DAILY DEVOTION No. 23

                                      WHAT CLOTHES ARE YOU WEARING?

Scripture References

Is. 61:10; Romans 13:14; Is. 52:1; Is. 61:3; 1 Peter 5:5 and Col. 3:12.

Throughout our Christian life, there are certain things we are to wear like articles of clothing. With some of these things, God actually clothes us with them, however, most of the time we are to put these things on ourselves.

Articles God Clothes Us With:

i) He Has Clothed Us With The Garments Of Salvation.

  Gen. 3:21 “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them”. When Adam and Eve sinned, God took away their reproach and shame by providing a covering from slain animals. God, through Jesus Christ, has provided a covering for our sin. Jesus blood has provided atonement whereby we no longer stand ashamed in His presence. We are in right standing with God not because of anything we could have done. It is only by God’s grace. Although we may sin, we can come before the throne room of God with confidence knowing that we are the righteousness of God in Christ. All we are required to do is to receive His salvation by faith.

Clothing We Must Put On Ourselves:

ii) We Are To Put On Christ

We must be clothed in Christ’s righteousness. Job 29:14 says “I put on righteousness and it clothed me.” Righteousness simply means “right-standing”.  It gives you the right to stand in the presence of God without fear or condemnation. We are to wear Jesus everywhere we go. We are to look like Him, walk like Him, talk like Him, act like Him. We are to be Jesus to others. We are to wear Jesus so well that no one will notice the difference – to be in Him and let Him be fully in us.

In Jeremiah 13:1-11,  we read of the symbol of the worthless linen sash which God likened to the children of Israel who refused to listen to God’s words and followed the dictates of their hearts. We must constantly put on Christ and His righteousness and not follow the dictates of our heart. We must constantly watch what we allow through the eyegate, and what we listen to, and where we go. We must keep short accounts with God. Sin made Adam run and hide, and it will make you a fugitive from God too - until you deal with it.

iii) We Are To Put On Strength

Is. 52:1 “Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendour....” . It is time for us as the people of God to be clothed in God’s strength. It is time for us to begin to operate in our God given authority. For too long we have allowed Satan to tell us we’re not going to make it. We’ve allowed him to rob us of our true identity in Christ. We have been living with feelings of inferiority and shame - still wearing the stained clothing of sin.

Satan comes as a thief and robs us of our God given authority. When we sin or allow compromise, he comes and steals our garment of strength and authority and all we have to wear is filthy, tattered garments. Our position in God hasn’t changed but we feel guilty, intimidated, and shameful. We don’t live like we could be - being ruled instead of ruling and reigning. Refuse to wear the garments of the past or the opinions of other people. Stand in the identity of who you are today and renounce the memory of who you were yesterday. It’s time to move from a survival mentality into a position of “ruling and reigning.”

iv) We Are To Put On The Garment Of Praise For The Spirit Of Heaviness

Is. 61:3 “To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”  The word “garment” in Hebrew shows praise as more than a piece of clothing casually thrown over the shoulders. It literally teaches us to “wrap or cover ourselves.” The garment of praise is to leave no openings through which hostile elements can penetrate. This garment of praise repels and replaces the heavy spirit. Like Paul and Silas in the prison in Acts 16, we must put on praise. We need to offer the Sacrifice of Praise when we don’t feel like it. 

You and I must learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord. Once you receive joy from the Lord, you have to continue to enjoy it. Don’t expect other people to keep you excited, to make you happy, or to encourage you. They will let you down. Sometimes you just have to encourage yourself. You must control your emotions. You must rule over them. You don’t have to give in to moods. Take charge! As we put on praise, it causes us to forget the situations and circumstances that loom as giants before us and focus our faith upon God.

v) We Are To Be Clothed With Humility

1 Peter 5:5 “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”. We are not to cloke ourselves in pious appearing actions, or false humility. We must recognise that what we are and what gifts we may have, is only by the grace of God. We are to constantly remember that the church is no place for arrogance or haughtiness or vanity or conceit or selfish pride. Walk in humility, with a servant heart - Christ as our example. Phil 2:5-8.

vi) We Are To Put On Compassion

Col. 3:12 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience." We are to show simple and pure expressions of compassion and love for others - not just to the Body of Christ but to a needy world. Do we see others around us that are in need or dying spiritually and show no concern? We need to remove our self-centredness and begin to see how we can bless and help the hurting around us. God is looking for people with enough compassion to stop and ask, “How are you today, are you in need of help!” And then stay around long enough to hear the answer!

Challenge