WEEK SEVEN:
CHAPTER FIVE continued:
THIRD PART of
Three Parts Series On…
“CONFIDENCE
WALK and POSTURE IN CHRIST!”
This week
will end the three part series of… CONFIDENCE and POSTURE IN CHRIST. However, as we travel through the Bible entering
more of the women’s lives that God guided His authors to transcribe,
articulating on their virtues and their shortcomings, we will be referring back
to these three chapters often. This is why I wanted to bring these chapters
into light here at the beginning.
Now
let’s go into PART THREE…
IF YOU HAVE YOUNG or TEENAGE GIRLS IN YOUR HOME, YOU MAY WANT TO
SIT DOWN AND GO THROUGH THIS WITH THEM. BELIEVE IT OR
NOT, IT COULD HELP THEM IN AREAS THEY MAY BE STRUGGLING IN.
POINT FIVE…. “WHAT DO WE TAKE WITH US EVERYWHERE WE GO??”
What do we take everywhere we go? What do we
take through every door we walk through and into every room we enter?? There
are several different things we carry every step we take! So, what are they??? What do we take
everywhere we go? Hmmmm…
A CJisum…
Everywhere you go you
take everything you KNOW and BELIEVE
ABOUT YOURSELF!! Everything that is in your head that supports your belief
thoughts; and everything that is in your
heart that you truly believe about yourself… goes through
that door with you. All your beliefs,
from head-to-heart, enters that room
with you!
WOW, did you read that
correctly??? Let’s read it again and this time say “I”, “MY” and “ME” instead of the word ‘You’ and ‘Your’.
Let’s look
at the meaning of the word ‘belief’… confidence, certainty, conviction, acceptance
The Point
Is???
Everything you believe
about yourself, from head-to-heart… your ‘inner-self-beliefs’
goes everywhere you go!! Now, that’s as simple as it gets! But, is it that simple??
Now that we
know that our strong and weak beliefs walk wherever we walk, what are we carrying
around with us?
Using
your “head (thinking) and heart (feeling)” as scenarios, displayed as pictures
before you, exposing your ‘inner-self-beliefs’
what do you see?
Here are some examples using the definitions of ‘belief’ stated above.
Everything YOU…
§ think
you have conviction (convinced) yourself that you are praiseworthy… or not praiseworthy
§ think
people receive you with acceptance
… or do not received you with acceptance
§ feel
confident
you can do … or cannot do
§ feel
for certain that you are a beautiful person … or not so beautiful
Let’s go
one step further. Between our HEAD and HEART is what? Our voice! When we believe our thoughts and
we believe in how we feel, we then express it out through our mouths. Right? So
right!!
PARENTS Please Take Notice… When you
voice your negative thoughts and feelings before your children, what are you
saying to them? Your voice is saying that it’s OK for them to believe negative thoughts
and feelings about themselves because they hear you doing it!!! You are
teaching them that it’s OK to go through their life with the same kind of
thoughts and beliefs as you may be thinking and feeling about yourself. SO, be
extra careful what your voice says to them, because believe me, they listen,
and they learn whether you think so or not! Turn your voice toward the positive
side, speak of yourself as all positive and see what a difference it will make
in their lives now and throughout their lifetime. Children impersonate what
they see and hear, and they start it at a young age!
POINT SIX…. “OUR INNER-SELF”
Let’s talk a minute
about our ‘Inner-Self’
and how we get in touch with it.
Don’t
worry; I’m not going ‘New Age’ on you by talking about being in touch with our
‘inner-self.’ Actually the
Bible speaks of our inner-self
throughout its pages. Consequently, I’m trying to help you see that what and
how you see yourself is the same thing that projects to others, and if you live
on the negative side of the street all the time you are not only putting
yourself in danger but others as well. Reread the paragraph that was to the attention
to the Parents. It also applies to all
that are within your acquaintance circle – family, friends, co-workers, etc. So
therefore, why would most people see you
any differently than how you see yourself?
I like to call it… ISBC…Inner-Self-Belief-Catalog! Why? Because we seem to
categorize all our beliefs into categories. When someone talks about…
§ Beauty…
We believe either, “No, I’m not beautiful because…” or “Yes, I am beautiful
because God made me beautiful!
§ Confidence...
We believe either, “No, I’m not confident I can do that because…” or “Yes, I
have the confidence I can do that because through God I can do anything!”
§ Acceptance...
We believe either, “No, people don’t accept me because…” or “Yes, I do believe
people accept me the way I am because God did not create ‘no junk’! If they don’t, then that’s a problem they deal with
within themselves and with God, because God accepts me just the way He created
me!”
§ The
list could go on and on….
Seeking deep
into your inner-self-belief-catalog (ISBC), what can you add to this list? What do you see in your head-to-heart that you
have always believed was the truth about you? List the positive and the
negative side of the catalog.
Ladies, everything
within your ISBC, between your head-to-heart, goes through that door with you. Have you ever really thought about that
before??
What you
bring into a room (your ISBC) says a lot about you and what you think of
yourself. How you present yourself, how you walk and carry yourself with your
posture or how you intermingle with others in a room. What you are displaying
before others should speak volumes about the person you truly are.
Now, we can
always put on a ‘show’ and pretend we are someone we really are
not. We can also put on an arrogant persona that sooner or later will turn
people away from us. We can even use distortion
charm before others, but we fool no one!! In order to walk in the path of
God’s Gracefulness, we must be true to
ourselves and let true gracefulness
shine before others.
OK, I know,
I just threw in another ‘phrase’… “God’s Gracefulness” and I will explain that
phrase in just a moment, but first let’s look at a couple of verses in regards
to putting on a false pretense before others…
· Proverbs
31:30… ‘Charm is
deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears (loves, respects,
honors and worships) the Lord is to be praised.’
· “For such people are not
serving the Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery
they deceive the minds of naïve people.” Romans 16:18
It also
says in Proverbs 29:5 that when we put on pretense of an act we are spreading a
net for our feet to tangle with! That’s a good Memory Statement to remember!
I began
modeling when I was a teenager, and did some professional modeling in my 30’s, and for
a period of time I taught classes for young ladies to learn the art of modeling.
Models are taught to walk the runway with a graceful stride that will bring attention
from the audience up to the garment they are presenting. Hours and hours goes
into practicing the runway walk; How to walk the graceful walk; how to step
that your foot lands on the runway a certain way and always facing
straightforward; how far of a distance between each stride there should be; how
to bend your knees; how to turn, and how to stand, etc., etc. But all of it is to bring attention to what
you are presenting for the audience to gaze upon and purchase.
Do you want
to know the first thing that is emphasized over and over to a beginner want-a-be
model? They learn quickly how to get over the fear of being in front of people
or they don’t last in the business, but most of all… not only having the confidence
is important but letting it show on the runway is the most important thing a
model will learn.
POINT SEVEN…. “GOD’s GRACEFULNESS”
When we
model ourselves after the image of God before others, we are modeling…
§ God’s
Confidence
§ God’s
Posture
§ His
beauty
§ Belief
of knowing WHO we have in our hearts
§ Something
others desire within themselves
§ with
God’s Gracefulness!
We no
longer have to fear what others may say or think about us! We no longer have to
walk in the shadows of others! We no longer have to hide behind our past
failures! All who come before God and accepted Him as Lord and Savior in their
hearts are then made a new creature through the blood that was shed on the
cross for us!!
Ladies, we
are fashioned by the Master’s Hands, He made us beautiful, but our beauty within
MUST shine through! Our beauty is rooted in our inner-self-beliefs! So,
therefore, our beauty within must be modeled after God’s likeness!
God tells
us in His Word how He thinks of us as His beautiful creations, but until we
take it to head and heart we will never walk the Confidence Walk or model to others
the Posture in Christ! We will never walk with the true air of God’s Gracefulness until we believe the TRUTH!
READ: Romans
6:4 and 7:6 and give thought to how that translates in your thoughts.
We can now
hold our heads high, our hearts open, and let our voices ring out loudly with the
announcement… “I am a SOMEBODY in CHRIST JESUS because I now have a new life!! Jesus loves me!!! He tells me so in John
3:16!!!” Let’s get EXCITED LADIES!!!!
T.D. Jakes says…
“In order for people to treat you well,
there must be something deep inside of you that sends out a signal saying, “I
am somebody because God made me to be somebody. I may not be twenty-one and
wear a size seven. I may be seventy-one and wear a size twenty-seven. But I am
somebody!” When you send out a signal like that, other people will pick up on
it.”
Let’s
really get EXCITED NOW, LADIES!!!!
Did you know that we allow
or do not allow our ‘inner-self’
(what
we believe about ourselves) to make us attractive or not so
attractive? By knowing and being in
touch with our inner-self
we can walk a different walk than before.
READ: 1
Peter 3:3-4…
Question 1. What is it saying about our ‘inner-self’?
Question 2. What is ‘unfading beauty’ referring to?
Question 1. What is it saying about our ‘inner-self’?
Question 2. What is ‘unfading beauty’ referring to?
Be truthful
with yourself, has the quality of your ‘inner-self’ been
topping the scales with confidence or hitting rock bottom? Or do you float up
and down between being high one day – low the next day? How attractive has that
fashion been on you lately?
No matter what the outward makeup of our bodies may
look like, when we see ourselves as a beautiful
creation of God’s amazing artwork, it causes people to sit up and pay
attention, to ask with amazed curiosity when you walk into a room, “Who is she?”
They won’t
be asking because your clothing is so stunning or the way you look in that
outfit causes stares, or your haircut is cute, but because the spirit of who
you believe you are, your inner strength is so
magnetic. Projecting that kind of strength is not arrogance or pride; it’s
the healthy self-image that comes from the power of God’s Spirit-Image, His
likeness within you!!! It should make you feel like shouting… “I am
beautiful because I am a masterpiece of the King of all kings!!!”
READ 1
Samuel 16:7… Where is the LORD looking??
I have a
friend who has an amazing Downs Syndrome daughter who is approaching her 20’s
and she has always demanded attention when she enters a room. She walks in and
immediately starts talking to people (even strangers) because she doesn’t know
she’s different. From ‘day one’ her mother has told this incredible young lady
that she is beautiful, and the girl will tell you to your face that she’s
beautiful, and the beauty of it is, she believes it! She will even tell you
that you’re pretty because she sees a world of beautiful people.
What if we
had the strong belief that we are beautiful just the way we are like this
precious and beautiful young lady sees herself? How different would we and the
world be if we only saw through eyes that everyone’s body is beautiful just the
way they are?? If she doesn’t see her
imperfections, why should we see them in ourselves and others??
Good question!!!
This young lady believes she’s perfect just the way she was created! How
can we change the world of their beliefs that beauty is only on the outside??
Each one of us must begin with ourselves believing our beauty comes from within,
and then the chain of change will begin and spread throughout the nation! How?
You and I believe, and then those around us will believe and on it goes!!!
Yes,
there’s always room for improvement to our outward beauty, as in trimming up
the overage of additional substance on most of our bodies that makes those
confounded scales lie every time we step on them!! LOL! And yes, I’m including myself!! There are
things we may have to do to improve a health issue or to prevent one from getting
worse. When it comes to our health, for most of us, there’s always room for improvement!
But, Beautiful
Ladies, sitting aside for the moment the overage
of additional substance that some of us may or may not have, and health
issues, God wants us to accept who He has made us to be! Whether we are short
or tall, big bone or small bone frame, big nose or little nose, curly
unmanageable hair or beautiful thick shiny hair, size 3 shoe size or size 12
(and no I’m not a size 12 nor am I a size 3! LOL) Yes, God wants us to accept the person He
created us to look like...the things we cannot change, but He also wants us to take care of what He given us
(like ah, maybe trimming off some of that overage
of additional substance). If He loves His creation, why can’t we???
He also
wants us to develop our inner-self
into more of His likeness! That brings us to…
POINT EIGHT…. “RELIANCE IS THE KEY!”
Galatians 2:6 says… “God does not judge by external appearance.”
You may say, “But CJ, I
don’t know how to be that person you and T.D. Jakes talks about. How can I feel
like I AM A SOMEBODY? How can I have ‘THE CONFIDENCE WALK and POSTURE IN
CHRIST’ you speak of? How can I have GOD’s GRACEFULNESS??”
I would say
to you… First of all, your self-image (how you see yourself), your ISBC, must
be transformed into the image of God’s likeness, and then the rest will fall
into place as you grow in His image.
How can you
be transformed into the image of God’s likeness, and grow? Look back at last
week’s lesson where I talked about ‘ATTAINED.’ What was the focus word?
STAY!!!
I’ll say it
again; I strongly encourage you to…
· Read God’s Word daily
· Pray daily
· Learn to give thanks in worshiping and
praising Him
· Ask for forgiveness of sins
· Surround yourself with other believers
· Search a Christian lady that
is mature in her walk with Christ to mentor you
· Attend church regularly so you can be feed
God’s Word
· Find a ladies Bible study group where you can
learn more and also have that fellowship together with other Christian ladies, while
you continue with this study! That’s a must!! LOL :~ )
These are places you will be fed the positive food
to grow in. These are the KEYS toward learning more about your inner-self-beliefs
and more about your RELIANCE, which is our Heavenly Father. You may see that
some of your cataloging may begin to change. You will see that the negative things
you once thought about yourself are changing toward more positive. You will see
and feel more like you are walking in the Confidence Walk and have the Posture
in Christ because you now have God’s Gracefulness about you!
Think of it
this way… if someone desires to become a doctor or layer or an interior
designer or a policeman, etc., what must they do in order to attain knowledge? Go to
school! Get training and work hard toward their goal. It’s the same scenario…
we must do the things that will take us toward our heart’s desire… growing
deeper in our Christian walk!
By knowing
your RELIANCE well, then you will see how easy you will have the CONFIDENCE WALK
and POSTURE IN CHRIST! Then is when you’ll begin to know and believe you are A
SOMEBODY in CHRIST!!!
READ: Romans
12:2 and write out what that verse says to you about your inner-self.
So, Ladies, when you
walk into a room…MAKE HEADS TURN!! Let those around you see something in you that
they want to embrace within themselves. Show them you have “The Confidence Walk
and Posture In Christ!” Not only to see that you walk with confidence and
posture, but that you have the insightful KEY to both because of your RELIANCE!
YES, your
Confidence and Posture will be something they’ll want!! Because they see your
God within you who gives you the healthy self-WORTH! They can see that you are
beautifully made on the inside and a wonderfully blessed woman! Something God
planned for us to believe and embrace all along, beginning when He created Ms
Evie!!
READ: Ps
90:17… How do we have ‘the beauty of the Lord’ upon us??
Ladies, BELIEVE
THIS… A CJisum… A perfect God is certainly capable of using an imperfect person
to perform His perfect will!!!
Ps 46:10… “Be still and know that I am God!”
AND
THE MESSAGE IS???
The
Message Is…
Also,
I’m going to let you write in what MEMORY STATEMENTS you would like to
remember, making it in ‘first person’ to you.
1st MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK…
2nd MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK…
Add more MEMORY STATEMENTS.
So, Ladies, go and turn some heads!! BUT, but
then SHARE with others what you have
inside you…SHARE with them how they
can know they are A SOMEBODY. SHARE with them your RELIENCE…your God and Savior!
I hope you
have enjoyed and received something that will help you in your walk within
these three parts on CONFIDENCE WALK and POSTURE IN CHRIST!
My prayer
for each of you is found in…Eph. 1:17-19 and 3:14-20. Please read these verses,
for within the lines of these verses I pray you will discover something more
about your inner-self
and about the God you serve!
Have an
exciting week of walking in the CONFIDENCE and having the POSTURE in Christ for
others to see what you have in your ISBC!! Walk so that others will want what
you have, and then share with them what God has given you!!!
Next week’s title will be… “Two Trees Eden”
Walk the runway of life as a Model of God’s
Gracefulness!
cj
(Quotes by T.D. Jakes taken from his "Women Thou Are Loosed" Bible; Scripture verses are always taken from the KJV Bible unless otherwise stated)
