Wedding Attire: What Will You Wear?

 By: Lauren Thomas 

White-tie, black-tie, cocktail, casual, formal, festive, semi-formal, destination, come-as-you-are. Does anyone else get confused about what to wear to a wedding? While some invitations leave you to guess, others spell it out. Either way, a wedding invite always causes me to briefly agonize over what to wear.

There’s a parable in the Bible in which the wrong wedding outfit resulted in real agony.

 

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 22:11-13 ESV

 

In context, this is part of a parable in which those invited to a marriage celebration paid no attention to their invitation. This parable was likely a critique of the Jewish people who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. In the parable, the king’s response was to tell his servants to go invite anyone who would come. Here, the interpretation is that the Gentiles would then be invited to the celebration. But one of these guests was not properly attired. He got the invite, but paid no heed to the dress code.

 

If the wedding celebration in the parable represents Heaven, and if we have been invited, what then are we supposed to wear?

 

Paul used the symbolism of garments to represent what to wear and what not to wear in Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:8-14, and Romans 13:14. In general, we are to “put off” the old self, which is characterized by sinful deeds and thought processes. We are to put on Christ. There are layers (no pun intended) with this concept: 1) when we are “in Christ” (think “wearing” Christ), God looks at us and sees the righteousness of Jesus. 2) when we abide “in Christ” (again, think wearing clothing), we have union with the Father, 3) when we “put on” Christ, we take on the image we were made to bear, 4) when we “put on” Christ, our actions and deeds are those that would imitate the actions and deeds of Jesus.

 

We have all been issued a spiritual wedding invitation. The Bible spells out the dress code. I’ve got one question: what will you wear?

 

Reflection:

Look up the above passages; making two columns, list the words or phrases that describe what not to wear in one column and what to wear in the other column. Imagine the care that goes into dressing to attend a wedding. How might you put similar effort into spiritual dressing? What are you wearing, in a spiritual/symbolic sense on the day to day?

God’s Peace

 By: Grace Metzger

I have said these things to you,
that in Me you may have peace. In
the world you will have tribulation. But
take heart; I have overcome the world.
‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Lately a large focus of my life has been to work towards peace. I don’t think it would surprise those who knew me to know that I am a very anxious person so peace was never my strong suit. But when I opened my Bible app a few weeks ago and saw John 16:33 as the verse of the day I got that concept stuck in my mind. 

To start my journey, I’ve been trying to figure out what the Bible means when it talks about peace. To preface this, I am not theologian or Bible scholar, I am not someone who can figure out which Greek word they use where and what it means. Although I am working towards being more knowledgeable in this stuff I am not there yet. But what I found when I was looking through what the Bible says on peace is that almost all the verses talk about being with God and having peace. You might think, “Grace, what significance does that have?” To which I would answer, a lot! The world’s definition of peace is “freedom of disturbance” but God’s definition is different. His definition of peace is about being with Him, being one with God. 

While the world’s defines peace has as having an undisturbed life where nothing is going wrong, God is talking about a calmness from being with Him that doesn’t waiver no matter what life throws at you. That is true peace. God never promises us a perfect life where nothing goes wrong, but He says that if we stay with Him, we will have peace through the storm.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death,
but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

All He asks us to do is set on our mind on Him. God gives us clear instructions on how to have peace and yet so many of us are suffering because we are lacking peace. Leave it to us to take one of the most simplest concept and still find a way to struggle!

And the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

When we have His peace, we don’t have to worry about our hearts and minds, God tell us all we have to do is be with Him and He will protect us. So why are we still struggling with it? I think it’s human nature to focus more on the storm around us them anything else. We have to be intentional about keeping our focus on God throughout everything, whether you are going through trials and tribulations or if everything is working perfectly for you. We need to keep our focus on God throughout everything. This is how we get that indescribable peace of God!

Discussion Question: what does peace mean to you?

What Will Your Ripples Be Today?

By: Jenifer Metzger

Have you ever thrown a pebble into the water? What happened? You saw ripples form, little circles from the affect of throwing a pebble in. Even if you simply touch water, ripples are quick to follow.

Ripples don't just happen in the water, they happen in life too. Everything you do makes ripples.

Sometimes we do things and bad ripples follow. We choose to stay up too late at night which causes us to oversleep, which causes a late morning, which causes a rushed morning, which causes a bad day. Ripples. We choose to over-indulge in all that delicious food someone brought to the office which causes us to feel poorly and causes our jeans to fit a little tighter than we'd like. Ripples. We choose to share something about someone that wasn't any of our business which causes the person we told to have a poor view of the object of our conversation, which causes disconnect in their relationship, which causes hurt feelings. Ripples. We are rude to the cashier at the grocery store which causes her to get upset, which is causes her to be rude to the next customer, which causes a domino effect of rude behavior. Ripples.

Then sometimes we do things and good ripples follow. We choose to go to bed a few minutes early, which causes us to wake up on time, which starts our day out good. Ripples. We choose to eat that yummy food in moderation, which helps us to stick to our health plan, which causes us to feel good. Ripples. We choose to not share what we heard about someone but instead to pray for them which causes no hurt feelings and God touching their life and ours. Ripples. We are kind to the cashier at the grocery store when she seems frustrated which causes her to calm down, which causes her to be kind to the next customer, which causes a domino effect of kindness. Ripples.

Everything we do and everything we say causes ripples. What kind of ripples are you causing? Today I challenge you to think before you speak or act. Will your ripples be bad, causing a bad ripple to you or someone else? Or will your ripples be good? Will they draw you closer to God or bless someone?

Let's be women who cause good ripples for ourselves, our families, and those around us.

Discussion:
1. Think of ripples for a minute. What is an example of a bad ripple you've been a part of? How did you feel or how did things turn out?
2. What good ripples can you cause today?

Of Boundaries & Contentment

 By: Joanne Viola

 

Contentment. The word has been on my mind the last week. Contentment brings the image of being satisfied with what one has, or is doing.

It has a deeper significance though. There is a delight, an enjoyment, and pleasure which fills our souls when we are content.

The verse is before me:

“The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.”
(Psalm 16:5-6, NASB)

The verses remind me of the day we moved into our current home. It was situated on half an acre, had flourishing trees, and plantings. Walking along the boundary brought just that – a sense of delight and pleasure. And it still does.

The boundary did not feel restrictive. In fact, it felt just the opposite. All that was within the boundary was ours, provided by God, and our safe place.

Other versions of these verses bring more understanding:

• “Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (NIV)
• “Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!” (NLT) 
• “Lord, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” (HCSB)

This entire psalm focuses on the goodness of God. He is our greatest gift and treasure. God alone provides everything in our lives which brings delight, pleasure, and is pleasant. God is the giver of every good and perfect gift, and He gives generously to His people (see James 1:17).

What can we learn from these verses in Psalm 16?

• “The Lord is our portion.” More specifically, our allotted portion. This means God knows exactly what is to be ours, or not.
• That which God gives is meant to bless our lives. Several versions tell us it is our “cup of blessing.”
• “You support my lot.” God provides a sense of security to our lives. Protection. Well-being.
  
• We have been given a wonderful inheritance. We are to be good stewards of what we have been provided.

We want to live with contented hearts. God’s provision should satisfy our expectations. We want to let His boundaries be our boundaries.

Staying within the boundaries set by God
will fill our lives with a joy, a peace, a freedom to be ourselves.
Within His boundaries, we will find true contentment.

 

Reflection:
Do you find yourself content at this time? How do you respond to the boundaries God has placed in your life? What do you need to do to be more content?

 

Image by Felix Merler from Pixabay

 

A Bride Prepared

By: Lauren Thomas 

Last weekend I had the great privilege of standing as a bridesmaid(matron) in my sister’s wedding. Weeks of planning had finally led up to the big day. The week of the wedding was filled with finalizing plans. And the hours before the event were nothing but preparing appearances, as Bride and bridesmaids applied makeup; curled, teased, and sprayed hair; decided on jewelry; etc. The attention to detail, the time spent grooming, the focus and intention, all reminded me of a different bride.

 

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

 

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty reigns.

7 Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready;

8 it was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

 

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Revelation 19:6-8 ESV

 

Christian theology calls the Church (big “C” church, meaning the Church worldwide) the “bride of Christ.” This is an idea found in the Old and New Testaments. Christ is our bridegroom, and we collectively as believers make up His bride.

 

The picture of a bridal party preparing for the wedding, reminds me of the care we Christians should take to be ready for our Groom. Like a bride, we make ourselves ready, we clothe ourselves with the appropriate attire, which, according to Revelation is righteous deeds.

 

Paul touches on this theme as well:

 

so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:27 ESV

 

As a bride takes time to appear in beauty before her groom, we Christians should seek to come to the Marriage of the Lamb in splendor – holy and blameless.

 

While it might be more fun to curl hair and apply makeup, Jesus is looking for a different kind of preparation. He is seeking a Bride who has prepared her heart. He is seeking a Bride who is making herself holy, blameless, righteous. This is how we prepare for the great Marriage of the Lamb.

 

Reflection:

How would you compare bridal preparations to the preparation of the Bride of Christ? How does your pursuit of holiness change as you picture yourself as a Bride preparing for her Groom?