Beauty and the Bubble Bath
What is Beauty? Where does it come from? What makes a person beautiful? Is it their appearance, their attitude, or both? Think of someone that you think is truly beautiful. What makes them beautiful? Is it their hair, their skin, their perfect figure? Or is it their heart, their caring and compassionate nature, their gentle and quiet spirit?
Man vs. God: We are bombarded by voices everywhere, each one expressing an opinion about our worth or what we must do to be beautiful, to be accepted and to be loved. (like the latest fashion magazines & beauty tends) Where else do some of these “voices” come from? How many of us are honest enough to say that we sometimes believe the lies that the voice of “man” tells us? I know I have struggled with this!
In Matthew 23:25 Jesus exchanged conversation with the Pharisees, the religious rulers of His time. He accused them of shining the outside of the cup, but the inside was full of filth. It is easy for us to be like the Pharisees, giving so much of our energy in maintaining an image. Working hard at appearing a certain way to receive the results we desire. But to whom should we listen? Let us look at what the Bible has to say about where beauty comes from.
So why listen to God’s voice? SLOWLY read Psalm139:1-18
[Psa 139:1-18 NLT] 1 For the choir director: A psalm of David. O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away. 3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. 5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! 7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. 11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night-- 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
"Psalm 139 (NLT) - For the choir director A." Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Aug, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/nlt/psa/139/1/s_617001>.
Consider a cup of sand from your favorite beach… how many grains of sand would be in the cup. You truly CAN’T count! There is NO ONE on earth who could ever know you as intimately as God knows you. He formed you, He designed you, He knows the days you will be on this earth, and His precious thoughts of you out number all the sand in the world!!! My mind cannot comprehend that! Rest assured; He loves you more than “man” loves you.
So, we have discovered that real beauty comes from the inside out. Therefore, to be a truly beautiful person, Christ needs to be our center, our core of our being. I want you to take a moment and think of what makes you tick. What is your purpose for being? Is God in your core, or based on what we have talked about, are you separated from Him? The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
You can look at it this way. The world is sick. We are all born with this sickness, which is sin. Sin is anything that you think, say, or do that does not bring glory to God. Think of it as having a sick heart. This illness is terminal and will lead to eternal death which is separation from God. But there is a cure! Because of how much God loves us, which we have already discovered, he sent a remedy, a cure. He sent His only natural son, Jesus, to earth. He is the only one born without sin because he is God, as well as human. Being completely perfect, He took on all our sin when He died on the cross. He paid the price for our sin, so that we can have eternal life with Him instead of eternal death separated from Him. We will never truly be beautiful on the inside unless we have Him living in us!
Now you may be like, Ok, now you have lost me. How does He live IN me? Think of it as a heart transplant. When we believe Christ died for us and trust in His plan for our life, He removes our sick heart and replaces it with His own.
Now I know many of you have had this type of heart transplant as I have. But some of you may still be extremely sick. I want to give you an opportunity to accept this free gift of a new heart now.
Or, you may have Christ in you already, but you struggle with listening to the voice of “man” and your inner beauty is clouded and foggy because you give more thought about your outward appearance. If today you want to start fresh, respond to the Lord through a prayer like this:
“Dear Lord, you have made me and formed me. You know every detail about me. You know when I sit down, and when I rise up, and your thoughts of me out number the sand. Psalm 139 ends with this, Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. God, help me to claim Your promises and not the lies of man. Amen”
If you know today that your heart is sick and that Christ is not in you and you want to accept His gift of new life you can say a prayer like this:
“Dear God, I realize that I am a sinner and am separated from you. I believe that Jesus died for me to pay the price for my sin. I give you my sick heart, replace it with your own. I commit my life to you and to the plans you have for me. Amen”
If you made either of these commitments, I encourage you to share this with me, or with someone you KNOW will help you live out this new commitment. Or if you have questions and do not really understand all that this is all about, message me, I would love to help you get the answers you are looking for.
Balance is the key…
We are to care for our inner and outer beauty. Finding balance is key, because anything that
is carried to an extreme becomes idolatry.
Our world tends to focus almost exclusively on the outward
appearance. Although our outer
appearance is important, we cannot ignore our inner person. So, as we balance, caring for our spiritual
beauty and our physical beauty, I would like to share some simple aspects of
physical care, paralleled with spiritual care throughout this blog.
[1Pe 3:3-4 NLT] 3 Don't
be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry,
or beautiful clothes. 4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty
that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which
is so precious to God.
"1 Peter 3 (NLT) - Dont be concerned about
the." Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Aug, 2020.
<https://www.blueletterbible.org/nlt/1pe/3/3/s_1154003>.
What you are known for should not be your outer appearance, but rather,
your heart. When people meet someone,
who has the heart of the LORD, they are drawn to the warmth from the inside
out. So, balance your focus, beginning
with your inner beauty, then your outer beauty.
God, your creator, values most -- your heart.
With school just starting and the fall schedule kicking in, stress can be overwhelming! A great way to unwind when things get crazy…a bubble bath!
Tip: It helps to
create a great bubble bath caddy to hold your necessary items.
S Set
the mood…put on some relaxing music, dim the lights, light candles (with mom’s
permission), prep your favorite warming drink (the best drink for relaxation is
tea - Chamomile or mint).
S Start
with a good facial cleansing. You will need the following: a head band, facial cleanser, wash cloth,
warm water, and then cool water to cleanse out pores. (follow product
instructions)
S Time
for the Bath! You will need the
following: a scrubby, body soap or gel,
body lotion, bubble bath, razor (with permission), clippers, towel, hand towel,
reading, hot cup of tea.
S Begin
with filling the tub, adding a generous amount of bubbles, of course. Then take a nice cleansing stretch and a deep
breath to relax. This is a great time to
thank the Lord for creating you…
S Slip
into the tub and scrub your entire body.
Just scrub everything…and shave if necessary.
S Time
to enjoy the tub. Use the hand towel to
dry your hands so that you can pick up a good book or your cup of tea. Be sure to drink LOTS of water, especially if
you are in a hot tub!
S After
you are through, or the water is just too cold, pull the plug, drain the water,
and dry off.
S Time
for the magical powers of lotion…Lotion everything! Making skin soft and rub those sore muscles
to ease the stress.
S The
best time for a manicure is right after a bath or shower because your cuticles
and nails are soft.
S Put
on your most comfortable, favorite jammies and curl up in bed, rest your weary
muscles and have a beautiful sleep!
Comments