Pastor's Blog

                                           Scars

Many of us have scars that will be part of our life until the Lord takes us out of this world.

Scars on:

·       Our body (through bodily injury whether accident or intentional). 

·       Our mind (those memories we have left their mark).   

·       Our spirit (occurrences in life that have penetrated our innermost being).  

There’s not much we can do about scars!  Scars are permanent in most cases.

There’s not much we can do “about” them, but there’s a whole lot we can do with them!  Those are scars on the mind or spirit that will NOT be totally eliminated!  The memory is there.

Can God possibly turn them around for the good?  They could be used to remind ourselves that we must be dependent only on the Lord and flee to Him for refuge.  They can also be used to help others spare themselves the pain we have experienced. 

One thing that can be said about scar tissue is that it becomes stronger tissue than the normal skin tissue.  I wonder if that can be true about the scar damage on the mind and spirit?  I think so.

Let me ask you: How have you dealt with your scars? We all have them. How is it going with you?

·       Body Scars – let the Lord use them as reminders of His love and grace! They can become “beauty marks!”

·       Mind Scars – allow the Lord to wash them with His precious blood and let forgiveness heal the wounds! They can become “precious memories!”

·       Spiritual Scars – Let the Lord Jesus cast them away as “far as the east is from the west and remember them no more!  Those scars can be turned into “Stars!” 

Pastor's Blog

One thing to watch for when assessing a person's spiritual fitness for ministry is how he or she relates to children.

Put a child in the room and watch.  This is what Jesus did to make his point.  Children are the litmus test to expose the presence of pride.

You might think that the main thing Jesus would do is to say, “Don’t be proud, become like children.”  

He did say essentially that in Matthew 18:3, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  

But he said something else even more astonishing.  When Jesus saw that His disciples were arguing over which of them was the greatest, “He sat down and called the twelve. . . .And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in His arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.”

Therefore, how we deal with children is a signal of our fellowship with God.  Something is deeply wrong in the soul when one does not stop to love and hold a child.

Therefore, it may be good to call to mind the ways Jesus related to children.  

May the Lord teach us this profound truth—that loving children in the name of Christ, is loving God.

It is more:  It is welcoming and receiving and communing with God. Nursery work and children's ministry “in the name of Christ” is no small wonder!

Cherishing  them, protecting them, teaching them, guiding them and loving them is something that will get the attention and blessing of God upon them and all of us!