Yesterday I shared with you some scriptures that show us what Yahweh’s standards are concerning modesty. Today I would like to summarize what those standards are and then share with you some insights that Yahweh has shown me concerning it. Then I would like have you do some exercises to show you how you, too, can make sure that you are modest each and every day!

First, let’s summarize Yahweh’s standards.

1. Showing off the chest, is nakedness (Gen 3:7, 21; John 21:7)
2. Showing mid-stomach to thigh is considered nakedness (Exo 28:42)
3. Showing off our legs is considered nakedness (Isaiah 47:2-3)
4. Showing off our arm is possibly wrong (Ezekiel 4:7)
5. Walking up stairs (i.e. if our legs are uncovered) is wrong (Exodus 20:26)
6. Yahshua was clothed to the foot (Revelation 1:13) and we were told to walk as He walked (1 John 2:6).

Now I would like to get you to think about some things for a minute. If showing off your chest is nakedness and “chest” is considered “The trunk of the body from the neck to the belly; the thorax.” according to the dictionary, how does your shirts and dresses line up with this standard? Girls, this is Yahweh’s standards. This is what HE said. If our chest start at our necks and goes down to our stomach, it is more than just revealing our busts or cleavage. Let me ask you again, how do your shirts and dresses match up to Yahweh’s word? Are you wearing immodest necklines? You are revealing far more than Yahweh wants revealed? (I will share later about how to make these necklines modest).

Yahweh doesn’t leave us hanging with the “neck to stomach”, though, and continues to tell us that from our mid-stomach to thigh, if uncovered, is immodest. This brings me to another area of our dress…our shirts. Okay, I have to say that sadly, our American shirts seem to be shrinking in length…and if I, being a very short torso have a lot of trouble in this area, I think I can safely say that EVERYONE has trouble! So my question is, what about your shirts? Are they revealing (EVEN ACCIDENTALLY!) your nakedness? What about when you raise your arms or bend over to pick something up? What about playing volleyball??? How often have I seen mid-stomachs, because of this one game! Girls, are you making sure that you are modestly attired for all activities that you could possibly end up doing that day?

Now we come to the wonderful part that is so often neglected; the legs. Okay, having recently been getting my clothes at a thrift-store, I have been made aware of this more than ever. Just because you have along skirt on, does not mean that you are not showing off your legs, Girls. What about slits? Have you thought about this? What about narrow skirts, which are perfectly long enough when you are standing, but all of a sudden, when you sit, what happens? Up they go! This goes for dresses, too. Do your dresses pass this test? What about the length of your dresses or skirts? Do they line up with Yahweh’s standards?

Over the next couple of challenges, I am going to have you take a deeper look at certain garments, and then I am going to try to help show you some different ways that I have been able to make them modest. I don’t want to just gun down your closet, Girls, I want to help you set your standards to Yahweh’s standards, and then help you get there! There are some outfits that you simply can not (in my line of thinking) make modest, but there are certainly some ways that we can make our clothes modest, and I will try to share with you all, how to do that. In the meantime, let’s move onto today’s challenge, shall we?

Today’s challenge is for you to:

I would like to have you do some mirror exercises. For these exercises, I would like you to get a mirror. It would be great if you had a full-length mirror, but if not, a regular wall mirror will work.

Take the mirror and place it first on a object near your chest line. You want to be able to see the chest (neck to waist). Now I want you to start with your shirts and dresses. Put each one on, stand in front of the mirror and see if you are modestly dressed. If you pass the test standing, now I want you to raise your arms high in the air. What about now? Remember…don’t just look at the waistline, but down the sleeves! Next I would like you to bend over at the waist. What about now? Don’t just look for your waist line and if that stays covered, look at the neckline and make sure that stays covered, too. You would be amazed at what some necklines reveal to those around you when you bend over!

And when doing these exercises, I want you to be very cautious as to where your eyes are drawn too. Does your clothing draw your eyes to the clothing or body, or does it draw them to your eyes? Remember, it’s the eyes that we want people drawn to! (Keep in mind that some shirts are too revealing…you are aiming for a modest shirt or dress. This doesn’t mean baggy, it means modest, there IS a difference!).

Next I would like you to focus on the skirts and dresses. Walk around. First I would like you to look at your groin area and see if your skirts form a immodest “V” right there. Like the above exercises, where are your eyes immediately drawn to?

Following this exercise, I would like you to focus on your hips. Is the skirt or dress fitted too tight?

Now go to the length. Sit in front of the mirror. How are your legs? Are they staying covered? Walk around. What about now?

For those with stairs, you’ll be able to do this, otherwise, ignore this exercise.

Take the mirror and place it about chair level at the bottom of the staircase. Now walk up the stairs and watch what others (even children) can see when you walk up the stairs. Now stand at the top of the stairs. Are you still modest?

Make note as to which outfits or pieces of clothing passed each test and which ones didn’t. Put them in two different areas. We are going to be dealing with ways to change and alter the ones that didn’t pass the test…so don’t go throwing your clothes out just yet!

Let’s close in a word of prayer:

“Dear Heavenly Father,

I know that this is a very sensitive area. I know the world is trying to convince us that immodesty is really modest. They are trying to make bad, good and good, bad. But Father, we so deeply desire to please and honor you! Father, please give us the strength to stand up and follow you, even if it will mean us being a set apart people! Father, we want to be your set apart people! But Father, I know how hard this can be. I ask that you will bless us with the strength and the wisdom that we need. Help us know how we can dress in a modest and beautiful fashion, Father! Show us the way, please Father, show us the way! In all this, I pray in your Son’s Holy and Precious name, Yahshua! Amen”

I know that I spoke about the fact that we often base our modesty standards on thoughts and feelings and not on Yahweh’s word. I also had you write out why you wear what you wear and what has influenced those changes over the years, as I wanted you to think about why you dress the way that you do. Often times, we don’t really give much thought on this. We say “oh, this is modest” and wear it, with no thought as to “why we think it is modest”.

Today, I would like to pick back up with this topic of modesty, but I would like to now look up some different scripture verses on it, as I want you to see just what scripture has to say about modesty. I want you to know what Yahweh’s standards are. As we look up these verses, I want you to think about why you dress the way that you do and compare it to what Yahweh’s standards are. Do they line up? Or do you need to change the way that you dress, so that it lines up to Yahweh’s standards of modesty?

What does Yahweh’s word say about modesty?

Genesis 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

Genesis 3:21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did Yahweh God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

Here we can see that Adam and Eve were naked, but what they did to “clothe” themselves and hide that nakedness, wasn’t enough. It didn’t cover them properly and Yahweh ended up making them proper and modest clothes that actually did the job.

This principle shows us a couple of things. 1) What we generally think of as being modest, isn’t and 2) Modesty matters to Yahweh. Yahweh does care about how we are dressed and covered.

Yet, what is nakedness? What defines one being naked? Is it only an arm showing? A leg? What defines nakedness? In trying to answer these questions, I’m going to do something a little different here. I am going to start from the top and work my way down, explaining what things are considered nakedness to Yahweh, according to His word.

Job 1:21, “And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb…”

I have to smile every time I read Yahweh’s word. His word always has the answers. We can see that in this passage, anyone that has ever seen a baby being born has come face to face with what nakedness truly is. You are born with no covering at all. This is nakedness. Yet, are we only naked if we are completely uncovered? I think this is what the world would have us believe, but according to Yahweh’s word, that simply isn’t the case!

Let’s see some areas that Yahweh tells us that if we show them off, we are naked.

Genesis 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

Genesis 3:21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did Yahweh God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

John 21:7, “Therefore that disciple whom Yahshua loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked) and did cast himself into the sea.”

Here is a principle that I think shows a lot. First, Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness by making aprons, yet it wasn’t enough, so Yahweh made them coats or tunics, to cover their nakedness. We see this again when Peter put on his coat or tunic, to also cover his nakedness. I find this very interesting as it seems to imply that showing off ones chest (male or female) is wrong and makes one naked.

Exodus 28:42 “And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:”

Okay, here we see that anything from your mid-stomach to your thigh, if uncovered, is considered naked.

Again, Yahweh’s standards are not mans, they are higher than mans. This is why I believe it is very important to make sure that regardless as to what you do; you need to make sure that you never uncover these areas. For us girls, that means that our “ever shrinking” shirts (the length of them), needs to be taken into consideration. This is why you will notice (well, hopefully you will never notice!) that I will wear a tank top or t-shirt underneath all my shirts. Is it needed? Well, I would rather make sure that I’m never in a situation that would even accidentally “show off my nakedness”.

Isaiah 47:2-3 … make bare the leg, uncover the thigh…Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen…

Here we see a couple of things. We see that making bare the leg and thigh is considered to be nakedness. Not only that, but showing our nakedness is considered shameful (the Webster’s 1828 dictionary considers shame as being: A painful sensation excited by a consciousness of guilt…the parts which modesty requires to be covered.)

Ezekiel 4:7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

This is Ezekiel prophesying and how Yahweh told him that one of the ways to get the people’s attention was to uncover his arm. That seems to say that it wasn’t generally uncovered. Look around you, would someone uncovering their arm nowadays even attract someone’s attention? No. Why? Because it is an acceptable thing now. But back in scriptural days, I don’t believe this was the case.

So what should we as a believer strive for? This is something that I think we need to really think about. What is Yahweh’s standards? I can’t stand here and biblically tell you that His word concretely tells us that we must cover our entire arm, but I do find this principle very interesting in light of modesty. That, and the fact that Yahweh made them tunics to cover their nakedness, which also had sleeves on them. But, I can say that regardless as to what one may think, the concrete scripture says that your chest is off limits. This means that any sleeve that shows ANY part of your chest is immodest. This often means any short sleeves, atleast any that are of any looseness. This is why I personally believe that sleeves should be atleast elbow length, but this is my own personal conviction. Let’s continue.

Exodus 20:26 “Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.”

Revelation 1:13 “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.”

Here I believe is another principle to learn from and one that especially we girls need to really think about. When you sit, when you walk up stairs, are you showing anything off that is wrong? Do you even think before going up some sets of stairs about what the people down below may be seeing? What about when you sit down?

Something else that I think we need to realize is that Yahweh told us to follow His Son’s example (1 John 2:6, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”). How did Yahshua dress? Here we see that even His garment went down to His foot. Do you think that He put that in there just to put it in there? I do not believe that any word in scripture was put in there just for the sake of adding it. Everything has a reason and a purpose. We were told to walk (or dress) as He walked. We are also told that making bare the leg, is considered nakedness. I honestly believe that this means even the lower part of the leg.

Romans 8:35 “Who shall separate us from the love of the anointed? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

Will our immodesty separate us from the Anointed? It is definitely a step in that direction. Do I believe that modesty matters to Yahweh? YI sure do! I love this last verse…

Revelation 3:18 “I counsel thee to buy …raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; …”

Yahweh longs to have each one of us clothed and covered. This is His desire, my sisters! The question is, will we follow His word and His standards?

Today’s challenge is for you to:

Write your thoughts out about these verses and how your standards have differed with Yahweh’s. Really think deep about each verse and meaning behind each. Have you been dressing in a manner that is Biblical and thus pleasing to your Heavenly Father? In which areas do you need to raise your standards to match His?

I pray that as you set about to search your heart and His word about this, that He would truly bless you in this endeavor. I know that this is a sensitive topic, but girls, it needs to be brought up. We have got to build our whole lives on Yahweh’s word and make our standards, His standards!

Through the years, I have known a lot of people’s modesty standards to change, yet as I think about it, I often ask myself this one question “why?”. Have you ever thought about what your standards are and why? Why do you do what you do? Why do you wear what you wear?

Let me ask you something different; If your standards were based on scripture, why would they constantly change, since scripture never does?

Girls, I’m going to be completely honest and blunt with you. Your standards change, because they are not based on scripture to begin with! You dress the way you do, because you want to dress that way, not because you have a strong biblical reason for dressing that way. You ask me how I know this? Because once again, scripture does not change. Malachi 3:6 For I am Yahweh, I change not;…”

So why the change? Because we felt like changing and those around us were changing, so why not us? We were influenced and so changed our standards, but that does not change the fact that Yahweh’s standards NEVER change! And this is truly the problem I believe we are now facing…our standards are not based on scripture, so therefore our standards have no real foundation. You build a house with no foundation or not a rock hard one, and what happens? It falls. And we can clearly see that this is what exactly has happened here in America and around the world. Our modesty standards are falling through to the ground! The foundation was built on sand, and so the whole “house” is coming down and slamming into the ground. Yet, is this what Yahweh wants? Was this ever His plan? Is this His desire?

Girls, let me ask you again, why do you dress the way that you do? And I don’t want “I don’t know” or “because so and so dresses that way” or “because it’s modest”. I want you to give me a biblical reason for dressing that way, and if you don’t have one, I think it is time that you did! Because, my dear and precious sisters, if you do not build all of your life’s standards on scripture, they will eventually become lower and lower and lower, until you have no standards at all! You must build your life on the Rock, not thoughts or feelings! Our thoughts and feelings change from day to day, but Yahweh’s word changes not.

Today’s challenge is for you to:

Write out why you have the standards that you have. I want you to examine your reasoning. Is it based on scripture, thoughts or feelings? I also want you to think back over your life and the reason that you have changed the way that you dress. What caused or influenced that change? Please write it out.

I wanted to give you a little sneak preview of the second volume of the Virtuous Daughters Challenge Ebook! It still has a long way before it is completed, but hopefully it will be complete before too long. ) Enjoy!

Definition of Modesty

We are now in Part 3 of our study. This part is going to be dedicated to the subject of modesty and why having a spirit and life of modesty, is important. A lot of people will dwell on the outward appearances, and although that is important for sure and we will cover it, it isn’t what I think is the most important part of modesty. I believe the spirit of modesty is even more important than the outward appearance of modesty. When the spirit is what it should be, the outward appearance will also fallow suit. This is why I think it is important for us to look, first at the inward, then secondly, on the outward.

So, my first question to you, precious girls is “What does the word “Modesty” mean”? According to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, Modest, Modestly and Modesty means;

“Properly, restrained by a sense of propriety; hence, not forward or bold; not presumptuous or arrogant; not boastful; as a modest youth; a modest man. Not bold or forward; as a modest maid. The word may be thus used without reference to chastity “The blushing beauties of a modest maid”. Not loose; not lewd. Moderate; not excessive or extreme; not extravagantly as a modest request; modest joy; a modest computation.

Not boldly; not arrogantly or presumptuously with due respect. He modestly expressed his opinions. Not loosely or wantonly; decently as, to be modestly attired; to behave modestly. Not excessively; not extravagantly.

That lowly temper which accompanies a moderate estimate of one’s own worth and importance. This temper when natural, springs in some measure from timidity, and in young and inexperienced persons, is allied. To bashfulness and difference. In persons who have seen the world, and last their natural timidity, modesty springs no less from principle than from feeling, and ins manifested by retiring, unobtrusive manners, assuming less to itself than others are willing to yield, and conceding to others all due honor and respect, or even more than they expect or require. Modesty, as an act or series of acts, consists in humble, unobtrusive deportment, as opposed to extreme boldness, forwardness, arrogance, presumption, audacity or imprudence. Thus we say, the petitioner urged his claims with modesty, the speaker addressed the audience with modesty. Moderation; decency. In females, modesty has the like character as in males; but the word is used also as synonymous with chastity, or purity of manners. In this sense, modesty results from purity of mind, or from the mind the fear of disgrace and ignominy fortified by education and principle. Unaffected modest is the sweetest charm of female excellence, the richest gen in the diadem of their honor.”

To summarize, we see that modesty means that we won’t be; forward, bold, presumptuous, arrogant, boastful, loosely, wantonly, imprudent, excessive or extravagant.

We will be; chaste, pure, modestly attired, prudent, humble, moderate, decent, put others before ourselves etc.

Girls, we can now see and understand that being modest is much bigger than just how we dress! It goes far deeper than that! You can be clothed outwardly (completely covered from head to toe) and yet still be immodest. How? By not being modest in our thoughts and actions. Let me ask you a question…are you forward, bold, presumptuous, arrogant, boastful, loose, wanton, imprudent, excessive or extravagant? Let me ask you another question, do you even know what all these means? ? Can you guess what my challenge is going to be to you? ?

Yes, today’s challenge is for you to:

Look up the first list of words (the negative list) and write them out so that you clearly understand what each one means (for I think you may be surprised). Then I would like you to look up the second set of words, the positive ones, and write those out. After you have written both set’s of words out, I would like to ask you to get on your knees and make David’s prayer become your own…”Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalms 139:23-24 Honestly see if there is anything within those lists that you need to change, and purpose within your heart, to do just that, change.

libel = anything that is defamatory or that maliciously or damagingly misrepresents (taken from:www.definitions.net)

“And let us not be not weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.” ~ Galatians 6:9

I would like to share something with you. There was a lady who once pointed out how totally immodest this other lady was…and she was! She was in an extremely short mini-skirt and I think even the world would agree, it was indeed immodest. Yet, the person speaking this, was wearing a knee-length skirt at the time.

The thought that came to me was, what made her dress okay, and this other lady’s dress, not? If knee-length is modest, why not waist length? What makes something immodest, and something else, modest? Is it not the word of Yahweh? We can quickly see some of what Yahweh’s word says about this;

Isaiah 47:2-3 ” … make bare the leg, uncover the thigh…Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen…”

-Uncovering the leg…the WHOLE leg…is considered nakedness. So it doesn’t matter if it’s 3/4 length, knee-length, or thigh length….it’s all nakedness.

Revelation 1:13 “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.”

-Yahshua was modest (opposite of naked) and covered His whole leg.

1 John 2:6, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”

-So not only do we see that by uncovering the leg, we’re naked, but we can see Yahshua’s life and how He was clothed with a garment down to His foot…covering His own legs…and how Yahweh told us to “do as He did”.

My dear Girls, if you base the things you do on mere thoughts or opinions, you will be swept away with the crowd. If you want to stand in the day of battle, you MUST know what Yahweh’s word says, and then do it! That HAS GOT to be your foundation! Nothing else will do. Everything else will fail and it will certainly differ from person to person. But when we go back to the Word of Yahweh, we can say “I have these standards because His word tells me to”. We can look at someone else and say “You’re wrong because of this scripture”, not “You’re wrong because you differ from my standards”. See the difference?

I picked on modesty, as that was the subject that came up in passing when talking to this lady, but my precious girls, this goes for ALL our standards! We have got to base our foundation on the Word of God and nothing else! What does SCRIPTURE say? THAT is what we need to know. Yahweh’s word does tell us how to live, but the question is, will we accept it? Or will we throw it all away and live for ourselves? Will we say something is sin, simply because it differs from how we feel? Or will we say something is sin, because it transgresses Yahweh’s law (1 John 3:4)?

My girls, I write this to encourage all of you to “Study to shew yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” 2 Timothy 2:15. Dig deep into Yahweh’s word and do not take the opinions of others. Base your life on Yahweh’s word, for if you do, you will stand fast!

1. DON’T – If it is the responsibility of others, let them do it.

2. DELAY – If it should be done at a better time, wait.

3. DELEGATE – If others can do it better, let them.

4. DO IT – If none of the above apply, do it!!

We have added some new books to the list and also have taken some down, as they have sold.

Have a wonderful day!

Samantha

We have a like new condition of Large Family Logistics book for sale! We’re asking 17.99+sh. It goes for $24.99 brand new. If any of you are interested, please email us at: bound4freedom AT ymail.com

Thanks,

Samantha

“In the Winter Olympics, figure skating events are the hottest ticket in town. Pairs figure skating has occasionally been the highest-rated event among viewers. At its best, it displays the strength and beauty, the power and grace, of true unity. The gold medal is awarded to the couple who has most mastered the skills of male leadership and female support.

He leads her onto the ice and initiates each part of their routine. She receives that leadership and trusts in his strength. His raw physical strength is more on display than hers; he does all the lifting, twirling, and catching. She complements his strength with her own—a more diminutive and more attractive strength of beauty, grace, speed and balance. His focus as the head, or leader, is to magnifying her her skills. Her focus is on following his lead and signaling her readiness to receive his next move. He takes responsibility for the two of them, and she trusts his leadership and delights in it.

If he makes a mistake, she pasts the larger physical price while he pays the larger emotional price. She falls, but he fails! So he has to learn to initiate and risk. She has to help him understand her moves and to endure his learning curve.

They do not fight for equality on the ice; they possess it as a given. Each has a role to play and they are not jostling or fighting about fairness. They are after something far more rewarding. No one yells, “Oppressor!” as he leads her around the arena, lifting her up and catapulting her into a triple spin. No one things she is belittled as she takes her lead from him, skating backward to his forward. No on calls for them to be egalitarian: “She should get to throw him into a triple Lutz half the time!” They complement each other in their complementarian approach to becoming one majestic and powerful whole. No one, least of all he, minds that the roses and teddy bears, throw onto the ice when they have collapsed into each others arms at the end, are for her. It is his joy.

This appears to me to be a visible model of what male leadership and female support are all about. This is what it looks like as it is worked out.”

I couldn’t think of a more beautiful example! It’s so beautiful, isn’t it? Girls, Yahweh made you beautiful. Yes, we all play a different role than the men. But when we are put together, we make a complete whole; a beautiful whole! Each role is beautiful. It doesn’t mean that we are of any lesser value…we are equal in God’s sight. But it does mean that He created us with different roles and that those roles complement each other; they complete each other. Relish in your differences! There’s nothing shameful at all about being a woman, a lady of God, who God made you to be like! Being a woman of Him, fulfilling the roles that He has given us, is truly one of the most beautiful things to behold! So like these skaters, relish the way Yahweh created you and relish and delight in the roles He created you to fulfill!

And Girls, one last thing…praise the men for being men! They are being attacked left and right by the feminist. Let the men around you know how much you love that they are truly MEN! Let them know how you relish and delight in their leadership, protectiveness, provision, work, sacrifices, love etc! Let them know just how much you cherish and love them and love who they are! Real men, men that are willing to stand up for what is right and be the Godly men that Yahweh has called them to be, is truly something to delight in! And also remember that those men delight in real ladies, too! So be that Godly young lady and don’t try to be something that Yahweh never created you to be. Together, you make a beautiful whole…remember that!

Love you, Girls! Have a wonderful week!

Samantha