Category Archives: Beauty

Abiding, Appearance, Beauty, Bible, Blessing, Loveliness, Scripture

LOVELINESS AND BEAUTY

ZECHARIAH 9:17

“For how great will their loveliness and beauty be! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins.”

I am sure you have all seen a beauty contest. Contestants are judged on their beauty and poise. Sometimes they are even judged on a talent. When I was in high school, my girlfriend was crowned Miss Pelham in our hometown contest. Needless to say, my chest was a little puffed up.

God is not talking about worldly beauty and loveliness. The Hebrew words are worthy of a look. “Loveliness” means goodness, gladness, welfare. It’s a word that has meaning that is directed toward others. “Beauty” is just that – beauty. Was God saying the Israelites are all beautiful physically? Of course not. Their beauty was all based on their relationship to Him. What a great expression towards His people!

APPLICATION

How lovely and beautiful are you? Well Carl, I have been told I am a really nice person. That is not what God means by this. Our loveliness and our beauty cannot be tied to worldly opinions. Ours is tied directly to how we live out the Word of God. Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

This kind of thinking will turn us into lovely and beautiful believers. It will come out in the way we treat others. It will be exposed to strangers. We will not be able to keep Jesus from spilling out on others. They will see His loveliness and His beauty in us. Remember, it is NOT about you. It’s all about Him.

I will never be called beautiful based on my physical features. As I age, I see more and more physical imperfections. But it is my prayer that people see my loveliness and my beauty that is based on Jesus. When He shines forth, that is all that matters. Be lovely and be beautiful for Jesus!

I praise You, O God, for making me more and more like You so Your loveliness and Your beauty can be seen.

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Beauty, Bible, Glory, Goodness, Honor, Majesty, Scripture, Splendor

HIS SPLENDOR

HABAKKUK 3:3

“God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise.”

Splendor! What does that word mean? We don’t use it a lot today. At least, I don’t, but I can think of a few scenes that could be described that way. The splendor of a sunset or sunrise. The splendor of a beautiful garden. The splendor of majestic mountain peaks. Just think of something you could describe that way.

The word used by Habakkuk is hod, which can mean beauty, comeliness, glorious, glory, goodly, honor, majesty. Don’t forget he is describing God here. He says this splendor covers the heavens. In other words, it covers all we see. It’s always there. We just don’t see it sometimes because we are not looking for it. God’s splendor doesn’t hide from us.

APPLICATION

As believers in Christ, God’s splendor is manifested in and through us by the Holy Spirit. The lost world should be able to see God’s splendor in us. Why don’t they? Why don’t we let it burst forth like the heavens? Why don’t we allow God’s splendor to pierce the darkness that surrounds us?

I want to encourage you today to shine, to be splendorous! That may be a new word, lol. But I like the sound of it. Be splendorous. Reflect the beauty, comeliness, gloriousness, goodliness, honor and majesty of God. Let others ask you what is wrong with you. They may be amazed at what is coming out of you.

Our choir is singing our second Christmas program today. It is our prayer that His splendor pours forth from us. We want those watching and listening to experience His splendor this Christmas season. If we are the only Christmas program they get to attend, we want them to leave encouraged in their walk with Christ. Join us today and let the splendor of Christ shine forth.

The splendor of the king, robed in majesty, let all the earth rejoice!

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Advice, Beauty, Belief, Bible, Creation, Exalting, Glory, Inspirational

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

AMOS 8:2

“And He said, ‘What do you see, Amos?’ And I said, ‘A basket of summer fruit.’ Then the LORD said to me, ‘The end has come for My people Israel. I will not spare them any longer.’”

There are many advantages to getting older. Senior coffee and discounts, senior matinees at the theater, etc. But one disadvantage is your eyesight. Almost everyone has some loss of vision as they age. That plus two stem cell transplants (chemotherapy) have really changed my eyesight. Thank God for glasses, lol.

God wasn’t giving Amos an eye exam. He wasn’t asking him to read the letters and numbers on a chart. The Lord was giving him a message to share with Israel. He wanted to make sure Amos saw clearly what He was telling him. He wanted his hearing of the message to be reinforced by a vision.

APPLICATION

God often shows us things that we just don’t see. Take for instance, a sunrise. How many of them have you seen in your lifetime? But how often do you stop and thank God for seeing another day? God’s message to us is love. He shows us that love in so many ways, but we often fail to see it.

Let me challenge you to do something. Start taking note of “God sightings.” Those are times when you are made aware of God in something or when there is no other explanation for something. Write those down and put them in a box or jar. At the end of the year, read them. You will be amazed.

I see God in my wife, my children, my grandchildren and even in my “grandpups.” God’s creativity in forming each uniquely amazes me. Take a break and people watch. Look at all the faces God has made. It’s really unbelievable. Yet, God never stops creating. I thank God for that today. Yes, God, I see.

I praise You for eyes that can see. Help me see as You do.

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Abiding, Beauty, Bible, Choices, Contentment, Encouragement, Family, God's Will, Heaven, Inspirational, Light, Modeling, Relationships, Scripture

STARS IN THE HEAVENS

AMOS 5:8

“He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and changes deep darkness into morning, who also darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is His name.”

I have never studied the stars or the constellations. But there is just something about going out of town at night, finding a place with very little light and laying down to look at the stars. There are so many! I stumbled across an app for my phone recently called Skyview Lite. Now, I am not endorsing it, but it allows you to find the constellations and planets at night.

God doesn’t need an app or a telescope to find the stars and constellations. He made them. He placed each of them right where He wanted them. He is the one who set our planet in just the right spot from the sun and started its rotation. Amos says the LORD is His name. Indeed, it is.

APPLICATION

Do you realize that the Lord has placed you right where He wants also? I can look back at my years in ministry and see how He orchestrated our moves to prepare me for the next role. Just like Pleiades and Orion, we have all been placed in orbit and connected with others to form human constellations.

What do I mean by that? God placed us in our families. God placed us in our communities. God placed us in our churches. You may say, Carl, I chose where I am living and the church I am attending. Did you seek the Lord in those decisions? If you did and you followed His leading, then He placed you there.

I am thankful for where the Lord has placed me. Is it always perfect? Nope, and you know why? Because my flesh gets in the way. I truly believe if I follow the Lord, He will lead me exactly where He wants me to be, no matter what obstacles I may face. I want to be His bright star shining. Don’t you?

I praise You, Father, for Your wisdom in placing me where You want me to be. Just like the stars, I am to shine and point others to You.

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Advice, Beauty, Bible, Blasphemy, Direction, Encouragement, Following, Judgment, Obedience, Punishment, Scripture

NOSE RINGS

HOSEA 2:13

“‘I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she used to offer sacrifices to them and adorn herself with her nose ring and jewelry, and follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,’ declares the LORD.”

I have never understood the fascination with nose rings. I would not want someone to drill another hole in my nose. I’ve seen nose rings with chains that attached to an earring. I’ve seen simple studs in a nose. I’ve even seen large hoops hanging from the center of the nose, actually covering their mouth. If that’s your thing, have at it. I just don’t get it.

Now, that I have offended half of you, lol.  Gomer was all about her nose rings and jewelry. But you need to understand something. She was doing that to make herself more presentable to her false gods. Israel was doing the same. They would dress up to worship the false gods that had infiltrated their land. It was all futility. God was going to show them that.

APPLICATION

What are you doing in the name of religion that is absolutely futile? We often dress up and put on airs to impress others in church. We pretend to be something we aren’t. We play the part well, don’t we? It used to be that people would dress to the nines with their suits or dresses. Now they see who can dress down the most. It seems jeans and sneakers have replaced the three-piece suit.

So, who are you trying to impress? It’s not about what you are wearing, is it? God could care less what we look like on the outside. It’s all about what is on the inside. You could have the most elaborate nose ring collection in the world, but it wouldn’t impress a holy God.

I want to ask you to examine how you come to worship. Do you come humbly, asking the Lord to teach you? Or are you coming to church to just hang with your friends and see what others are looking like? Will you step back and just take a look in the mirror before you leave your house for worship. Who are you dressing for?

Lord, I want to come before You in all humility. I also want to dress in a way that honors You.

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Advice, Beauty, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Completeness, Contentment, Encouragement, Flesh, Gifts, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Mentoring, Modeling, Parenting

INNER BEAUTY

1 PETER 3:3

“Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;”

You have probably heard that beauty is only skin deep. If Peter had heard that expression, he may have used it right here in today’s verse. It’s interesting that the word “adornment” is the Greek word kosmos which means worldly affairs, the world, the universe. We get our word “cosmetics” from this root word.

Now, I am not saying that all cosmetics are worldly. I am glad we have them. I just think we need to heed Peter’s words here. Beauty isn’t about the external, whether that be cosmetics, fixing your hair or wearing the latest fashions. Real beauty comes from the inside. And real, real beauty is only given by God.

APPLICATION

So, how do we apply this verse to our children? Easy, don’t let your little girls wear makeup, lol. Just kidding. But we should teach our boys and girls that the external isn’t as important as the internal. How you look is important, but it shouldn’t be what drives us. In other words, there is no reason to spend hours and hours in the bathroom getting ready.

Now, I am sure I will get cards and letters about this blog. That’s okay. I am just looking at what Peter said. The external is just not as important as the internal. God makes you beautiful, not Maybelline. All the cosmetics in the world can’t cover an ugly heart. Amen?

How’s your inner beauty? Are you allowing God to adorn you? He will. He will exercise the fruits of the Spirit in and through you today. Nothing is more beautiful than kindness, gentleness and self-control. Let Him work through you this day.

I am beautiful only because of You. Adorn me today with Your glory so others will see You in me.

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