Crestwood Church Blog

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”
Revelation 3:20

I am sure most of us have been stuck outside our house or car, because we have forgotten or lost our keys. Apart from the obvious embarrassment, the solution can often result in costing quite a bit of money. A new lock, a broken window, either way damage results in a real cost.

I wonder if we have ever thought about the cost of loosing our keys which give us access to God.

Jesus stands at the door of our lives and knocks, asking for access to make himself real to us and to help us, in many ways. Sometimes as the doctor to heal the heart, mind or the body. Sometimes as the teacher to instruct us and to guide us. Sometimes as a true friend so we can just spend some time with him and sometimes as Almighty God, to bring purity, strength and power. What access are we prepared to give him, how often do we turn the key and pretend to not be in and hide behind the sofa?

Each time we do this we are engaging in a very dangerous game. Hiding the key or just ignoring the door bell eventually leads to a key that becomes redundant and that can easily be mislaid or lost or forgotten about.

When we became a believer in Christ it was the same as saying, here is the key to my life, come in whenever you want and change what you want, and guide me when I am going wrong and give me direction for the future among other things.

If we keep locking the door we prevent the Eternal all knowing one from helping us and being real to us, and risk loosing a close relationship that we know we cannot do without.

Life throws so much at us and as a church we will always face problems as well as in our individual lives. Sometimes the problems we face are life’s cause and effect. But some of the problems we face are because we have shut the door and bolted it and turned the key, and as much as God wants to help us, we have said not today, not this week, not this... Lost keys lead to broken windows, they can be repaired but they cost. Our lives don’t have to remain broken; unlock the door.

If Jesus Christ is LORD, then let him have access as LORD and not as some stranger who we meet from time to time on a Sunday.

The Lord Jesus has so much to show us and teach us and help us, we can't possibly do without him, he is not some door to door salesman who wants to sell us some product that we forget about the day after we buy it. He is one who has the keys to eternal life, for this life, for everyday truth and for lasting satisfaction.

Live with the key on the outside of our lives saying “Come in Lord Jesus.”

Andy H

Labels: Keys, Lost, Repair, satisfaction

“If a man has not discovered something he will die for, he is not fit to live”
Martin Luther King, Equal rights Reformer

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot, Missionary to Ecuador

“Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity” Jesus Christ (John 12:25)

What do these three have in common, they all laid down their lives for the greater good of mankind and they will all spend eternity together.

They all cared little for their own life, this doesn’t mean they had a poor appreciation of the preciousness and sanctity of life, far from it, life to them on earth was a million opportunities to share the love of God.

When we read verses like this in the bible, we can become very defensive and shocked that someone would have the audacity to say such a thing, but then Christ could, because he lived it out to perfection and he had the authority as God to say something so outrageous.

Today many extremists will go to great length to destroy their lives for their agendas and causes, this is not your invitation to take your own life, but to give it over to someone else. It is like an all inclusive body transplant, you are the donor, God the Father is the recipient. But the rewards for the future ridiculously outweigh the giving in this world.

If we love our life as it is, why would we need Christ to come and sacrifice his life for ours, Our life without Christ is like looking into a scrap heap, no purpose all broken up and rusty. When we give him our life for his use we become a “new creation”, something sparkling and beautiful, and for a specific purpose and destiny.

Even as believers we can feel unworthy and not valued, we can feel useless and down, maybe it is because we have taken our eyes and our heart of our new life and started to enjoy the old one again.

The old one was never good enough before and will never be able to satisfy in the future, but when we are prepared to stand before God and say “all that I am is yours” we start to find fulfillment and excitement, which lasts far beyond the night.

Its your choice you only have one life on earth, make it the best by letting God mould you and take you to be the person that he predestined you to be.

Labels: Eternity, predestined, sanctity, satisfaction