A Word With You

I'll bet you didn't know that Christianity is like suntan lotion. Huh? Neither did I until I was speaking at a conference, and I took my oldest son with me. He was about 12 or 13 I think (my poor kids had to listen to their Dad speak so many times). Well, we were on our way home on the plane, and all of a sudden on this long trip from the West, my son said to me, "Hey, Dad, you know what? I finally listened to a lot of your talks this time." Let's see, was that's good news/bad news. I don't know what he was doing before. But he said, "You know what? I've figured out that Christianity is a lot like suntan lotion." I said what you would have said, "What?" He said, "You know, if you put a big, old blob of suntan lotion on your arm, it doesn't do you any good until you rub it in." I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Bible - Informed or Transformed?" Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Joshua 1:8 where we have God's formula for success. "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth: meditate on it day and night..." By the way, that word meditate is used in Hebrew to talk about a cow chewing its cud. So, chew it over and over again. Why? "...so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Now, you get what God is saying to Joshua? I think it's His message to you and me today. The purpose of reading is not just to know something. It's to find something to do. When Jesus was talking to the 12 disciples about going out in the Great Commission to disciple people all around the world, He said, "Go and make disciples of all nations teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Don't just tell them what there is to know; teach them to do it. James 1 again says that the Bible is like a mirror. When you look in a mirror, you're supposed to change something because of what you see there. Right? The one reason there's such a gap between our beliefs and our behavior is because we won't in my son's words, "Rub it in." We have these great big blobs of spiritual truth all over us. We've been hearing it forever. We went to church a couple of times this week, we've got this guy that keeps coming at us on the radio, we've got Bible studies, we've got websites. The problem is that we tend to go for information rather than transformation; for application of what God says. To answer the question, "So what? What's this supposed to do in my life." It's one thing to read the Bible; it's another thing to let the Bible read you. God's interested in what difference His Word is making in you today, not just whether you can pass a Bible quiz. What did you read today? What are you doing differently today because of it? When God says meditate on it, what does that mean? Does that mean you stare into space blankly, kind of an Eastern mysticism thing? Not at all! You think about something you read in the Bible until you have made a connection between what you read and something you're going to face today. That's Christian meditation. It's not focusing on nothing; it's focusing on what God said and then you've meditated when you've connected that there's something you should do with it today. I think you ought to keep a spiritual journal and write down every day, "What did I read today in my own words? What did God say today and what am I going to do differently because God said it?" If you're in a position where you teach God's Word to people, even if you're just a parent doing that, make sure you always answer the unspoken question I think people are asking, "So what? Okay, it's true. So, what do you want me to do with it?" By all means answer that question for yourself. Look, have you gotten a little lazy as you read God's Word, just sort of accumulating more Bible information? That leads to boredom, it leads to powerlessness, and the illusion of spiritual life. Those Bible blobs? They're not going to do you much good until you rub them in.

Years ago a major art gallery sponsored a competition for painters. They were offering prizes for the best painting on the subject of "Peace." As the attenders browsed through the entries, most had decided that one certain painting was almost sure to win. It portrayed this lush green pasture under a vivid blue sky, with the cows grazing lazily and a little boy walking through the grass with his fishing pole over his shoulder. It really made you feel all peaceful. But it came in second. The painting that won was a big surprise. The scene was the ocean in a violent storm. The sky was ominous, the lightning was cutting across the sky, and the waves were crashing into the rock walls of the cliffs by the shore. No peace. But you had to look twice to understand what was going on. There, about halfway up the cliff was a birds' nest, tucked into a tiny hollow in the rock. A mother bird was sitting on that nest with her little babies, tucked underneath her, sleeping soundly. That was peace! I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Peace in the Midst of the Storm." Now, that was the title of the prize-winning painting - and rightly so, because peace is not just the absence of a storm. It's peace in the middle of the storm. The kind of peace many of us could use right now; the kind of peace maybe you could have right now if you're resting where you ought to be. As our headlines have become more dominated with new dangers, as so many hearts have been struggling with new anxieties and new fears, I think we're ready for the incredible peace offered in Psalm 46. I call it "Good News for Troubled Times." It's our word for today from the Word of God. Maybe it should be our word for every day right now! "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." So, the more troubled things are, the more present God makes Himself. The psalmist then says, "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Everything's collapsing here - things that have always been there for us. But no fear. Why? "God is our refuge and strength." This psalm continues: "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where The Most High dwells." Where does God live today? Well, it's in those who belong to Him through faith in Jesus. So this might be about you. "God is within her, and she will not fall...Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall...the Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." Then as everything seems to be melting down, God says, "Be still, and know that I am God." OK, turn off the news, leave those other voices, and get where you can just be with God. And realize that as long as you're in His hands, there's no such thing as out of control. He is still God and you are still His! And if you have never given yourself to Jesus, the Man who died for you to pay for your sin, I'd say there's never been a better time than this. With so much uncertainty, it's so great to know that you're safe forever in a relationship with Him. I wonder if there's ever been a time when you began your personal relationship with Jesus. Not just have a religion about Jesus or agree with Jesus, but when you've pinned all your hopes on Him as the man who died for your sin and rose from the grave to give you eternal life. If you want that security, if you want that anchor, if you want that forgiveness, that rock to stand on, tell Him that today. Say, "Jesus, I want to belong to You. I'm giving myself to You because You gave yourself for me." I'd love to have you go to our website today because there is help to be sure that you are anchored to Jesus Christ from this day on and forever. It's called ANewStory.com. Would you check it out? When you are nesting in the care of the Lord Jesus Christ, you can rest through any storm, because you belong to the One who can give you peace in the middle of the storm.

Having seen far too many traffic accidents in my travels over the years, I appreciated a story I heard some years ago from Adrian Rogers. A lady was driving down the highway when she came upon the scene of a terrible accident. She got out of the car, and she saw this driver who had been thrown from the car. He was seriously injured and he was bleeding profusely. Later the lady recounted her response to this heart-rending scene. She said, "Thank goodness, I remembered my First Aid just when it was needed the most, and I immediately put my head between my knees to keep from passing out!" I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Missing Your Mission." This lady is not about to be a hero on the nightly news! No, she's oblivious to the desperate need in front of her and instead she's just all focused on herself. The question is, "could that be us?" On the scene where there are people in front of us who are spiritually dying, without Christ, without any hope of heaven and we're just standing there, worrying about ourselves. Our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Kings 7:9 is a pretty shocking Old Testament picture of a modern spiritual tragedy. The city of Samaria is under siege, and the people of the city are facing such extreme starvation, some of them are even resorting to cannibalism believe it or not. Every morning you can hear the screams of mothers who have awakened to find that their child has starved to death during the night or the sobs of children who just watched their mother die of starvation. Meanwhile, four lepers, who are living as outcasts outside the city wall, are also on the edge of starvation. Of course, they just depend on handouts from the city. So they choose a course that they consider their only hope for survival. They're going to surrender to the enemy and hope they'll get fed by them. Well, during the night, the Lord has done a miracle that has caused the enemy to retreat, and they have left their camp and their supplies behind. So the lepers stumble into this empty camp and a mountain of food. The Bible says that as they sat there gorging themselves, "They said to each other, 'We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once...'" Question: how can you have what dying people need and not tell them about it? Tragically, that's many of us who belong to Jesus Christ. We do it day after day. We keep feasting on the Jesus-banquet, filling up with more and more blessings while never telling the spiritually starving people we know about our Jesus. We can't imagine having one day without Jesus, and they've never had one day with Him. And without Him, they have no chance of heaven. They will never be in heaven with you. God is trying to open your eyes to the life-or-death emergency that is right in front of you day after day. He's put you on the scene where you could save some lives, where you could rescue some spiritually dying people. As inadequate as you may feel, you are the one that Jesus placed in their lives so you could help some of those folks be in heaven with you! Is it risky to step out and try to rescue someone? Sure it is. Just ask Jesus. But if He could die for those people we know, how can we not at least tell them that He died for them? Please don't let them die without a chance at Jesus. See, you are that chance.

Our daughter's got this thing about lighthouses. Thanks to her family indulging that passion at Christmas and birthday time, she's got lighthouses all over her house. She's got lighthouse stationery, lighthouse rugs, and lighthouse books; sad to say, even a lighthouse on the cover of her commode. In many places, real lighthouses are mostly reminders of the maritime past when lives actually depended on seeing the light that marked the shore and the rocks. Sometimes lives still depend on them, as in the case of a Greek ferry called the Express Samina. There were 540 passengers aboard that September evening, sailing from Athens to an Aegean Island. An hour out, the wind came up and the temperature suddenly dropped. Five hours into the voyage, passengers felt the ferry's engines surge, and most of them assumed they were getting close to their destination. They were wrong. The crew was frantically trying to steer clear of this small, rocky island, two miles from their destination. Tragically, the ferry plowed right into those rocks. It took only thirty-eight minutes to sink. Rescue vessels got there quickly, but eighty people died that night, and you know, it didn't have to happen. There was a functioning lighthouse, sitting atop that rock, warning vessels away. It could be seen for several miles around. For some reason, the ferry just kept heading straight for the rocks. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Light Right In Front of You." It's possible to have the light right in front of you and miss it - with tragic results. It's been happening to nice church folks for a long time. If you're a nice church folk, it could happen to you. There are a lot of great things about growing up in a Christian environment, or of being a part of a church where you hear about Jesus a lot. But there are some dangers, too; like missing the light that's right in front of you. Jesus had some sobering things to say to some of the most religious people of His day. They are still sobering words for those of us who are Bible folks - church folks. Here are the words of Jesus from John 5:39-40, our word for today from the Word of God: "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, and yet you refuse to come to Me to have life." You can have the light of the Bible, the light of the Gospel in front of you your whole life, and yet you could still miss Jesus. When you miss Jesus, you miss God and you miss heaven. Jesus made clear that many people who have lived for years in sight of the lighthouse will miss heaven's destination and sail right into the rocks of eternal punishment for their sins. The Bible describes eternal life as "the gift of God" (Romans 6:23). You can know all about a gift, you can appreciate a gift, and you can have the gift right in front of you and still miss the gift because you never took it for yourself. Could that be you? Somehow, there's never been a time when you actually reached out and personally took Jesus into your life for yourself. For all you know, you don't know Jesus. For all you've experienced, you've never experienced Him. Don't you want to? God, in His great love for you, has laid this on my heart so you could have this chance to know Him for real. It's probably going to be hard to admit that you've missed Jesus all this time, but it's not nearly as hard as an eternity without Him. Don't let your pride, don't let your self-deception make you miss heaven. Right where you are, tell Him, "Jesus, I've never actually put my trust in You to be my own Savior from my own sin. But today I am. Beginning this day, Jesus, I'm Yours." I want you to be sure beyond any shadow of a doubt that you belong to Jesus for now and for eternity. That's why our website is there. Please go there today. It's ANewStory.com. You've seen the lighthouse, but maybe you've never changed your course. This time, turn to Jesus while there's time.

There's a 7-Eleven store owner in Texas who won my respect some years ago. Never met the man, but I really respect his creativity. He had this particular problem every night in his parking lot. A bunch of teenagers would gather there and their rock music would blare from their cars and then they kind of took over their neighborhood with decibels. And when they left, they'd leave a trail of litter and broken bottles. Now, he could have gone out in the parking lot and yelled and screamed, and said, "You crazy kids, get out of here!" But he was much more creative and effective than that. He installed his own speakers on the roof of his store and started playing Mozart in the parking lot at night. His speakers were so big he was drowning out their speakers. I'll bet you could guess and guess correctly what happened! No more teenagers in the parking lot! They're not going to go near that Mozart stuff. His music cleared the parking lot. Now, that's a great way to win. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Drowning Out the Disturbing Music." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Deuteronomy 6. It is addressed to parents who have just moved out of the wilderness. They're moving into the Promised Land of Canaan, but it's a pagan place. They've been raising their children around people who believe what they believe. Now, they're going to have to raise their children in a pagan culture, a pleasure-mad, godless environment. There's going to be a lot of temptation for their kids, and the children will be hearing the siren song of Canaan blasting through the neighborhood. How do parents deal with all these pagan influences? It sounds like the atmosphere in which we're raising our kids, doesn't it? Do you go out and yell and scream against all the sin? That might not be the best approach. Deuteronomy 6, beginning with verse 6: "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." Seems like the strategy that God suggests here is to drown out the music of a godless earth with the music of a Christ-centered home. You can create in your family an island of sanity in an otherwise insane world. We hear all the appealing voices and temptations of a sinful culture, and oftentimes we act like we're afraid of that as if they really have something to offer. We cloister our kids; we try to pretend there is no other music. But God says in essence, "You can't stop the world from playing its alluring attractions for your children, but you can play the music of Jesus louder. How do you do that? Impress His teachings on your children. It doesn't just say tell them or teach them. It says to impress them. Now, if you want to make an impression on something physically, you've got to be right next to it, in touch with it. That's how you impress something. Well, see, this is close-up time! It's not just teaching Christian answers; it's spending lots of that close-up time with them. It's interweaving God talk and God values into their everyday activities. Wrapping them in your God stories. The best place to learn about Him, to see the reality of your faith is in the classroom of everyday life. It's debriefing your child daily from their venture into the world. The greater impression is when they see you loving Jesus, enjoying Jesus, meeting with Jesus yourself. Not so much pushing Jesus - enjoying Him; a spontaneous faith treats Jesus like the unseen member of our family; the decisive person in all the things that matter to you. The world can't play music like that, so don't waste a lot of time trying to fight the world's blaring music. Just play Jesus' song louder, with a living faith in your family.

I was watching on TV the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, and my mind raced back to this unforgettable personal visit I had to the site of what was a very deadly tragedy. My guide for my visit to the memorial made it really special and very moving, because he's a state trooper. He was one of the rescuers that day. His recollections of the joy of rescues and the heartbreak of lives lost I'm not going to ever forget. Of course, all the traces of that bombed-out building are gone now. The site is now a beautiful lawn with a stone chair for each of the victims. What was the street that day is now a reflection pond. Nothing remains there from the day the world stopped at 9:02 A.M. - nothing, that is, except the tree. On an embankment across from what was the building site stands a big old tree, still partially blackened by the bomb blast. We stood there, my rescuer friend and I, and we prayed beneath those branches that somehow had endured the blast. They call it The Survivor Tree. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Survive When Everything's Coming Down." One indestructible tree - that's all that survived the most powerful blast that city had ever known. For 2,000 years, men and women who are reeling from blasts that seem to have blown apart everything in their lives, have made it - because of one indestructible tree. The Survivor Tree; the one the Bible talks about when it says that Jesus Christ "bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). That tree is, of course, the cross where the greatest act of love in human history took place - the one and only Son of God dying in our place, paying for our sins so we would never have to. In that cross - in the unspeakable love that it makes available - so many have found the one life-anchor that nothing can take from them. Every one of us has seasons in our life when a massive blast suddenly rips through everything around us. You could be in one of those seasons right now. Maybe you've been betrayed by a love you thought would always be there, your parent's marriage is coming apart, or you've lost someone who has been an anchor in your life. Sometimes we are victims of the destruction that comes from our own bad choices, which leaves you devastated by the shame of what you've done. Or it may not be what you've done. It may be the wrongs that have been done against you. The blast that changes everything can be financial, medical, etc. It is in those moments that we look for something to hold onto, something that can withstand what has rocked our life. And it is in moments like these that many of us have finally run to The Survivor Tree - the cross where Jesus died for us, where we can experience the "never leave you" love of Almighty God. That's the day you discover the miracle that's described in our word for today from the Word of God in Ephesians 2:13-14. "You who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace." That peace is within your reach this very day; maybe at a time when peace seems so impossible because of what you've lost. It may be that very loss will finally bring you to the one love you'll never lose. Jesus stands right now with arms wide open, waiting to forgive every sin of your life, to transform your dark side, and to heal what's broken inside you as only He can. He's waiting only for you to tell Him that you're turning from the sin that put Him on that cross and that you're putting all your trust in Him. Tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm yours." I would love to give you information that will help you secure this new beginning with Jesus Christ. And it's at our website - ANewStory.com. Would you check it out today? Take your stand by the tree - by the cross - that nothing has ever blown away. You are one heartfelt prayer away from having in your heart the indestructible love of Almighty God.

I approached our local McDonald's manager with an idea for using his restaurant one night. I asked him if he would let our Campus Life group have it for a candlelight dinner at McDonald's. He said, "Well, that sounds creative, but we can't close and just shut the public out. But we can allow you to come in." Well, they close at 11:00 on a weeknight, so we thought we'd come in there late. So we did it at 9:30. We set up the tables with tablecloths and candles on every table (it was kind of cool!) and all our staff dressed in tuxedos so we could serve them formally at McDonald's. We had a strolling violinist, can you believe it? We called it The Chateau De La Mac. We had about 100 teenagers come from the local high school packed in there and they loved that event. Now, did other customers come in? Yes. Did they stay? No. We took up every seat at McDonald's. We had so packed every corner of that place there was simply no room for anyone or anything else. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Holy Spirit Takeovers." Now, our word for today from the Word of God tells about the birthday of the church, the Day of Pentecost - Acts 2, beginning in verse 1. "When the Day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly, a sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting." Then verse 4, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit." Now, this is actually a picture of what happens when revival, when a stirring of God, when a great work of God is about to break out. Now, Pentecost only happened one time. It's a unique event. But spiritual revival is a recurring event in the life of the church. Scattered through the history of the church are those extraordinary, unpredictable, incredible, powerful Spirit take-overs called revival. We've seen a hint of that at some Christian colleges in recent years. And the key is in that word filled. It means there's no room for anything else. Our group filled that McDonald's that night. And even though others wanted space, we had taken over by filling every corner. Now, if you want to let that happen with the Holy Spirit in your life, or in the life of your church, then that's how revival begins; to move out everything else that could take up space. There's no room for anything now but the Holy Spirit. In fact, this Greek word that says, "The wind filled the room and the Spirit filled the people" is used a lot of different ways. It was used as a sponge that was soaked with vinegar when Jesus was on the cross. There was no room for any other liquid. It talks about people who were full of food at another place in the Bible; stuffed - no room for any more food. The word filled is also used about being filled with an emotion like anger...a consuming emotion where there's no room for any other feeling. Saturated, stuffed, consumed with the Holy Spirit. That's a Spirit takeover, and that's the culminating experience of the Christian life. It's funny we start with no room for Christ in our life; then we make room for Him. We let Him in, and as we grow we finally get restless with spiritual mediocrity and sameness. And then we say, "Lord, would You make me so there's no room for anything but You in every corner of my life?" Oh, look, you may not understand all the theology of this reviving take-over - this filling of the Holy Spirit. I don't either. You may not fully understand this yielding of every corner of you for whatever He wants. The question is, "Do you want it? Do you want to be totally His; to be saturated with the Holy Spirit of Almighty God?" Then tell Him that. You are ready for His revival. Ask Him for that kind of filling 'til there's just no room for anyone else's agenda.

This is going to come as a surprise to my friends who know how technically challenged I am when it comes to building things, but over the years, my sons and I have built several houses together. Don't expect to see a pickup truck that says "Hutchcraft and Sons" on the side. No, and don't look for us in the Yellow Pages. Actually, our houses haven't fared too well. It wasn't because we didn't work hard on them - we did. And it wasn't because they didn't look good; actually they were pretty good. And it wasn't because they weren't big; we did some pretty good sized ones. But every house we built literally collapsed within hours of the time we finished building them. It might have had something to do with the material we built our houses from - sand on a beach next to the ocean. I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Sandcastle Syndrome." Jesus is involved in an incredible building project, and what He's building will never collapse. It will never be washed away by any tide or any storm. And He's inviting you to join Him in building it. Of course, you'll have to get out of the sandcastle business first. Jesus describes His building project in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 16:18. Jesus says, "I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." That's some powerful words. There's no doubt about what Jesus is building. He's building His church. Are you? Well, what are you building? We're all working on some structure. For you, it's wherever your dreams are focused, what you put a lot of your money into, what you put most of your time into. It's a subject of a lot of your daily conversations. Maybe you're building a reputation for yourself, or financial security for yourself, or a romantic relationship, a business, your income, a comfortable retirement. You may even be building a religious empire for yourself in Christian work. Problem: it's all sandcastles. Just ask my boys. A sandcastle is something you put a lot into that just can't last. Jesus is inviting us to focus what we have on something that will last forever - building His church. Even our Christian work could be building our own kingdom which won't last. You see, that church is not about an actual physical building. It's about reaching the lost people He died for; for adding them to His family. It's about building up the lives of believers. Are those the causes that get you excited, that you're passionate about? Someone has wisely said, "In order to pray, 'Thy Kingdom come,' you first have to pray, 'My kingdom go.'" Maybe it's time to stand back and take a candid look at your motives, at your great obsession, and at your top priorities. Is it getting lost and dying people to Jesus? Or has Jesus' building program taken a back seat to something you're building, something out of sand, something that a strong tide or a big storm can wash away? Jesus said "the gates of hell" itself would not prevail against what He is building. Look, you've got maybe at best 70-or-so years on this planet. Don't waste those years on building something that isn't going to last. Jesus is building His church. What are you building?

There's this disease that hits college campuses in the spring every year. It's called "senior panic." You arrive at college as a freshman with this sneaking suspicion that you might just meet the person you're going to marry while you're there. And as you go through college, that suspicion becomes an expectation. Now, my wife and I met when we went to college, where we began our education. And D. L. Moody, the man who founded our school, the great evangelist, well, he was a shoe salesman. In fact, they used to say that Moody was a shoe factory where they would take in old heels, and repair their souls, and send them out in pairs. So, you wanted to come out of there with a mate if at all possible. Right? You started with that suspicion that you might find somebody, and then it became an expectation, and then maybe in your junior year it became a determination, "I've got to find somebody here! I might not have anybody." And then you hit your senior year; there's no husband or wife in sight - senior panic! Quick, do something! I'm going to miss it if I don't do something fast! Who says panic is only a senior problem? I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Problem With Panic." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 27. I'll begin reading at verse 30. The Apostle Paul has been for two weeks in the middle of a terrible storm at sea, as he's being carried by a Roman ship to meet with Caesar in Rome. And as they begin to go aground, some of the crew starts to have, not senior panic, but sailor panic. Here's what they decide to do, listen: "In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the Centurion and the soldiers, 'Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.' So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and they let it fall away." Okay, some background: The Apostle Paul had gotten assurance from the Lord, in the middle of the storm, that though the ship would go aground, the people would be saved. In fact earlier in the chapter, here's the message he conveys, "Do not be afraid. God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you, so keep up your courage, men. I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me." Well, their panic was understandable; the ship's coming apart. Looks like God's not going to deliver them in time. They panic! They scramble for a quick answer. Have you ever done that? See, if they do this, they're not going to make it. If you do, you won't make it. How many times do we look at our storm, we see the ship going down, financially, romantically, emotionally, and we panic. We go for a lifeboat instead of waiting for God's answer, God's provision. Abraham did it with Hagar and he created a problem for centuries with the two sons of promise, because he and Sarah could not wait for God to fulfill His promise. Rebecca did it with her son, Jacob, when she lied about him to try to get the blessing for him and all she ended up with was a family split apart. You and I do it when we settle for these patchwork solutions. Because of panic, many of God's kids have ended up with a lot of heartache, in the wrong job, the wrong relationships, the wrong marriage, a mountain of debt. The greatest enemy of God's best may be impatience. We can't wait for God to do as Paul said, "All that God said that He would do." Those seniors who panic over singleness often get the wrong person. In their rush, they often make a life-long mistake. When they think time's running out, God is right on schedule. Remember, if you panic, you can make a life-long mistake.

"My name is Idiot." She's only four years old, but when police in Hot Springs, Arkansas responded to a report of child abuse, that's what she told them. The marks of abuse were all over her body. There were bruises everywhere, she had a black eye, she had scars on her back. Those will heal. But what about the names she's been called? So many times that she actually thinks "Idiot" is her name. But wait a minute! What about the names we've called people? Even people - maybe especially people - that we love. How many people we know carry invisible, but indelible scars from our own devastating words? It's not that we necessarily mean to hurt. We're just angry, or frustrated, or feeling unheard or ignored. As our emotions escalate, so do our words. And words are like bullets. Once they're fired, you just can't get them back. As the Bible says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword" (Proverbs 12:18). We all know that's true. We still feel the sting of the names we were called a long time ago, right? Even though the one who fired them at us has probably totally forgotten it. It's our children who are most damaged by our hurtful words, because children tend to become what we call them. Label them as "lazy" or "stupid" or "worthless" enough times, and it will stick. But then, so will "princess" or "smart" or "helper" or "fun." Of course, kids also store what they hear their parents call each other in those heated moments; giving them tacit permission to speak disrespectfully in their relationships, too. But family's not the only place our words leave wounds. Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death" at school, at work, online, in all our close relationships. If people bled physically every time we wounded them verbally, I wonder what a trail we'd leave. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Labeled for Life." God puts it this way, "The tongue is a world of evil…it sets the whole course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:6). Personally, that's one reason I know I need a personal Savior. I've found only one person strong enough to control that fire in me, and that is my death-crushing Jesus. He's that strong. King David was wise enough to know that we can't conquer this verbal monster without some supernatural intervention. Thus, his prayer should probably be somewhere that I can see it every day - maybe where you see it too. It's our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 141:3 - "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." I'm thankful for the lasting imprint of something my wife told me years ago - and many times since: "Ron, don't ever forget the power of your words." I suspect a lot of us need that same reminder, huh? Because long after we've forgotten our "reckless words," the person we wounded may be carrying a long and lasting scar from them. What about all those names and putdowns that we ourselves carry from the scarring words of others? Well, I'm grateful that God has called me names, too: "God's workmanship" (Ephesians 2:10). Created "in His own image" (Genesis 1:27). God says, "My treasured possession" (Exodus 19:5). He calls us "The temple of the living God" (2 Corinthians 6:16). And then, "My sons and daughters" (2 Corinthians 6:18). And He says we are purchased by the blood of His Son (Revelation 5:9). If you've been beat down and you have thought you were worthless, you've got to take a trip up a hill called Golgotha (Skull Hill) and stand there at the foot of a cross where Jesus said you're worth dying for; for your sins so you could be with Him forever. Maybe you've never had that wonderful infusion of value and love that comes when you open your life to Jesus and you'd like to do that. Well take care of that right now. Tell Him, "Jesus, I am yours. Nobody loves me like you do." And if you'd like to know more about beginning this relationship, that's why our website's there. It's ANewStory.com. You know those people who've called you all those other things? They really didn't know who you are, who God says you are. So no one's name is "idiot." Not when God says, "You're my masterpiece."

Five thousand miles in one month! That's not too bad if you're in an airplane, but that's how far I drove at least one summer and we've had many long trips like that. We just about ran the wheels off of our van driving from one conference, or speaking assignment, or college trip to another. Let's see, if I averaged 50 miles per hour, that means I drove for 100 hours. Oh, man! Well, it was a great time, it really was. You know why? My wife was with me. We finally got to be together for extended blocks of time with no phone, no errands to do, no people to take us away. We didn't talk all the time, although we had a lot to catch up on. We probably could have been catching up for about 100 hours. Right? Sometimes we just played music, or occasionally we would just spontaneously pray about something together. Or a lot of times we just enjoyed the silence or some of the beautiful scenery. And then every once in a while you'd hear the silence punctuated with an occasional comment or just an "I love you." I think my wife spoke for both of us when she described what was so nice about all those 5,000 miles. She said, "It was just so great being in your company; just the two of us." I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just the Two of Us." You know, relationships need time together and especially times when there's like no agenda. It really enriched me to have that kind of time with my wife during all that driving. There's another relationship that might be a need, maybe a desperate need of some "just being" time. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 42, out of the heart of David, verses 1 and 2. "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God; for the living God." And then he asks this powerful question, "When can I go and meet with God?" That's the cry of a believer for the greatest emotional need he has - to be intimate with his Lord. When was the last time you just sat down with Jesus and enjoyed His company? Or do you only see Him when you have a list for Him? Jeremy was over at our house with his parents, and he'd been downstairs playing. Suddenly he came into the living room and kind of sat down in his dad's lap, and his dad liked that. His dad kind of wrapped his arms around him, started to cuddle him, and Jeremy didn't settle down; he just kept wiggling. He looked up at his dad and he said, "Daddy, you know I'm not sitting here just because I want to be with you." Great! Yeah, he needed something. Wow! How often is that me with my Heavenly Father, or you maybe? In fact we say, "Well, I'm not here just because I want to be with You; I've got my list. I need something." But you're growing up as a child of God when you want to be with God just to be with God. You say, "Ron, I don't really feel that way yet." Well, that's okay. Tell Him that. Ask Him for the desire for His company; this passion that David had just to be with Him. "When can I go and meet with God?" We have the indescribable privilege to cuddle in the lap of the King of the Universe, to call Him "Daddy," to let Him comfort our battered emotions, to speak new ideas and insights into our quiet heart. He can't do that while you're talking to Him. To be real, real close, you can't just run in and run through your "pleases" and "thank yous" and then run out. You can do all that, but then stay a little longer. I think you and Jesus will feel the same way about it. It's like my wife said, "It was so great just being in your company, Lord, just the two of us."

Two roller coasters. Only one seemed like a real option to me. I should point out that I really don't ride roller coasters much. "Because you're chicken," you say. No, because I'm too short. I just don't measure up to that little height chart that they have at the entrance to the coaster. Actually, I have a friend who declines roller coaster invitations by saying, "I can't. I have an inner ear problem." I like that. I may have to remember that one. For whatever reason, my rides on roller coasters are few and far between. But at this particular amusement park that I visited a few years ago, they had two roller coasters side by side and two lines to get to them. Over one line was a sign that said, "Forward." Over the other line, a sign that said - yeah, you guessed it - "Backward." You can ride looking forward or looking backward. Like this is a choice? I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Looking Backward, Missing What's Ahead." There are two lines in life, and two cars you can ride in. One says, "Forward" and the other says, "Backward." You choose. Frankly, I don't want to ride looking back at where I've already been. I want to ride looking ahead to where I'm going. I hope you do, too. And that's what God wants for you. In our word for today from the Word of God in Isaiah 43:18-19 - some of my anchor verses. Here's what He says: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." God wants today to be the first day of the rest of your life, not just another day of what your life has been up until now. This can be page one of a whole new volume or just another page of the same old story. Maybe you've been riding too long looking backward. You keep rehearsing and reliving the hurt of your past, your failures, and the regrets over what you've done or what you should have done. But that's the past, and none of it can be changed. But if you don't move beyond the pain, the anger, the bitterness, the self-pity, the grief, and the self-condemnation - if you keep dwelling on that, you'll miss the part of your life that can be changed - the future. One of God's great representatives, Paul, said, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). Jesus is the Lord of new beginnings, of fresh starts, of clean slates. You need to come to Him and let Him release you from being tied to the people who've hurt you, by getting His grace to forgive them. You need to ask His help to begin to define your life, not by what has happened, but by what's going to happen; what can happen because of Jesus in your life. Just a few verses after God's call to forget the past and go for His new thing, He tells us how that's possible. He says, "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions...and remembers your sins no more" (Isaiah 43:25). That's what Jesus wants to do for you. It's why He died on that cross and why He rose again from His grave. He paid the death penalty for every wrong thing you've ever done so He could erase your sin from God's book forever, because otherwise, your sin will cost you heaven. A new beginning. A fresh start. A clean slate. If you're at the point in your life where that's what you want, then it's time to open up your life to Jesus Christ. He's the Lord of new beginnings. You can reach out to Him right where you are and tell Him something like this, "Jesus, I'm done running my own life, I'm turning it over for You to run. I'm grabbing you with both hands because you died for my sin and I want today to be the first day of a new life; of a new me." There's a lot more great information about this at our website and I pray you'll go there today. It's ANewStory.com. You've been looking back long enough. There's no reason your life has to be just more of what it's been before, because Jesus has come to you today. And with Jesus, your life will never be the same again.

When you live in the New York area, locking up your house is just second nature. In fact, it's wise to make sure that every door and every window is locked. Unfortunately, all those precautions can work against you if you forget or lose your house key. Yes, this is the voice of experience. Not only are all those nasty people locked out, you are now locked out! I've been there and done that. I can remember making a complete circuit of the house, desperately trying every window and every door. And the good news was that sometimes I actually found something was unlocked. I'd take even a window that I had to be a contortionist to get through! Anything to find a way to get in! I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Open Door On a Locked-Up Heart." There are probably some people in your world who you want in heaven with you someday - people who probably don't know your Jesus yet. Maybe people who seem to have little interest in knowing Jesus. Sometimes, it seems as if the doors to their heart are all locked up when it comes to Him. But there is a way to get in, no matter how hostile they may seem. In our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Peter 2:12, Peter says we should "live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." He even says that "by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men." A lost person might resist your invitation to Christian meetings and reject your Christian beliefs; but random acts of love and kindness? They're usually a key that unlocks even the hardest hearts. As Jesus carried out His rescue mission here on earth, He wrapped His message in concrete acts of love - touching the leper that no one would touch, going to dinner with "sinners" that the religious people avoided, going to a neighborhood where racial barriers said He should never go, or cuddling the children who came to Him. That kind of love tears down walls between a believer and an unbeliever; it challenges an unbeliever's misconceptions about Christians being angry, and condemning and uncaring. It creates curiosity about what makes this caring person tick. And the good news is that anybody can show Jesus' love to a lost person. You don't have to have a theological education or a Hollywood personality. It simply requires that you focus on someone whose eternity you care about and you ask yourself this question: "Knowing what I know about this person, what things could I do that would make him or her feel loved?" Maybe it's babysitting or helping to care for a live-in parent for free, filling in at work so they can have a day off, or helping with a school subject that person is struggling with, or maybe you could provide transportation, or offer to do some "dirty work" for them. Maybe it's forgiving a debt or providing work for them. You could introduce a newcomer to his new surroundings, open your home for dinner, how about repairing a vehicle or an appliance, or just taking an interest in something that matters to them. I call it "rescue loving." It involves a conscious effort to identify what would make a lost person in your life feel loved. You can find a person's language of love by asking, "What need do they have right now that I could help with?" You literally go looking for needs into which you can pour the kind of love with which Jesus has loved you. That's how you find the open door to a life that you can't get into any other way.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Peace In Your Raging River." Now it could be that the current on your river has picked up recently. Or maybe you've been in turbulent water for quite a while. The stress of the rapids is taking its toll - and peace and rest for your heart have been pretty hard to find. You need to find the quiet place; the safe place you've been looking for your whole life. You need to get behind the Big Rock. Our word for today from the Word of God begins in Psalm 62. "My soul finds rest (that sounds good, doesn't it?) in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress, I will never be shaken. He is my mighty rock, my refuge" (Psalm 62:1-2, 6). Wow! David, the king who wrote this psalm, says he has found a rock in the rapids of his life, and it's not a therapist, it's not a religion or any person on earth. The Rock where a turbulent heart finds peace is in a love relationship with an unshakable God. The things that are beyond our control are under His control. It's this kind of personal peace that Jesus invites us to when He says, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). According to the Bible, peace is a person. You finally find peace when you find Jesus. He takes those who belong to Him and He shelters them with His very personal love and His unlimited power. If there's been no peace for you in your raging current, it may mean that you've let the strong current pull you away from your rock of refuge. The pull and the pressure have caused you to neglect your time near your Rock; your relationship with Jesus. But it may be there's no peace in your heart because you've never taken shelter in that personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The current of life actually pulls us away from the God whose love we were made for. We're stubbornly trying to navigate the rapids by ourselves, actually defying God's control, insisting on my control of the life He made. The name of that defiance is sin. The price of that defiance is the eternal death penalty that sin carries. And whether we know it or not, we are moving inexorably toward this deadly waterfall called the judgment of Almighty God unless we take shelter behind the Rock; unless we place our heart and our life in the hands of Jesus, the one who died for the sin that keeps us from God. You've battled this current long enough and you're too close to the waterfall, maybe closer than you know. Isn't it time to finally rest behind Jesus the Rock in a love relationship with Him? That relationship begins when you tell Him that the self-rule of your life is over and you are humbly putting all your trust in Him because He died for you. The peace of that relationship could finally enter your heart this very day if you tell Him, "Jesus, I am yours." There's some wonderful information I'd love to give you about this at our website so you can be sure you have begun your relationship with Him. That website is ANewStory.com. The best place to finally rest in a fast current is behind a big rock. For you, that Rock is Jesus Christ. Let the struggle end. Let the peace begin.

We were zipping down the Interstate, and we saw this long cloud of thick blue smoke ahead of us. When we got close, we saw that it was belching out of the smokestack of this big old semi, and the smoke was so heavy you could hardly see as you passed it. In fact, it was a very good time to hold your breath. Now, as we passed him, I looked through the smoke into the cab, and I saw two men inside and they were just kind of laughing and they seemed oblivious to the smoke and the smell that they were spreading down the Interstate. Now, I noticed after we passed that semi and that mountain of smoke, that there were little black spots all over our windshield. Now, I instinctively reached for my windshield wipers to get rid of the spots, and it was then that I saw the driver ahead of us who had turned his wipers on. His entire windshield was smeared with this thick, black substance. Whew! Glad I didn't turn my wipers on. We stopped for lunch a few minutes later and when I got out I found spots of oil all over our vehicle. After we finished eating we got some great exercise cleaning off the oil. Now, that driver probably thought the smoke was just his problem, but it was actually a problem for everyone who got close to it. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leaving an Ugly Trail." Our word for today from the Word of God, we're in the Old Testament book of Jonah, and you know the Lord gave him directions to go to Nineveh. Jonah 1:3 says, "But Jonah ran away from the Lord." Which is kind of a humorous thought in itself (running away from the Lord, right?) but it says "He went down to Joppa where he found a ship and paid the fare, went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up." Well, of course, now the captain goes below, wakes up Jonah, and then it says, "The sailors said to each other, 'Come with us. Cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.' They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, 'Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble? What did you do? Where do you come from? What is your country?' He said, 'I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.'" Now, Jonah has disobeyed God, and if he thinks like most of us 21st-century types, he's saying, "Hey, I might be sinning, but it's not hurting anybody. Right?" Oh, I suppose the driver of the smoky semi could have said, "I've got a problem, but it's not hurting anyone else." Well, he was wrong, and so was Jonah. Everyone around him was suffering; not because of their sin, but because of his. Modern morality says, "You know, it's okay if it doesn't hurt anybody." You know what? There's no such thing. I've hugged the parents who are sobbing over their son's life or their daughter's life. And while they're doing their thing, it could be breaking the heart of the people who love that person the most. I've been with the son or daughter who is waiting and watching while their parent walks away from the very truth they were taught by that parent, and they're crushed. No man is an island. When you have premarital sex you're hurting your future lifetime partner and their future lifetime partner. Your choices affect the family name, and they sure affect your Lord. They affect the reputation of your family. And while you're on your detour, unbelievers are deciding about Jesus based on how you are living and probably saying, "I don't need Him." See, sin twists everything around. You can't sin in a vacuum. You have an ugly trail of wounded people left behind when you're living outside of Christ's boundaries. There's pollution splattering everywhere close to you when you depart from the Word of God. The two you're hurting the most? You and a Savior who loves you very much, Who died so you don't have to do that sin. Isn't it time to end the hurt? Do it God's way. That pollution has already left a long enough trail.

Sylvester Stallone's been in the ring for a lot of rounds. Even though he, a few years ago, hit the big 6-0 birthday, he was still doing Rocky - Rocky 6. It was called, "Rocky's final round." Sylvester Stallone is one of the millions of Baby Boomers who have hit a challenge for which some have not been prepared - aging. I was intrigued with what Stallone had to say about people he knows. He said, "You see billionaires who have everything, yet inside they're still the same lonely, insecure people." You think you've got it all figured out, but when you turn 60 or, you know, whatever age seems to make you feel like you're getting older, there's this little hole inside you. You realize you're always going to be somewhat half full...or are we. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why We Can't Find Peace." I call the cycle so many of us go through in our life journey the "As Soon As" syndrome. I'll be happy, I'll be fulfilled as soon as I graduate, as soon as I get a good job, as soon as I get a better job, as soon as I'm going with someone, as soon as I'm married, as soon as I have kids, as soon as I'm not married, as soon as I can get a home, as soon as I retire; it just never ends. And "as soon as" never comes. It's one disappointing answer after another. Until, like Rocky's creator says, we just give up and accept "this little hole inside" us as being "unfillable." The ancient Jewish king Solomon knew that feeling. He was so wealthy and so powerful he was able to own or experience every "as soon as" that his heart could conceive: every purchase, every woman, every achievement, every pleasure. Here's his conclusion, recorded in his personal diary, the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. I'm reading from chapter 1, beginning with verse 8, our word for today from the Word of God. He says: "The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Pretty sad, huh? And pretty much the human experience. But Solomon went on to diagnose why nothing and no one on earth can ever fill the hole in our heart. He said, "God has set eternity in the hearts of men. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Fear God and keep His commandments" (Ecclesiastes 3:11; 12:1, 13). What we've been looking for all our life is something that will last forever, because we've got this eternity thing in our heart. The hole in your heart can only be filled by something as big as all eternity. And that means only the God who made you can fill it. Not a religion about God, but God Himself, living in your heart. And that's impossible because of the choice we've made over and over again to do our life our way instead of God's way. God calls it sin and He says that our sins "have separated us" from our God. But He's also acted with unspeakable love to demolish this wall that keeps us from Him. And He says in His own words, "He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10). Translation: I did the sinning; Jesus did the dying. Then three days later, He came back from His grave to prove that He and He alone can give us life that's eternal. For millions, the search for what goes in that hole in our heart has ended at the cross of Jesus Christ. In a transforming moment when you say to Him, "Jesus, the wrong person's been running my life. I resign. I'm holding onto You as my only hope because only You can remove the wall between me and my God. So, Jesus, I'm Yours." If you've never had that liberating, load-lifting, purpose-filling, hole-in-your-heart-filling experience with Jesus, let this be the day. In fact, if you go to our website you can find there a lot of wonderful information to be sure you belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com That hole inside you is so big only God can fill it. And at your invitation, He will - today.

Now, we had not had a major airplane crash in New York City for a long time. So, we were all pretty riveted at that particular time by the scene of the crash of Avianca Flight 52 on Long Island near JFK Airport. More people survived the crash than died in it, thankfully, but it was still a terrible tragedy. There was no fire, because they were apparently out of fuel, and that was a major reason for the crash. We watched, especially in the New York area, the dramatic rescues of survivors; some of them live on television. Of course, because Avianca was the national airline of Columbia, many of the passengers were from Colombia and it was mentioned that en route to the U.S. the plane had landed at a city in Colombia that is known to be the center of drug distribution there. Now, one survivor was really glad that he had survived and he had been rescued, but actually the bad news was not over for him when he was rescued. He was complaining of stomach pains. The hospital x-rayed him and they found dark spots in his intestines. Yeah, you probably guessed it. This injured passenger, it turned out, was smuggling cocaine in plastic bags inside his body. Now, who could have ever predicted when he put that cocaine inside of his body to smuggle it into the U.S. that there would be inclement weather all along the East Coast, they would be in a holding pattern over two hours in the air, there would be a missed attempt at trying to land, the plane would run out of fuel, he would survive a crash, and x-rays would expose his crime? Man, it looked like there was no chance of his getting caught! Actually there's no such thing. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's X-Ray Leaves No Secrets." Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from the book of Numbers 32:23. Some of God's chosen people, the Jews, have a choice here between a risky obedience and an apparently safe disobedience. I say apparently safe! Now, the issue they were dealing with isn't so important today as the advice that Moses gives. He says, "If you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out." I'll bet that's a verse one particular Colombian drug smuggler would agree with, "Be sure your sin will find you out." You know, it's important that you make all of your moral choices realistically. What do I mean? Well, you cannot, and you will not ultimately, get away with sin - ever. If God knows about it, you're already caught! Oh, and He does all the time. That Colombian drug smuggler probably couldn't imagine a way he would be found out. The drugs were totally concealed in his body, but he was found out. You and I will be, too. Oh, you may be able to cover your sin at work, maybe you can conceal it from your mate, and you might be able to fool every Christian leader you know. Maybe you've found a place where you're sure no one will discover what you're doing. Hear God, "You can be sure your sin will find you out." Oh, the Devil will wait until disclosure will do the most harm; hurt the most people. He's letting you get away with it right now. And then one day he'll yank that chain, and he'll wait until it will do the most harm and the most damage. God may wait until the seed of sin reaches the harvest stage, but be assured the bill will come for you. So, make no choices thinking that you can get away with sin. God and the Devil are both a lot smarter than you are. Don't let the delay fool you. God x-rays every passenger, every trip, and His x-ray leaves no secrets.

We were adding onto our little house, and we were getting some help from good old Chuck. He's been a part of adding to our house; actually, he did most of the work. A wonderful Christian brother, skilled builder and handyman. He's like an everyday genius...which I am not. Now the days were pretty long and we'd be leaving the house earlier than Chuck got there and we'd return home after dark. So, I didn't get to see him much. But every day that front porch was noticeably farther along than it was when we left that morning. I actually did get to talk to Chuck on the phone one day, and I told him, in a way, he reminded me of the Lord. He was interested in how that happened. I said, "Well, I don't actually see him, but I see the difference he's made!" I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living Proof of a Living Savior." There was a song years ago that said, "People need the Lord." Well, that's people you're around all the time. But they can't physically see Him, of course. They can't realize how real, how loving, and how powerful He is by seeing Him in person. But God's plan for introducing Himself to them is that, much like our friend's building work, they see the difference God makes in you. In 1 Peter 2:12, our word for today from the Word of God, Peter says, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they may accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God..." Here are people who may even be hostile toward you and toward your Lord. But they see such impressive living proof of the Jesus-difference in your everyday life - in what it says here your "good deeds" - that they end up glorifying God! Jesus made this same point in the Sermon on the Mount when He said, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). There it is again. They can't see your Lord, but they can see your good deeds that are there because He's in you. And that living proof can turn them to Him. Especially in a world that's more skeptical than ever of religious pitches, religious systems, or religious pitchmen. Notice, God doesn't say they'll be impressed with your arguments or your persuasive words. No, it's going to be your persuasive life. The random acts of kindness, the words of encouragement, your temper under control, the cleaned up mouth, the way you treat and talk about your mate, or your children, or your parents, your unselfishness, or the way you just put others ahead of yourself. One clarification: You can't just show them the Jesus-difference and that alone. You do have to tell them Who is making the difference! They can watch you for the next 50 years and they won't say, "Oh, you know, Joe is such a nice guy, I'll bet Jesus died on the cross for my sins." They're not going to figure that out. You have to tell them! So, the business of taking people to heaven with you is actually kind of like first grade...show and tell. That's why Peter says, right before his statement about them seeing your good deeds, that you are "belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light." They need to see it, but then you need to tell them. They'll never guess Jesus died on the cross for them unless you tell them. Our friend is a carpenter that I may not actually see, but I could see each day the difference he was making. You belong to a carpenter named Jesus, and whether or not the people around you will ever know Him may depend on whether or not they can see in you the difference that Jesus makes!

Our kids rode many miles in the old back seat of our car. And they had their share of turf battles over who was taking up more than his share of the seat. Pretty customary with three kids in the back seat when you drive quite a ways. They also spent some time sleeping there. In fact, I remember when our youngest was a baby. He would just doze off in his little infant seat right next to his brother who was two years older. We'd turn around and we'd see the little guy asleep and we'd say, "Oh, bless his heart." And then a few minutes later we'd look back and his brother who was almost asleep, would peer out of one eye at us and say, "Bless my heart." I guess he wanted to make sure it got done in case we didn't bless it. Well, some of our trips were like long distance marathons. With both my wife and I, marathon drivers. And some of those trips were in the dark and it was rainy and stormy even. And we've been through some very memorable lightning storms. Sometimes it's been snowing. Well, it didn't matter. The kids have over and over again just conked out, and then they'd wake up when we were there. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Who's Driving?" Now, our word for today from the Word of God is from Proverbs 3:5-6. That might ring some bells. They are my daughter's favorite verses, my wife's favorite verses, and maybe you consider them to be yours. Here's what they say, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." In other words, you'll get to your destination if it's raining, snowing, storming, lightning, thunder. You'll get there if you follow this formula. Notice He says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." That means you have taken total hands off the situation. You're going to totally relax in what God's doing. You're not going to depend on what you're doing. Don't get in the way of His will with your bright ideas; don't lean on your own understanding. It's like our children riding in the car with their father for all those marathon trips. Actually, the situation you're facing right now leaves you three choices in terms of navigation. Choice number one: You could try to drive - maybe that's what you've been doing. In fact, the more intense a situation gets, instead of getting desperate for God's larger help, we just grip the wheel more tightly. Well, if you're trying to drive, you'll crash just as if my kids were trying to drive when they were little. The second thing you could try to do is help God get you to your destination. Imagine He's driving. You're in the car, but you're in the front seat and you're telling Him how He should drive. It's like a backseat driver in the front seat. Or you keep grabbing the wheel because you think you're going to crash. Well, you will if you drive. Or you think He's going too slowly, so you keep putting your foot on the accelerator. All you're going to do is make the trip longer and harder. The other possibility is that you do what my children have done. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Well, in a sense, you'll crawl in the back seat and you'll say, "Father, I trust you. It's dark, it's stormy and I'm not sure where we're going, but I want to fight off the urge to try and drive. You drive, Father. Good night." Where are you in this current situation in your life? Are you trying to drive or are you trying to help God drive? Or are you simply going to sleep in the back seat? Why don't you relax and let your Father drive. You'll wake up refreshed and you'll wake up right where you are supposed to be.

Our son had just moved to an Indian reservation to work among the young people there, and for a short time he stayed rent-free at the home of a Native American family. Well, sort of rent-free. One day the man of the house asked our son to help him with a little plumbing problem. Our suburban boy said, "Plumbing? Sure. Where can I find the plunger?" He was informed that no plunger would be needed, so apparently it's going to be easier than he thought. Right? Wrong. His host took him out in the backyard and introduced him to a septic pond where his job was to try to clean out a stopped-up pipe. In order to find it, our son had to reach into the gross stuff up to his shoulder. Yuk! He said when he was finished, he had one thing and only one thing on his mind - a shower. He called and he pretty much summarized his experience, "I have never felt so dirty in my life, and it's never felt so good to be clean." I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Feeling Dirty, Getting Clean." Feeling clean - that's a feeling someone who's listening right now could use because you've felt dirty long enough. We all know those feelings because we've all done things we're ashamed of; we've done some things that we thought we'd never do, we've failed to do some things we should have done. Too many times, the people we've hurt the most are the people we care about the most. There are these dark secrets that haunt us and even some things that we're hooked on that we cannot stop doing. We feel dirty inside, and we don't know how to get clean. That is why our word for today from the Word of God is such awesome good news. It's written to people who know what dirty feels like. In 1 Corinthians 6, beginning with verse 9, the writer describes people who have messed with sex, both heterosexual and homosexual, people who have ripped off others, who've been selfish and greedy, who've had drinking problems, along with backstabbers and cheaters. Then comes this startling statement: "That is what some of you were." Were? How does that happen? How do dirty people get clean? Here's how. It says, "You were washed...you were justified (that means made right with God) in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." God gave them a spiritual shower because of Jesus. How can a God whose perfect just erase all my sins from His book? It says, "In the name of the Lord Jesus." That's because Jesus had all the dirt of my life dumped on Him when He died on the cross. In the Bible's words, "He carried our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). Just think of Jesus absorbing all the guilt, all the shame, and all the hell of every angry thing you've ever done; every dirty thing, every selfish thing, every deceitful thing, every hurting thing. That's how much He loves you. That's how much He wants to forgive you so you can have the unspeakable joy of being clean and the guarantee of being with Him in heaven forever. As Jesus was dying on that cross, He said of those who nailed Him there, "Father, forgive them." That's what He wants to say to God about you today, "Father, forgive him. Forgive her." If you will take what He died to give you. No religion can erase your sin from God's book. Only Jesus can do that, because only Jesus paid the death penalty that we deserve. The sinless One became dirty so you could become clean. He took your hell so you could live in His heaven. The man on the cross next to Jesus, hearing His offer of forgiveness, said to Him, "Remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). That's what you need to do - to reach out to the Great Forgiver and ask Him to forgive all the sinning you've ever done. If you do, He will say, "I will remember your sin no more" (Hebrews 8:12). Grab Him in total faith as the only One who can rescue you from your sin. If you're tired of dirty, if you're ready to finally be clean inside, tell Jesus that. The day I opened my heart to Jesus, someone took time to explain to me exactly how to get it all started, how to begin with Him. I would love to do that for you through our website. Would you go there today? It's ANewStory.com. There's nothing like a shower when you feel dirty. And right now Jesus stands ready to wash away the dirt of your lifetime. It feels so good to be clean!

I can still remember my wife's excited phone call that day. She said, "Honey! The baby just turned over!" Hey! He was three months old; it was a big deal. It's hard to believe there was a time you couldn't turn yourself over. Can you imagine a time when you couldn't walk by yourself? You couldn't feed yourself? Well, we took pictures of all these steps toward independence as all of our kids took those steps. There was a big cause for getting that old Super 8 movie camera out and getting the slide film out (come on, there was no iPhone then! You get it?). "Oh, look, he's crawling for the first time! He's walking for the first time! Take pictures! It's the first day they ever went to school." And then it happened, all three of our children were grown and out of the house, independent adults. But that's normal, right? I mean, the more you grow, the more independent you become. Right? Not necessarily. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Freedom of Total Dependency." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 9. I'm going to begin reading at verse 7 - it's the dramatic conversion of that persecutor of Christians, Saul of Tarsus. What a life-transforming day! Saul has just been knocked off his horse by this light from heaven; he knows now that it is the Lord he's dealing with, and verse 7 says, "The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything." Now, Saul of Tarsus is an intelligent, gifted, passionate leader. He felt sufficient, strong. He's all grown up, right? Wrong. Saul's road to maturity begins the moment after his conversion when it says, "They led him by the hand." Isn't it interesting to see here that from the moment of Saul's rebirth, God drives him to a position of total dependency? Later in this chapter God refers to Saul as, "My chosen instrument. I have great plans for him." You know when those plans begin? With total dependency. The more a child grows the more independent they should become. The more a child of God grows the more dependent he should become. Usefulness to God begins with a heart breaking. God will do whatever it takes to show you that dependency is maturity when it comes to spiritual adulthood. In fact, He may be doing whatever it takes right now. Paul would have to learn humility and dependency throughout his life. The stronger you are, the more it takes for you to learn to depend. In 2 Corinthians 1 he talks about hardships that they'd suffered almost to the point of death. And he says the reason was, "That we might not rely on ourselves but on God." He had to learn it again. Now, 2 Corinthians 12 - he talks about his "thorn in the flesh that was given to him to 'keep me from being conceited.'" This strong, driven leader had to be humbled and broken, and then re-humbled and re-broken. You say, "What strong and driven person? Paul?" In this case, I mean me. It's the Master's way to bring His strong-willed child to the end of their ability to control the situation; to make that child of His, in a sense, blind to where they need to be led by the hand. Maybe you're there now. God wants to pry open that tightly clenched hand of yours, empty it of self, and fill it with His power. Maybe He's brought you to the edge. It's going to be total dependency or total defeat. Why don't you get you out of the way? Grow up to the point where you will let your Father feed you, let your Father carry you, let your Father lead you. You're never stronger than the moment you reach up a trembling, empty hand and say, "Father, lead me by the hand."

If you'd seen the front lawn of our office, you wouldn't have been able to tell that there had been a change inside. The only evidence of that was that there was an uncustomary pile of shattered sheetrock in this big lump in the yard. The changes were on the second floor immediately above that pile where two small offices had just become one large office. A man from our staff went in, and went after that temporary wall that divided the people in that room, and ripped it out in no time. I'll tell you, it felt pretty different in there with that wall gone! Wish they were all that easy to tear down. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Great Wall Destroyer." Let's go to another upstairs room with a lot of walls in it. This room is an upper room in Acts 2, where we find our word for today from the Word of God. In a sense, there were a lot of walls there. It tells us when the disciples arrived they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. And then it lists some of the people who were there. It mentions Peter. Of course, Peter was very different from somebody else listed there, like Thomas. Peter was sort of a walking gland; he's like all emotions. Thomas - not his type. Thomas - cerebral, the thinker - always got an intellectual question. And then it talks about Matthew. Well, he had worked for the government as a tax collector. And then it mentions Simon the Zealot. He'd been a revolutionary, trying to overthrow the very same government that Matthew worked for. In fact, only a few weeks before, all of these guys who were in this upper room together, had been arguing over who was going to be the greatest. They were, each one, trying to win "king of the hill" against each other. Listen to what happens. "They all joined constantly in prayer." Chapter 2, verse 1: "On the Day of Pentecost they were all together in one place." Chapter 2, verse 42 says, "The new Christians had devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." That word fellowship is koinonia; it means intimate closeness. Verse 44: "After they prayed together, all the believers were together and had everything in common." The book of Acts goes on talking about times when the people will pray together and it literally brings them together. Listen, if you want to tear down a wall between rooms, use a crowbar. If you want to tear down walls between people, you use prayer. You can't get really, really close until you really, really pray together. Oh, sure, sometimes prayer can be a time when people still keep their masks on, keep it superficial, stick to the general praying kind of stuff. But real prayer is where people come together and express how they really need the Lord. You know, worship Him with specific thanks for specific things He's done recently. You fight together on your knees for the lives of people you care about. You come against Satan. You come against the stronghold of darkness that you both know is there. You admit your struggle, you passionately seek His strength, His answers, and walls start coming down. Every married couple needs to pray together daily. It is the ultimate glue between people: Christian coworkers, parents and their children, Christian friends, even if it starts out feeling awkward. Go to your Father together. In fact, the person you're having the most difficulty with is probably the one you most need to be praying with. When we go into the Father's presence sort of distant from each other, we almost always come out of His presence closer. Prayer softens hearts; prayer helps us see people and situations through God's eyes. And prayer is the great wall destroyer.

Okay, laugh if you will, but when I was in high school, I sang in the chorus. I did! Today, I'm just a backup singer; when I sing, people back up. But back in high school, we had some good times learning our parts, mastering our songs, and performing our concerts. Sometimes, if I was late for our chorus class, I could hear them warming up as I approached the chorus room. And this one warm-up was particularly monotonous: "mi, mi, mi, mi, mi, mi, mi, mi, mi." Don't change stations. I'm done. I'm not going to do any more singing. But... I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I do want to have A Word With You today about "The 'Me' Song." Now, the spelling is a little different, but the most monotonous chorus in the world still sounds the same, when someone's tune is (and I promise not to sing) "me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me." It is the song of our selfishness, a song we sing far too often. It's the most off-key chorus of all! It's when I'm performing as if it's all about me. Now, we can do better than this if we follow the blueprint laid out in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Philippians 2:3-8. We're told there, "in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." This kind of self-sacrificing rather than self-seeking is not something that we see very much. So we need an example, and we've got one. The Bible goes on to say, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who...made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant... He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross." God tells us to follow His Son into an attitude that is all about "you, you, you, you, you" instead of "me, me, me, me, me." And especially in those moments when, like Jesus in His hours of suffering and dying, selflessness is the most amazing. Basically, there are certain times when we tend to enter the "Me" Zone, where we act like things should pretty much revolve around us. We slip into the "Me" Zone when we're feeling sick, when we're feeling stressed, when we're suffering, or when we're just tired and feeling shot. I know this all too well. How do I know this? Well, I have been there way too many times. But the Bible says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." At the time of His greatest pain, His greatest suffering - the time of the greatest suffering any human being has ever experienced, He's carrying the sin of the world - He's dying on the cross and He's still all about others! In the middle of His agony, Jesus is making sure His mother is cared for...He's reaching out to the thief on the cross next to Him, and He's asking His Father to forgive those who crucified Him. That's how your Savior handles being stressed, how He handles suffering, and how He wants to help you and me handle the moments when we just want to think about ourselves. It's at those times when I'm really tired, stressed, when I'm really not feeling good, that I have to reach beyond my feelings and say, "Dear Lord, give me the grace to still think about others when I feel like just thinking about me." In other words, "Jesus, would you please help me, because I want to be like You!"

My friend, Larry, was a pilot. And awhile back he was asked by a client to fly their corporate, cabin class plane from one metropolitan area airport to another. That flight should take about 15 minutes, and he thought, "Well, I could do that." His only commitment was several hours later to lead prayer meeting at his church that night, so he felt like there was plenty of time to get that job done. He was preparing to land at the airport, and as he looked at all of his controls, he noticed that five different indicators had gone on...all telling him that his front landing gear wasn't down. Well, he called the tower at the airport, and they said, "Well, why don't you fly by and we'll take a look at it." And they confirmed sure enough he didn't have any front landing gear. So he made a second approach, worked with the switches and controls, and hoped that would work. But no, he had to report to the tower all the lights are still on; five indicators saying he didn't have any front landing gear going down. He requested to be able to go back to his home airport, and as he did he was flipping his switches back and forth. Nothing was happening. He tried several aerial maneuvers to shake it loose and that didn't work. He called for his mechanics to be able to communicate through the tower and read slowly to him from the manual for his plane. He tried everything the manual said. Nothing worked! Now, he had three hours of fuel when he started, but he was running low now. So he went up to a level where he could put it on automatic pilot. It was dark, it was starting to snow now, and he thought, "Should I let my wife know about this?" He said, "Well, there's really no reason to alarm her." He looked for tools while it was on automatic pilot and he worked with those. Again, nothing worked, including nothing his mechanics read to him from the manual. He had ten minutes of fuel left. He thought, "Man, this is going to be $400,000 if I crash land. Oh yeah, and I don't know about me." He was low on fuel, hoping there would be no fire, so he began to prepare for the crash landing. He secured all the loose items, pulled the fire extinguisher pin in case there was a fire, harnessed himself in, and made the approach for his landing. All the indicator lights still on, his landing gear still not down and what happened next is what might happen just before you are about to crash. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Our Eleventh-Hour Lord." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Exodus 14:9. The Jews are at the Red Sea, and it says, "The Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they encamped by the sea." Okay, we're in a big jam here, right? But it says, "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong East wind." You've got the Red Sea behind you, the enemy closing in. And then, just at that last moment, the waters parted. Oh yeah, about Larry, my pilot friend, we left him preparing for a crash landing. Nothing had worked - flipping switches, maneuvering, manuals, waiting. And so, as he made that approach, he simply said, "Lord, I need a miracle." He threw that switch one more time. He'd thrown it hundreds of times, and this time every light indicating trouble with his landing gear went off. He said, "I'm coming in! I've got full gear." They said, "Fly by" in the tower. He did. They turned the high light beams on. They said, "Hey, your landing gear is down!" He said, "I know." And he landed safely. The crowd said, "What happened?" He said, "A miracle of God." Oh, and he made it to his prayer meeting, too. Larry experienced it, Moses and the Israelites did, and maybe you will right now - our eleventh-hour Lord. He often comes through at the very last moment. There's never any doubt that He will, but it's that waiting that makes you wonder. Why? So we'll get to the end of our resources; so He can grow your faith like a muscle by stretching it. So He can demonstrate His power in a way where only God could get the glory. And so He can dramatically show His love to you. Maybe you've got your back to the Red Sea, the enemy's closing in and every solution has failed. Why don't you surrender completely to your Savior right now and cry out to Him, "Lord, I need a miracle." And you will be a candidate for that eleventh-hour Lord.

I'd done my whole adult life with my Karen, the only woman I ever needed. Suddenly, I had to figure out how to do the rest of my life without her. That Sunday night, we sat in the bleachers at our local football stadium and we watched our grandson graduate from high school as valedictorian and he gave a faith-filled valedictory message. Monday afternoon, she was gone. Wrapped in this huddle of sobs with our three adult children, I just choked out the words, "It hurts so bad." It really does. After some time, I'd walk into our living room, I'd still instinctively look for that beautiful hair. I called it her "crown of glory" as she sat in her favorite blue chair. I would go to make that oatmeal that she loved for breakfast. I turn to tell her about a conversation or situation and to hear her trademark laugh over my dumb jokes. Our four-year-old grandson said it all the first time he ran into our living room and saw her chair empty. He just ran back to his mommy and said, "Mommy, you were right. She's not here." No, she's not, and she won't be again. I probably shed more tears in those weeks than I've shed the rest of my life. But I have a story to tell. Actually, it's the Story that I've tried to tell folks my whole adult life. And suddenly I was living its ultimate validation. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Shattered Heart, A Certain Hope." Everything I've ever believed, everything I've ever taught about my Jesus is true! Everything that my death-crushing Savior promised, I can tell you, He delivers in the darkest, most devastating days of my life! He said of those who have put their total trust in His death on the cross for their sins, and this is in our word for today from the Word of God in John 14:19. He said, "Because I live, you will live also." Because Karen's Savior is alive, so is this woman I love. In God's own words, we have "a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). I'm not talking about some "cross your fingers" hope. This is living hope. Hope is a Person - Jesus. He trampled death as He blasted out of His grave on Easter morning. The hope that is holding my heart together is as sure as our hope that spring will follow a seemingly endless winter. Spring is a sure thing. So is heaven for those who've pinned all their hopes on the One who died so we could go there. As much as I love Karen, she is now with the One who loves her the most. This amazing Jesus has got my Karen. And He's got me. I can tell you that by the peace that has lasted across the years now. That peace, along with that certain hope of a forever spring after this cold winter, is a powerful counterbalance on that scale that is so weighed down by grief. Through all my darkest hours, through my loneliest moments, the peace has never been shaken. Oh, this Jesus I've talked about, that I've written about, I've believed in all these years has come closer and become more real to me than ever before. He promised He would be, as the Bible says, "close to the brokenhearted" (Psalm 34:18). He really, really is. When you walk through the valley of the shadow, you've got to have Jesus to go there. And when you walk across that final frontier beyond our death, you've got to know you belong to Jesus. If you're not sure of that, would you please make this the day you get that settled? Tell Him, "Jesus, what you died for was me. I am yours. You're alive! I want you to live in me." Check out our website - you can find there how to be sure you belong to Him. That website is ANewStory.com. Look, I'm in the biggest storm of my life - the Cat 5 hurricane, the EF-5 tornado. Jesus is my safe room. Is He yours? He's stronger than the storm. The Bible says, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19). And my friend, The Anchor holds.

All right, what famous TV personality said these words: "I love trash." All right, Sesame Street fans, yep, Oscar the Grouch, who even lived in a trash can. Now listen, I've got a few idiosyncrasies - not nearly as many as everybody else I know, but one of those is that it's very important to me that my trash gets picked up once a week. I try to be faithful in getting it out to the street like I'm supposed to on the day it's supposed to be there. What if the trash man doesn't come for one week? What if he didn't come for two weeks? What should I do about that? What if my approach to that problem were to go and tell all my neighbors, "My trash wasn't picked up!" Oh, and then the guy that delivers the mail; he comes up and I say, "Do you know what? That trashman didn't come and pick up my trash!" And I call my pastor and say, "Pastor, I'm not getting my trash picked up!" And the checkout girl while I'm at the grocery store; you know, she should know about this too. Oh, and when I get gas, you know what? I'm going to tell the guy at the gas station. "That guy didn't pick up my trash!" You'd say, "Ron, aren't you missing a pretty obvious step here?" Well, yeah. I forgot to talk to the only person who can explain why it's not there; I didn't talk to the only person who can change it - the trash man. You say, "Ron, that's stupid." Yeah, but I've just described our standard procedure for handling problems between Christians. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Going Direct." Okay, our word for today from the Word of God about going direct is found in Matthew 5:21-24. You may recognize this as coming from The Sermon on The Mount and Jesus is speaking. "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder,' and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." Now, what Jesus is saying here basically is, "Don't come to Me until you've talked to your brother." That's interesting isn't it? He says, "Even though you're bringing a sacrifice in your hands, which is the holiest thing that a Jew could do at that time, even though you're coming to worship Me, you and I don't have much to talk about until you've gotten that conflict - that tension - squared away with your brother." You remember what I said about telling everyone about the trash man and my problem with him? That's really how we handle problems with each other. We go talk to everybody else about it except the person there's the problem with. We take all sorts of evasive action to avoid confronting someone. Oh, we're subtle about it, we ask for prayer, "Lord, you know...", "Please pray for me will you?", "Ask the Lord about this." And of course we get into sanctified gossip with our prayer requests sometimes, or we just unload it on our friends. We complain, we keep score, we sputter that he should know better. Have you talked to the person who has hurt you? Have you talked to the person that you have hurt? You say, "Well, if they'll make the first move." Jesus doesn't say that. He says, "You make the first move." You'll be surprised - if you'll just talk to them - by the reasons for their actions. Maybe you have totally misinterpreted their actions. It may clear up all kinds of misunderstanding; it could get rid of the growing cancer of bitterness inside of you. Even if they don't respond, you have dealt with the bitterness and anger that the Bible says causes you to forfeit the grace of God. And most of all, even if it doesn't resolve the relationship, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you've done it Jesus' way. You have obeyed. One of the most disobeyed commandments of Jesus is to settle things with your brother. I think we ought to be asking each other, when someone comes to us with a problem about another person, "Have you talked to them? Have you talked to the real person involved?" Because when it comes to healing broken relationships, don't go to any more outsiders. Do it the Jesus way, go direct!

It's always hard to lose someone you love. It's especially hard when it's a child. I had friends who lost their precious granddaughter, Amy. Two years old - went to sleep with a little cold and a little fever. By the end of the night, Amy was gone from a cause, well it was still a medical mystery. As I talked with the family at the visitation, of course there was deep grief, but there was also a little comfort from something beautiful that happened right before Amy went to sleep that night. Her mother began singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her and little Amy sang along with her. Her last words, "Jesus loves me, this I know." And then she was with Him. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Eternity Insurance." The way little Amy went into eternity is a wonderful way for any of us to go into eternity - knowing Jesus loves us and that we will be with Him forever. We all have our appointment to keep with God, and what happens there has everything to do with our response to that love. A love that little children sometimes seem to understand best. Maybe that's why, according to our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 18, beginning at verse 2, "Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" When you put that in the context of a little two-year-old's simple trust in the love of Jesus, you see some of what Jesus is trying to say here. We've got all our sophistication, our questions, our doubts, our analysis, our hardness, and our pride. You and I don't want to believe that we can't earn heaven with our goodness, that all we can do is put all our trust in the Savior who died to remove the death penalty for our sin. No, no. We're strong, we're self-reliant, we're smart, we can figure things out, we can handle things, we can fix things. We struggle with simply reaching out to Jesus in uncomplicated, uninhibited faith. But there is no other way to, in Jesus' words, "enter the kingdom of heaven." But when our heart beats for the last time, it won't matter what degrees or positions we held, or how many people we know, or what religion we were, or what nice things they said about us at our funeral. All that will matter is whether or not you have grabbed the nail-scarred hand of Jesus Christ to forgive your sin and take you to His heaven. Grabbing a hand in total trust is something a child totally understands and something we grown-up children need to understand again. Because if you haven't trusted Jesus to be your personal Savior from your personal sin, you don't stand a chance in eternity. He's the only One who could forgive and erase what will keep you out of heaven - your sin and its death penalty. He's the only One who died that death penalty for you on the cross so you don't have to. You need to face eternity knowing that Jesus loves you and that you have responded to that love. You don't want to enter eternity, you don't want to face Jesus, knowing you've neglected or rejected His love for you poured out on His cross. Have you ever grabbed Jesus' hand in total trust to say, "Jesus, you're my only hope of being rescued from my sin"? If not, why would you risk another day without Him? Why would you live another day outside His love? Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours" right where you are today. I invite you to our website, because it's there simply to help you be sure you actually have begun this relationship with the only One who can rescue you from your sin. It's ANewStory.com. Please check it out today. So, this little girl enters eternity, knowing that Jesus loves her and showing you and me the love we so desperately need. "Jesus loves me, this I know."

In the fall I really got exercise in our yard. We had lots of trees in that yard, and lots of leaves. Our sons were gone, and I got to do just about all the raking. There was this one corner of the yard that was kind of nice to rake because it smelled nice. I'd be raking away and suddenly I'd smell the strong aroma of spearmint. Now, I don't chew gum and I don't wear spearmint scented deodorant usually. So, it had to be coming from what I was raking - and it was! That was my wife's herb garden, and when some of the spearmint plants got bruised by my rake that spearmint scent started to fill the air. My wife told me that's the way it is with lots of herbs, like with lemon balm, for example. If you take a little piece of that plant and you crush it between your fingers, the air will suddenly be sweetened by this scent of lemon. So I learned, crushing a plant releases its scent. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Walking Hope." In 2 Corinthians 2, where we get our word for today from the Word of God, the Apostle Paul has just told about hardships he has suffered, great pressure he was under, even the despair he'd been feeling. In the context of a lot of pain and pressure, he says in 2 Corinthians 2:14, "But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." You see, God wants to spread to the people around you the experience of the beautiful aroma of what it's like to have God in your life. How does He release that scent? Oh, hardships and pressure. The scent of Jesus in Paul's life was probably never more beautiful than when it came to what he called his thorn in the flesh - some physical limitation that he begged God over and over to remove. He called it a messenger from Satan to torment him. That's in 2 Corinthians 12. Then he comes to terms in that passage with the fact that this pain is not going away. Then he discovers the unexpected, glorious result that can be released through his crushing. 2 Corinthians 12:9 - "But God said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" When you can't, there's an opportunity for everyone around you to see that God can. Paul goes on, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me." When people came in contact with the Apostle Paul they smelled power, they smelled grace. But it wasn't Paul's power or grace. People got to experience God's beauty because he had been bruised, and the bruising released the aroma of the love of God. That's what the Lord wants to do through you. Maybe you've been going through something that has bruised you or crushed you. If you've allowed yourself to become bitter, angry, or self-focused because of it there'll be a smell coming from you - probably like the smell that comes from what my wife used to call stink weed on the farm, and no one is going to want to be around you. They'll conclude that Christ doesn't make much of a difference in the times when we really need the difference made. But you've probably met, as I have, some precious men and women who have been deeply wounded, totally crushed, and they've surrendered all that pain to the Savior and they are a joy to be around. They're like walking hope. The aroma of God is all over them. Never do we have a greater opportunity to show the people around us the reality of our Savior than when we are in a time of great hurt. Maybe like you're in right now. If it's one of those times for you, would you open yourself up to a divine take-over of your feelings, your pain and your personality? You'll find that something very supernatural, something very beautiful will happen. The crushing you've experienced will release the incomparable aroma of the grace, and the love, and the peace of Almighty God. The Creator who releases beauty through a bruised, crushed plant, can surely do it through one of us - his blood-bought children.

If you're a frequent flyer, as I have been in the past, they give you frequent flyer miles that eventually add up to a free ticket. Well, they give their really frequent flyers a few fringe benefits. The benefits aren't quite what they used to be, but like sometimes you can do early boarding. When one of our leaders and I were flying a lot together, it helped if we could board early. Because we could kind of get set up for a lot of work to get done on the flight. Now, he didn't have all the miles I did, but the boarding agents were pretty nice to him, because he boarded with me. My ticket, well, it has this special stamp that would indicate my high-mileage status. And on one occasion, they actually offered early boarding to us guys that they see all the time. They took my ticket and then he was following right behind me. He said, "I'm with him. Is that OK?" Yep. We went together. I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why God Will Let You In." Sometimes the one way you can get in is on the strength of who you know. "I'm with him." Well, for sure, it's the only way any of us will ever get into heaven the day we die. That important fact is dramatically demonstrated in our word for today from the Word of God from Luke 23 beginning at verse 42. The scene is that skull-shaped hill where Jesus is dying on the cross, with a criminal on a cross on either side of him. Now the Bible says of one of those men, "Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.'" When this man died and kept his appointment with God, I could just see him grabbing Jesus and saying to God, "I'm with Him." Now we know from Jesus Himself that that man is in heaven. Not because he was baptized. He wasn't. Not because he was confirmed. There was no time for that. Not because he was religious or righteous. He wasn't. He would go to heaven when he died for one reason. He had put his total trust in Jesus to forgive his sins and take him to heaven. It's the only way that thief could go to heaven. It's the only way I can; it's the only way you can. God puts it this way. "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men" (1 Timothy 2:5). A ransom is the price you pay to get someone back, right? When Jesus died on that cross, He was absorbing all the guilt and all the punishment, all the hell of every sin you have ever committed. He was paying the price to get you back - the ransom. And no one else did that; no one else could. That's why your eternity depends on whether or not you grab Jesus to rescue you like a drowning person would grab a lifeguard. You might wonder if God can forgive some of the things you've done. Well that dying thief, with his life of crime, might well have wondered the same thing until he heard Jesus say of the men who had executed Him, "Father, forgive them." If Jesus would forgive the men who nailed Him to that cross, is there anything He won't forgive? He will forgive you! Don't wait another day to make sure you're going to heaven when you die. You just don't know when your date with God is. Say to Jesus, "Lord, remember me. Forgive me. Be the Savior for my sin." Your sins will be forgiven, and your name will be entered in His book of those who have eternal life in heaven that the Bible describes. This is the day to say, "Jesus, I'm yours. I want to be ready for eternity whenever it comes." I've laid out simply the path to begin your relationship with Him at our website. I urge you to go check it out today. It's ANewStory.com. Let today be the day you settle your eternity. So that when you meet God, you can say, "I'm with Him." And you'll hear Jesus say, "Today you will be with Me in paradise - and forever."

When I lived in the New York area, I occasionally spoke for the New York Giants, and the New York Jets, and the Yankees, and the Mets, and some of their visiting teams. Now, when people heard about that, guess what their first question usually was? Well, of course, they said, "Ron, what scripture verse did you speak on?" No! What they asked was, "Who was there? Who did you meet?" And they wanted to hear who attended and who I got to shake hands with. People got excited because I had been with some star they knew about. But much more frequently than those events, I've had the opportunity to be with some real VIPs, some real very important people. But you probably wouldn't recognize their names. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why the Little People Are the Big People." Ok, here comes our word for today from the Word of God. It's in the 10th chapter of the gospel of Mark. "Some Pharisees came and tested Jesus by asking, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?'" That's in verse 2, and this ongoing conversation continues with these very important people from Jerusalem. In the middle of all of that in verse 13 it says, "People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them." I think in the Greek it says, "Go away, kid!" Well, "When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them." Okay, here's the scene. Jesus is with the power brokers from Jerusalem, and then He's with these little kids crawling all over His lap. The question: when was Jesus with the VIPs? Not the big shots; not the power brokers. Oh, He was with the VIPs, He said, when He was with the children. The disciples got it wrong. Maybe they were running the nursery that day. Listen, have you ever been in the nursery when the pastor preached too long and the kids are going crazy? Well, the disciples are saying, "No, no, He's with important people now." Jesus said, "Uh-uh, these are the important people." You know, we have a tendency to really curry favor with the powerful, to oblige the rich, to try to get close to the stars in whatever our constellation is, whether it's business, or school, or church. But what Jesus models here is what I would call a VIP inversion. He says, "The little people are the big people to Him: children, the homeless, the hurting, the powerless, the misfit, the lonely, the excluded." Jesus gives prime time to those who can give Him nothing. He focuses on those who have no votes, no money, no favors to give. This must be a pretty important account, because it's recorded in three of the gospels. And we are told here that Jesus was indignant when the disciples made this values error. So, who do you think the VIPs are in your world? Well, if you see what Jesus sees, you'll know it's the little people. You'll know that you're becoming like Jesus when you start to lose your fascination with people who are powerful, or those who can do something for you. You're becoming like Jesus when you feel yourself wanting to be with the people He thinks are important, not the ones the world says are important. The ones the world sees as powerless and unimportant. See, when you get close to a little person, just ask Jesus, you are getting close to a real VIP.

If I'm ever on an airplane flight where the flight attendant becomes incapacitated, I think I might be able to do the safety instructions. I mean, I've heard them so many times. Actually, you know, they've now video-ized the presentation. It used to be they just kind of got up and did it. I like the part where that little yellow oxygen mask drops down from above your seat in the demonstration. In the video, everyone is wonderfully calm in this simulated oxygen problem. I'm sure that's very true-to-life. "Oh, look, my oxygen mask just fell down. That's nice." Well, the video shows a mother putting the mask on herself, and then on her little girl. The instructions go like this: "If the cabin pressure drops, get the oxygen to your face first, and then to your child's." I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Breathing The Air Your Child Needs." When it's crunch time on an airplane flight, you have to first get for yourself the oxygen you need as a parent, then you can give your son or daughter what they need. In these increasingly challenging days for parents and dangerous days for our kids, we've got to breathe deeply what our children need so we can pass it on to them. Over the years of youth and family work, I have often been asked by a parent, "Can you help my son or daughter?" Often, the most helpful answer would be, "Can we get the oxygen to you before we try to get it to them?" How many times has our child's weakness been a mirror of our own, their failure a mirror of our failure, their baggage, their needs? It's kind of like my child, my mirror. I have to get myself fixed before I can fix my son or daughter. And how in the world do we change things about ourselves that we haven't been able to change all these years? Hope! Yes, in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Peter 1:18 God says, "You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers with the precious blood of Christ." We have all gotten these destructive hand-me-down ways of living from our parents who probably got those same hurting ways from their parents, and so on and so on. And even though we may have been determined not to reproduce some of those traits (we may have hated some of those things), here they are popping up in our generation, marking another generation. Unless their hold can be stopped in your generation! Unless I can find the spiritual oxygen needed. If I can, then I can pass it on to my children who can be victorious over this. We've all got ways of doing things we have long wanted to change, and for a long time: my temper, my negative attitude, my lack of discipline, my critical tongue, this addictive personality, this controlling personality, this lack of affection, this dishonesty. But God injects into our lifelong struggle to change, this hope-giving word: "redeemed." We can be redeemed from it! But you can't help your child with that problem until you've breathed God's life-giving oxygen first. The bridge between the person you are and the person you need to be is spelled S-A-V-I-O-R. We need a Savior. Christ shed His blood on a cross to pay for a lifetime of your sins and mine, and He breaks the power of sin to enslave any person who belongs to Him. And the Savior becomes your personal Savior when you tell Him you're giving yourself to Him. Isn't it time you opened up to the One who died for you for your sake, for the sake of your precious child, for the sake of future generations? The greatest choice you could make for all of those people is to tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm yours." I think we can help you get that relationship started if you'll just check out our website - ANewStory.com. Jesus has redeeming grace for that son or daughter that you love so much. But first, you've got to breathe it yourself.

When I visited the Alamo I felt the emotion of a place that was made pretty special by sacrifice. It was February 1836 when that little Spanish mission went into the history books. You remember the story. The Mexican forces, thousands strong, were advancing to crush the little Texas independence movement. Sam Houston needed time to organize his troops in order to fight back, and he did get that time because of what happened at the Alamo, and he did win, and they did get their independence. But in the meantime, the Alamo was the key to victory. One hundred eighty-six freedom fighters took a stand in that little mission called the Alamo - a stand that is still over 150 years later synonymous with heroism. You know, "Remember the Alamo!" Colonel William Travis was in command that day. The enemy demanded surrender, and Travis's answer could not be misunderstood. In fact, it's the same answer I hope you will give to the enemy's demands on you. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Un-intimidated." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 4, and I'll begin reading at verse 24. It gives you a little insight into the battles being fought by the early church. Now, the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders, have called in Peter and John and have told them not to preach any more in the name of Jesus. And it says, "After further threats, they let them go." They could not decide on how to punish them because all the people were praising God for what had happened. So, they basically tried to shut down the witness of these people. The church gets together in a prayer meeting and prays like this in verse 29, "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak Your Word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand and heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant, Jesus." Man, that's a powerful response! The Sanhedrin had organized the crucifixion of Jesus not long before. These men could have possibly arranged for the same fate for the apostles they were trying to shut down. But here this bold prayer comes back as an answer. Now, they're experiencing heavy pressure on their faith, and they seem unintimidated. They're talking about miracles; they're talking about boldness. Reminds me of that stand at the Alamo. Colonel Travis received the demand to surrender, and he said to his troops, "There has been a demand from the enemy that we surrender, and I have answered with a cannon shot." Huh! I love that! "I've answered with a cannon shot," he says, "and our flag still waves proudly. I will live and die as a soldier." Now, maybe the Devil's been trying to get you on the defensive lately and demanding your surrender - you're being hammered, and squeezed, maybe overwhelmed. The temptation is to back off, to retreat, to nurse your wounds and maybe to not take any risks. But would you look at your heritage in Christ? When other Christians in the first century were in that situation, they were bold; they came out asking for miracles to do the supernatural. Where did this bold response to trouble come from? This cannon shot? It comes from a prayer meeting; one that if you read their prayer here in Acts 4, focuses on God's character, God's power, God's history, and God's promises. And when you size up your situation, your opposition in light of God's power, you are ready to go on offense. You don't need to play defense. Hey, maybe the enemy has demanded your surrender. Well, answer with a prayer-ignited cannon shot, "I shall never surrender! I shall never retreat!" In spite of the bombardment, you can stand firm in Jesus' name, and you can be unintimidated.

Some years ago our family was vacationing on the eastern end of Long Island near a little village called Sag Harbor. It was amazing how much that village changed, though, over a period of just 24 hours. One day it was a sleepy little town of tourists kind of strolling from store to store. The next day it was a chaotic beehive with snarled traffic and anxious people rushing from store to store. Do you know what made the difference? A hurricane warning! Yes, a powerful storm was moving up the East Coast and it was expected to hit that part of Long Island. So people were rushing everywhere to get prepared. Batteries and candles suddenly appeared by every cash register in every store. And they quickly disappeared. People were suddenly living differently when there was a major storm. I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Year That Everything Changed." You might be living in a year like that right now; a year when a lot of things have changed. And times like these (hurricane times) can really change your perspective on what's important and how you should be living. In our word for today from the Word of God beginning with Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah says, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord." Now, you're probably not all broken up over Uzziah dying, but he had been king for 52 years. So if you were 52 or under, King Uzziah was the only ruler you had ever known. And he had brought his nation to an unparalleled level of prosperity and power. And suddenly he was gone. It was one of those years when everything changed. So let's think of these words in this way, "In the year that everything changed." That's when Isaiah says, "I saw the Lord." That's when you usually do - when everything is changing - when the hurricane is blowing you around. Maybe God has shaken your world recently so you'll see Him as you've never seen Him before and so you'll live differently. Now there are three perspectives God wants you to live by in a season when everything is changing. First, Isaiah says, "I saw the Lord, seated on a throne, high and exalted." Isaiah describes powerful angelic beings he sees "calling to one another, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.'" Perspective #1 when everything is changing; "Lord, You are awesome." God wants you to enter His Throne Room as Isaiah did - by prayer. He wants you to see His majesty; to realize that, by praying, you are entering the Throne Room from which billions of galaxies are governed and bringing your life and your needs to the One who rules it all. When everything's changing, you need to dwell on the awesomeness of your God. Then Isaiah tells us he cried, "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Then he describes how one of the angels touches his lips with a live coal from the altar and says, "Your guilt is taken away." Perspective #2 - "Lord, I'm a mess." See, God wants all this change to be a wakeup call that shows you the sin that you haven't dealt with and to let Him touch it with His forgiveness and His cleansing. Then God asks, "Whom shall I send?" And Isaiah says, "Here am I. Send me!" God wants you to look at His awesomeness, then at your sinfulness, and then at the lostness of the people around you. Perspective #3 - "They are dying." You've seen the King; they never have. And God has sent the storm to refocus your attention on the mission of rescuing the dying people around you. With all that's changing in our world, the things that really matter haven't changed. In fact, the changes make the important things more important than ever. Make frequent visits to God's Throne Room, go off and to Jesus' cross to get clean, and go on frequent missions to take some people to heaven with you. With the storm intensifying, focus on the things that really matter so this can be the time when you really see the Lord.

Honestly, I had a tough time sleeping when I was in Singapore some years ago. It was my first time overseas. It was hot all the time there; it's sub-equatorial. And I found myself lying awake almost all night long. I was there with another guy. We were ministering together there, teaching in seminars. So, since we couldn't sleep, we ended up talking and talking, and the ceiling fan over our heads made about one revolution per minute, so it wasn't doing much good. Finally about 3:00 to 3:30, just about the time you get to sleep, a little cooler at that point, and you wouldn't know it, you just doze off and suddenly you'd hear a rooster crowing right there in downtown Singapore. The roosters didn't care; they were still crowing. You could hear right after that, all the sounds of Singapore waking up...thank you Mr. Rooster, I just got to sleep. Now, I didn't grow up on a farm. So this was my first opportunity to listen each morning to the power of a rooster's wakeup call, whether I wanted to wake up or not. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Rooster In Your Heart." Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 26. It's a familiar account of the denial of Jesus by His main man, Simon Peter. And in verse 73, we come upon the third time Peter is going to deny his Lord. "After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, 'Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.' Then he began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, 'I don't know the man!' Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, 'Before the rooster crows you'll disown me three times.' And he went outside and wept bitterly." It appears here that Peter betrayed Jesus twice before and didn't deal with what he had done. He managed to get through that okay. But the third time, the Bible says, "He went out and wept bitterly." In fact, the Greek means he went out and wept bitterly and loudly. You could hear this man sobbing aloud after what he had done. And it was the sound of the rooster that triggered repentance. In a sense, that rooster did to Peter what roosters often do; he woke Peter up. Now, Jesus told us the Holy Spirit would specialize in wakeup calls. He said in John 16, "When the Holy Spirit has come, He will convict the world of sin." When you betray your Lord in some sin or some compromise, there is - in a sense - a rooster calling in your heart saying, "Wake up! Look what you're doing! Do you know how this makes your Savior feel?" It's like an arrow to the heart. The question is, "What do you do when the Holy Spirit's conviction says, 'What have you done?'" It's possible that the rooster's been crowing in your heart lately; things you've been doing in secret or when you're with that person that maybe you never should have been associated with. Or maybe when you've compromised the truth, or you've neglected your family again, you've hurt the people you love again, you rationalize what you should be repenting of. Peter graduated from spiritual treason to spiritual greatness after his denial. Why? He let God break his heart over his sin. He responded emotionally to the stabbing pain in his heart. Do you? Spiritual disaster begins when you begin to quench the Spirit of God, you ignore the call that should wake you up. Today, through this program, the rooster's crowing again. It's the Holy Spirit saying, "You're breaking Jesus' heart. It's time you shed some tears over it as He is. It's the cry of a rooster that means a new day is dawning. The conviction of the Holy Spirit can begin a whole new day in your life if you'll wake up.

A while ago, my sister-in-law introduced me to this tasty new addition to my usual breakfast menu. They're called English crumpets - low fat, great taste. Then I was hooked. In fact, I decided I had to go get myself more of them. I went to where I figured something in the English muffin/bagel category would be: the bread section, right? No, not crumpets. I finally tried something really radical. I asked someone who worked there. Yeah, a guy's last resort. He said, "They're in dairy." Dairy? Well, I guess these things are supposed to be refrigerated. And dairy is where I found them...at the end of a long search! I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Spiritual Shopping." Now in my search for what would satisfy my appetite, I was shopping in the right store, but not in the right aisle. You know, it's easy to make that same mistake when you're shopping spiritually - for something that will satisfy your appetite for meaning in life. You only have to watch a few talk shows or look at some of today's best selling books to see that more and more people are shopping in the store that says "Spirituality." We seem to have concluded rightly that earth-stuff doesn't satisfy the human soul. Ecclesiastes says, "God has placed eternity in the hearts of men." That's right. Earth stuff isn't going to fill that hole. But, see, earth stuff doesn't give the meaning and the fulfillment that we can only get from something bigger - something spiritual. It may be that your own search has taken you down several aisles, looking for truth, for peace, for significance. There are probably more aisles in the spiritual store than ever before. It's easy to get confused, to get deceived, then get lost. In our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus Christ makes a bold declaration about where we will find what our hearts are hungry for. It's in John 14:6. "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" Now Jesus said our spiritual shopping comes to an end when we go to His aisle and find the way He's provided to belong to God. This 'coming to the Father' He talks about is all about finding a personal relationship with the One who created us, the One we're going to meet the moment we die. Basically, there are three possibilities in the Spiritual Store. One is religion. You can try to fill the spiritual vacuum in your heart with the rituals and the beliefs of a religion. The second possibility is spiritual experiences from meditating, channeling, occult arts, or a wide variety of New Age spiritualities. And the third possibility in the Spiritual Store is a love relationship with our Creator. And the world's best selling book, the Bible, makes clear in its timeless wisdom that it is that relationship we're really looking for. In fact, the Bible says we were "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). In other words, we can't find our ultimate meaning until we belong to the One we were made by and made for. And the Bible goes on to point out that instead of living for Him, we have, day after day, lived for ourselves. And that has cut us off from our Creator, and left us looking to religion or spiritual experiences to fill the hole that only a God-relationship can fill. Jesus came to pay for, to fix the brokenness that has come from our self-rule. That's why He died on the cross. That's why He said He is the way to get to our Heavenly Father - because He's the only One who paid the price to remove what keeps us from God. A religion can't love you, neither can a spiritual experience. We need a Creator-relationship. And that begins when you reach out and trust Jesus, the Creator's Son, to bring you and God together. The day you say to Him, as you could right now, "Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on You and what You did on the cross to bring me into a love relationship with my Creator." Listen, if you want that, go to our website and find, there, the Biblical information that will help you get this settled. It's ANewStory.com. Most of all, let Jesus know you want him. Maybe Jesus was the last aisle you thought you'd find answers in. But He's the only aisle where you'll finally find what you've been shopping for so long.

My daughter was all excited about the sign she saw at the airport. It was actually over the door at a terminal, and it simply said, "Through these doors pass the greatest employees in the world." She said, "You know, Dad, that would make me feel like I was really doing a good job if I came under that every day." It gives you something you want to live up to. I hope you're posting the right kind of sign. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "I'll Become What You Call Me." Well, our word for today from the Word of God is from Acts 4, and I'm going to read beginning at verse 36 where a man gets a name change. "Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet." Now, notice Joseph becomes Barnabas, The Encourager. We read about him on several occasions in the book of Acts, not the least of which is when he came with Saul of Tarsus, who had just come to Christ. Now, remember, Saul had been persecuting the church. He was like public enemy number one for the Christians. But, "When Saul came to Jerusalem, (Acts says) he tried to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles." This is the kind of thing Barnabas does throughout his ministry. He goes on to encourage new Gentile believers in Antioch, and nobody's quite sure about them. He rehabilitates Mark when Paul fires him. The point is, the apostles called Joseph an encourager, and he just kept living up to what they called him. That's a principle of human behavior. We tend to become the name we're called. That airline seems to know that, "Through these doors pass the greatest employees in the world." If you call them that, maybe they'll live up to it. That means you have at your disposal a powerful tool for building people, or a destructive weapon for tearing them down. For example, what names do you call your son or daughter? How many times have you said stupid, or lazy, or rebel, or problem? Well, you're programming them with ideas about themselves, and they may then go on to just prove you right. Think about what you've called your husband or wife lately, or that person who frustrates you - that person who's so irritating, so negative. You can help change a person if you'll look for their strengths and tell them what you see. Call them that good thing. Find a name you can use to bring out their best. Maybe that person, for all of their weaknesses, all of their negativeness, maybe they're obnoxious, but are they generous? Maybe they're sensitive, they fight for their family. Maybe they're a person of conviction; they're organized. Maybe they have a great smile, or a great spirit, or a budding talent. Would you tell them what you see? Would they make a great Christian if they turned their mind and talents toward Christ? Sometimes I've said that to people. "You know what, you would make a great follower of Jesus." Then they look surprised and I tell them their qualities that would make them a great follower of His. "With a mind like yours, with a gift like yours, oh what a follower of Christ you would be!" Tell the people around you who they could be with the strengths that they have, even if you only see a little bit of it. Because by naming it, you can nurture it. Look at those people close to you as if they were wearing a big old sign that says, "I'll become what you call me."

Years ago when I went on my first international ministry trip, I went just about as far as you can go - 10,000 miles to Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. I was going to be away for three weeks, which was the longest I had ever left my wife and our three young children. My wife mobilized the kids to put little love notes all over and all through my luggage. We had a nice meal together on the way to the airport and then some special hugs and kisses at the airport. But I did have to go. And I'm not kidding you, it was a sad moment. My wife was trying to look like she was fine. The children were obviously not looking fine. I managed to hold myself together until I rounded the bend in the concourse, then I started wiping tears from my eyes. It was hard, but one thing made it OK. It was only temporary. We would be reunited. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Good News for Our Grief." Life's partings are tough when someone we love slips into eternity. Death rips us up inside, and the grief is sometimes almost unbearable. But because of Jesus, it's almost unbearable. I know, because I was the one several years ago burying the woman I loved - almost unbearable. Why almost? Well, I belong to Jesus, and my honey did, so that's not the termination of our relationship. No, because of Christ, it's just an interruption. I'm so glad. God describes this hope in our hurtingest times in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Thessalonians 4, beginning in verse 13. "We do not want you to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command and the dead in Christ will rise first." That's my Dad. That's my baby brother whose death brought our family to Christ. That's my grandparents. It's more and more of my friends and the woman I loved for a lifetime. The Bible goes on to say, "After that, we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so will we be with the Lord forever." Wow! When Jesus walked out of His grave, He conquered death for all those who would ever give their lives to Him. It doesn't mean our heart won't stop some day in this earth-suit called our body, it will die. But it means the real you, your soul, will go on forever uninterrupted in God's great Heaven. Is it any wonder the Bible says, "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). You may be struggling with the loss of someone you love. I think I get that. The pain is very real. Death was never meant to be part of our lives. Sin brought in death. But Jesus died to pay the death penalty for our sin, and then, on Easter morning, He beat this monster that has beaten every person who ever lived. So now, because of Jesus, the very worst death can be for a believer is an interruption of the relationship, never a termination. Hallelujah! And if you've never put your total trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior from your sin and its death penalty, please don't risk another day without Him. Would you tell Him, "Jesus, your death on the cross was to pay for my sin. It is my only hope of heaven. And the fact that You walked out of your grave proves that You can give eternal life that no one else can give. I'm Yours, Jesus, beginning today." If you're at that point where you want to begin that relationship and have that assurance, this is your day to check out our website and the information there that will help you know you've got this settled. The website is ANewStory.com. That day of my long trip...the pain, the tears were real. As they are on a much deeper level when someone we love is leaving us for eternity. But you can handle the leaving if you know what I knew that day at the airport...that this separation is only an interruption and hallelujah, the reunion is coming.

There's a stretch of nights in the fall when the moon is absolutely incredible! It's usually in October - harvest time for farmers. And when it's full moon time, you can see this huge, brilliant, yellowish moon rising in the eastern sky. It just makes you stop and almost catch your breath. I think it was in the days before electricity that farmers started calling it a "harvest moon." With so much depending on the harvest and so little time to bring it in, every hour had to count. And the days never seemed quite long enough to get it all in. So a bright full moon was more than just a beautiful view...it meant something much more important. With that extra light, God was giving them a little more time to harvest! I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Little More Time To Harvest." Maybe you and I are living right now in the light of a spiritual harvest moon - to bring to Jesus some of the lives around us that He died to rescue. Maybe that's why He's giving you a little more time. There's a powerful illustration of this in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 13:6. "Then (Jesus) told this parable: 'A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'" I wonder how many of our lives this parable might be describing? Jesus comes looking for some fruit on a believer's life, especially in the form of some people that you've introduced to Him and He finds none. Why should He leave us here any longer, just soaking up the nutrients in our spiritual soil? But the answer comes, "Give him/give her a little more time to make a difference." By virtue of the fact that you and I are still here, Jesus has decided to let us have at least a little more time to take some people to heaven with us. I'll tell you, you feel it deeply when the time for you to bring someone home runs out - when harvest time is over. I still remember my high school friend Cathy. It's not somebody I dated; we were just good friends. One morning, during my freshman year of college, I remember waking up to a news story that mentioned her name. I woke up fast! The night before, a gunman had walked into the Student Union at the university Cathy attended, pulled out a gun, and shot her in cold blood. Suddenly, I was out of chances to tell Cathy about how she could go to heaven. We had talked about everything except Jesus! I had slept through the harvest, and time had run out. That's why the Bible says that when it comes to talking about Jesus, "Make the most of every opportunity" (Colossians 4:4). This spiritual harvest business; this is urgent stuff. Harvest always is. You know the opportunity isn't going to last long. You drop everything to bring it in, and if you wait, you miss it. God wants us to feel that kind of urgency about telling the people we know about the man who loved them enough to die for them. We never know when their time or our time will run out. So, like the farmer toiling feverishly in the extended light of a harvest moon, God has given you a little more time to bring in someone that His Son died for. Please don't keep putting it off. Don't let your life be so full of un-eternal stuff that you miss the mission that matters the most. Someone you know desperately needs the Jesus you know, and Jesus has given you a little more time to bring them home.

When my wife and I pulled up late to the Bed and Breakfast we were going to be staying at, I tried to be real quiet. Not a problem. That B & B was buzzing like a beehive. Inside there were ten women huddled around the dining room table, each one with a sewing machine right in front of her. I learned that the other guests - all women - were there that weekend for a Mystery Quilt weekend. And even though I felt like I had sort of crashed a grownup slumber party, I did ask a few questions like, "What pattern are you following?" They didn't know. See, it turns out that one of the women there, Millie, does these quilting weekends with ladies, and she has the pattern. It's a mystery quilt because each woman only has instructions for what to do with the next piece or pieces. The next day, one lady said to me, "I can't wait 'till I can see what all this is going to look like when it's all put together." Good thing she didn't leave early with her pile of pieces, huh? She would have never known what it all made. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Pieces Without The Plan." Actually, we've just talked about a description of some of our lives: pieces without the plan - because we're away from the only One who has the plan. I guess, in a way, life is a mystery quilt. All we can see is the block we're working on right now. But every once in a while, we find ourselves asking that question that has haunted us for years, "Why am I doing all this? What does all this make?" It could be that right now the pieces aren't making much sense at all. And you're not sure of the answer to the one question you have to answer while you're on earth, "Why am I here?" You miss that and you've missed the point of your whole life. And so far, none of the things, and none of the people you thought would make it make sense have done it. Life still seems like a pile of disconnected pieces. I hope you'll be encouraged by our word for today from the Word of God. Jeremiah 29:11 - "'I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" According to the Bible, you are a unique creation of God. Just look at your fingerprints - He's made you one of a kind. And He has plans for you - great plans. Like the lady who organized that quilting weekend, God has the plan in His hand, but if you're away from the One who has the plan, there's no way to put the pieces together right. So much of the confusion and many of the mistakes, a lot of the emptiness, the pain in your life, may have been because you've been trying to put it together without the only One who knows the plan. God is the only One who knows why you're here. The problem is that, again according to the Bible, every one of us has tried to do life our way instead of God's way. Here are God's words, "All of us have wandered away like sheep; each of us has turned to his own way." (Isaiah 53:6) Without divine intervention, you and I have hopelessly separated ourselves from the One who designed us. But divine intervention did come on a brutal cross on a hill outside Jerusalem, where God's one and only Son died as a substitute for you and me, carrying our death penalty for our running of our own lives. Which means that where there was once an uncrossable divide, there is a bridge now and His name is Jesus. And today, Jesus is coming to where you are, offering you the opportunity to tell Him that you want Him to be your Savior from your sin, to connect you to the God that you've been separated from, to be the One who holds the plans and purpose for your life in His hands. When you find Him, you have found the meaning of your life. Have you ever reached out to Him to begin your relationship with Him? Why not today? Tell Him, "Jesus, beginning today, I'm yours. You died for me." Then check out what the Bible has to say about this relationship at our website - ANewStory.com. Maybe life has been a pile of confusing, disconnected pieces long enough. You need to come home to Jesus, the One who created you, who has wonderful plans for you. If you'll open up to Him, you'll finally start to get a look at the plan that puts all the pieces together.

Don't you love it when someone gets a little smile on their face and they say, "We were just talking about you." Your mind starts racing, and you think, "What were they saying about me?" When they say that to me, I usually ask, "Oh, do I get a chance to defend myself?" You know that people talk about you when you're not around. That's true for just about everybody, and you've heard how folks talk about other people when you're there. So you have every reason to believe that they talk about you, and it might not be your best stuff. I know someone who's been talking about you, and it's definitely for your benefit. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Jesus Prays for You." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 22. Simon Peter, as we look at this passage, is about to head into the most intense spiritual battle of his life. And Jesus, in an intimate moment, looked him in the eye and said, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." I believe what was going on here is that Jesus is indicating that the difference in Peter is going to be that Jesus is going to be praying for him. The difference for you is that Jesus is talking to His Father about you today. You say, "That's a pretty good description of how I feel...sifted. And maybe Satan wants to sift you as wheat, but it says Jesus is praying for you. In John 17:11 we find that He prays this way, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave Me. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave Me. My prayer is not that you should take them out of the world but that you should protect them from the evil one." You know, Hebrews 7:25 says that, "He ever lives to make intercession for us." Jesus is at His Father's right hand talking to Him about you and me. I think He's praying for your protection from all the Devil wants to do. John 17:16 - "Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth." He's talking about "sanctify" as in, "Keep them special, Father." It's like that sign you see in a restaurant that says it's "reserved." What does that mean? Nobody else can have it. It's reserved just for the use of the person who's asked for it. Well, that's what "sanctify" means. It's set apart for God; reserved for God. That's what Jesus does for you. He wants you to be kept separate, special, and unpolluted. He talks about using His Word to keep your body pure, to keep your mind pure, your imagination, and your sense of humor. Those belong to Jesus, and He's praying for that. Then in chapter 17, verse 18, He says, "Father, as you sent Me, I have sent them into the world." Then He says, "My prayer is not for them alone, but for those who would believe in me through their message." Realize He is praying for your mission. He's praying that others will come to Christ. That means He's praying for us, who, years later, have come to Christ through their message. And He's praying for people that will be led to Christ as you and I declare His message. Look at what happens as a result of Jesus' praying for Peter. Ultimately, in the short term, yeah he came under attack. Yes, he denied Jesus; yes, he disappointed Jesus. But ultimately, he ended up safe, and secure, and pure, and powerful, because Jesus was praying for him. He's praying for you, and that's the ending you will have. You are not traveling this road alone. Someone's talking about you. Jesus is talking to His Father about you. Man, that's good to know. That will make all the difference.

Our son had just arrived in the southwestern United States to begin his work with Native Americans there. In fact, his supervisor in his non-profit work was a Native American. And our son was eager to show that he was coming with a servant spirit, you know. He had a tremendous opportunity to do just that. His supervisor needed his help in cleaning out a septic system. The job began with our son's hands having to work in that sewage. But the job got more and more involved and so did his body. Before he was finished, he was in that septic sewage up to his waist! Needless to say, he never felt more disgusting in his life. And then came the shower; that long, wonderful, heavenly shower! He said "Dad, I have never felt so dirty in all my life, and it never felt so good to be clean!" I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "So Good To Be Clean." Getting really clean after you've felt really dirty is a great feeling; one that you might be ready for - on the inside. So many of us carry the awful burden of the mistakes we've made. We've got guilt and regrets that weigh us down, maybe for some destructive choices we've made or some compromises or some sin we wish we could go back and erase. Sometimes it can feel disgusting like all that dirt that covered our son that day. We wonder if there's any way to get really clean, to finally be free of the weight of it all, the dirt, the guilt, the shame. When Mark Twain was asked what were the two most important words in the English language, he said. "Not guilty." But when we know we are guilty, how can we ever experience the freedom of those two glorious words? There is wonderful, cleansing news today. Yes, it's in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. God is talking to people who've got a past. He mentions "the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexual offenders, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers." And He delivers the bad news that those kind of people will never make it to heaven. It sounds hopeless until God turns on His cleansing shower in the next verse. He says, "And that is what some of you were." Did you get that? Were? You mean I can be free from the guilt and shame of the past? How? Well, He says, "But you were washed, you were sanctified (which means you were made special), you were justified (that means you were made right with God) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." The liberating message God has for you and me is this: whatever you've done, whatever you've become doesn't ever have to matter again. Jesus Christ offers you the shower of a lifetime, to forgive every sin you've ever committed, to declare you "not guilty," to open the doors of heaven to you as a new, spiritually clean person. The forgiveness Jesus died to give you becomes yours when you tell Jesus that you're trusting Him to be your Rescuer from your sin. And at that moment the shower of God washes you completely clean for the first time in your life - and clean forever. Don't you want that? The past erased from God's Book? It happens when you say, "Jesus, I'm yours. You died for my sin. I'm putting all my trust in You and what You did on that cross." I pray you'll go to that cross and get forgiven today. Listen, if you go to our website you will have all the information you need from God's Word to be sure you belong to Him. That website is ANewStory.com. So many people have told me how they felt when they made this choice for Jesus. They've said, "It's like a huge weight was lifted off my back." That can happen to you right now, right where you are. And you can know how good it feels to finally be clean.

My friend, Brian, told me that he had spent most of the day in the bathroom. No, he wasn't sick, he didn't have the flu. He was installing marble. That's what he does for a living. And he told me that he was cutting slabs of marble to size, and his weapon for this job was a diamond saw - a saw with a diamond blade that cuts right through marble. He said, "You know, this saw is amazing. You can touch your finger to that blade and it won't cut you." And he went on to explain that a diamond blade is not the sharpest blade there is, it's just the hardest blade there is. It's so hard that it cuts through what sharp cannot. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Count-Onables." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Corinthians 4, beginning at verse 2. It's a statement of what God values. You'll notice that it's pretty different from what most humans value. "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must be found faithful." Verse 5 talks about reward time. "Therefore, judge nothing before your appointed time comes; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is seen in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God." Now, what does God reward? Success? No. It says faithfulness. We live in a world that values charisma and the bottom line. "Hey, how well did you do? What kind of results did you get?" We live in a world that values beauty, awards, and accomplishments. God says, though, that the winning trait is none of those. To Him the winning trait is faithfulness. In His opinion that's what matters. You know, it's not unlike that diamond saw. It can cut through marble because it's tough; it's hard; it just keeps coming. Nothing can stand up to its persistent, insistent advance. Now, maybe you feel that you're just not sharp enough to really be used by your Lord. You say, "Well, I don't have the training. I don't have the skill. I don't have the personality. I don't speak very well. I'm not that great looking. I'm just kind of average." But if God lays the burden on you, He wants you to be His tool. He isn't asking you to be successful; He's asking you to be faithful, to just keep coming: persistent, consistent, and insistent. Be a person who can be counted on. Be the one who stays with a responsibility even while others come and go; the one who works, whether they feel like it or not; someone who does whatever he does with all his heart; the person who keeps their commitments and keeps their word. So often the sharp blades, the ones with the great gift and the great charisma...oh, they cut for a while, and then they lose their edge and they break and they move on. But God's diamond blades are the ones who usually get the job done; they just keep coming faithfully. And what will it be that Jesus says on reward day? "Well done, good and faithful servant." There are few things on earth that will not eventually yield to faithfulness. So, let God use you as His diamond blade to cut through marble for Him.

Our church's youth group had just been out whitewater rafting all day. I had been invited to wrap up the day with an inspirational talk. And when I arrived at the rafting facility they were using, I was expecting to see just the youth group. As it turned out, this recreational company had 1,500 people on the river that day. They were all from all these different groups! So, I wandered around looking lost until someone from our church found me. And that night we had a wonderful get-together under the trees. Now, I didn't know that one girl at the back was there, and she had not planned to be there at all. She was a Girl Scout who had been there for the day with her troop. And they had somehow gone off and left her all alone. And she saw this group of teenagers meeting, so she wandered over to check it out. And she stayed...and she listened...and at the end, she was one of the young people who indicated they wanted to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That's cool! I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Lost No More." That was one very happy Girl Scout, even before she found a ride home. In a very real sense, she got left so she could get found...spiritually. Actually, that could be what's happening in your life right now. You're probably not a Girl Scout, and you're not stuck out in the woods, but it could be that you have been left, or you're feeling lost. A person you were counting on bailed out or maybe even died. Or something that has been one of your life anchors isn't there any more. You've been left out or left behind or left high and dry. And you're not sure which way home is. Because so much in life is temporary, it's only a matter of time before we all experience the pain of being left or being lost. Which makes our word for today from the Word of God especially important. It's Jesus' personal mission statement in Luke 19:10 - "The Son of Man (that's Jesus) came to seek and to save what was lost." Now He's talking about you and me. That Girl Scout at that camp that night was lost, separated from the people who could get her home. Well, that's the picture the Bible paints of you and me. Oh, sure, on the outside we look like we've got it all together. But inside, there's a lot of loneliness, a lot of hurt, and a lot of unanswered questions. We are, in Jesus' words, "lost" because we're separated from the one Person who can get us home - who is home for our searching heart...our Creator. In God's own words, "Your sins have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). See, we have broken God's laws and we're paying the price. It's a wall between Him and us - a wall that's there forever if we die with it still there. A wall that Jesus died on a cross to remove by paying the death penalty for all the sinning we ever did. But He has a hard time getting us to realize that He's the only one who can finally fill that hole in our heart. Maybe that's why God has allowed you to be left or to be lost - so you'd finally realize no earth-love is going to be enough. I have to tell you honestly, it isn't until our earth-anchors let us down and leave us stranded, that we finally realize we were made for Jesus and we were paid for by Jesus. And now this Savior has come looking for you. He said He would "seek and save what was lost." That tug you feel in your heart? That's Jesus Himself, knocking on the door of your heart. Your relationship with Him can begin right where you are if you'll just tell Him that you're trusting Him to be your Savior from your sin. All the disappointments have been so you could finally find the one love that will never let you down, never leave you, and never die on you. You tell Him, "Jesus, I'm putting all my faith in what You did on the cross, paying for my sin. I believe You walked out of your grave; you're alive. Come into my life today." Tell Him that, where you are. And please go to our website, and there I've laid out very simply the things that can help you know, from God's Word, that you belong to Jesus. It's ANewStory.com. Jesus has allowed you to be left, to be lost...so you could get found. By the One who went all the way to a cross to bring you home.

There are many ways to prepare food for dinner. You can bake it, boil it, fry it, simmer it, or as we've discovered in the age of radiated ravioli, you can nuke it. Yea, microwave, the ultimate symbol of the too-busy-to-cook generation! Actually, they do come in handy when your stomach is growling and your time is short. Microwave ovens cook some things better than others, I've discovered. I don't know if you've had the appetizing experience I've had on occasion. Your dinner comes out nice and warm on the outside, but cold on the inside. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Warm on the Outside, Cold on the Inside." Now, our word for today from the Word of God is sobering because it's about people who believed the Scriptures, never missed a meeting at church, and lived rigorously righteous lives. It could be us! Our word for today from the Word of God is in Mark 7:6-7. "Jesus replied, 'Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" You know, Jesus is describing here in modern terms what I call microwave folks in the church. He says that their lips are sounding a good sound but their hearts are cold. They might look warm on the outside, but they're cold on the inside. Oh, their faith has gotten to the outside, but it somehow never warmed on the inside. Twenty centuries later, still religious people are there who are warm on the outside but cold on the inside. You and I have to look at ourselves and say, "Hey, could this be me?" Now, you can't judge by spiritual talk. Jesus said, "Their lips are saying the right words." They're praising, and preaching, and witnessing, but they have a distant heart. You can't judge by religious activity. I mean, these people, according to Jesus, do worshipping things. But He says it's in vain; they're wasting their time. Revelation 2 describes Christians who are working hard, dealing with compromise, enduring hardships. Everything that men can see checks out great, but something's missing. He says, "You have forsaken your first love." Could it be you've grown cold on the inside, even though you still seem pretty warm on the outside? What you used to do for love you now do for duty. What used to be spontaneous for the Lord is kind of formal and mechanical. What used to be close is now distant, isn't it? It's time to get back to your first love; to visit that cross with the recent sin that you need to repent of, not just all the sins of years ago. But I mean the things you need to catch up on, to catch up your repentance. To remember at that cross what it cost to pay for you - the blood of the very Son of God. To go there and confess the compromises that have crept in, and then spend some extended time to be there by your Lord, with your Lord, who gave His life there for you. You know, you could be becoming a microwave believer. You might be cold on the inside. And cold on the inside just isn't worth it, you're missing so much of what it means to serve your Lord. That's not what He wants. What He cares about is the warmth of your heart.

The old cliché says, "Two's company, three's a crowd." That's really true when it comes to romance. Okay, guy meets girl, guy falls in love with girl, guy falls in love with another girl in addition to first girl. That's like putting a match in gasoline. That is a centuries-old formula for an explosion. It's the infamous love triangle! Soap operas thrive on them; marriages are destroyed by them. A love triangle is usually a prescription for broken hearts unless you have the kind of love triangle that keeps hearts from being broken. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Love Triangle That Strengthens a Marriage." Now, there's a formula in our word for today from the Word of God in Ecclesiastes 4. It's a formula for lasting bonds between people. I would call it the arithmetic of love. Here's what it says beginning at verse 9: "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. If two lie down together they will keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." That passage is a powerful statement about relationships, especially if you apply it to the ultimate relationship of marriage. It says two work together better than one, two walk together better than one, two stand together better than one, and then suddenly the number changes. Suddenly it's talking about three strands. Wait, I thought we were talking about two. Enter the love triangle: a husband, a wife, and a Savior. That's the kind of love triangle that avoids broken hearts. Ephesians 5:21 alludes to it when it says; speaking to husbands and wives, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." It's the Jesus factor in a home. Now, the triangle is the strongest geometric figure there is, and a love triangle with Christ at the top is virtually indestructible. In other words, you've got the man and woman joined together by that line along the bottom, but they both have a line going up to Jesus at the top. That bond between the man and the woman will fray sometimes. There's interference, there's disappointment, there's disillusionment, there's hurt. But if both the man and woman are connected to Christ at the top of the triangle, that bond will hold them together when the bond of human compatibility is unraveling. The question is, "How much is Jesus Christ a real presence in your marriage?" Do you pray together about real life issues as if Jesus is right there with you? "Lord, we've got to talk to You about this together." Do you often ask together, "What would Jesus do?" Are you cultivating the habit of sharing what Christ has said to you from His Word that day with each other? Are you at church together? Do you get on your knees together and fight for your children? Before you get married, wait for someone who is joined to Jesus as you are, because it is worth the wait. And after you marry, practice His presence daily in your home. A love triangle with Jesus as that real third person is the strongest bond on earth.

I was about nine years old when my parents took me to meet Paul Bunyan. Actually it was a giant statue of that legendary lumberjack seated on this huge chair. My dad went to the ticket booth, paid for us, and then I went through the turnstile and into Paul's big yard. And there he was in his red plaid shirt and a little log cabin at his feet that showed how huge he was. And then came the heart attack. Suddenly this big voice boomed out for everybody to hear, "Hello, Ronnie." Man, for one of those rare moments in my life, I was totally speechless! How could I know that the ticket guy had asked my father my name (little scam going on here!) and then he relayed it to a man in that little log cabin - a man with a very big microphone. I was just amazed that someone that big actually knew me! I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Can't Go Unnoticed." For many people, life has been a lot of not being recognized, not being acknowledged, not being known, not being seen. Until, much to their amazement, like me as a little boy with that giant, they find out that the biggest Person in the world - in the universe - really knows and cares about who they are. And there comes that moment when it's as if He seems to call you by name. It happened to a woman in Jesus' day, and it can happen to you, no matter how you've been treated in your life. Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Luke 8:42. "As Jesus was on His way, the crowds almost crushed Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped." Now Jesus goes on to ask who touched Him, which surprises His disciples that He could sense an individual encounter in such a crowd of people. Here's the part I love. "Then, the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet." She was utterly amazed. This woman, who had been ignored and passed over by so many people, had been noticed by the Son of God. So have you. In fact, you have no idea what you mean to Jesus. First, because you're His one-of-a-kind creation. In the words of the Bible, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:10). You are very special to Jesus. He made you. But not only are you His unique creation, you are His very expensive purchase. When Jesus went to that brutal cross, it was literally to die in your place, to absorb all the guilt and all the death penalty for every sin you have ever sinned. He took your hell so you could go to His heaven. So no matter how excluded or unimportant or lonely you may feel, the most important person in the universe never stops thinking about you; never stops loving you. Every time Jesus looks at His hands He sees the nail prints left by the price He paid for you because He loves you so much. The question isn't whether Jesus has noticed you, it's whether you have noticed Him. That woman in the Bible received what Jesus had because she reached out in faith to Him. Has there ever been a time when you reached out to Jesus and said, "Lord, You are my only hope of knowing God, of being forgiven, of going to heaven. I'm yours." You'll never experience His love or His life until you do. If you want to begin your relationship with this One who loves you as no one else ever has? Well, tell Him that now where you are. And I'd love to walk you through how to be sure you belong to Him at our website, which is there for that very reason. Check it out today - ANewStory.com. Even while you've been too busy to notice Jesus, He's been reaching out to you. Today His nail-scarred hand is reaching your way one more time. Please, don't miss Him.

You know, when I was growing up, it was a pretty long trip to get to the ocean. I grew up in Illinois, so we didn't have a lot of ocean experience. Needless to say, when I lived along the East Coast for over 20 years, I became fascinated with the ocean. I still love to watch it, I love to walk along the beach, I love to romp in the waves a little, but I haven't gotten used to those big breakers rolling in. Hey, listen, I'm a lake boy, okay; a pool kid. But those big old waves, they make me feel as if they could pick me up and carry me all the way to England, which I would rather fly to anyway than go by way of the Atlantic Ocean. But I have good friends who really know what to do with those giant waves. They've taught me that what you do is you surf on it if you know how, and they're good at it. They wait for that big old curl to come roaring down on them, they leap on their surfboard and they ride that wave. Now, I see a mega wave as a threat. My friends? They see it as a vehicle. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Surfing the Wave That Could Sink You." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 8, and it talks about the day that a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem. All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. It really sounds like a large wave coming in against God's people. But listen to what they did with it. "Those who had been scattered," chapter 8, verse 4 says, "preached the Word wherever they went." Now, here is this violent enemy attack on the infant church, and it forces the believers out of their little nest in Jerusalem. Probably losing their home, and their family connections, and possibly their job. What did they do? Did they sink? No, they surfed on that big wave! They started spreading the Gospel in all the places they were forced to go. Now, that's just what God had predicted in Acts 1:8, when He said, "You'll be My witnesses in Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, and in the uttermost parts of the earth." But they weren't leaving Jerusalem until this persecution hit. See, the attacks of the enemy often end up facilitating the plans of God (don't you love it?), because of how believers handle the heavy waves of crisis that come crashing toward them. You could do that. It's called capturing your crisis for Christ. This type of believer surfs on a wave of trouble instead of sinking under it. Let's fast-forward 2,000 years from the book of Acts to your life right now. You've got pressure. What's the wave that's coming in at you right now? You've got stress, you've got some anxiety. Can you see it? There's a crisis that's threatening you, or maybe a disappointment, or a disease, a disaster. Capture your crisis for Christ. Do what these early Christians did. They used it as a platform to proclaim Jesus. They said, "Well, if the crisis has forced me into a place I never wanted to be, I'm going to use this as a place to proclaim Christ." Basically, they believed that their situation was their assignment wherever God put them. See, the crises of life put us in positions where a lot of folks are watching what we do; where we meet new people, where we can find a platform for saying, "Jesus is enough, even in this; especially in this situation." Now, the enemy would love to use this wave that you see coming at you to sink you, but don't go down under it. Remember, your situation is your assignment from God. Do what the great surfers do! Ride on top of this wave; surf on it. Capture it for Christ.

"The Mad Cleaning Man" That's one of the nicknames affectionately given to me by my family. And I've worked pretty hard to earn that name. Let's put it this way, I hate clutter. I'm not the neatest guy in the world, but I can only function so long when mess is building up around me, you know? So, often without warning, I would go on a straightening rampage. And what was the best way to keep from having to pick something up again? Right! You throw it away! I look at things before I trash them. Come on, you should know that. I'm not irresponsible. But over the years, a family member would walk into a room that was messy when they left but had since had my magic touch. But they would say "Oh no! Dad's been at it again." Which could be followed by cries of frustration as they look for some item, "Dad, where's my such-and-such? It was right here!" Then they would see the glazed eyes of "The Mad Cleaning Man" and they gave up asking. Cleaning up is good, right? But it can be irritating. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Catch, Then Clean." You can be that way with a house. You can be that way with people. Trying to clean them up, that is. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 5:17. And it starts with this exciting news: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" When Jesus comes into a person's life a wonderful transformation begins. The old person we were when we were outside of Christ starts to disappear, and we start becoming this new person that only Jesus can make us when we are "in Christ." Cleaned up by Jesus Christ. Now the passage goes on to tell us that God has reconciled people to Himself through Christ's forgiveness and that He "has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors." In other words, God's counting on you to let people know how to have peace with Him through Jesus. That's our mission - bringing a lost person to the Savior. Not cleaning them up. Jesus said we're fishers of men. And you know what? Every fisherman knows you've got to catch fish before you clean them! But sometimes we approach lost people like "The Mad Cleaning Man" approaches our house, "must get you cleaned up." And it alienates the very people we're trying to tell about God's amazing grace. In a blatantly sinful and godless culture, we see more and more behaviors that aggravate us, offend us, and anger us. We're really bothered by their sexual immorality, their language, the things they talk about, the things they joke about, or just their disregard of one or another of God's commandments. And that should bother us. And while we want them to begin a relationship with Jesus, we also want to clean up their act! But it's a mistake to try to clean people up before they have the Cleaner-Upper! 2 Corinthians 5:17 doesn't say that they will be in Christ when they become a new creation. It says they'll become a new creation when they're finally in Christ! We need to be stressing relationship, not reform. The message of reconciliation God has trusted to us is all about Jesus! People sin because they're sinners, and they will be sinners until they know the Savior of sinners! So stick to Jesus and stick to His cross, and don't encumber that simple Gospel with an attempt to clean up their lifestyle. Yes when they come to Jesus there is repentance with their faith to recognize that there's someone new in charge and life is going to change. But Jesus will do the cleaning up. Even as a parent or spiritual mentor, we may have gotten hung up on someone's deeds more than their needs or on correcting their behavior which can build walls, instead of building our relationship which builds bridges. Oh yes, cleaning up is a very important part of coming to Christ. It's called repentance. But Jesus does the cleaning from the inside out. Cleaning them up - that's not my job. Introducing them to the Cleaner-Upper - that's my job!

My microwave has this very useful ability to bring food back to life; like, oh, store bought baked goods for example. Have you ever noticed? It's just better if you pop them in the microwave. You know, nuking it? If you get some of that store bought coffee cake or donuts or muffins, you know, they may not be fresh from the bakery. But we found that they are so much better if you heat them up. What happens is the heat makes them softer. The other day I had a cookie that was getting a little on the old side, and I put it in the microwave and it was like it came right out of the oven - soft and warm. Sometimes the box will even tell you that you ought to "nuke it." And sometimes it will say, "Better when heated" or something like that. Actually, that would be true of about half of the human race. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Heat That Heals a Heart." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Kings 5:1. We're reading about a man named Naaman who it says is "commander of the army of the king of Aram. He's a great man in the sight of his master, highly regarded, he was a valiant soldier." Now, that's at the beginning of the story. At the end of the story in verse 17, he is saying to God's man, Elisha the prophet, "Your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord." Wow! Something happened in between these two verses, something that made this man of war into a man of God. Now, what is it that makes a warrior into a worshipper? Well, I didn't read it after it said "He was a valiant soldier." Let's go on. "...but he had leprosy." So he goes, and Elisha tells him he has to wash in the dirty waters of the Jordan River seven times in order to get well. It says Naaman went away angry. He said, "I won't go into the dirty river. We've got great rivers back in our country I could get into." And his servants say, "Hey, if he asked you to do some great act, you would do it wouldn't you? Why don't you go wash and be cleansed." Then we read in verse 14, "So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times." He's finally humble. "And his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy." Now, Naaman did not yield to God until there was something bigger than he could possibly handle. When I say that, we've probably just described about half the human race; my half of the human race, the male half of the human race. When God turned up the heat on Naaman, He softened his heart so He could save him. You know, a man says, "Hey, I can handle it." That's our motto, "I can handle it!" And we give God money, we give Him time, we give Him belief, but we want the control. God hears us say, "I can handle it" and He says, "Oh no, you can't." And so He sends to us men something that all our ability, and our power, and our connections cannot handle: a child goes astray, something happens to our health, our job, our marriage, an injury. The breaking of the man is the making of the man. It's not because God doesn't love you, it's because He does. One man told me recently, "God could never get control of my life until my son attempted suicide." Another man recently said, "I almost died in an accident, and finally I surrendered to Christ." See, God does this over and over again with us men, this humbling thing so we will finally let go to the Lord. And guess what? Then we're finally complete; we're finally whole like Naaman was only after he was broken. See, God turns up the heat on us men because we get pretty hard like those old pastries, and He uses this heat to soften us up so we can finally become all we were created to be. Maybe He's been turning up the heat so you will finally turn your heart to Jesus. Would you do that today and let Him make you a man you could never be without Him. We're always better after we've been through God's heat, because remember, the breaking of a man by the Lord is the making of the man.

It's a good thing that over the years I haven't had to wear a nametag when I went to see the dentist. Yeah, I'm doing better now. But, you know, for years I didn't really anxiously await my opportunity to spend time in the dentist's chair. I'm not sure you do either. I mean, look, we all have a tendency to avoid appointments that may be unpleasant, don't we? And, in most cases, you could put off - even cancel - meetings you don't want to have. In most cases. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Appointment You Will Keep." In our word for today from the Word of God, God announces an appointment. It's in His Book; it's not in yours. Hebrews 9:27 - "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." God makes it very clear: we have an appointment with our Creator - or, as the old-timers used to say, "meet our Maker." Now that final reality is something that, well, we'd rather run from than face a lot of times. One alternative idea we hear a lot about is reincarnation. Of course, that's not really a new idea. Reincarnation proposes that we can escape this day of reckoning indefinitely through this endless cycle of starting over. Of course, the only One who knows for sure what happens beyond death is God Himself. And He leaves absolutely no room for us going around again when it says man's destiny is to, "die once and after that to face judgment." When God talks about facing judgment, He says you and I will have to account to Him for our life; a life that, according to the Bible, has been lived outside our Creator's plans. In God's own words, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Nobody has lived up to God's standards. Everybody has the death penalty of sin to deal with. That's why so many people become religious and try to do good. We hope we can somehow pay off our sins. But again, our way of getting ready for our appointment with God is useless. The Bible says that at the time of judgment, "Every mouth will be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore, no one will be declared righteous (that means right with God...qualified to go to heaven) by observing the law" (or doing all the right things). There's no way you can pay your sin-bill with your religion, your generosity, or your goodness. The only way this eternal bill could be paid was by God's eternal Son, Jesus Christ. The payment we're trying to make with our goodness was already made by Jesus when He took our death penalty on His cross. The only question God's going to ask you when you keep your appointment with Him is, "What did you do with My Son?" Years ago when prairie fires would sweep across Indian lands, Native Americans would literally fight fire with fire. They would actually set a fire in a trench around their village. When the prairie fire hit that already burned area, it stopped. The principle of stopping the fire was simple: the fire cannot go where the fire has already been. The fire of God's judgment for the sinning we've all done has already fallen on His Son at the cross. If you put your trust in Jesus to be your Savior from your sin, your judgment is canceled, because the fire cannot go where the fire has already been. Other appointments can be postponed or canceled, but not your appointment with your God. Denying it, ignoring it, running from it won't change it. The only thing to do is be prepared for it! You can do that by telling Jesus right where you are that you want to begin this life-saving relationship with Him. You say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Listen, there's much more information about how to begin with Him at our website. Please check it out, it's ANewStory.com. Somewhere in this country someone is going to keep their appointment with God today. And just like you, no one thinks it will be him or her. Someone will be wrong. Please be sure that you've settled your relationship with the Man who died so you could live. Then whenever your appointment with God is, you'll have nothing to fear.

Okay, I admit it. I talk pretty fast. But maybe that's because I lived in the New York area for so long. Everyone there talks fast! Or maybe it's because I always have so much to say before the time runs out. But I am sort of a, I guess, a verbal machine gun. But I did come across someone who finally succeeded in slowing me down by about maybe two-thirds. He's a Russian doctor who had recently immigrated to the United States. He hadn't planned to come here, but persecution and the prospect of threatened imprisonment in the days of the Cold War had driven him to America. I groped for words that he would understand, and he groped for what would be the English word to express his feelings. It was kind of a long conversation. It took a while to exchange just basic information, but it was worth the effort. The doctor - a committed Christian, and for years he was secretly copying the scriptures and Christian literature when that door was closed in his country. He also ran a network of people who did the same - getting precious scriptures out to people. All that time he risked his secure, professional position to be spreading the Gospel. Finally, he had to leave, and he was trying to find some place to work in the United States. And I said to him, "You know, you are one of God's heroes." And he had kind of a pained look on his face like he didn't understand. I said, "Winner! One of God's champions. Olympics!" I was trying to be understood. And then I realized that his pained expression wasn't because he didn't understand; it was because he did. Then in this one line of broken English he gave me a Christ-like perspective on all the work we do. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Champions With No Trophy." Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 14:3. "While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar (very expensive perfume, that is). She broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head." Now, there is some criticism for that. After that in verse 8 He says, "She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body and forehead to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.'" And sure enough we just did it today again, didn't we? We talked about her. Now, in a sense, what the doctor said about his serving the Lord at such a great price in the Soviet Union is what we all ought to say. He said in his broken English, "I only do what I could." He didn't want to be a hero. He said, "I've only done what I could. No big deal." You know, I think the ultimate epitaph for our life would be what Jesus said about this woman, "She/he has done what she/he could." I wonder if that could be said about your life? My Russian friend knew that that's really all God expects. Now, He does expect all we have to give as this woman literally lavished her most expensive possession on the Lord. But He also wants us to know that it's no big deal to give Him all you have. Jesus thinks it's a big enough deal to reward though. It's important that we don't think that it's that big of a sacrifice. We shouldn't think, "Wow! Look what I just did." But on the other hand, He'll never forget it. Maybe you've got a sense of inadequacy right now, you compare yourself. You say, "Well, I don't have much to give. I'm not as talented. I can't do as much for the Lord as somebody else can." Are you giving what you have for Jesus' sake? That's all He asks. Lavish what you have...all the little or all the much on Jesus. Maybe the problem is pride. But then, how could you do any less for the Lord. Don't be proud, it's no big deal to give all the little that you have for the much that He gave for you. That Russian doctor? He didn't think he was a hero. None of us should. But if you just give it, don't be surprised if Jesus welcomes you in heaven with a hero's welcome.