Anointed Beauty

I am often asked how I came up with the name for my salon, Anointed Beauty.  As a Christian woman in the beauty industry, it is very important to me that I don't get wrapped up in the vanity of the beauty world.  I keep Proverbs 31:30 in front of me always. "Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."  There's nothing wrong with coloring our hair, wanting to have a cute style, taking care of our skin and nails, or wearing makeup.  There is, however, an inner beauty that is eternally more important than our outward appearance.  So, the question is, how do we attain this true inner beauty?  Let's start first in Isaiah 64:6a, "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;" and Psalm 14:3, "they have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one."  These verses show us that every single person, even on their best day, is filled with an ugliness called sin.  Romans 3:23 says that "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God."  There are a lot of people who do a lot of good things, but God's perfect standard doesn't allow for "good".  Only perfect is acceptable to a perfect God.  So, what do we do about it?  If we can't meet God's standard by doing enough good in the world, how do we meet it?  How do we turn that ugliness inside into something clean and beautiful?  There's only one way, and we find the answer in John 14:6.  "Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."  Jesus is the ONLY way of restoring a right relationship with God.  That sin we are born with and that we choose to commit has made us ugly and has separated us from God.  The good news of the gospel is that God loves us so much, and He desires a relationship with us so deeply that He made a way for us to be forgiven and return to Him.   (John 3:16)  He sent His son, Jesus Christ into this world to die for our sins in our place.  We have a death sentence because of our sin, but Jesus took our punishment so that we wouldn't have to!  He did all the work, He provided the way, all we have to do is turn from our sins and admit that we need His salvation.  We have to admit that we're ugly inside before we can let Him make us beautiful.  Once we realize our need, Romans 10:9 tells us "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."  When you repent from your sin, and turn to Jesus, something amazing happens.  You are immediately filled with the Holy Spirit, who is God! He takes up residence and abides in you to teach you God's word, to convict you of sin in your life, and to seal you for eternal life in Heaven.  The greek word "chrisma" means "a special endowment of the Holy Spirit" or "anointing" and is found in two passages.  I John 2:20, "but you have an anointing from the Holy One..." and I John 2:27, The anointing you received from Him abides in you."  The verb form of this word is "chrio" or "anointed".  This word is used in four passages referring to Jesus as the anointed one, but it is also used in 2 Corinthians 1:21 referring to Christians.  "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."  Acts 2:38 says "... Repent, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  There are a lot of people that claim to be "anointed" by God, but the Bible is very clear in Matthew 24:24 that we need to beware of false prophets, those who claim to be "anointed ones".  There is only one anointing, and it happens when you repent of your sins and turn to Jesus Christ as your only hope for salvation.  When you have this anointing, your ugly sin turns into true beauty in an instant!  Isaiah 1:18 says "Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."  There is nothing more important in this life than to make the decision to accept Jesus as your savior.  If you are still trying to get to Heaven on your own, I beg you to look at the truth and accept God's gift to you.  If you are among the anointed, I challenge you to share God's gift with those around you!