It’s Time to Shop—Compassion is First on our List

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion…”  Colossians 3:12

There is room in the closet because we’ve gotten rid of anger.  And if you are still holding on to some anger, look back at the post from October 19, 2013 and see if you can work on that.  It’s time to shop. First on our list is Compassion.  Our heavenly Father is so good to us that we don’t have to worry about will it fit, will it go with the my shoes, do I have the right handbag, how much will it cost…or any other things that might keep us up late worrying.  What we are about to put on goes with EVERYTHING!!. Ahh…but what does Compassion look like and how do we put it on?

            The New American Standard Bible translates this verse as a heart of compassion with heart meaning inward affection and tender mercy and compassion meaning to exercise pity.   The King James Bible uses the phrase bowels of mercies.   That is a lot, so let’s break it down.  This is sincerity to the nth degree.  Bowels of anything make you think deep down on the inside.   I always think about the bowels of a building as meaning down in the basement (I’m from the Midwest) where the inner workings are located like the furnace to make sure the building is heated.  The fire on the inside.  

So we can’t just walk by when we see a need.  We have to be moved from our inner being to have affection.  We can’t just be emotional and feel sorry for someone else’s situation, we have to act on that emotion—exercise pity.  Exercise is not a dirty word (she types as she eats a 3 Musketeer—it’s a mini one so don’t scold me and I told you before I’m no longer a size 4).  But that does imply that discipline and hard work are involved.   We have to do something and we have to do something consistently.    

Jesus was filled with compassion and He acted on that compassion.   He met physical and spiritual needs.   And He has given believers the ability to do that too through the power of the Holy Spirit who resides in us.  We are His “…oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.” Isaiah 61:3b.  Oaks are pretty big.  Our calling is big.  When we clothe ourselves in compassion we are displaying Jesus’ splendor.

God loves us so much that He puts the cookies on the bottom shelf for us and tells us what to do in the book of James.  “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”  James 2:15,16

It’s the holiday season and everyone tends to get in the spirit of charity around this time of year…donating food for Thanksgiving or Christmas meals, buying a present for the Angel Tree or putting something into the Salvation Army red bucket at the mall or the grocery store.  But if we are clothed in compassion, we have to demonstrate that inward affection and tender mercy all the time, not just in the 4^th quarter of the year.

So…what about you?  Have you clothed yourself in Compassion?  What does it look like?  How are you wearing your Compassion?  I would love to hear about it.

Love,  Your BiblicalFashionistaFriend

One of my favorite three year old friends who is quite the fashionista gave me this beautiful angel with the heart

 

Anger Has Got to Go!

Hi Friends,

Anybody clean out a closet?  Take anything off?

My dear sweet husband told me that I had a closet full of special occasion dresses in the guest room.  I really thought that I had cleaned them out a few years ago, but he said the closet was full.  So I went to check it out.  Primarily, to confirm that I had in fact cleaned them out as I thought I had.  I found one dress.  One.  That is hardly a closet full!! But I did have to ask myself why I had gotten rid of all except that one.  It really is not all that and a bag of chips.  It's been so long that I don't even remember the special occasion that it was purchased for...guess it wasn't that special after all.  It is at least 20 years old.  It is a size 4.  I'm not.  And when I get to be a size 4 again, I will definitely want a new dress because it will be a special occasion.   Can I get a hallelujah high five from someone on that?!       

When we become followers of Christ, we are new creatures and old things have passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17).  And that is why we are instructed in Colossians 3:8 to rid ourselves of certain behaviors--to clean out the closet and take some things out of the wardrobe.  Are you holding onto anger?  Anger that you have been holding on to for so long that you really can't remember why--what the special occasion was that caused you to become angry.  Have you just let that anger sit around for twenty years or more?  The word anger is mentioned 266 times in the Bible, according to the search I did on my YouVersion app. I think God is serious about anger.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

"For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife."   
      Proverbs 30:33 (NIV)

"Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil."   
      Psalm 37:8 (NIV)
  
Strife and evil.  Who wants that?!  Anger is not doing you any good.  And when you think about it, it's probably like my size 4 red dress.  You really don't have a legitimate reason to hold on to it.  But you do, just because.  It's comfortable, you feel justified.  You've had it for so long, you just think you need to hold on to it.  My red dress is out of the closet and headed to Frisco Family Services.  Why not send your anger away? Pray and ask God to help you release the anger that you are holding. I have room in the closet and you'll have room in your heart.

The Red Dress

Love, Your BFF (Biblical Fashionista Friend)

I am not a Bible scholar and I am definitely not a fashionista.  But I love God's Word and I was struck by Colossians 3:8-14 (NIV84).

As believers we are chosen and loved by God. Therefore, we are commanded to have certain items in our wardrobe.  There are five must haves--compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (verse 12).

Verse 14 tells us that "...over all these virtues put on love..."  Once we have put on our must haves, we have to accessorize with the go-to item of love.  My go-to item is a pair of silver hoop, but more about that later.

Before we build our wardrobe, we have to start by cleaning out the closet. UGH!  A hated task, but the end result is soooo good.  After all, before we put on, we have to get rid of the stuff that doesn't fit.   That means throw out those 15 bridesmaid dresses that don't fit and you aren't going to wear again no matter what you tell yourself and how much they cost.  The special occasion dresses that are not going to another special occasion, the skinny jeans that are not in fashion, but are just skinny because they are from high school...they all need to go! Some things just aren't worth holding onto and God tells us what those things are.  He wants us to take off anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language (verse 8). When you really think about it, those things are ugly and even if you've held on to them for years, they just need to go!!

So, what is it that you really need to take off?

Love, Your BFF (Biblical Fashionista Friend)