Taken from the series SHOES I taught 4/10/11

Here is a quick excerpt from the message “walking in a wounded man’s shoes” this Sunday.

It is just a partial slice of the message .

How do you know when you have a wounded spirit? – Here are just a few symptoms that are tell tale signs that you are walking around in a wounded man’s shoes.

A Wounded Spirit

A wounded spirit is one that is hurting, but one in which the hurt has festered into unbearable attitudes and responses. A person with a wounded spirit lives in inner misery that focuses regularly on his injuries. Out of this focus come the following “unbearable” characteristics:

1. A negative mind-set. The person with a wounded spirit is preoccupied with past injuries. He views incidents in life in the worst light. He sees the bad and ignores the good. His mind is filled with woes, suspicion, and assumption of evil.

2. Victim reasoning. With a wounded spirit, a person views himself as a sufferer. He can turn even kind actions of others into additional grievances, into added pain in his life. He is pleased when others notice his misery, and hurt when they do not.

3. Grievance mannerisms. Out of a wounded spirit come sighs, groans, and exclamations that draw attention to the hurt. There is body language such as shaking the head, throwing dark looks, facial misery, and slumped shoulders.

4. Blame tactics. A person with a wounded spirit holds other people responsible for the misery in his life. In truth, others may have done him wrong, but those wrongs become the means of blaming others. The wounded spirit is able to cough up old injuries no matter what the present subject. The stories that are told put others in the worst light. In addition to direct blame, there are ways of insinuating–giving details in such a way that worse is implied.

Is it any wonder the proverb exclaims, “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?  Proverbs 18:14

Out of the wound oozes the stench of self-pity, bitterness, and accusation.

I realize being a person who has been wounded hurts deeply and can be very painful. It does take some time and friends with gracious spirits to help us out of the depths of the wounded spirit life.

That is why Jesus (an amazing gracious friend) was “wounded for our transgressions and he was bruised for our iniquities.” Isaiah 53:5.

A good resource for dealing with and finding healing for a wounded spirit is Frank Peretti’s book

Frank Draws from news stories and his own childhood spent fighting the pain of a disfigurement that made him an object of ridicule to illustrate the effects of emotional scars, and offers ways to overcome abuse.

I would like to close this blog by giving one of my favorites quotes from author and pastor Rob Bell.

“To not forgive is like giving someone free rent in your head.”

Steve

Lead Pastor

http://www.discoveryprescott.com

We are continuing our SHOES series this Sunday.

Last week we look at walking in a dead man’s shoes  and this week will are doing a message called “walking in a wounded man’s shoes.”

The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?  Proverbs 18:14

Sunday mornings 10:00 AM

Prescott First Assembly

1455 Willow Creek Road

Prescott Arizona

Have a great weekend.

Steve Lummer – Lead Pastor PFA

This weekend we are continuing our series @ PFA on the Domino Effect.

Really looking forward to to this teaching on how enthusiasm makes all the difference.

EN -THU – SI – ASM : from the Greek  entheos, en theos, god   – To be IN GOD.

ENTHUSIASM -That certain something that makes us great—that pulls us out of the mediocre and commonplace—that builds into us power. It glows and shines—it lights up our faces—ENTHUSIASM, the keynote that makes us sing and makes men sing with us.
ENTHUSIASM—the maker of friends—the maker of smiles—the producer of confidence.

It cries to the world, “I’ve got what it takes.” It tells all men that our job is a swell job—that the house which we work for just suits us—the goods we have are the best. ENTHUSIASM—the inspiration that makes us “wake up and live.” It puts spring in our step—spring in our hearts—a twinkle in our eyes and gives us confidence in ourselves and our fellow men.
ENTHUSIASM—it changes a dead pan salesman to a producer—a pessimist to an optimist—a loafer to a go-getter. ENTHUSIASM—If we have it, we should thank God for it. If we don’t have it, then we should get down on our knees and pray for it.

Steve

Lead Pastor

Prescott First Assmebly

This week I was able to attend one of our Arizona Assembly of God District sponsored events.

Steve and Marjorie Harris,  our District pastors  took a few minutes to speak on the subject of balance and I wanted to jot down a few bullet points of their message.

First Steve Showed us a video called “Balancing Rocks”

– “Balance is critical for our life and ministry to work correctly.”- Steve Harris

Steve told us that ministry is the big rock on top and all the smaller rocks (home, family, finances and time) have a lot to do with how you are able to balance the big rock of ministry.

If the smaller rocks are out of balance then the larger rock of ministry will be off as well.

Proverbs 16:11  A just balance and scales belong to the LORD; All the weights of the bag are His concern.

Marjorie spoke on how to have balance in your home with three very practical but power points.

1. Guard the time you have with your family

2. Make Tender touch one of the habits of your daily routine.

“Touch is a better language than words.”

3. Find something everyday together that will make you both laugh.

Some of her quotes are keepers.

“One of the most wasted of days is a day without laughter.”

“Laughter is inner jogging.”

“Laughter is an instant vacation.”

I love their honest candid approach to sharing with our ministry team. Steve and Marjorie have been an amazing source of support for my wife and I over the past eight years of ministry in Prescott.

I am very thankful to have them in our circle of friends.

Trying to stay balanced.

Steve

Lead pastor

Prescott First Assembly of God