Ladies, Stop Being a Stumbling Block!

There are reasons we are to avoid the appearance of evil. It is not only to keep from looking un-Christ like to the world; but ladies it also prevents you from sending bad signals.

This may be a touchy subject for many, but it needs to be addressed. There are way too many women who dress as though they have other men on their mind rather than the things of God, (Matt. 16:23) especially in church. Improper attire may cause certain men to take their eyes off of God and put them on you, and it can possibly cause those who are weak and not able to turn their head to lust, and when those things happen it not only causes men to sin, it makes the woman a stumbling block. You know when you look in the mirror how you look, you know how much skin is showing and how tight your clothing is. What you may not realize is the depth of what you are doing when you dress so provocatively. There is a great difference in dressing to look good and dressing to look attractive. Looking attractive is to dress in such a way as to be a magnet and attract the eyes of others, looking good is when others take the time time to look at you they see a well dressed person. Can you see the difference? One way pulls eyes toward you and the other is after their eyes come in contact with you.

Here is a tip; don'’t dress like you want to give it away or sell it if it isn'’t free or for sale. Jesus said we will have stumbling blocks placed before us, but woe to him who the stumbling block comes from. (Matt.18:7)

He also said that if a man looks at a woman with lust in his heart, he has already committed adultery. So if you are dressing in a way that is causing men to lust after you; young lady you are a stumbling block and Jesus said "“Woe to you."”

You are a stumbling block if your shirt is cut too low revealing too much breast or you don't wear a bra and your shirt is so thin it is almost see through. You are a stumbling block if your pants look like they are painted on and men can see every crease and fold of your skin. You are a stumbling block if your skirt is so short you have to keep pulling it down and you are a stumbling block if you wear your pants so low that men can see your thong or that tattoo you placed on the small of your back that yells "“Look at me"” to everyone.

Ladies, I am not trying to be one sided and if seeing young men holding onto their granddads pants to keep them from falling down, and seeing their boxers hanging out "“Turns You on", I will address that in my next letter. I am however tired of men taking all the wrap when the ladies know exactly what they are doing when they dress and act the way they do. You not only cause married men to take their eyes off their wife but you may also be pushing passion buttons in single men causing them to seek a sinful relationship.

Yes the men will pay for their weakness, but don'’t you forget girls, the stumbling block will pay as well. I use that famous quote; "Forgive them Father they know not what they do" one time with people before I explain what they do. Ladies, if you just read this article, you now know exactly what you do. Please dress appropriately. For mens sake as well as your own.

If you have self esteem issues and feel that the only way to get someone to pay attention to you is by flaunting your body, please seek council. Talk with your pastor AND his wife or another godly woman.

Matthew 16:23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Matthew 18:7 "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

P.S. If you know of any women that need to read this, please pass it on to them.

Don't sell yourself short!

Today I was notified that my article "Ten Ways to Keep that Fire Burning" made it on the top 200 list of syndicated articles. I got excited until I went to the list and found out that it ranked 143 out of 200, only 57 from the bottom of the list. Not much of an accomplishment I thought.
Then I looked at how many articles were submitted and my tune changed again. Over 72,000! Now instead of being 57 from the bottom I was in front of over 71,857 other articles! Talk about a difference. I thought the bottom was just below me and boy was I wrong!

If I didn't see the other side of the statistics, I may have stopped writing altogether because it looked as though I didn't have a chance at all of being successful at it.

How many times do people measure success using the wrong ruler?
How many live a life of depression because of a false sense of self worth?
How many stop short of something because they think success is so far away?

If you think everyone else is making more money than you; did you know that if you have some spare change in your car ashtray or on your dresser you are wealthier than over 90% of all the people on earth? So quit comparing yourself to the 10% of the population and look how you fair over the real numbers and keep on growing.

Are you complaining about all the people you know that have a nicer and bigger home than you? Did you know that 2.6 million people live in their cars? If you compare your home to theirs you are doing pretty good now aren't you?

Your marriage not what it should be? 56% are unhealthy, it's not just yours. So lay down the attitude that it is only you and your marriage and seek council so you can stay in the 46 percentile.

Your teen doesn't communicate the way they used to? No it may not be that you are a slack parent, most teens go though stages where they think they are "All That" or don't need anyone telling them anything. Calm down, they will get though it. Just love them anyway and stop feeling like a failure and get some advice.

The bottom line is that there is always something we can look at that will make us look like failures but at the same time, there is also always something out there that will make us look and feel successful. God tells us in His word that there is nothing new under the sun that man will go through, and with Him all things are possible.

If God didn't think you still had a chance and were valuable, do you really think He would allow you to use up oxygen for no good reason? I don't think so... He would take you home.

But since you are still breathing and obviously still able to read, lets focus on all the great things we have going for us and share them with others to make them feel good as well.