Remember in your high school days when you chose a classmate for “Who’s Who.”  Some of the categories that could be won were “Most Likely to Succeed, Most Comical, Most Loquacious and one that really stood out was “Best Dressed.”  If you apply this Best Dressed category to today’s child of God, do you think that you would win?  Do you think that you would even be nominated as one of the Best Dressed children of God?  The qualifications don’t have anything to do with whether you sport the latest fashions, or whether you can mix ‘n’ match your outfits to make yourself look like you just stepped out of one of those fancy fashion magazines.  No, the Best Dressed child of God should not be so concerned or consumed by his or her outerwear but it’s what is worn on the inside that counts.  For instance, how is your heart dressed?  Is it dressed with jealousy and envy or compassion and love?  Is your spirit dressed in the best of the best?  That is, are you dressed in the full armor of God? As a child of the most high King you are continually being set up to be destroyed by the enemy.  He wants to see you lose your winning place as one of God’s Best Dressed.  But if you put on the full armor of God you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.   You see, my friends, the Word tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore, you cannot half dress if you expect to win.  You have to put on the full armor so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.   The next step that you need to take to be one of God’s Best Dressed is to stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, and then you put on the breastplate of righteousness.  But that’s not all.  You know in order to be one of the Best Dressed you must be fashioned from head to toe.  That means that your feet should be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, you must take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.   Finally, put on your last piece of attire-this last piece is what makes the rest of your outfit stand out. It is the deciding factor in whether you are chosen as one of God’s Best Dressed.  It is the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God!  So my friends, as you walk mighty in spirit this week, take the time to dress yourself in the appropriate attire so that you will be able to WIN whatever battle that comes before you The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.  The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.  Psalms 37:39-40 Scripture to hide in your heart:  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.. Psalms 23:2-3 There was a poem I used to recite as a small child called I’m Determined to Be somebody Someday and it was written by Herbert Brewster.  Well, I took that poem and made a few revisions and tailored it to fit my life: My physical condition and sometimes dark circumstances,Often made it appear that I wouldn’t have a chanceI’ve had some trials that attempted to throw me off courseSituations in life that left me with limited choicesBut in spite of the things that have tried to stifle me along life’s way,I was determined to be somebody someday There wasn’t any royal blood coursing through my veinsNo great family background for me to claimMy physical condition to you might look badYou might say, she hasn’t had the chance that others have hadBut in spite of the things that have tried to block my wayI’ve continued to say, I’m going to be somebody someday My legs well they may be skinnyAnd my body at times pain-wrackedBut I can’t let things like that throw me off the trackI can’t let times of failure keep me down Instead I keep climbing the ladder of life round by roundI’ll keep on climbing, keep reaching upKeep on believing, and keep on trusting 

And in spite of all the obstacles that have tried to block my way

Look at me now

Didn’t I tell you – I was going to be somebody someday? ~By Shelia E. Lipsey What are you going to do with the failures in your life:  I urge you to use failure to reflect, then take time to rest and finally use it as a period to learn how to react.