Tonight I had to go pick up my sons truck. This would not have been a big ordeal except for the fact that a) he was not with me b) the emergency brake was engaged and the release was broken c) the driver side door does not open d) I'm not the small wasted whipper snapper I once was. So, I had to wedge my self sideways between the non-factory bucket seat that was 4 inches away from the steering wheel, the steering wheel itself and the manual shifter. Needless to say I was in a pickle and was not getting out without a struggle. I couldn't even tell you how I gashed my right elbow and scraped the skin off of my left. All I know is that they are smarting a little right now.
I'm not going into detail at this moment of why I went to pick his truck up, but will at a later date when I know more info. I will say that Matt needs some prayers right now, not that he has never needed them, but now would be a good time for God to really work on him. So please add Matt to your prayer list if you wouldn't mind.
Back to my elbow. I'm going to be feeling a little pain from them for a few days until they heal up some. After that it still may be a few weeks before they are completely healed and not tender. I'm sure that the one on the right elbow (pictured) will leave a scar and 20 years down the road I will be able to look at that scar and remember exactly how it got there and why it got there. That's how physical scars are, they actually remind us of a hurt that once was, that healed, but left it's mark on our body. I've got them all over my body, even some self inflicted ones with ink in them (not actually self inflicted, but I paid for them to be inflicted). I can tell you the same things about my tattoos as I can the other scars on my body. The scars and tattoos are the road map to my life, as I had injury and was then healed.
The same goes for the scars of sin in our life. We may have done something years ago, but the scar can come back at anytime. We can be reminded of our past sins from just a certain smell, song or seeing a person we went to school with. The scars of our past run deep sometimes, which is why you need the Physician to heal the wounds and take away the scars of sin. Christ is that Physician as referenced in Matthew 9:12-13 and He said He came to not call the sick, but to call sinners to repentance. So, that is How Jesus is the Great Physician, He actually heals people of their sinfulness.
Have you been healed? Do you even realize that you are sick? Sin is the sickness and we all are acutely sick and dying. We are actually like Lazarus and dead in our sins and we need Jesus to say "Jeff - arise and come forth". I was dead in my sins and really loving it, until Jesus called my name and brought life to my deadness in sin. I am now alive through Christ and all my life flows from Him, through Him and for Him. You may be saying about now, "I took care of that a long time ago" or even "I'm a good person, I've never killed anyone or robbed a bank or anything, there are a lot worse people out there than me". And so there is in the eyes of men, but in the eyes of God, the true Judge, you are guilty. Have you ever told a lie? Ever stolen anything, even a piece of gum as a child? Have you done everything your parents ever told you, without hesitation or talking back? Have you ever lusted after another person? Have you ever put anything ahead of God? All of those are just a few of the 10 Commandments, the Law. James 2:10 says that if you've broken one law, you're guilty of them all. You stand in judgment of a Holy God, that will not compare you to other people, but to His Son and His righteousness. How do you compare to Jesus?
Thing is, Jesus is the only One that can save you too. He was the sinless and spotless Lamb who gave His life willingly that you may live. How awesome is that? Jesus Christ loved you so much that He made a way for you to be healed, to live? Pretty amazing seeing how He created everything. He also can create a new heart within you, take your heart of stone and make it into a heart of flesh that can be molded into something very different than your current heart. God will not only save you from hell's fire, but also from the life that you live that is in opposition to Him. After you are converted you will hate the sins that you now love and love the God that you now hate as proven by your sinful life.
Know how to receive the healing and the life in Christ? You can only believe and trust in Him and repent and turn from your sins. You must lay everything before His feet and truly believe in Jesus as Savior. There is no prayer, baptism or church membership that will ever save you, only crying out for mercy from God and pleading for the Blood of Christ to wash your sins away. If that is done then new life will be evident, the fruits of the Spirit will blossom and bloom. You will hate sin and the effects of sin in your life.
So, turn from the scarring that you self inflict daily and turn to the Great Physician for healing. Only He can heal and take those scars away, no matter how bad or how much you have sinned, His blood can and will wash you clean. Now that is the Good News.
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