FReeper Canteen ~ Sunday Chapel ~ WHY DO WE STILL HAVE SCARS? ~ 13 September 2015

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

 

 

 

WHY DO WE STILL HAVE SCARS?

One of the greatest truths we can know in life is that God is always able and willing to forgive us for our shortcomings. All we have to do is ask for His forgiveness. And if God is willing, then we too, should forgive ourselves. Yet one of the greatest ironies concerning forgiveness is that the painful memories, the scars of our past, remain with us. We may wonder, "What's the sense in receiving forgiveness if the scars from the painful memory remain?" Maybe the question should be, "What goes through your mind when you are confronted with the scars of your forgiven past".

The answer to this question is found in Zephaniah 3:17, "The Lord your God is with you; His power gives you victory. The Lord will take delight in you, and in His love He will give you new life. He will sing and be joyful over you". It is God's desire to rejoice over you with pride!

A minister humorously explained it like this: A proud parent always carries a picture of his child in his wallet and when given the opportunity will happily show the picture to anyone. So it is with God. God loves us so much and is so proud of us that He too, in a sense, carries a picture of us in His wallet and will gladly show it for any angel to see. I know that it is a funny notion to think that God really carries a wallet, but the minister used this exaggeration to illustrate the fact that God has caring thoughts about us. Zephaniah takes us a step further and says that when God looks upon us, He is so overcome by joy that He sings over us, the same way a mother sings over her newborn baby.

So, what goes through your mind when you are confronted by the scars of past mistakes for which you have already received God's forgiveness? Instead of becoming sad and condemning yourself, take it as an opportunity to rejoice in the fact that God has forgiven you. Allow the scars of life to remind you that God is indeed rejoicing over you and is willing to empower you to live a life of joy and forgiveness. Allow the scars of your forgiven past to remind you that you are now the "apple of God's eye." Allow the scars of your past to be a spring board for you to rejoice in what God wants to do with your life in the here and now. And if you will listen closely enough, you will hear Him joyfully sing over you.

LT Patrick Sturm, CHC, USNR

 

[left that other site]

It’s not the lab part that makes the hair...it’s the chow part.

[353FMG]

>All we have to do is ask for His forgiveness<

.
And have genuine contrition for our trespasses.

[Kathy in Alaska]

LOTS of hair!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome to the Canteen, 353FMG, and a Blessed Lord's Day to you and yours.

And have genuine contrition for our trespasses.

Yes...

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Sunday morning to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

((HUGS))Good morning, LUV W. How's it going?

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))Good morning, Kathy. How’s it going?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Prayers for Arrowhead's recovery, and in his absence....

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[Kathy in Alaska]

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning, E...((HUGS))...a Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

You and Bo enjoy your day.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning/afternoon/evening/night Troops, wherever you are.

Thank you for doing your part to help keep all of us free and safe.

Thanks, unique, for the pastries.

Coffee is always on........

How about a donut?

Cookies?

Veggies?

Sandwich?

[Kathy in Alaska]

God bless and keep safe our troops worldwide.

Good night.

Statler Brothers ~ How Great Thou Art

[E.G.C.]

Sunday morning coffee bump.

[SandRat]

Through him my scars are heeled.

Others continue to make their own new scars

[SandRat]

as every day is,

[353FMG]

God’s choicest blessings to you and your loved ones today, tomorrow and always. thank you for your good thoughts. I appreciate them very much.

[353FMG]

God’s choicest blessings to you and your loved ones today, tomorrow and always. thank you for your good thoughts. I appreciate them very much.

[USMCPOP]

“Its like asking why do we have memory.”

I can’t recall why at the moment. :)

Excellence: ...” waiting for daughter to bring me back a pickle from the county fair.”

When I was a kid and went to a flea market or bazaar, I’d always get a big garlic dill pickle from one of those barrels. Better than candy. Lately I’ve discovered Ba-tampte garlic dills in a jar. Hard to find but good.

[Kathy in Alaska]

A Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours, USMCPOP.

[Excellence]

There was a pickle barrel at the grocery store in my home town. My grandmother always let me pick a pickle. No one was selling pickles at the fair this year. Sad face.