Nails For The Door

He sang at His bench in Nazareth
While His strong young hands took hold
Of plank and nails to broaden the door
For a shepherd neighbor’s fold
Into His hands on Calvary
He took the nails again,
To make the door which leads to God
Wide for His fellowmen
–Copied

The Sad News

“One of the most solemn sentences in the New Testament reads: ‘The high priest then asked Jesus about his disciples’ (John 18:19). With Peter denying all knowledge of Him even to the length of oaths and curses; with the kiss of the renegade Judas still smarting on His cheek; with the memory still fresh in His mind of His other followers disappearing into the dark shadows of the olive-trees–then, at that most awful moment of His loneliness, Jesus was asked about His disciples. What could He answer?” (Hugh Evan Hopkins)

The Glad News

Our great and merciful Savior and Leader forgave those miserable disciples of their wretched failures, and restored them to their high status as co-workers of Messiah, and used them in His service, for His glory .

And He still does all that today– for US! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Those earliest disciples came to believe in the RESURRECTION not because they could not find His dead body, but because they did find the living Jesus- or rather, HE found them! “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!” (A Hackley)

Christ Lives! So What?

So He’s present and active now in our circumstances, our hearts and our families–this month’s theme. He can produce strong families, preventing them from falling apart. And He can repair and heal families that are bruised and breaking down, or teeter on the edge of chaos.

I have a questionnaire to use with troubled families in which lack of good communication between spouses is a major problem. That’s a common blight, even in good families to some extent. So you may want to commit yourselves to ask, answer and discuss the following questions every month for the next half year.

  1. What do I LIKE AND APPRECIATE about my partner? (At least three things.)
  2. What do I wish were DIFFERENT in my partner? That is, what CHANGES in my partner would improve our marriage? (3 – 4) (During your discussion afterwards, the two of you should decide which two of these irritants are the most important.)
  3. What problems in our marriage need to be ACCEPTED, because they are probably UNCHANGEABLE? (Some things, like past experiences, for instance, are clearly unchangeable. But other things which might seem that way are not really so, and can be solved by Christ’s transforming power.)
  4. What PRACTICAL STEPS can I take during this next month towards CHANGING the 2 areas in me which my partner feels need it the most?
  5. How can we develop more AREAS OF COMMON INTEREST — things we could enjoy doing together?
  6. Are there any RECENT ENCOURAGEMENTS in our lives or relationship, which provide HOPE as we seek more improvement?
  7. Does GOD’S WORD have any Encouragement or Instruction for us as we seek to improve our relationship?

May God give us Christ-strengthened homes.