(This is a delightful devotion I received from a friend today! I would love to give credit where credit is due,and I have been told it is by Nancy Campbell from Far Above Rubies. www.aboverubies.org)

Ephesians 2:22-24, “Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which was corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.”

When you were born again by the Spirit of God, you received a new wardrobe. It is a very expensive wardrobe, paid for by the precious blood of Christ. You have so many beautiful garments hanging in this wardrobe. You have lovely dresses of love, joy, peace, longsuffering gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). You have delightful garments of tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness,
long suffering, forbearance and forgiveness. (Colossians 3:12-17).

The strange thing is that although we have this expensive wardrobe, we don’t always bother to wear the clothes. We are so used to our old shabby clothes of the flesh. We feel more comfortable in them. They feel familiar, so we stick with them instead of trying out our new wardrobe. To put on a beautiful dress of gentleness or patience can seem foreign because we are not used to wearing them.

But they belong to you! They are yours! Imagine if your husband purchased a very special and pricey dress for you. You couldn’t believe how posh it was. But you never wore it. You thought it was too good for you. How would your husband feel when he paid so much for it and wanted to be proud of you wearing it?

I wonder how God feels when He gives us this glorious wardrobe, purchased at an enormous price, and we never wear the garments? He gives them to us but He doesn’t put them on us. He tells us to PUT THEM ON. “Put on the new man …” I love the J. B. Phillip’s translation which says, “Fling off the dirty clothes of the old way of living … And put on the clean fresh clothes of the new life …”

Make sure you put on a new garment each morning. Have you had a lousy night with the baby waking all night? Are you going through a fiery ordeal? Put on the garment of praise. (Isaiah 61:1-3). Let me tell you a secret. You won’t feel like putting it on. You’d much rather put on your dirty old dress of grumbling and complaining. But do it by faith. Don’t worry about your feelings. Put on your praise garment. Start praising and thanking the Lord. As
you do it by faith, you will actually wear it.
You can change garments as you need them throughout the day. Are the children getting on your nerves? You feel your anger rising. Quick! Change into your garment of long-suffering or patience. Put it on by faith. Thank the Lord for His patience which is in you because He lives in you.

Are you starting to shout and yell because everything is getting on top of you? Put on the garment of gentleness. Thank the Lord for His gentle spirit which lives in you. This is the new man. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He lives in you now.

All these beautiful garments belong to you. They are yours. All you have to do is put them on by faith!

Strip of your old shabby garments. Wear your new ones each day. Live in them. Let Christ live His beautiful life through you.
PRAYER:

“Thank, you Lord, for all the beautiful garments that you have given to me. I am sick of my old rags. They look so ugly to everyone. Help me to put on our beautiful new garments which reveal your beautiful life in me. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I may have little in my literal wardrobe, but I have access to the most glorious garments in my spiritual wardrobe. Praise God.

By Nancy Campbell from Far Above Rubies. www.aboverubies.org

Turning to Him, working on the Prudent Wife Bible Study….

Lord help us to see ourselves through your eyes, in the area of prudent behavior, thinking, speech, wisdom and action. Show us where we fall short and give us Your wisdom to diligently become the Prudent Wife of scripture. Help us to bring honor to our husbands, all the days of our lives. Help root out the sinful attitudes that are so deeply ingrained, in our hearts, actions and minds, as women of modernity. Help us confront the scam of advertising and how it seeps into our brains and we act without wisdom, even wickedly, in a never ending quest to get, to have, to do, compete, or whatever our particular issue is. Lord, give us strength to face our lives in a new way, in light of Your word, and the wisdom within. Confront our hearts, quicken our spirits, challenge our minds and give us Your vision for living the prudent life, as prudent wives, to your glory. We love you Lord, we thank you for your sacrifice and pray you guide our hearts, minds and actions and that you give us courage to live out the prudent journey. Change us, meld us, mold us, refine us, to bring honor and glory to You. We love you Lord, and seek to bring honor to your Holy Name.

on Emily’s 13th Birthday, Day One of CH 11 Bankruptcy Court Auction for hubby’s employer….

Yesterday morning, before gardening for 2 hours, I had the most wonderful time studying the Prudent Wife. I studied and wrote for 2 hours. I am so thankful for a Saturday morning where the tyranny of the urgent was put aside, and I was able to put distraction aside, study and write.

We begin to glorify the Lord with our minds, hearts, souls and abilities by studying His precious Word. How can we possibly say we know Him, the author and creator, who chose us, before the foundation of the earth, if we do not study His perfect word? How do we become a prudent wife like scripture admonishes without studying?

The Bible is the richest text ever written. It is God’s true love story to us. He chose 66 writers over 1500 years, and divinely inspired their pens to give us the book of praise, wisdom, love, HIStory, and sound choices we are blessed with today.

So any “Prudent Wife” website needs to begin with a study of His word and what He says about prudent. Rest assured, I am on the same beginning journey that you are. I am stumbling along this prudent journey, imperfectly in fits and starts, fighting my Adamic nature, and learning through trial and error. It is only by the grace of God that I write this, and I pray it is to HIS glory, and not merely my own ramblings. I pray you will be inspired, divinely by HIS word, as we will learn together the riches and glory of His precious word.

I pray this study of prudent reaches deep inside our souls and that the Lord changes our hearts, melds our characters, and challenges our thinking to the core. I pray we exchange our non-prudent behavior, and begin to discern and live a prudent life, one little step at a time.

Lord help us to see ourselves through your eyes, in the area of prudent behavior, thinking, speech, wisdom and action. Show us where we fall short and give us Your wisdom to diligently become the Prudent Wife of scripture. Help us to bring honor to our husbands, all the days of our lives. Help root out the sinful attitudes that are so deeply ingrained, in our hearts, actions and minds, as women of modernity. Help us confront the scam of advertising and how it seeps into our brains and we act without wisdom, even wickedly, in a never ending quest to get, to have, to do, compete, or whatever our particular issue is. Lord, give us strength to face our lives in a new way, in light of Your word, and the wisdom within. Change our hearts, quicken our spirits, challenge our minds and give us a new vision for living the prudent life, as prudent wives, to your glory. We love you Lord, we thank you for your sacrifice and pray you guide our hearts, minds and actions.

Copyright 2007 by Lisa Baughn