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    Skandalon:The Trap of Offense
    Skandalon:The Trap of Offense
    Skandalon:The Trap of Offense
    Ebook137 pages2 hours

    Skandalon:The Trap of Offense

    By Dr. Martin G Tharp PhD

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    About this ebook

    The word translated "offended" in the King James Version of the Bible is the Greek word Skandalon which denotes the trigger that springs a trap. Holding on to an offense is very much like the monkey who is trapped by the bait which, if he would only release, he could go free. Have you found yourself trapped by offense? Learn to let it go and live the life of freedom you were meant to!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDr. Martin G Tharp PhD
    Release dateSep 2, 2014
    ISBN9781311412324
    Skandalon:The Trap of Offense
    Author

    Dr. Martin G Tharp PhD

    Dr. Martin Tharp has been an avid student of the Bible for many years and holds a Bachelor, Master and eight Doctorates, one honorary and seven earned, including a Doctor. of Literature and two PhDs. He has been in full time ministry for over fifty-seven years and has authored forty-nine books to date, many of which are being used as curriculum in Bible colleges around the United States and abroad. He has also penned a number of gospel songs and recorded thirty-three albums as well as being actively involved in a school ministry to Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom for the past thirty-eight years, and Dr. Tharp has been honored twice by members of parliament in Ireland for their work in the Protestant and Catholic schools. He and his wife, Sharon, along with Maranda Howells, travel extensively across the USA and the whole of the British Isles holding evangelistic crusades in the churches of both countries.

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      Book preview

      Skandalon:The Trap of Offense - Dr. Martin G Tharp PhD

      SKANDALON

      The Trap of OFFENSE

      By Martin G. Tharp, Ph.D.

      Copyright © 2014

      Martin G. Tharp Ph.D

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes; This ebook is licensed for your own personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.. Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, King James Version. Copyright 1984, 1991 by AMG International, INC and the Living Bible Copyright 1971,1986 by Tyndale House Publishers INC

      Acknowledgment

      A special thanks to Maranda Howells who has traveled with our ministry nearly half of her life, faithfully and patiently listening to me read for her the rough draft of every new book which I am writing at that moment and for making suggestions from time to time about my pitiful punctuation skills!

      Thanks Maranda, I am grateful for that discerning ear, even when at times I don’t act like it!

      Dedication

      To my wife of fifty years who bears with me when I am writing and completely absorbed in my work, I often lose my hearing ability, since when I am totally committed to putting my thoughts into my computer, you could shoot guns off around me and I would more than likely be oblivious to the sound!

      She puts up with all my idiosyncrasies, while making certain that my coffee cup never runs dry and I remember to take my vitamins!

      Thank you Sharon Jean, you are still the apple of my eye after all these years!

      Table Of Contents

      Introduction

      ¹. Personally Offended

      ². Skandalon: The Trap

      ³. Onesimus

      ⁴. Revelation

      ⁵. Expectation

      ⁶. Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing

      ⁷. Offences and Issues

      ⁸. Jonah

      ⁹. No Outlet? No Life!

      ¹⁰.Being Offended Is A Choice

      ¹¹. Avoiding Offence

      ¹². ¹² Ways to Avoid Offence

      ¹³. Offended At God

      ¹⁴. The Forgotten Beatitude

      ¹⁵. ¹⁰ Ways To Stop Being Offended

      ¹⁶. Tact & Diplomacy: The Best Defense Against Offence

      Bibliography

      Introduction

      This book comes as a result of observing human nature for my entire fifty-four years of ministry. The one characteristic that is far too common among Christians, is their penchant for wearing their feelings on their sleeves!

      I would love to be able to separate the worst OFFENDERS by their particular religious background or affiliation, unfortunately getting OFFENDED seems to know no particular religious persuasion!

      When it comes to peoples predilection for taking OFFENSE, it is generally about the most ridiculous things you could ever imagine.

      The problem is actually not the fact that being OFFENDED over the silliest things is the end of the world, it is the shared determination to refuse to forget it! Most people who are easily OFFENDED, have a tendency to wallow in self pity as they constantly seek for sympathy from anyone who will listen.

      I have discovered that the number one problem that Pastors face is that person or persons who simply cannot walk away from their OFFENSE, forget it and move on!

      Instead, OFFENSE seems to take on a life of its own as the person who has been OFFENDED suddenly becomes spiritually crippled, bound by the TRAP which has captured them and they simply cannot or will not turn loose!

      What appalls me is the fact that even in the days when Jesus walked the dusty roads of this earth, He predicted that it would be impossible for OFFENSES not to come!

      Jesus not only predicted that OFFENSES would come, but He pronounced a judgement on those through whom they were to come!

      Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith (Luke 17:1-5;KJV).

      Is there any way to get around it? Apparently not! Just remember this when OFFENSES do come; You cannot keep a bird from lighting in your hair, but you do not have to let him build a nest!

      Chapter One

      Personally Offended

      At seventy-nine years of age and fifty-four years in the ministry, it would be unreasonable to think that I have learned nothing from my personal experiences!

      One of the things which has made a lasting impression on me is the devastating and lasting effects which being OFFENDED has on people who simply cannot seem to let it go!

      It is precisely because of those years of full time ministry that I have learned again and again the simple fact that God is still very much in control, even when the prospect of personal OFFENSES threaten to devastate our lives.

      One of the most devastating experiences of my ministry was an occasion when I was highly OFFENDED by a casual acquaintance who proved to be the source of some devastating false accusations.

      It was the third year after my wife and I had launched out into the ministry and our revivals were averaging from three to seventeen weeks of nightly services.

      The blessing of the Lord was upon us for we were booked solidly as far into the future as we desired. We had met a Pastor from North Dakota at a convention whose daughter and son-in-law had been members of the Church where we had formerly served as Pastor in Vancouver, Washington..

      Although our school of thought did not quite coincide, we had never discussed our doctrinal differences, therefore, as far as I knew, there was no reason for us to have a problem, at least that I was aware of.

      We arrived for revival at a Church where the Pastor and I had become really close friends, for we had held him three revivals in previous years. I was unexpectedly surprised by being confronted about some unfounded and false accusations which were made by the man who was a casual acquaintance!

      The day we arrived to begin another prolonged revival meeting, my friend pulled me aside and informed me that this man was spreading rumors that there were warrants out for my arrest and the police were looking for us in three states for passing bad checks!

      At first it struck me funny, I thought he was joking with me simply because I had just assumed that he was aware of the fact that we did not have a checking account, we closed it when we left Vancouver and it had been closed for more than three years!

      The look on his face suddenly brought me to the reality of the fact that he certainly was not joking! I quickly assured him that it was an impossibility, since we had no checking account, we also had no checks!

      Since his state was one of the three where they were suppose to be looking for me, I encouraged him to notify either of the two policemen who were members of his congregation that we had arrived in town and see if there actually were warrants out for me and I would certainly be available!

      When he was assured by the local and state law enforcement that as far as they were able to ascertain, there was no such warrants pending, nor had there ever been! After receiving that information, he requested for me to go into another room of his home and pick up the extension phone, then listen silently to the conversation he was about to engage in.

      The Pastor who had made the accusations had done so while he was at a convention in front of over twenty other Pastors who knew us and most had already invited us to their Churches.

      It seems that one of them where we had been the previous year was offering a glowing recommendation of our Ministry when he was interrupted by this Pastor, asserting that he would not be having us at his Church because of the supposed warrants for my arrest!

      Actually, he had never invited us to his Church, nor had we requested to come, but he had stated to his son-in-law that he would love to have us but his congregation was far too small, only numbering around twenty people.

      I listened silently on the extension while my friend called to discover where or how he had acquired the information which he had related to the Pastors at the convention?

      My friend informed him that he had personally checked with the local and state law enforcement since his state was one of the three where the warrants were supposedly issued and found no evidence of the warrants he had described. At first the man was very friendly and asserted that he really felt terrible about relating the fact that the police were looking for the Tharps, but he felt it was his duty to warn them!

      When my friend insisted on knowing the source of his information, his attitude began to change from amiable to confrontational, informing my friend that it was none of his business where he had acquired those devastating facts about the Tharp family!

      Well, my friend said, perhaps you should confront Brother Tharp and see what he has to say about it?

      The Pastor assured him that if he knew how to contact the Tharps, he would indeed confront him! At that juncture, my friend said;

      Brother Tharp, are you still on the line?

      The sound of my voice sent my accuser into a rage! He rebuked my friend for putting him into such an uncomfortable situation and began trying to explain to me that it was some other Pastor who had given him that information!

      Upon hearing that statement I chose to remain silent, but my friend demanded to know who it was, informing my accuser that we would immediately place a call to them! At that suggestion, he loudly and angrily rebuked my friend once again and hung up on us!

      Even though

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