020 12:10:13 pm
Leighanne, there is so much hope and goodness ahead for the follower of Christ. Dressed in robes of righteousness! I can hardly image what it will be like!
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9/23/2020 09:10:53 am
Isn't it amazing, Marielle, how God has always provided and continues to do so? Thanks for your encouragement.
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9/23/2020 08:47:52 am
I just love that little truth about how much faith it took for the woman with the bleeding disorder to come to Jesus. It inspires me to have faith that is BOLD.
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9/23/2020 09:13:18 am
Rebecca, this one speaks to me loudly, too. She KNEW Jesus was the answer and she reached out. May we all be bold in our desire to reach out to Him!
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9/23/2020 11:57:31 am
I am so glad our sweet God has so much I can put on instead of my filthy rags!
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9/25/2020 12:05:16 am
I completely agree, Jerralea! Our minds can’t even grasp the beauty that awaits!
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