I was thinking of a way to start this and two came to me. I will pen them both and maybe delete one or I may just leave them both.

Growing up in church, my grandmother used to do a wardrobe check with us on Sunday mornings. She would make us lean forward to see if our shirts exposed any cleavage, jump up and down to see if our foundation was in place and holding everything down, and we had a skirt length check. Did your skirt hit them knees honey? If you were a church kid, you know all about the wardrobe check. Don’t get to church and have a skirt on too short! If you did, one of the ushers would ever so swiftly put a lap cloth over your legs, in other words, a whole twin sized bed sheet! LOL! Wardrobe matters.

Just imagine meeting a very notable fashion designer who is willing to let you pick out twelve pieces of their exclusive collection. The catch? You have to put off, never to wear again all the clothing items they advise you not to wear. Now you have to know, this is THEE top designer ever known to man and they are giving you a new wardrobe far more valuable than your pockets could ever afford. Are you saying yes and agreeing to the terms? Wardrobe matters.

I set in my heart to spend some time with Holy Spirit and was led to a passage of scripture; Colossians 3:2-5, 8-10, 12-17 which reads:

Colossians 3:2-5 New International Version (NIV)

² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your^[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:8-10 New International Version (NIV)

⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Colossians 3:12-17 New International Version (NIV)

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Woowee! That can seem like a lot to take in, but let’s simplify it a bit. There is a wardrobe check God is doing on those who say they are His and he wants to offer a new wardrobe to any and all that will agree to let him throw out whatever He requests. His terms are to throw out:

• sexual immorality, 
• impurity,
• lust,
• evil desires and
• greed, which is idolatry
• anger,
• rage,
• malice,
• slander, and
• filthy language from your lips

When you look at this list, none of it seems unreasonable, but if we look at our life in comparison to this list, I think we can all discover an area that we need to “put to death,” and “rid ourselves of.” The beautiful thing is that by the power of the Holy Spirit and your “yes,” on the table to God, it is possible to let go and disrobe of the wardrobe that reeks in the nostrils of God. Now, to the wardrobe that He is upgrading us to, but WE have to choose to put on:

• compassion,
• kindness,
• humility, 
• gentleness and
• patience
• forgiveness
• love
• peace
• gratitude
• song and
• thankfulness

Now that sounds like a wardrobe that never goes out of style! And guess what, it is as simple as you make it. When you have the opportunity to indulge in sexual immorality, instead choose patience, trusting that God has a plan for your purity in the confines of a healthy marriage. When you want to cuss someone out, instead clothe yourself in compassion and forgiveness recognizing that YOU are the professing Christian and as a follower of Jesus, the person who is irritating you may not have what you have that God has been developing over the years. Their deficit does not have to bring your spiritual demise. We can choose a better wardrobe, because wardrobe matters. Why does it matter? If your heart is truly set on loving God and loving people, people are drawn to God through our actions to them and each other. If your goal is to multiply the Kingdom of God for the glory of God, wardrobe matters. Oftentimes, we are the only Bible people read. #wardrobecheck

YOU check and see what you’re looking like in the mirror of God’s word. Is what you see looking like what He has offered to give? If not, there is no condemnation, just change garments. Again, you can do it! “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Be renewed, change clothes– because wardrobe matters.

#refreshher #wardrobecheck #wardrobematters #thegreatexchange