Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship and adore You; I choose to live my life for You. …
“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39, RSV).
Even after Your resurrection, Your body still showed the scars of Your crucifixion. You were not just a spirit, not just an undefined part united into the larger universe as one with it, not just an idea, an image, a philosophy, or a memory. You were flesh and bones, even in Your resurrected and glorified body. Even today, even in Heaven, even throughout all eternity, Your body bears the scars of Your suffering (Revelation 5:6).
But Your scars are Your badge of honor, the marks of Your suffering for us, the evidence of Your sacrifice of love for us. And Your scars are the mark of Your authority. Because You humbled Yourself to be marked with those wounds, to die on that cross, and bear those scars, our Father has given You “the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).
And so it is with us. As You are, so are we to be in this world (1 John 4:17). In Christ, our scars are to be our marks of authority. Our wounds, now healed through the victory of the cross and the power of the blood of the Lamb, are the places where we have wisdom and compassion and authority in Your name in the lives of those hurting, wounded, and bound around us. In the way You have comforted us, we are to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). In the ways You have freely given to us, we are to freely give to others (Matthew 10:8).
Let me not see You wrongly as a God who has never suffered (Isaiah 53:11). As You humbled Yourself, the Son of God, in human flesh and bones as the Son of Man, even You, as “the pioneer of (our) salvation” were “perfect through suffering” in Your sacrifice of love “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). “For because He Himself has suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who have been tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).
So Lord, use my sufferings, not wasting a moment of them. Use even my temptations and even my sins and failures, no forgiven by the power of the blood of the Lamb, not wasting a moment of them. These are now my scars, to display Your glory. These are now the places in my life where You can express Your authority and the power of Your love in the lives of others—even through my flesh and bones, resurrected into newness of life by Your Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, to the glory of God the Father. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please join us for Messiah Ministries’ Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry – Level 1, March 9-12, 2011. This is our 4 day Intensive Course of equipping and empowering for healing prayer ministry. All are welcome; Scholarships are available as needed so all can attend. For more information and on-line registration: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!
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