Day 3: The Cosmetics of Beauty
Focal Scripture: "Let their cosmetics be given them. And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti. This pleased the king, and he did so." Esther 2:3-4 ESV
Hey sisters! I pray you had an awesome weekend.
Y'all as I type this, I can't help but get excited.
I love serving God and His people.
I love His Word and I adore studying and sharing it......I just love HIM!
I also love you all and I'm so thankful that you all have chosen to take this journey with me.
I pray that your love for Him grows and that a passion for His Word, His people, and doing whatever it is that He called you to do grows as well. This week will include a lot of reading, but bear with me....I believe the Holy Ghost has some things to say to us queens with purpose about our season of preparation and beauty.
Let's get started by reading Esther 2:1-4
Well, it didn't take our dear King long to move on! Funny thing is, you would think that the King would pursue a young lady that "in the natural" is the exact opposite of Queen Vashti, but the Word says that he remembered Queen Vashti and that memory inspired him to seek after another wife.....by looking for her amidst the young, beautiful virgins.
As I was studying these 4 verses, one word stood out to me.
A word that most of us girls are well acquainted with:
Cosmetics.
Cosmetics are said to involve or relate to treatment intended to restore or improve a person's appearance.
Although these girls were highly sought after for their beauty and purity, they were indirectly told that who God made them to be and their purity was not enough to please the king. They were told that they would still need cosmetics; that they would still need something to "treat," "restore," or "improve" their appearance.
I love how God shows us that there is truly nothing new under the sun. There were all types of things, even mindsets floating around during this time period that are STILL floating around and seem to be somewhat popular in our generation. And you know what's crazy and kind of sad? This mindset has crept into the church and has taken ahold of some of God's daughters. Sister, have you believed the lie of the enemy that says that who God made/called you to be and your purity before Him Is not enough? No, this is not just about make-up.......I wear it. This is about believing the devil's lie that without it or the edits or the "likes" or the attention that we're not pleasing or acceptable.
Some points we're going to focus on:
Point 1: You have to decide which "King" you want to be pleasing to.
Point 2: Purity, Purity, Purity.
Point 3: True Beauty
.
Please read:
Which King?
1 Kings 18:21
Ephesians 1:6 KJV
Sister, you have to decide which king you want to be pleasing to. You can get all the cosmetics you want to, edit all of your pictures to perfection, dress as provocatively as you want, and sure, you'll get the attention of some earthly kings, but the King of Kings.......
Sister, hear me with your heart. The King of Kings is not impressed with the same things this world is impressed with. And sister, we should not be impressed or enamored by those things either. Truth is, when you're a true woman after God's own heart, a queen with a purpose, you won't be acceptable or pleasing to a bunch of earthly kings. But sister, as a blood bought believer, you are already acceptable and pleasing to the One that really matters.....JESUS. And another good thing is (if it's a desire of yours), He will see to it that in His perfect timing you will be pleasing and acceptable to YOUR earthly king.*wink
Purity
1 Timothy 2:8-10
Psalm 119:9
Sister, I don't care what this world says, purity is not out of fashion with God.
I'm not just talking about remaining a virgin until marriage, I'm talking about being so pure before God that we not only honor Him with our bodies, but with what we say and think. I'm talking about guarding our tongue so much that if it's not edifying, if it is not in line with the Word or with what we are believing God for, we don't say it. I'm talking about monitoring our thoughts so much so that if it doesn't please God, we cast it down and make it obedient to His Word. I'm talking about being so pure that you're not only dressed in a godly, modest way, but you also ONLY post pictures that reflect a saved, consecrated, pure woman. I'm talking about our motives and agendas being so pure that we aren't concerned about if "they" know our name or see us; we just want them to know and see Jesus in and through us.
One more thing about purity.........
There is a time and a place to be sensual and sexy.....that time and place is when you are married and with your husband. It is not for walking around the mall, for social media. church, etc.
The enemy wants us as God's daughters to believe that purity is not all it's cracked up to be. He wants us to focus on pleasing a bunch of earthly kings over our one and true heavenly King, by adding the "cosmetics" of sensuality and "being sexy;" settling for the attention and "approval" of our brothers in the Lord and/or the men of this world. Sister, whether you know it or not, you are a walking epistle. People read you more than they do the Word. It's time that we as women of God stand up for purity and be proud of it. It's time that we stop believing the lie, stop worrying about what this man thinks or that man thinks, and just go after seeking God's face and honoring Him.
True Beauty
Proverbs 31:30
1 Samuel 16:7
1 Peter 3:4
"True feminine beauty, in God's pattern, isn't sensual or self-seeking. Instead it is a loveliness that comes from a woman's surrendered heart toward Christ---His loveliness that flows through her from the inside out." Leslie Ludy
Charm is deceitful. It can be very, VERY misleading. Beauty is vain. So focus on being a woman that fears the Lord. One that has an imperishable, unfading, gentle and quiet spirit. One that is not overanxious, but is instead confidently trusting and resting in the Lord. One that bears fruit and is spiritually mature, which is precious, very precious in the Lord's sight. Sister, truth is, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. And yes. the King is indeed enthralled by and delights in your beauty (Psalms 45:11), but as we will see through the study of Esther, that it wasn't beauty alone that granted her favor with not only the king, but with everyone that she came into contact with......it was the favor of God.
Because sister, God's favor is indeed > than any type of cosmetics.
Remember that YOU, my friend, if you are born again are a queen with a purpose. You are already pleasing and acceptable to the Lord. Rest in that today.
Spend some time with the Lord today. Put on some worship music and again, just pour out your heart to Him. Ask Him to show you, you. The areas you are doing well in and the areas you could change or grow in. Yield yourself completely to Him. He will help you. He loves you and so do I. Be encouraged!
See you Thursday.
Hey sisters! I pray you had an awesome weekend.
Y'all as I type this, I can't help but get excited.
I love serving God and His people.
I love His Word and I adore studying and sharing it......I just love HIM!
I also love you all and I'm so thankful that you all have chosen to take this journey with me.
I pray that your love for Him grows and that a passion for His Word, His people, and doing whatever it is that He called you to do grows as well. This week will include a lot of reading, but bear with me....I believe the Holy Ghost has some things to say to us queens with purpose about our season of preparation and beauty.
Let's get started by reading Esther 2:1-4
Well, it didn't take our dear King long to move on! Funny thing is, you would think that the King would pursue a young lady that "in the natural" is the exact opposite of Queen Vashti, but the Word says that he remembered Queen Vashti and that memory inspired him to seek after another wife.....by looking for her amidst the young, beautiful virgins.
As I was studying these 4 verses, one word stood out to me.
A word that most of us girls are well acquainted with:
Cosmetics.
Cosmetics are said to involve or relate to treatment intended to restore or improve a person's appearance.
Although these girls were highly sought after for their beauty and purity, they were indirectly told that who God made them to be and their purity was not enough to please the king. They were told that they would still need cosmetics; that they would still need something to "treat," "restore," or "improve" their appearance.
I love how God shows us that there is truly nothing new under the sun. There were all types of things, even mindsets floating around during this time period that are STILL floating around and seem to be somewhat popular in our generation. And you know what's crazy and kind of sad? This mindset has crept into the church and has taken ahold of some of God's daughters. Sister, have you believed the lie of the enemy that says that who God made/called you to be and your purity before Him Is not enough? No, this is not just about make-up.......I wear it. This is about believing the devil's lie that without it or the edits or the "likes" or the attention that we're not pleasing or acceptable.
Some points we're going to focus on:
Point 1: You have to decide which "King" you want to be pleasing to.
Point 2: Purity, Purity, Purity.
Point 3: True Beauty
.
Please read:
Which King?
1 Kings 18:21
Ephesians 1:6 KJV
Sister, you have to decide which king you want to be pleasing to. You can get all the cosmetics you want to, edit all of your pictures to perfection, dress as provocatively as you want, and sure, you'll get the attention of some earthly kings, but the King of Kings.......
Sister, hear me with your heart. The King of Kings is not impressed with the same things this world is impressed with. And sister, we should not be impressed or enamored by those things either. Truth is, when you're a true woman after God's own heart, a queen with a purpose, you won't be acceptable or pleasing to a bunch of earthly kings. But sister, as a blood bought believer, you are already acceptable and pleasing to the One that really matters.....JESUS. And another good thing is (if it's a desire of yours), He will see to it that in His perfect timing you will be pleasing and acceptable to YOUR earthly king.*wink
Purity
1 Timothy 2:8-10
Psalm 119:9
Sister, I don't care what this world says, purity is not out of fashion with God.
I'm not just talking about remaining a virgin until marriage, I'm talking about being so pure before God that we not only honor Him with our bodies, but with what we say and think. I'm talking about guarding our tongue so much that if it's not edifying, if it is not in line with the Word or with what we are believing God for, we don't say it. I'm talking about monitoring our thoughts so much so that if it doesn't please God, we cast it down and make it obedient to His Word. I'm talking about being so pure that you're not only dressed in a godly, modest way, but you also ONLY post pictures that reflect a saved, consecrated, pure woman. I'm talking about our motives and agendas being so pure that we aren't concerned about if "they" know our name or see us; we just want them to know and see Jesus in and through us.
One more thing about purity.........
There is a time and a place to be sensual and sexy.....that time and place is when you are married and with your husband. It is not for walking around the mall, for social media. church, etc.
The enemy wants us as God's daughters to believe that purity is not all it's cracked up to be. He wants us to focus on pleasing a bunch of earthly kings over our one and true heavenly King, by adding the "cosmetics" of sensuality and "being sexy;" settling for the attention and "approval" of our brothers in the Lord and/or the men of this world. Sister, whether you know it or not, you are a walking epistle. People read you more than they do the Word. It's time that we as women of God stand up for purity and be proud of it. It's time that we stop believing the lie, stop worrying about what this man thinks or that man thinks, and just go after seeking God's face and honoring Him.
True Beauty
Proverbs 31:30
1 Samuel 16:7
1 Peter 3:4
"True feminine beauty, in God's pattern, isn't sensual or self-seeking. Instead it is a loveliness that comes from a woman's surrendered heart toward Christ---His loveliness that flows through her from the inside out." Leslie Ludy
Charm is deceitful. It can be very, VERY misleading. Beauty is vain. So focus on being a woman that fears the Lord. One that has an imperishable, unfading, gentle and quiet spirit. One that is not overanxious, but is instead confidently trusting and resting in the Lord. One that bears fruit and is spiritually mature, which is precious, very precious in the Lord's sight. Sister, truth is, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. And yes. the King is indeed enthralled by and delights in your beauty (Psalms 45:11), but as we will see through the study of Esther, that it wasn't beauty alone that granted her favor with not only the king, but with everyone that she came into contact with......it was the favor of God.
Because sister, God's favor is indeed > than any type of cosmetics.
Remember that YOU, my friend, if you are born again are a queen with a purpose. You are already pleasing and acceptable to the Lord. Rest in that today.
Spend some time with the Lord today. Put on some worship music and again, just pour out your heart to Him. Ask Him to show you, you. The areas you are doing well in and the areas you could change or grow in. Yield yourself completely to Him. He will help you. He loves you and so do I. Be encouraged!
See you Thursday.