I know times have changed and sometimes I think for the worst. I don't want to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, because I know styles change and we must accept change to a great extent.

However, not at the price of compromising our conviction and our Christian integrity. When we refer to dress in the church we speak of modesty which is biblical and modesty should be preached and maintained in the church. I don't mean tossing anyone out, but if we are not taught modest dress and reverent dress then we will go along with the secular trend and the Bible says we are to be a separate people - a peculiar people. Not weird, but one distinguished and set apart.

What we don't refer to is reverent dress. Years ago when I was coming up in the church folks were very poor. I mean we were so poor the nearest we came to steak was lima beans. But when we went to church we wore our Sunday best - whatever that was.

W e couldn't afford much but we wore our best to the house of God. We had handme downs but they were clean, starched and ironed. Our Sundaygo to-meeting clothes were reverent dress. Many oldtimers who wore overalls all the time had one or two pair set aside just for church. They were new looking because they wore them only to church and maybe uptown on Saturday to do some horse trading in the town square. You would never catch them wearing their old ragged overalls to the house of God. That would be irreverent.

In this modern day we can afford more and better. We have all the modern conveniences to care for them. We must reverence the house of God with modest and reverent dress. Modest means "decent" and that word applies to our overall appearance.

I know we can't help our looks outside of plastic surgery. If we could I would have already done something about mine, but we can help how we look and how we dress and carry ourselves before God. You get the picture.

When we come into God's house we are in fact coming before Him and I don't know about you but when I stand before Him I want to give my best, be my best, and offer my best. Can you say amen?