Blog for Thursday Night, March 21, 2013

I have enjoyed the memories of my time in that old house in Indiana. Dad had lots of things to do to make it livable for us over the years. He replaced the roof, insulated every outside wall, put two windows over every single pane window of the time. Another thing he did was to replace or even move the placement of outside doors to help with heat and to turn extra rooms into apartments. By the time mom and dad retired, they had totally changed that old house. One door had to be replaced because my brother and I decided that we could pick dad up and carry him outside, to "whip him." All he did was to expand his chest, and spread his arms and by that simple act of resistance he broke the door, and the windows on the side. Oh, he also drive me to the hospital for stitches in my hands. That was an interesting trip back home from Bible College!

I want to expand on the idea of "Doors" with you for a second. Doors are necessary because they keep cold weather out, protect you inside at night and allow us to have peace of mind as we sleep or work. Doors are good things, even if they can cause stitches if you try to "whip" your dad, whether it is for fun or not! 

Did you know that doors, in the Bible carry similar but eternal meanings? There is a door into Heaven, that John the apostle describes in Revelation 4:1, an open door that allows John to see what we will see when we get into the presence of Christ forever. In Revelation 21:21, we read of twelve doors into heaven, each real door is a single Pearl, hence, the "pearly gates." The way to this Door, according to Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14, is narrow, and difficult, and many won't accept. John later reminds us that JESUS is the door, or the gate to the sheepfold, where we will be safe, and secure, and loved.

We could develop this idea even more, but not every door is open. Paul found a door to be closed when he was trying to go to Galatia to preach. According to Acts 16:6-7, the Holy Spirit wouldn't let them go in, so they had a vision of an open door, to preach and share the Good News in Philippi. This open door came about because another door was shut! 

We here at MCC are praying for open door opportunities! For us, the open door is a group of men who eat donuts and study, or a lovely group of ladies who find continually new ways to grow, or one of our many and growing small groups, or our building being used for H.I.S. parents and children who homeschool but love to meet in our building on Mondays to encourage each other and to grow! 

The key for me is that the door to my heart, and for our Church is found in JESUS, as we see in Acts 4:12, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."