We are so blessed to have another awesome message by Pastor Rick Frederickson!! 
Pictured here is Pastor Rick with his lovely wife Sue! THINKING SPRING!
Knotty Christians
The ceiling of the Windom Methodist church is made of knotty pine. I spent many youthful hours staring at that ceiling. My mind would wander during the sermons (sorry pastor) and often, my gaze would fall on that knotty pine ceiling. I’d count the knots on the boards and compare their sizes and shapes.
As those memories return from time to time, I reflect on how those boards with the knots in them are so much like you and me.
Tree knots are caused when a tree is broken or damaged. Wood is exposed and this creates a blemish or a scar in the tree. If a large branch breaks from the tree it creates a large knot. Sometimes during storms, trees sustain lots of damage that makes many scars. The older a tree gets, the more scars or knots there are. Left by themselves, broken and damaged trees can be pretty ugly.
We are just like that. Our scars are our sins. As time goes by our sins begin to form and show, creating our scars. Some seem minor, and may only cause a minor blemish. Sometimes we suffer a storm of sin and suffer great brokenness. Then our sins form massive scars that are ugly.
There are times others can see our sins. At other times the scars from our sins are deeper. Yet left to stand by ourselves, our sin makes us ugly both inside and out.
And yet something beautiful happens with a knotty, ugly tree when it is put into the hands of a carpenter. A carpenter can shape that piece of wood. The carpenter doesn’t try to hide the knots. He crafts the wood in such a way that the knots are brought forth in splendor. What was once ugly is now made beautiful and useful.
Jesus was a carpenter. He wants to heal your sins and craft you.
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. Acts 10:38
Jesus will take away your sin and heal you. Yet the knots remain. After all, sin has consequence.
Jesus will heal you and craft you if you will only put yourself into his hands. The knots formed from a life of sin will become symbols of the carpenter’s touch. You – will become the masterpiece he intended.
How is it someone so damaged, so full of the scars and knots of sin be made beautiful again? How is this possible? Put yourself into the hands of the carpenter who hung on the cross – and find out.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
God Bless you all!
Rick Frederickson, Pastor
