Thanks for sending this Phil, it sends a powerful message!
Virgie and Hoshi
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 12:21 AM
Subject: Jesus Could Be Bald


> Here is an oldie but a goodie.  I just happened to be emailing to someone 
> I
> am praying with and I had this funny feeling, someone on the list needed 
> to
> read it, maybe again.
>
> Jesus Could Be Bald
>
> By Phil Scovell
>
>
>
>     Recently, my wife and I experienced a disagreement.  After
> almost 33 years of being married to the same person, you pretty
> well have covered just about everything at least once in your
> marital arguments.  It is always the nature of argumentation,
> however, to cover old ground repetitively.  Why?  Because it
> increases the level of intensity each person is trying to express,
> or inflict upon the other, whichever the case may be, and
> repeating old stuff, especially old stuff you have seen work well
> in the past, gives you the edge.  Well, at least it seems that way
> at the time.  Later, it never seems that way, of course, but now
> is what we are discussing and not later.  So, as I was saying,
> Sandy and I were in a disagreement over something.  Frankly, I
> cannot honestly recall how it began but this is often true of
> arguments.
>
>     Before continuing, let me give you a tip.  If you can't find
> a soft spot upon which to hammer on while arguing, drag up your
> in-laws and their obvious lack of good character.  This always
> works in raising your point average because, as we all know,
> winning the argument, any argument, is the name of the game.  No,
> we don't care if we are truly right; we only care that we end up
> on the winning side and bless God, if you have to toss in your
> mate's family and sacrifice them to win the argument, by all
> means, do so.  No, it doesn't matter if your in-laws are already
> dead; you can use them as part of the argument.  If you want to
> win, that is.  Now, back to what I was saying.
>
>     So Sandy and I are deep into this disagreement.  Both of us
> were making some fairly good points and to be honest, neither of
> us tossed in our families as fighting elements.  Well, at least
> not this time.
>
>     At this point, I want to clearly state that my wife was 100
> percent correct.  Well, maybe it was more like 98 percent.
> Truly, there was nothing wrong with the feelings she had about
> the issue she had raised.  Strangely enough, I freely admitted she
> was right and that I understood why she was bringing this up and
> why she felt hurt and frustrated.   Being right, however, doesn't
> always win an argument.  Let me try and explain what I mean.
>
>     In this case, as I stated, not only was my wife right but I
> admitted she was.  I made my admission for a couple of reasons.
> First, she was right, I'm not for sure why I keep saying that, but
> secondly, and most importantly, the truth wasn't causing me any
> concern.  You see, over the years, such things would have done
> exactly that; cause me concern, that is, or discomfort.  In fact,
> it likely would have literally hurt my feelings.  It always would
> not be uncommon for me to go away feeling depressed because of
> the feelings stirred up within me during the argument.  In this
> example, no such thing happened.  Why?  Because I was able to
> admit my wife was right and that I, furthermore, understood why
> she felt the way she did, but this time I felt different.
> Literally, what she said wasn't stirring anything up that would
> cause me emotional discomfort, consternation, or pain.  Why not?
> There is only one answer.  In the last two years, I have
> experienced an immeasurable amount of healing in my life.  In
> fact, through healing prayers, the Lord has touched areas of my
> life which used to bring me discouragement and depression and even
> anxiety.  Let me make up a story to explain what I am saying.
>
>     Let's say the issue is a good friend hurt your feelings.  You
> had decided to go western but you weren't quite certain you wanted
> to go all the way in case somebody called you a cowboy.  So you
> buy, for the first time, a nice pair of cowboy boots.  No western
> shirt, no spurs, no horse, no saddle, no cowboy hat, and no
> rawhide stringed tie with a turquoise clip.  Just boots.
>
>     You and your closed friend meet up at a local coffee shop and
> split a cinnamon bun.  You are feeling good so you pop for the
> coffee and the bun.  During your coffee date with your best
> friend, he comments on your boots, making no unfavorable remarks,
> but simply commenting that he never figured you to be that sort of
> a guy.  You suddenly feel uncomfortable and conspicuous, too, but
> you don't know why.  You are definitely bothered, though.
>
>     Upon leaving the doughnut shop, and just before climbing into
> your car, your buddy says, staring down at your new shiny boots,
> "Nope.  I never would have figured you to be a guy who would wear
> boots.  I wouldn't personally be caught dead in them myself."  You
> both laugh, shake hands, and go your separate ways.  His words
> touched something deep but after spending three days thinking
> about it and even awakening in the middle of the night once, due
> to your emotional discomfort, you still can't figure out why his
> joking remarks bother you.
>
>     One day, after the morning service, you are visiting with
> your pastor.  Everyone has left the building by this time so you
> comment on this experience to your pastor because it has caused
> you a great deal of anxiety, for some reason, and you don't like
> how you are feeling.  He invites you into his office and you both
> take a seat.  Your pastor begins to pray and says, "Lord, Tom has
> been stirred up in his emotions about what brother Frank said at
> coffee the other day.  Would you show Tom where these feelings
> first began?"
>
>     After a few moments of quiet, suddenly you remember.  You
> and your bald headed father are walking down a city street one
> evening.  You are four years of age and your dad his holding your
> hand.  Coming to a street crossing, you both stop and wait for the
> light to change.  Some scruffy looking teenage boys are smoking
> and leaning up against the building.  You turn and see them
> laughing and pointing.  At first you don't understand but your
> father says, "It's ok, Tommy.  Let's go."  The light has changed
> and your dad starts walking you across the street.  The boys,
> braver now that distance has been put between you, call out and
> make fun of your dad's bald head.  It feels scary to you and for a
> minute, you sense a strong feeling that the mean boys might
> follow and try and hurt you.  It feels like a sharp stick was
> poked in your back as they mocked and derided your father for
> being bald.  You hear your dad speaking again.  "It's ok, Tommy.
> They can't hurt anybody.  Just don't bother looking back."
>
>     Now you are 48 years old and feeling stupid that you
> purchased a pair of cowboy boots.  Why?  As you pray the prayer
> of agreement with your pastor, the Holy Spirit reveals to you that
> first the boys scared you.  Then you hear Jesus saying, "It is ok
> now, Tommy.  Besides, I was there, too, and I won't let anything
> happen to you."  The anxiety you've been having vanishes as if it
> had never really existed.  The relief, although incomplete, is
> instant.
>
>     "What else Lord does Tom need to see about this memory?" your
> pastor prays.
>
>     Now you see it easily.  You were embarrassed due to your
> dad's bald head and you say as much to your pastor.  You know how
> foolish that seems now as an adult but as a four year old, you
> were simply too small to comprehend the cascading thoughts
> tumbling through your mind at the time.  Besides, the fear was
> their and that made everything feel real to you.
>
>     "then what does Tom need to hear from you, Lord," you hear
> your pastor praying quietly.
>
>     A few short silent moments pass and then you begin laughing.
> It starts out as a soft chuckle but with each passing moment,
> things begin to snowball on you and you find yourself totally
> helpless to stop it.  The wheels suddenly come off your normal
> self controlled demeanor and you are irreversibly and recklessly
> laughing hysterically.  Tears begin running down your cheeks and
> throwing your head back and opening your mouth wide, you bay at
> the ceiling; releasing the loudest laughter you have ever
> experienced in your life.  Your laughter is so infectious, your
> pastor is now laughing as hard as you are.
>
>     After a good fifteen minutes of stopping and starting up
> again, you both finally have regained a measure of control.
> Still, a burst of laughter escapes from one or the other as you
> both sit lost in your own thoughts.
>
>     Finally, after blowing your nose, you ask the pastor what he
> was laughing about.  Instead of answering your question, he asks
> you to go first.  "Well," you say, "like I told you.  Dad and I
> are walking across the street when the light changed and these
> punks are making fun of dad's bald head.  I was seeing this in my
> mind's eye as you prayed, when all of the sudden, I realized the
> person walking next to me and holding my hand wasn't my dad but
> was the Lord."  At this point an entire new fit of explosive
> laughter, volcanic guffaws, and knee slapping howls fills the
> pastor's study; shared by both men.
>
>     Eventually, after Herculean efforts, you both regain
> control.  "So what did you see, Tom," the pastor said; holding his
> aching temples.
>
>     "Pastor," you reply with the most powerful smile you have
> ever had, "I saw Jesus holding my hand and walking across the
> street with me."
>
>     "Tom," your pastor says, trying to keep from laughing, "You
> are repeating yourself.  What is so funny about seeing Jesus
> walking you across the street instead of your dad?"
>
>     "Because," you detonate with atom splitting laughter, "Jesus
> was bald."
>
>     In my fictitious story, which I have seen repeated endlessly
> in similar prayer sessions, the man with the new cowboy boots was
> triggered by a totally harmless comment by his best friend.
> Through prayer, the source of this woundedness was discovered, the
> fear was eliminated, the personal embarrassment exposed, and truth
> applied.
>
>     First, let's identify the lies.  The little boy was afraid.
> That was natural.  What wasn't natural about is that the fear
> followed him through his entire life and was constantly being
> triggered in various ways.  The literal lie was, "Those boys are
> going to come and get you and hurt you."  Jesus exposed this for
> what it was, a lie, and because the man heard Jesus say the He,
> Jesus, was with him, the lie lost its worth as a threat and the
> fear disappeared.  What was the purpose of the fear?  It masked
> the demonic lie, that is, the embarrassment the little boy had
> about his father.  Once the fear was eliminated by the healing
> power of the Lord, the lie was easily exposed and removed.
>
>     Secondly, the little boy was embarrassed by the baldness of
> his father.  Again, not an uncommon situation for any child.  I
> can't tell you the number of times I was embarrassed by things my
> mom and dad did when I was growing up.  The lie, in this memory,
> was not that it was wrong for his father to be bald but that he,
> Tom, was somehow apart of this ridicule.  Furthermore, the little
> boy took it personally.  From that point onward, he was always
> sensitive to what others said and thought of him.  In my
> illustrative story, Jesus used His sense of humor to bring healing
> to the little boy by showing him that the one who was walking with
> him now and holding his little hand in his big hand, was the King
> of the universe.  Additionally, Jesus showed the little boy that
> baldness, to Him, was no big deal.   The little boy, and therefore
> the grown man, were healed and the lies never would effect him
> again.
>
>     About this time, I hear someone saying, "How could all that
> be true?"  Call me on the phone and let's pray together.  I'll
> let Jesus prove to you it's true.
>
>     Furthermore, I have had many such personal healings in my own
> life and literally seen hundreds of other memories healed in the
> lives of other Christians through the prayer of agreement.
>
>     Concerning the argument with my wife?  Well, since what she
> was saying was true, there I go again admitting it, and since I
> had been healed in so many areas related to inferiority, a
> worthless self image, and personal embarrassment, what she said
> didn't hurt and could not trigger the lies I once had believed.
> The same thing can happen to you.  Just call me and find out how
> easily you can be healed and your mind renewed.