In 1960, fashion designer Richard Blackwell published his first "Worst Dressed Women" list. He passed away in 2008, and since then there have been many imitators. And every year a major part of the post-Oscar wrap-up includes what each of the stars wore--who looked the best, and which ones were the worst. The critics are ruthless. After the 2011 Academy Awards, one critic said that it looked as though Nicole Kidman was wearing an "excessively-embroidered tablecloth." Marisa Tomei's gown, they said, was "reminiscent of a young girl's prom dress," and "as if one half is trying to escape from the other." In God's eyes, the way we are "dressed" carries a different meaning. The Apostle Paul used the analogy of taking off old clothing, and putting on new: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24, NIV) Isaiah 61:10 reads, "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."
So how are you dressed today? We’re not talking about whether you are wearing a coat and tie, or a dress instead of slacks. We're talking about the way you appear before Christ. Have you been clothed with "the garments of salvation"? --Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com
It was a Good Friday when I met Christ on a youth retreat. It was not a conversion experience that would attract the attention of a lot of people. I was a teenager, looking for some meaning in life. When Christ entered—Oh! What joy flooded my being! I joined the church which had sponsored the retreat, as did several others.
The next twelve months were exciting, and yet terrible at the same time. My new-found love for Christ had spilled over into my entire life, and several of my friends were very uncomfortable being around me. Part of that was definitely my fault: I assumed a "know-it-all" attitude about Christianity, though I was still only a babe in Christ.
A year later, when Resurrection Sunday rolled around again, I eagerly entered the worship service at the church I attended. The cover of the worship bulletin depicted a painting of a scene from inside the tomb, where death had been, and it was dark. Through the open door one could see out into the beauty of nature, where life was, to see the trees budding with the arrival of spring.
At the bottom were these words: "He is not here."
The awesome truth of that grabbed me for the very first time. I realized that nothing – nothing – I had done was worthy of the horrible price Jesus had paid for me, and He was NOT THERE in the tomb any longer. I found the sins of my heart to be detestable things, and I sat there on that pew, through the entire service, weeping over my sin and His incomparable love for me.
Years later, having saved that worship bulletin (which I still have, by the way), I located an artist who would paint that scene for me. I have it framed and hanging on a wall in my study as a regular and visible reminder of what Jesus did for me.
All these long years later, the truth of what the angel said echoes through the halls of eternity: "HE IS NOT HERE; HE IS RISEN, JUST AS HE SAID!"
Praise His Name!
--Rocky Henriques
April 4 may be just another date on the calendar for you. But for me, it has a very special meaning. You see, it was on April 4, 1969, that I met the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was on a Youth Retreat to Gulfshores Baptist Assembly in Pass Christian, Mississippi, on the Good Friday-Easter weekend. I didn’t know what either Good Friday or Easter was, so I studied up before I went, sure that someone was going to put me on the spot and embarrass me. God used the World Book Encyclopedia to begin to convict me of my sin and of what a wonderful Savior Jesus is!
But I met Him as my own Savior, and I fell in love with Jesus. It was as if Jesus lifted the lid off my heart, and showed me how dark and terrible my sin was. But then He showed me how starkly beautiful His love for me is–and oh, the joy that filled my soul! Something happened, and now I know! And though I have failed Him many times since then, He has always forgiven me, and we’ve walked together since.
D. L. Moody met the Lord while working in a shoe store. He later wrote about that experience: "I thought the old sun shone a good deal brighter than it ever had before--I thought that it was just smiling upon me, and as I walked out upon Boston Common and heard the birds singing in the trees, I thought they were all singing a song to me. Do you know, I fell in love with the birds. I had never cared for them before. It seemed that I was in love with all creation." For me, when the sunset was beautiful, I believed that God had made it beautiful just for me. When I saw a rose blooming, it had been placed there by God just so I could see it. I was young and didn’t understand a lot of things about how God works, but I did believe His hand was everywhere in my life.
Why do I tell you this? Because it would be good if every once in a while, you could reach back and remember when you first met the Lord. Remember your sin, and the awfulness of it, and how Jesus has brought you into eternal life. Remember the love and hope and joy He gave you when you threw open your life to Him.
Charles Spurgeon once remembered the moment he came to know Christ: "Can you not remember, dearly beloved, that day of days, that best and brightest of hours, when first you saw the Lord, lost your burden, received the roll of promise, rejoiced in full salvation, and went on your way in peace? My soul can never forget that day . . . What delight filled my soul! -- what mirth, what ecstasy, what sound of music and dancing, what soarings to Heaven, what heights and depths of ineffable delight! Scarcely ever since then have I known joys which surpassed the rapture of that first hour."
Can you say something like that? Confess your sins to Him, trust Him to save you, and just watch what happens!
-Rocky Henriques
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