Sunday, February 8, 2009

Scars Show Warriors' Worth

Theresa Harvard Johnson is God's warrior in the Kingdom of God. Today I will dare to continue to express my heart in all I see in this leader, teacher, writer, poet and prophet. The first post on Theresa was yesterday: Surprise at Writing Conference . This poem is written as a tribute to poet Theresa:





Bare Your Scars

An ancient warrior's scars showed his value,
God’s mighty scribes and preachers:
Bare your scars.
You talk a good game,
but where’s victory's proof?
Bare your scars


Shame calls you to cover up;
Prop up an image to hide your battle scars.
You feel safe, but I can't hear or see the real you.
Your cover up muffles God's revelations in you.
Bare your scars

Dare to show your battle scars with honor.
Your raw reality, scars and war tales show me
God wins.
As warriors of old,
Bare your scars.

Show God’s creative genius,
You wear His one-of-a-kind scar design,
Evidence of His healing your wound.
Bare your scars.

Thomas demanded to see Jesus’ scar,
Or he would not believe He was alive.
You throw me deep truths that I doubt;
How can you expect me to believe
If you do less than Jesus?
Bare your scars.



copyright Kay Martin 2009




"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). A week later, the Risen Christ again surprises the disciples. Thomas is there and Jesus obliges,


"Put your finger here," do not doubt but believe."


Within moments of our writing workshop Theresa showed her scars from church wounding in her youth. Through her scars I realized why I resent the "image" cover ups of spokesmen and women in Christianity. Finally I had clarity in why I have pursued to be authentic and transparent in my writing and speaking. As I enlist writers I now have good Biblical evidence to support my insistence on honesty, transparency, humility and a teachable attitude in every writer for the Razor Wire inmate newsletter.


Theresa took us through a Bible study on the importance of names in the Jewish culture. She shared that her first name is Theresa, and its Greek origin is defined as meaning: "To Harvest." Indeed, I see her as a strong leader to train up a generation for the Great Harvest of our day.


Theresa Harvard Johnson is a passionate, present day prophetic scribe, licensed and ordained minister, and bible teacher whose ministry is rooted in restoring the literary arts to its rightful place in the body of Christ. She is dedicated to training and equipping a generation of scribal warriors who are committed to spreading the testimony of Jesus Christ. She has written The Scribal Anointing, The Scribal Companion, Spiritually Critiquing, Scribal Purpose, Thank God For Salvation, and the soon to be released books, Scribal Warfare and Literary Evangelism.Theresa is the founder of Voices of Christ Literary Ministries International, a growing School of the Scribe. http://www.voicesofchrist.org/


She "bares her battle scars"on this website:

http://theresaharvardjohnson.voicesofchrist.org/mytestimony.html.



Heavenly Father,



Thank You for being victorious in our lives. All of Your children know You are our source of all that is good in us. May we see the battles of our lives: sins, hurts, betrayals, neglect, and pain as setups for You to move in our behalf. Today we have these unique designed scars. The wounds are healed. We bare our scars to show the wounded souls You are the healer!!!

In Jesus' name, AMEN

2 comments:

Kelly said...

Beautiful poem, Kay. She must be honored to have your support.

I agree, I learn more and feel more in touch with someone who has "issues" (LIKE ME!) than someone who trys to present themself as perfect. That's why I love Jesus - he walked on earth, he had temptations, felt rejections, wept over the death of a friend, he went through everything I do. He can relate!

sailorcross said...

Kay,

My scars are deep, and I carry most of them in my heart. Some of them are physical.

I used to hide these scars--the inner and out ones--thinking that others just wouldn't understand, wouldn't see where my scarring has led me to.

Now, I know. Yesterday at church we were talking about God's fingerprints being all over us. I pulled up my sleeve and showed a scar to my friend sitting next to me. She said, "What is that?" And I told her it was one of God's fingerprints.

That's what my scars truly are--God's fingerprints--that have lead and directed me to where I am today and also for continued growth in HIM.

Thank you for this post, Kay. It serves to encourage me to share my scarring--inner and outer--with others--so that they may see the love of Jesus.

Beth

© 2008 Kay Martin

Thrive In Christ

Who I Am In Christ by Neil Anderson

For several months we will center on this book to pursue Thriving in our Christian journey.

Neil challenges us with: "Do you know who you are in God's eyes? We are no longer products of our past. We are primarily products of Christ's work on the cross. Who we are determines what we do.

You are not who you are in Christ because of the things you have done, you are in Christ because of what He has done. He died and rose again so that you and I could live in the FREEDOM of His love."

That's just the introduction. More to follow.