“But you are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
His own special people,
that you may proclaim the praises of Him
who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light.”
~1 Peter 2:9
A friend who went to North Oaks last night reported the Jimmy Schwartz was doing well and would be able to go home today. He also said Mrs. Katherine Sanders is scheduled for surgery today. Please continue to pray for these families.
Pray for the family of the young man killed in the PHS accident yesterday as well as the eight other people and their families. Pray also for the faculty and student body at PHS and the Ponchatoula area residents. They have had a several tragedies lately.
Pray for the family of Cliff Titus as they hope and pray for improvement.
Thought for the Dat: The beauty of the scar
The following story by Lih Yuh Kuo appears in “Chicken Soup For the Soul”:
A little boy invited his mother to attend his elementary school’s first teacher-parent conference. To the little boy’s dismay, she said she would go. This would be the first time that his classmates and teacher met his mother and he was embarrassed by her appearance. Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar that covered nearly the entire right side of her face. The boy never wanted to talk about why or how she got the scar.
At the conference, the people were impressed by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother despite the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed and hid himself from everyone. He did, however, get within earshot of a conversation between his mother and his teacher, and heard them speaking.
“How did you get the scar on your face?” the teacher asked.
The mother replied, “When my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught on fire. Everyone was too afraid to go in because the fire was out of control, so I went in. As I was running toward his crib, I saw a beam coming down and I placed myself over him trying to shield him. I was knocked unconscious but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us.” She touched the burned side of her face. “This scar will be permanent, but to this day, I have never regretted doing what I did.”
At this point, the little boy came out running towards his mother with tears in his eyes. He hugged her and felt an overwhelming sense of the sacrifice that his mother had made for him. He held her hand tightly for the rest of the day.
In a similar manner, Jesus Christ bears a scar — many scars, in fact. There are those who find that somewhat embarrassing (“You mean to tell me you worship a man who was crucified?”). However, realizing that his ugly scars are the result of his efforts to save me, they suddenly take on a special beauty.
Those scars led Thomas to say, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). They lead me to say the same thing. I’m so thankful that something so ugly and horrible has taken on such beauty, because of the great love that Jesus Christ had for me.
“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.” (Isa. 53:5)
Have a great day!
Alan Smith
White House Church of Christ
White House, Tennessee
I’m looking forward to ministering with some others from my church as we prepare and serve lunch to the BCM students at SLU tomorrow. If you are bringing food to the church, be sure to have it there by 9 A.M. Thanks for helping.
The Beth Moore study, “James: Mercy Triumphs” is going very well. The home assignments teach so much and the service projects are truly meaningful. It is great to be able to go through this study with so many special ladies.
Have a wonderful day. Be careful out in the wet weather. Show God’s love to those you meet today.
Anna Lee
The Prayer Link 
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