Monday, June 23, 2008
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Our friend is in the flooring business; actually that's wood floors. He had been tearing the old floor out in this house he was working on, and before he threw it away, he decided to call us and see if we might have any use for it. Actually, we were pretty excited about his call because we were in the middle of a project where we'd be needing a floor. He said, "I do want you to know it's actually pretty ugly, but it's a good solid maple wood."
Well, now we've got piles and bucketfuls of that wood - and our friend was right. It really is pretty ugly. Those old floor boards have several coats of paint on them, they're really dirty, some are gouged out, they're kind of beat up. Frankly, it looks like it might only be good for firewood. But our friend pointed out that wood is an inch thick - and he assured us he could sand off all the damage and still have plenty of wood left. And I am holding, right now, in my hand a sample of what he can do. It's a piece of that old ugly wood that he has restored - and there's no trace of the damage - it's a smooth, beautifully stained piece of wood. I mean, this restoration is amazing!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Damaged Wood Miracle."
Now that wood was ready for the dumpster honestly, until the skilled restorer worked on it. The ugly is gone. It's like new.
That's exactly what the Master Carpenter from Nazareth does with people - people like you and me. We're all damaged wood. We've got layers of dirt and scarring from years of use. But Jesus restores damaged wood.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 5:17. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" From the moment you put your life in the hands of Jesus, the Master Restorer, He begins to repair and transform the damage that's been done by years of sinning and being sinned against. We all carry the damage done from our sinning, from mistreatment, from bad choices, maybe from abuse or addiction or anger. Jesus is a Savior for a person who is tired of the guilt, tired of the pain, tired of the burden - maybe somebody like you.
He's more of a Savior than you could ever imagine. In Isaiah 61, He describes the total restoring work He came to do, and that He wants to do for you. He said, "The Lord has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair" (Isaiah 61:1-3).
Now, here is a Savior who wants to turn your captivity into freedom and your grieving into comfort. The ashes of your life, He wants to turn into beauty, the mourning of your life into gladness, and He wants to turn your despair into praise. There is no therapist on earth that can do that, no religion, no self-improvement program. Only the Savior can restore the damage of sin - only Jesus can.
Because of what He did one dark day on an old piece of wood - what one hymn writer described as "the old rugged cross." The Bible says, "He bore our sins in His body on the tree ... by His wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). He has broken the hold of sin forever - by dying for it - for anyone who trusts Him to be their Savior from their sin.
So the future doesn't have to be more of the past. Jesus is waiting right now to begin His restoring miracle if you will open your life to Him. You can tell Him you want Him right where you are. "Jesus, beginning today, I'm Yours." If you want to belong to Jesus Christ, let me invite you to do what many other people have done. That is to go to our website. You'll find a lot of help there in getting started with Him. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I'll send you my booklet "Yours For Life" if you'll just call us toll free at 877-741-1200.
You've carried the dirt; you've carried the scars long enough. It doesn't matter how damaged you are, Jesus can make something beautiful out of your life.