I have taken up woodwork as a hobby.  As you can see, I'm not very good at it ( Hold up a skew-cut piece of wood and look very sheepish ).  Let me show you what I can do.  I will hammer this nail into my plank ( Hammer a straight nail about 1 cm into the board ).  There, I managed that fine!  I'm getting pretty good at woodwork, don't you think so?

Now, let me try this bent nail.  I think it will make my plank look very attractive ( Try to hammer in the bent nail - make a great performance doing this! ).  Whew, this is hard!  No matter which way I hold it it either slips out of my hand, or I just can't hammer it into the wood.  You know what, I think this bent nail is useless!

It reminds me of when Jesus was crucified.  I'm sure that at least one nail was discarded as it wouldn't hold our Saviour on the cross.  It wouldn't hammer in as it was probably bent and so the Roman Centurian ordered the soldier to throw it away.  Perhaps if you went to Calvary today and searched around, you would find an old rusty and bent nail buried in the ground!

If you have ever tried to nail in a bent nail, you'll find that it bends further.  It's also hard to straighten out a bent nail and you need to hammer it on a flat surface.

We are just like bent nails and are of no use to God unless we allow Him to first straighten out our lives and make us useful in His service.  Just as I need straight nails for my woodwork hobby.  When I buy them I expect the hardware shop to supply me with brand new nails and that every one must be perfectly straight!  Hebrews 6:6 tells us:

"Land that drinks in the rain produces a crop that is
useful to the farmer and receives the blessing of God.
But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless
and is in danger, and in the end it will be burned"

God doesn't want our lives to be full of thorns and thistles.   He wants us to be useful to Him, by having our sins forgiven and accepting Jesus as our Savour.  If we really mean business with God, the Holy Spirit will change us and make our lives brand new.  We will then have a desire to obey God and serve Him all the time, and He will then be able to use us to bless other people.

Are you bent or a brand new nail for God?  You had better check yourself right now!

God bless.