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Garment of Love

2 Peter 1:3 (AMP) For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Last week I celebrated my forty fifth birthday. This week I am celebrating twenty-five years of marriage with my husband. In all my years of life I have never felt more loved. It was not because of those that told me happy birthday and celebrated me. It is not because my husband spoils me with extravagant gifts. It is the security of who I am in Christ. It has been a journey to get here. I have more growing to do but I have a new outlook on what it means to grow glory to glory.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMP) And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

In the garden, at the beginning, Adam and Eve were clothed with the glory of God. It was when the glory was gone that they realized they were naked. Did He remove His glory? No, they took it off. My husband and I have been talking about the garment of love for some months now. Our base scripture came from Colossians 3:12-14. In the Message translation it says, “And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” What garment were they wearing, the Love garment. What happened when they took it off? They were clothed with pride and fear and shame came in; they hid. God asked them, who told you that you were naked? Pride did.

Pride tells us that we are too broken. Pride tells us that we should isolate ourselves. Pride tells us they we are protecting ourselves with the criticism before they judge us. Pride tells us we to defend how we are. Pride tells us that others just have to accept this is how I am. Love does not need to defend. Love does not take an account of wrongs. Love always expects the best of others. Love does not get jealous because someone else is getting attention. Love celebrates other’s successes. Love lays down their life for a friend.

1 John 4:8 (AMP) The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]

When Moses asked to see the glory of God, God responded that all of His goodness would pass before Him (Exodus 33:18-20). All of His lovingkindness would pass before Him. In the book of Psalms David writes, “Your lovingkindness endures forever,” over and over again (26 times just in Psalms 136). It was the reminder he put before himself and meditated on when he was in the good times and the bad. God is love. The garment of Love what he has laid out for me, so I need to put it on. My dynamic fulfilling life is all because of His great love. Otherwise, the garment of pride would be inviting, and self-pity, fear, shame and guilt will start to be my armor instead of the armor of God. His armor has all of His strength backing it. He is strong so that I can be strong. Stand fully clothed! Be rooted and grounded in His love, immoveable and powerful. Put on the garment of Love.

Father, Adonai, our Banner, You are so Wonderful and Marvelous. Thank You for Your Son, You Loved us so much that You sent Your only Son to die for us. Thank You for the resurrection power that raised Him from the dead for dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has because our dearest friend. He reveals the Love of Your Son and You to us daily. Thank You that Your lovingkindness and mercy are new every morning. It is like You have set out fresh clothes for us to wear every day. We repent for choosing other garments to wear that have brought shame and fear into our lives. This is not what You wanted for us. You desire the best for us. You desire for us to live in the fullness of who You are. When we stand fully loved, Your glory cannot help but to be shown everywhere we go. We choose to forgive ourselves and others today. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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What sting?

1 Corinthians 15:55 (AMP) “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Do you know what happened on the other side of the cross? Victory! Victory over anything that death brought into the garden that day. Paul continues to tell us the Corinthian church and us, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose] (verses 56-58).

I worked in the garden this past week and now I have a rash from either poison ivy (of which I did not think I was allergic to), or the dye in the wet mulch that I was handling. It showed up after being hot because of no air conditioning for Sunday’s service (is that not enemy fighting). I was in prayer and praising God for the feeling of abandonment and rejection no longer being there. Healing comes through praise. Then a thought popped in my mind that I hope that I have not been calloused and the reason was a wall I had created. He told me I had not and assured me that death no longer had victory in that area of my life. I heard, “O death, where is your sting?” The stings were gone. Peace has taken its place. Thoughts of rejection have no power any longer. I can walk into a room and just because no one is speaking to me, not feel completely alone.

I am sure that I will be tested in it again. The devil does not have any new tricks, but he is not good at letting go. He loses his power when you face the obstacle, he laid out head on. That means no more walls and no more running.

Colossians 2:6-7 (TLB) And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote “What shoes are you wearing?” In it I shared about binding your feet with the gospel of peace, from Ephesians 6:15.

“and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news].” These shoes were a part of the weaponry of the Roman soldier. They started at the knees and were made of metal and leather. They were vicious weapons. They wrapped around the calves. Why, because the enemy does not fight fair and looks for weak points. The bottom of the shoe was affixed with sharp, dangerous, protruding spikes. They extended beyond the front of the shoe. The spikes were intended to hold the soldier in place during the battle, making him virtually immoveable.

This is what happens when your roots grow down into Him. This is why we are to meditate on the Word. Making us strong and vigorous. He is my strong tower. I am not hiding from what could possibly be an attack of rejections because I am hidden in Him. I am immoveable.

About six years ago I was sharing something that I was reading from a book by Joyce Meyer. She wrote, “You can spend your entire life dealing with outward symptoms, but the bad fruit will manifest somewhere else if the root is not eliminated. The principle never fails: rotten fruit come from rotten roots, and good fruit comes from good roots. To really deal with bad fruit, you must follow Paul’s admonition to the Colossians to be “deeply planted” in God. You may need to carefully examine your own roots. If they were unpleasant, harmful and abusive, don’t be discouraged; you can be uprooted from the bad soil and transplanted into the good soil of Christ Jesus, so that you become rooted and grounded in Him and in His love. Remember, uprooting can be painful. Being planted and becoming grounded is a process that requires time and effort, but it is by faith and patience that we inherit God’s promises.”

It was a little over six years ago that rejection wanted me to hide. That humiliation wanted me to give up completely. I decided to hide in His Word. There was a battle going on and the victory was going to take my surrender. It has been a process. I have had moments of darkness. The enemy wanted to keep me in a broken state, that relationships are not for people like me. I had to let the walls down so that the roots could be dug up. I am rooted and grounded in Him. My soil is made new because it is not just me in it, it contains the fullness of Christ. Dead things had to go. That is why He reminded me that death no longer has a hold on rejection. There is no sting, because I am free through His victory!

Lord, our Redeemer, our Banner. You are so Marvelous and Worthy of Praise. Thank you for Your Son, our Victory. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, our Friend. We desire to deeply rooted in Your love. We repent for forming our own weapons and not putting on what You gave us, Your love garment. We desire to be deeply planted and rooted in Christ. With this we will produce good fruit wherever we go. We want to glorify You in everything we say and do. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.