TRIP WIRES & SCARS
TRIP WIRES & SCARS “WORTH CONSIDERING” 10/6/20 From Ken<><
Today’s Scripture (Across my desk from a church in Texas.)
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. (John 20:27–28, NLT)
Show Your Scars
After Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas had declared that he wouldn’t believe unless he felt the wounds in Jesus’ hands and side. When Jesus appeared to Thomas, He held out His hands and said, “Touch My scars.” Thomas fell down and said, “Lord, I believe!” Maybe somebody needs to touch your scars to believe. Maybe they need to hear your story of how God brought you through the sickness, through the divorce, through the mistake or loss. Don’t hide your scars; show your scars. Your scars can inspire someone else to believe. There’s healing in your scars. When you see other people who are wounded, do like Jesus did and tell them, “Touch my scars.” Let them know that what God did for you, He can do for them. When they hear how God healed you, restored you, and blessed you, that will breathe new life into their spirit. God didn’t show you mercy just for your sake; those scars are for somebody else.
A Prayer For Today
“Father, thank You for the scars that Jesus bore in His hands and side for my redemption. Thank You for healing me of the wounds that I have had. Help me to show my scars and use my scars to encourage others of what You can do for them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Ken’s Thought:
My, this is such a needed message for all of us hear and to consider and do as guided by the Holy Spirit. And I personally know that it is not easy to do. At my age, I have scars all over me from one thing or another. But nothing like the interior soul scars that we are considering today. And I am tempted to include a few, but then was checked by the Holy Spirit as HE wants to guide me more specifically as needed and not publish another “confessional.” But you do get the drift and some times the scars are good memories. That I can share. I use to love to go rock hunting and could see the hand of GOD in the buried treasure. One day I was out in the Desert with my big hammer and chisel banging on some rock looking for hidden geodes and heard what sounded like a 22 firing in the distance. And then something hit the big joint on my right thumb holding the hammer. So though I was just grazed by a rock shard and thought nothing of it and it healed up without a trace. Three year later I felt a strange little lump so next time I went to a Dr. I showed it to him. He gave me a pain shot, opened it up and out came a little piece of steel from my chisel from my Mojave days. So today there is a scar and I remember those wonderful days in the desert. So I have good memory scars, stupid scars, dangerous scars and painful scars. Never thought to much about them until today. Got one from a boat ride up the inland passage way to Alaska, what a good memory that was. Got a big one where I let a stupid Dr. use a laser to take out something under the skin that turned out to be just a small splinter. So the story goes, we all have inside and outside scars. The inside scars are harder to deal with as we can only find them when we realize that when we touch them we tend to go off track. We become very self protective or perhaps even aggressive. Or perhaps we go hide. But we realize we are not free that we are running a program good or bad that is really not us. Paul writes about this in Romans 7:14-20 “ We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am a creature of the flesh [carnal, unspiritual], having been sold into slavery under [the control of] sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [ [b] which my moral instinct condemns]. 16 Now if I do [habitually] what is contrary to my desire, [that means that] I acknowledge and agree that the Law is good (morally excellent) and that I take sides with it. 17 However, it is no longer I who do the deed, but the sin [principle] which is at home in me and has possession of me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.] 19 For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I doing it [it is not myself that acts], but the sin [principle] which dwells within me [ [c] fixed and operating in my soul].
And I would strongly suggest, if interested, to Read. Romans chapters 1, 7, 8 to see how to have victory and to level the playing field. Otherwise you may spend your life time with someone hitting your trip wires and going into an obsession mode of saying and doing things that are not really the truth or helpful for anyone. A member of my family hated Ma Bell Telephone Co. And if we made a long distance call from his home, reverse charges, we would always get 30 minutes of anti Ma Bell. So we avoided the trip wire by using the payphone down at the corner. So check out your trip wires as they will greatly shorten the effectiveness of your life and perhaps even void you trip to HIS Kingdom. Past pains from relationship that have gone sour are a must to check. As we tend to use the past darkness of our past in painting the future even if we were wrong. And if we do we may miss out on God’s Blessings for us. We need to totally clear the past in order to have a good and clean future with our Creator. And you can not be an atheist unless you know all about everything in creation for 15 billion light years in every direction. So you should be logically looking to see why you are here and where are you going? If not, you have your head in the sand. Intelligent design is everywhere you look. I was looking at a very intricate bug the other day, yes, must be a GOD.
Yours, in HIS great love and wonderful Grace and Mercy, Ken<>< www.Trinity-Aloha.org
(Add/Delete: ken@trinity-aloha.org “Worth Considering Library found by link on our homepage.)
There is but one Church of Christ Jesus as LORD
And all who Love, Honor & Obey HIM are members.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!