AWWY

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I really enjoy this daily radio lesson, since I miss it most days, they email it to me.

Thought I would start to share.


A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5079 - "How to Raise Kids Who Stay in Bounds"
Proverbs 29:17

Listen to the audio broadcast!
http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/ramhurl?p=pnm&f=/rhm/sounds/awwy/awwy5079.rm

    If you watch sports very much, you've no doubt seen some great plays that ended up not counting, because they made that great play out of bounds. Oh, I've seen many arguments over whether or not they actually were out of bounds at the time; many of which have been resolved by video replay. But you don't see arguments over where the boundaries are. No, everybody knows that when they go out on the field or the court, and they know exactly what the penalties are for breaking the rules.

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Raise Kids Who Stay in Bounds."

    If you don't have clear boundaries and clear penalties, you can't have a game. If children don't have clear boundaries and clear penalties, they can't have a life! Everywhere you look these days, you see kids who are out of control, as if there's no such thing as out of bounds. Guess where they learned that? From parents who never taught or never consistently enforced boundaries.

    Disciplining your child is not an option; it is a Biblical mandate for moms and dads. Our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 29:17, says, "Discipline your son and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul." How to have a child who gives you peace and makes you happy: discipline them.

    Discipline is one of the highest forms of love for your child. It's a love that cares how far they get, and it does something to bring them back when they've gone too far. Proverbs 13:24 says, "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." This would be a good time to make the all-important distinction between discipline and punishment. When you discipline your child, you respond thoughtfully in the way from which they will learn the most. When you punish, you're just dumping your anger on them. All they learn from that is that you're out of control.

    Here's how seriously Scripture takes our responsibility to help our children learn that "what you sow, you reap." (Galatians 6:7) "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." So how do we help our kids learn to stay in bounds and live under control? Just like sports: clear boundaries, clear penalties, consistently and quickly enforced. There need to be clear, unmoving boundaries in your home, stopping them before they go too far but allowing them enough room to make some choices. And there need to be clear penalties that define exactly what will happen if they do go out of bounds.

    Too many parents either decide the boundary or the penalty in the heat of a confrontation - "OK, you're grounded for a year!" - or they just keep changing the boundaries or the penalties. Can you imagine the chaos that would cause in a sporting event? It causes that kind of confusion in the life of your child. The boundaries, the penalties need to be discussed in advance; not in the middle of some tense situation. As kids get older, they should even have some input; not the deciding vote, but input into the final decision. Family sanity is based on clear boundaries and clear penalties, decided and discussed in advance, and quick and consistent enforcement. The refs don't blow the whistle when the player is running through the bleachers with the ball. They blow the whistle the second his or her foot touches the line. Take the time to enforce the boundaries early, and ultimately, you'll reap a more peaceful home.

    One more thing: the refs need to agree on where the boundaries and penalties are and the calls that are made. Mom and Dad can disagree in private about disciplinary decisions, but never in front of the kids. Not if they want their children to respect their authority! If you've been lax or inconsistent in helping your children understand the boundaries and the penalties, ask them to forgive you. Let them know that, before God, you owe it to them to do a better job "reffing" the game of their life. Clarity, consistency, mutual trust and walking your talk: those are building blocks in authority that a child can respect and build a life on.

[nChrist]

Amen Brother Gary!

The same is true with our Heavenly Father. GOD corrects and trains those who HE loves. It's really all a matter of LOVE.

Love In Christ,
Tom

1 Timothy 6:12 NASB  Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

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A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5081 - "Washing in Water That Cannot Make You Clean"
Hebrews 9:22

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    My granddaughter and I were watching some horses one very hot day. One by one, they made their way to their little pond to take in some more water. Then this big old grey horse decided drinking wasn't enough. He didn't just get a little of the pond in him, he got into the pond and lay down in the water. He splashed around a little, stayed there for a while and finally pulled his big old body out of the water. Relating what she saw to her world, my granddaughter said, "He's taking a bath!" If that was his intention, I had bad news for that horse. He got out of that murky water with his light gray coat covered with dirt! So much for getting clean!

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Washing in Water That Cannot Make You Clean."

    No matter where you go in the world, no matter how primitive or advanced the culture, we humans have this sense in our soul that we have a problem with the Creator who put us here. In a sense, that's the reason most people practice whatever their religion is; to somehow do something to put us on God's good side to avoid whatever punishment we may deserve for the wrong things we've done. All of us have things we wish we hadn't done and things we know we should have done. We feel the guilt and the shame of things that we thought we'd never do; of things we've done that have hurt other people.

    You might say, we know we're dirty inside and that we'd better do something to get clean before we meet the Creator who decides our forever. The Bible tells the story of a military leader named Naaman who came down with terminal leprosy: corrosive spots all over his body. He was directed to God's prophet for a cure. He wanted to buy a cure. No way. He wanted to do something noble to be cured. No way, the prophet said. He told him to wash seven times in the muddy waters of the Jordan River.

    Naaman was enraged. There were nicer rivers back home that he wanted to wash in. But there was only one way to get cured and get clean - wash where God said to wash. In the Bible's words, he did "as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy." (2 Kings 5:1-16)

    We're all Naaman. We want to get right with God the way we want to get right with God: through doing good, through practicing our religion, through personal spirituality. But it's all water that can't make us clean. Here's why recorded in our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 9:22, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Sin is punishable by spiritual death. That's eternal separation from a sinless God. So only a death can pay for it. That's why all the religious water in the world will leave you unforgiven and unable to enter God's heaven. A few verses later, God explains where our only hope really lies. He says Jesus died "...to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself." (Hebrews 9:26) Only Jesus, the only sinless man that ever lived, could die in our place. And He loves you so much that He did - on an awful cross.

    So, we have to come to God through the only way He's provided: His Son. Jesus alone can make you clean inside and right before a holy God. Jesus alone can get you into heaven. Not Christianity, not church, but Jesus. No other "water" can make you clean, however sincere your efforts to get clean. If you could have gotten clean any other way, believe me, God would have never put His Son through that brutal crucifixion.

    You have a decision to make: the ultimate life-or-death decision. Will you put your total trust in what Jesus did to pay for your sins on the cross? Or will you put your hope in something else? The outcomes of that decision are heaven or hell, and God leaves it to you to choose. If you're ready to abandon all other hopes and hold onto Jesus like a drowning person would embrace a rescuer, would you tell Him that right now, right where you are? At that moment, every wrong thing you've ever done will be forgiven by God and erased from His book. And your name will be entered in His "book of life" - the people who are going to be in heaven.

    I'd love to have you visit our website, yoursforlife.net, right now and read a brief explanation or listen to how you can begin with Jesus. Or call for the Yours For Life booklet at 877-741-1200.

    Sin can't be repaid. It has to be removed. And Jesus stands ready to do that for you this very day, and you will be clean.

If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, and you would like to make sure today, Ron would like to send to you a free copy of the booklet, "Yours for Life: How to Have Life's Most Important Relationship."  To read it online, click here:

http://www.yoursforlife.net/

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A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5082 - "Whose Stuff Do You Have?"
Luke 5:3

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    We were having a fabulous time sailing across Long Island Sound on a large sailboat. The sky was blue with little puffy white clouds, there was a warm, steady breeze moving us along and the kids were making memories. As for me, the sun and the water had me feeling totally relaxed. No, actually totally collapsed. Suddenly, Dave, our skipper and host, said, "We're heading into the harbor." Everything in me wanted to scream, "Whaaattt? Why? No way!" I didn't. It was his boat. It was his right to do what he wanted with it. By the way, he had heard a little static in the radio that told this veteran sailor that bad weather was on the way. Sure enough, just as we sailed into the harbor, the skies opened up with a very nasty storm.

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Whose Stuff Do You Have?"

    Once upon a time there was another sailor, a professional fisherman, who was ready to tie up his boat for the day. His name was Simon Peter. He had just had possibly the worst night of his fishing career; he fished all night and literally did not bring back a single fish.

    The story continues in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 5, beginning with verse 3. The Bible says, "(Jesus) got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat." OK, it's Simon's boat. But Simon lets it be Jesus' boat that day to be His floating pulpit. But then the plot thickens. Jesus tells Simon to "...put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch." Now if you haven't caught anything all night, how in the world are you going to catch anything at noon? Besides, Simon has just finished the tedious job of cleaning his nets. Why would he want to get them dirty again?

    "Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.'" Again, it's Simon's boat, but Simon lets Jesus do what He wants to do with it. Why? Because of a life- changing principle of God's Word and of following Jesus, Jesus has the right to command anything we have for His purposes. On Palm Sunday, He sent two of His men into the city to find a colt that had never been ridden. His instructions were to simply tell the owner, "The Lord needs it." That colt became part of the great celebration of the Kingship of Jesus Christ because someone recognized Jesus' right to command anything we have for His purposes. Even a little boy knew that when Jesus asks for your lunch, you give it to Him. When he did, that lunch became the miracle that fed 5,000 people.

    So whose house is that you live in? Whose vehicle is that you drive? If the word "Lord" means anything, it means that what you have is owned by Jesus, on loan to you. Whose talent is that you have? Whose body is that to decide what's done with it? Your Bible says your body is nothing less than the "...temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) which means you don't do anything with your body that would degrade or dishonor it. Here's a tough one: whose child is that in your home? Samuel's mother, Hannah, knew. She said of this baby she had yearned for so long, "For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." (1 Samuel 1:28) God made our children. God gave us our children. They are His, on loan to us. Should God call a son or daughter of yours into His service, don't make the mistake of standing in their way.

    The consistent pattern in Scripture is that when Jesus commands the use of something we have for His purposes, He does so much more with it than we ever could. So what is there that He's loaned to you that you've been holding onto tightly as if it were yours. That's hijacking; taking from the owner what belongs to them, to be used for what you want instead of what they want. Surrender it all to Him. He died for you. He gave His life for you. He has a right to everything you have. And you can be sure that someone who loved you enough to die for you will never do you wrong.

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A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5083 - "The Dream Boss"
Colossians 3:22

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    Some of the nasty words in the English language are described as four-letter words. It's probably not a coincidence that "boss" is a four-letter word. You sure get a lot of complaining about the boss. Usually the boss writes a Want Ad when an employee is needed. But what if the employee got to write an ad when the boss was needed? What would you put in there: "Boss Wanted: Fair, Consistent, Caring, Listener, Interested in his employees, Impartial, Approachable." Hey, hold it! You want it? You got it!

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Dream Boss."

    Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Colossians 3, beginning at verse 22. It's addressed to slaves. Now right away we're talking about a less than ideal working environment here. Today it would be employees; although maybe you feel like the word slave still fits. "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord." Now Paul talks here about two motivators for doing good work. He says, number one, maybe the boss is watching; and secondly, to win their favor because you want to impress them. Then in verse 23, he talks about a working lifestyle, "Whatever you do" - little, big, glory, no glory, pleasant, unpleasant - "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart." He's describing a one hundred percenter here, but here's their motive, "...as working for the Lord not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lo!
 rd as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

    Now who's your boss where you work? Well, if you know the Lord, your boss is the Lord Christ. Work for Him because He's the one who's watching all the time. He's the one to impress. He's the rewarder. This is pretty radical stuff! It means you are going to work with all your heart no matter what the environment and no matter what kind of superior you have. Your work is going to be for the approval of Jesus, looking past your human boss right over his or her shoulder and seeing Jesus there.

    So that means if you're cooking french fries, you're going to say, "I'm going to be the best french fry cooker they ever had." I'm going to be the best algebra student this algebra teacher has ever seen. Whether I get the best grades or not, I'm going to work as hard as anybody they ever saw. I'm going to be the best shipping clerk, or checkout person, or vice president, or teacher they've ever seen. You'll be known as their hardest worker; one who's on time, who keeps their commitments, who doesn't cut corners, who finishes what they start, who goes the extra mile. Not for them. (No, you're not working for the company. See, that's your secret.) You're not working for your superior. You realize that Jesus cares about how you work, and this is an offering to Him.

    You get your paycheck from your human boss and maybe a nice bonus occasionally. Wait till you see the reward you're going to get from your real boss. Starting now, and then ultimately forever, it is from the Lord, the Bible says, that you will receive your inheritance. That's the biggest paycheck of all - your real reward. He's the One you want to please. He's the One you want to impress. He's the One you're doing it all for, and when it's for Him, you do it with everything you've got. When you work for Jesus Christ, you work with all your heart because you've got the Dream Boss.





My thoughts......

So offten I find myself becomeing complacent at work. When there is none, when I don't "feel" like doing much, or when my earthy boss is not being fair, or even nice. I need this reminder, that it is not for the world that I work, but the kingdom of Heaven, and the Lord God, that he may be glorified.

Sometimes the only God people of the world see is the one living in us............and that goes for the workplace too.

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A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5084 - "Night Lights"
Matthew 5:14-16

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    Our offices used to be on this long hall. And the last one out each night got to walk that long hall and make sure all the doors were locked and the lights turned out. And with the amount of work this team had to get done each day, it could be pretty close to "beddy-bye" time when some of us would leave. Of course, Daylight Saving Time meant that you could leave well into the evening and it would still be light. Maybe that's why the lights in some of our closets were accidentally left on sometimes. When it's still bright outside, it's easy to miss a light that's on. But in the winter, when it's dark, you can't miss the light!

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Night Lights."

    The familiar and very challenging words of Jesus are our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

    If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, I wonder if you realize how important you are! Think about when you walk into a totally dark room. What's the most important thing in that room? Isn't it the light? Who's the most important person where you work, or live, or go to school? Isn't it the one who's the light? Jesus said that's you. If the light isn't working, if it's dim, if it goes out, there's only darkness.

    You may say, "You don't know how spiritually dark it gets where I am!" And you're right. I don't know all the details. But it probably looks something like this: the talk is dirty or blasphemous or profane, sin is something to laugh at and to brag about, people are routinely backstabbed and wounded verbally, honesty and integrity are hard to find - maybe even unappreciated - Christians are stereotyped as intolerant, old-fashioned, condemning, irrelevant. Maybe you'd like to add a few more layers of darkness to describe the place where you're trying to be like Jesus.

    But remember our office closets with the light left on. Where it's bright, you don't see the light very much. But the darker it is, the more the light cannot be missed! The darker the darkness, the more the light shows up! Paul talked about that contrast when he said in Philippians 2:15, "Become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life."

    A star can barely be seen in a bright sky, but up against the stark darkness of the dark night sky, a star is something beautiful. That's supposed to be you in the universe where God has put you. So, don't keep trying to hang out in places where there's already plenty of light; places where you feel safe because they're Christian places. You're needed where it's dark - where the lost people are. You can enjoy believers in heaven forever. Your job now is to get more people to be there with you!

    We always told our kids as they left for school in the morning, "Go MAD today!" and that means "make a difference!" That's what Jesus is saying to you each morning, "Go Make A Difference" there. Be a living alternative in a place where truth doesn't matter. Always tell the truth. In a place where dirty is cool, don't dignify the dirty. In a place where people cut each other up, you build people up! In a place where it's everyone for himself, you be the one who always puts other people first. In a place where Christianity is laughed at or misunderstood, let them see in you what Jesus is like!

    Don't be intimidated by the darkness. You're the most important person in that dark place because you have the light of Jesus. Without you, darkness is all there is. Humbly, gently, lovingly, be the light there. You are the one light that should never be turned out!




My thoughts.........

So many times we feel as if no one around us cares for anyone but themselves. It is so difficult to be the "light" Christ spoke of when others are lerking about to take advantage of us given the chance. Still we must give without expectation, serve without complaint, and love without question. Our actions, our "light" is what they see, and it will make a differance to them at some level.


BIC

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A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5085 - "Never Home Alone"
Romans 8:37

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    I grew up as an only child. You say, "I can tell." Thank you very much. My parents took me to most of the places that they went, but I remember one time they left me home by myself. I was home alone. (We could probably make a movie about that.) Well, anyway, we lived in this third floor apartment on the south side of Chicago. It was getting very late and I was sitting near the back door waiting and they should have been home by now, and I was really worried. I can remember hearing sirens and I thought, "Oh, no!" My imagination was taking me all over the place. I was thinking all the bad things that might have happened to my parents. I was already there and then the sirens came. I was sure the sirens were for my mommy and my daddy, but they weren't. But the fear I had that night was so great, I still remember it, don't I?

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Never Home Alone."

    Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 8, beginning with verse 37. You know this fear of abandonment is not unique to me, or even to a child. I'm thinking of a friend of ours who struggled her whole life with it. She was left by her parents a lot because they were in mission work and there were a lot of "goodbyes" and she was always vulnerable to some bad choices because she was always afraid that she'd lose what she loved and what loved her.

    All right, Romans 8, beginning in verse 37, referring to the most disastrous things that could happen to you in your life, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

    This is where God promises one unloseable relationship. God created us to anchor ourselves to one relationship. The problem is that every other relationship on earth is losable. I think of the night when my wife was almost dying from hepatitis, and we weren't sure she'd make it and she was saying and talking about the kinds of things people do when they think they may not make it. And I knelt by her bed and I said, "Dear God, please spare her." And I thank Him that He did spare her life. But that night I almost lost the one relationship I thought would never leave me. She said she would never choose to leave and I would never choose to leave her, but the choice was out of our hands.

    You see, you need a relationship you can't lose, and you can't take Jesus away. He will not leave you - ever. He is the unloseable one. Any human love I receive is a welcome bonus, but my identity is supposed to be knowing Jesus. Do you know Him? See, life is never secure until you know you belong to Christ. That begins the day you get your sin erased by putting your faith in what Jesus did when he died on the cross for that sin and then you're in his arms to stay.

    Nothing in heaven, or earth, or hell can take you away from Him. Not because you're so good at hanging on, but because He's so good at hanging onto you. You've had your sins forgiven. The only thing that will keep you out of God's heaven is gone because you've put your trust in the One who died to remove them - Jesus, His One and only Son, and who's alive because He walked out of his grave.

    Earth folks will leave, but you can have a Savior who never, never will. He said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) And you decide whether that relationship ever begins, and you decide when it begins. Let it be today. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

    And I would love to help you begin that relationship if you'll just go to our website. We've put there just a simple explanation of how to get started with Jesus. The website is yoursforlife.net. Or you can call for that in booklet form. It's called Yours For Life, and the number is 877-741-1200.

    The child in all of us hears the sirens. We imagine life without someone who loves us and we fear a future alone, and then Jesus steps in at your invitation and says, "I am with you always." (Matthew 28:20)

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A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5086 - "The List Your Name is On"
1 John 5:11-12

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    I'm kind of a strange tourist. When I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I asked to be taken to a graveyard that overlooks the ocean. There, I walked through rows of these grave markers that have no name but the same date on them - April 15, 1912. That's the night the Titanic sank, and these are some of its unidentified victims. A few weeks ago, actually, the Titanic showed up again on the evening news. Lillian Asplund, the last American survivor of the sinking of the Titanic, died at age 99. It's believed that there may be just two survivors left now, both in England. Those names and the name of every passenger are listed on a big wall at the end of what's called the Titanic Artifacts Exhibit. I got to experience that exhibit as it toured America's great museums. The list indicated whether the person was a first, second, or third class passenger, or a crewman. But no matter what their class, every one of those 2,200 people appeared on one of two lists.

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The List Your Name is On."

    Every person on the Titanic ended up listed one of two ways: saved ... lost. Nothing else mattered. Every person on earth, and every person listening right now, is on one of two lists in God's records: saved ... lost. As the last survivors of Titanic slip into eternity, they will be "saved" or "lost" forever. So will every one of us.

    Our word for today from the Word of God makes the two lists very clear, along with what it is that makes a person either "saved" or "lost." In 1 John 5:11-12, the Bible says: "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life (saved); he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (lost)." Our eternal destination is all contingent on one thing - whether or not we have the Son of God. Not whether or not we have religion or Christianity, but whether we have Jesus.

    So how do you get Jesus? God's pretty clear about that. He says, for example, in John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life," - that's saved - "but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" - that's lost. God's wrath is because of what we've done with the life He gave us. In essence, we've made ourselves God by doing what we wanted to do with our life. Sure, we may have mixed in some religion to try to offset our taking over of our life, but religion in no way can pay the penalty for the hijacking of our life from the Creator of the universe. Sin is a capital crime, punishable by spiritual death; separation from God now and forever.

    The Bible says that believing in God's Son, Jesus, can literally change which list we're on. When the Bible says "believe," the word is about total trust, complete reliance. And only total trust in Jesus can rescue us from our spiritual death penalty, because only Jesus could and only Jesus did die in our place. He said, "I'll take their hell, Father, so they don't ever have to go there." He did that for you. That's how much He loves you.

    So what's happening right now is so much bigger than you just listening to some guy on the radio. This is a holy opportunity to remove your name forever from the list that says "lost" and onto the list that says "saved." Your name will be entered in God's Book of Life the moment you reach for Jesus in total trust as your only hope of heaven, and that could be today. With eternity in the balance, I can't think of a good reason to risk one more day on the list that says "lost."

   
    I'll leave you with just how the Bible describes what can happen to you this very day. It says that the man or woman who opens their life to Jesus "...has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life!" (John 5:24).

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A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5088 - "Why Your Load Seems So Heavy"
Matthew 6:25

Listen to the audio broadcast!
http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/ramhurl?p=pnm&f=/rhm/sounds/awwy/awwy5088.rm

    Maybe it's a guy thing. Or maybe it's just a Ron thing. But I hate to waste time or waste effort. Here's what that looks like when I've just returned from the grocery store to restock our empty refrigerator and shelves. I look like a mule basically - with bags all over my body, carried on almost every appendage. I don't want to make any more trips to the car than absolutely necessary, OK? So I'm willing to try whatever calisthenics, to tolerate whatever overload will enable me to get everything in the house in one trip. This approach has been known to have its problems. Sometimes I drop a bag or two or one of them rips open; thus, making more work. And I've got this bad shoulder that may well be traceable to carrying too much too many times.

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Your Load Seems So Heavy."

    There's a price to pay for carrying too much at once. You may be paying some of that price right now; the stress, the anxiety, the fatigue, the frustration of those who carry more than they're supposed to. I'm one of those. I know.

    I also know how my Savior says I'm supposed to live. His instructions are very clear in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 6, beginning with verse 25. He says, "Do not worry about your life ... look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them ... Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ... Why do you worry? ... Do not worry ... your Heavenly Father knows what you need ... Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

    First of all, you don't have to be a Biblical scholar to pick up Jesus' message here. He basically says it four times, "Do not worry." If you looked at us stressed out, freaked out, worn out warriors, you might conclude that this is one of the most disobeyed commands Jesus ever gave. We do worry - a lot. And in so doing, we carry a heavier load than we're designed and equipped to carry. God has promised to give what we need to carry today: daily bread, strength equal to your day, mercies new each morning, a cross to bear one day at a time, the renewing of our spirit day by day. But there's no promise about carrying your tomorrow while it's still today.

    John Newton, the writer of "Amazing Grace" said, "Sometimes I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of a year to a great bundle of sticks - far too large to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole bundle at once. He mercifully unties the bundle and gives us one stick that we are to carry today and then another that we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. We might easily manage it, if we would take only the burden appointed for us each new day. But we choose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday's stick over again today and by adding tomorrow's burden to our load before we are required to bear it."

    John Newton nailed it, didn't he? We add baggage from yesterday and the potential burdens of tomorrow to what we're carrying today, and we start dropping things, stumbling, even hurting ourselves. So much of what we worry about tomorrow never happens. And you won't have God's promised resources to handle tomorrow until tomorrow. So no wonder you're overwhelmed and discouraged! Dwelling on yesterday or tomorrow takes your focus off today so you don't even do today very well!

    So approach your load God's way - taking your busy life one day at a time; carrying your massive load one stick at a time. And about tomorrow? Take advantage of God's awesome invitation, "Cast all your care upon Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).



My thoughts.........boy I needed to hear this today!

God is mindful of our troubles and concerns, He knows our needs before we do. In this, I have come to the conclusion that I need not pray for my needs, I can focus on praising and thanking Him for yet again providing for all me needs. He always has. I still pray and leave my worries at His feet, and pray for the strenght to do so, but He knows my needs, concerns, and even my desires. He should, He gave them to me! I have been so blessed in my life, and that is always from the perspective of the individual, but all my needs are met, often to abundance, and I have no idea how He makes it work........He just does

I love our Lord, the more I get to know Him, the more I love Him, for loveing me, for saveing me from myself, and for always being there, with an open ear to listen to me, and loveing arms to carry me when I fall, and reassuring words..........

[Rookieupgrade1]

A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5092 - "The Tripper Upper"
Romans 2:24

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    In high school, our teenage son lived a very, very busy life which I think might go with having this last name. And I could sometimes find him finally ending up on the couch for just kind of a collapse, you know, and he deserved it. He would set up this little comfort zone there. He'd have his New York Giants mug, and his school books, and his TV guide, in case he had time to watch. And most important, he had his phone. Unfortunately, the phone hooked up two rooms away. That means the cord was stretched to the max to get it to the couch, and I could tell when he had the phone there, because I kept hearing people muttering through the house after they tripped over the cord. It was right where everybody had to walk to get to the living room or to the kitchen. And I'd say, "Son, you've got to do something about this thing that people keep tripping over." Well, so do you!

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Tripper Upper."

    Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 2:24. It's a sobering indictment of first-century Jewish believers. Listen to these words, "As it is written, God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." "The Gentiles" really means the unreached people, and basically the Jews were the reached people. And He is saying, "You believers, you know, because of you, the unreached people are blaspheming God." He talks a little bit about why, for example in chapter 2, verse 21. He says, "You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?" Then He says, "God's name is blasphemed because of you. You're not living what you say you believe, and people are tripping over the contradictions." It's like my son's telephone cord. It'!
 s in the way. You've got to ask, what is there in my life that may be keeping someone from Jesus and from heaven?

    It's a terrible thought to think that someone might end up in hell forever because I turned them off to Jesus by my inconsistency. Maybe your temper is canceling out your message about a loving Savior. Maybe the humor that you use is contradicting the purity that you say Jesus stands for. Maybe your sarcasm is a little hard to reconcile with the compassion of Jesus. Maybe your gossip and your backstabbing is confusing people. Maybe it's the fact that you tend to be so negative. Maybe it's your laziness at school, or your complaining attitude, or your laziness at work. You know, a Christian ought to be the best employee that an employer's got, so that they give credit to the name of Jesus.

    You ought to be the hardest-working student in that class whether you get the best grades or not. You're an advertisement for your Savior. I know you'd hate to be a reason for someone to reject Christ, all because you never dealt with your "tripper upper."

    Actually, if you would let Jesus change that part of you; that part that is out of control, that's inconsistent, that's confusing to an unbeliever, it might just create the curiosity they need to start investigating a life-changing Christ. It might give you the best opening you've ever had to share Christ. They're going to say, "Man, what happened to you," because it will be in an area where they never saw you this way before. And that is a powerful testimony.

    My son and I had to solve that cord problem before someone got hurt, and he had to do something about the thing that kept tripping people up. I hope you'll do that in your spiritual life. I believe that you can provide an uncluttered path to the Jesus who your friends so desperately need if you'll just get rid of that "tripper upper."

[Rookieupgrade1]

A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5091 - "The Loneliest "Lonely" of All"
Matthew 27:51

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    Like many children her age, our little granddaughter has 101 tricks to delay going to bed at night: a drink of water, another story, monsters in the closet, whatever. Once she does, she's usually gone for the night. But every once in a while, her parents will be in the living room, and then suddenly hear this loud, distraught crying. Our little darling just woke up in the dark. She found herself all alone, and it's scary.

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Loneliest 'Lonely' of All."

    Even big people like us know that feeling. There are times in our life when we feel like we're all alone in the dark, and it's scary. Maybe you know about those times. Maybe you're in one of those dark, lonely stretches right now.

    It would be cheap for me to say, "I know how you feel." I probably don't. But I know someone who does - who really does. That would be Jesus. In fact, no one on earth has ever experienced the depth of loneliness He went through. And that's one of the reasons you can trust Him in a way that you can trust no one else in your life.

    Let me take you for a minute back to the darkest day in human history; the day the Son of God was nailed to a Roman cross. The Bible says He was "crushed" and "pierced" and beaten beyond recognition (Isaiah 53:5; 52:14). His back had been ripped open by merciless whippings, His head was ripped open by a crown made of thorns, and a spear was driven into His side as He hung on that cross, suspended by three nails. But as horrific as that pain must have been, that's not what made Him cry out on the cross. It was a far greater pain that ripped apart His soul. It's recorded in our word for today from the Word of God.

    "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:51) He could take the thorns, He could take the nails, He could take the spear, but He couldn't stand being cut off from God. God the Father and God the Son had never had a moment apart through all eternity until that day. In Jesus' darkest moment, He could not see His Father's face. His Father had turned away from Him. Why? The Bible says of God, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil" (Habakkuk 1:13). An all-holy God cannot look at sin, and that's what was all over His Son that day. The Bible tells us that "He bore our sins in His (own) body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). Whose sins made God turn away from His one and only Son? Your sins. My sins. Jesus was all alone - more alone than any man has ever been - and it was very dark.

    Look at what it took to pay for and forgive your sin. How can we think that there's anything we could ever do that would pay for our sin or get us into heaven? Only the One who died for your sin can remove your sin. That was your hell, your separation from God that He was taking on the cross. Now He's offering to you what He died for you to have. Either you reach out to Him in total trust as your only hope to be rescued spiritually or you walk away from Him.

    I believe that someone who's listening right now is feeling in their soul the tug of Jesus. He shows you your sin, He shows you how He loved you enough to die for your sin, and He stirs your heart to give yourself to Him. If you've never done that, you can do it right now, wherever you are. Just tell Him, "Jesus, You're my only hope, and beginning right here and right now, I'm Yours." At that moment, God will erase very sin from His book and give you eternal life in heaven.

    If that's what you want, let me invite you to visit our website as soon as you can. I've got a brief presentation there that will walk you through just how to be sure you belong to Jesus Christ. Just go to yoursforlife.net. Or I'll be glad to send my little booklet about this called "Yours For Life" if you'll just call and ask for it. The number is 877-741-1200.

    Don't walk away from this without responding to Jesus' invitation. God turned His back on His Son so He would never have to turn His back on you. The biggest mistake you could ever make would be to turn your back on Him.

[Rookieupgrade1]

A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5093 - "Goodbye, Sick Stuff"
John 11:38

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    When I get sick, it's a rare event in our family. I feel blessed with a pretty healthy life. Once when I was hit with the flu, though, it's enough to say I was not moving except in the direction of the bathroom. I was too weak to talk or turn over for about twenty-four hours, and then I finally started to improve. When I began to feel better, I desperately wanted a shower, and that was my first physical triumph after the battle with the flu. And I very happily piled in a corner the symbol of that long, dark day I'd had - those blue, flannel pajamas I'd worn the whole time. They'd been sweated out several times, and they did not smell very nice. They probably should have been burned. Here I was, showered with fresh clean clothes on. I wouldn't have put those rotten, old pajamas back on for anything.

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Goodbye, Sick Stuff."

    Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 11:38. Here Jesus faces one of the great challenges of His ministry. His good friend, Lazarus, has died. There are weeping friends and family around the tomb, and the Bible says, "Jesus, deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 'Take away the stone.' He said." They did, although Martha objected, "By this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Verse 43 says, "Jesus called in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!', and the dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, cloth around his face, and Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

    Can you imagine Lazarus going back later and getting back into his old grave clothes, like me and my flu pajamas? I'm sure he would not return to the stuff that was wrapped around him while he was dead. Maybe that's what you've been doing. See, we are all Lazarus, because we've all been raised from the living death of trying to make it without Christ. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, we are new creations in Christ. The old is gone, a new life has begun, and there are old grave clothes to leave once and for all.

    Could it be that you've drifted back to some of the old you? The habit that you had beaten; what are you doing flirting with it again? That compromising relationship you had finally put behind you; why are you running around the edges of it again? That dark temper you had under Christ's control; is it rearing its head again? Maybe it's that tendency you have to use people, to manipulate people, to hurt people, or to walk over people. Maybe that side of you that insists on taking matters into your own hands instead of trusting God to do it. You were making progress, but it's reappearing again. Maybe it's that old addiction. Maybe it's what you were looking at; what you were watching, and you were starting to get some victory over that. It's coming back again. All of us have these empty, corrupt ways of living. And Christ comes and says, "Let him go!" "Let her go!" "Take off the grave clothes." We could be free of it forever because of Jesus. But if you've drifted back to !
 your grace clothes, would you remember what dead felt like?

    Return to the cross where you were freed in the first place, and let Jesus say it again, "Let him go! Let her go!" When you are finally getting well, there is no reason in the world to go back to the sick stuff.

[Rookieupgrade1]

A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5094 - "Right Answers Under Pressure"
Nehemiah 2:1-5

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    I never really liked TV game shows, until my son got me interested in one. It comes on after the evening news, which is what I watch on television. Maybe you have seen it - Jeopardy. What an appropriate title for a show that comes on right after the world news. There are three contestants who are given several categories, ranging from U.S. Presidents to Cat Food. First, a contestant picks a dollar value question, and the host gives the answer to the question in that category. Then the three contestants vie to see who can give the right question first, because the right answer is usually a question (if you understand that). Some of them do very well and they win lots of money. I saw one man who won fifty thousand dollars, but others just fold. I said to my son. "Look at some of those people. They wind up in a hole with their money. How do they get on the show?" My compassionate son reminded me, "Dad, it's hard to come up with right answers when you have all that pressure !
 on you."

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Right Answers Under Pressure."

    We all know the feeling of the Jeopardy contestants. The pressure is on, and the right answer is needed. Maybe you are in a conversation with your boss or your parents, or you're dealing with one of your children on a hard issue; you're trying to speak to a friend about the Lord, or you're in a delicate situation and the right answer is real important.

    Nehemiah knew that feeling. Our word from the word of God is in Nehemiah 2:1-5. Nehemiah, the king's cupbearer, was a Jewish exile in Persia. He'd heard of the shape that his city, Jerusalem, was in and he had a burden from the Lord to go back and rebuild his city. He knew he would need the king's help. He knew he would need time off. He didn't quite know how he would bring it up with the king. "I took the wine," the Bible says, "and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, 'Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.' I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, 'May the king live forever. Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?' The king said to me, 'What is it you want?" Here's the drum roll. "Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king." From this point on, the king becomes his ally in this great, historic cause. Here is a conversation that actually changed the course of history.

    Maybe your issue won't be that important, but you do need God's help in that important conversation. Here's how he displays his hand in important conversations. First, there's a divine nudge. Nehemiah had been praying about this situation for some time, so God said, "There is a need I want addressed through you, Nehemiah." He'll put a burden on your heart. Second, there's a natural opportunity. You think, "How in the world am I going to get into this?" Ask God for a natural opportunity. Nehemiah was asked the magic question, "What is it you want?" Ask God for an open door, and then look for the openings. Third, there's an inspired answer. Nehemiah gave a tremendous answer to the king's question. It launched a whole change of events. After you're done, you'll say, "Who said that?" God gave you the answer. The key is what Nehemiah said, "I prayed to the God of heaven, and then I answered."

    Talk to the God of heaven before you talk to that person on earth. Connect yourself to the throne room of God. Get prayed up, and even if you're scared, go ahead to the opportunity that God is opening up. We're all playing Jeopardy and coming up with right answers under pressure, but we have a direct pipeline to the One who has all the right answers. Let Him come up with your answer

[Rookieupgrade1]

A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5096 - "The Futility of Running Away"
Genesis 3:8-9

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    The party had been going just fine until a doctor who was there got very offended by something another guest said. He was in a rage! He stormed out and slammed the door behind him. Someone said, "At last he's gone." The host corrected him. "No, he's not gone. That's a closet."

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Futility of Running Away."

    There's something inside us humans that wants to avoid facing the God who made us. Maybe it's because we know that He knows everything about us. Maybe we don't want to face our darkness. We know that facing God means surrendering the wheel of our life. Whatever the reason, we walk away, or run away, or in some cases, we even storm away from God, only to find that we've only walked into a closet.

    We get very good at avoiding God. You can hide behind all those religious hypocrites you've seen. Or you can hide out in those doubts and questions you keep raising to protect you from really facing your Creator's demands on your life. You can stay very busy, running so hard, sedating yourself so much, that you don't have to think about why you're here and where you're going. You can even hide out in your religion, believe it or not, faithfully, maybe fervently, going through all the spiritual motions. That way you can feel like you're spiritually OK without having to really face God Himself.

    Guess who invented running from God? The first man and woman God ever created! It's like avoiding God is in our spiritual DNA! In Genesis 3:8-9, Adam and Eve realized that they have disobeyed the one command given to them by the God who had given them so much. Then, in our word for today from the Word of God, "The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?' He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid ... so I hid.'"

    From the first fugitive from God down to someone who's listening today, here's the reality of God's love. The God you're trying to avoid pursues you wherever you go. Why? Because He loves you too much to lose you. In fact, Jesus said He's like a shepherd who cannot be content with the sheep that He has in the fold while even one is lost. He said He would "go after the lost sheep" until He finds him or her (Luke 15:1-7).

    His pursuit of you and me took Him all the way to the cross where He died a brutal death. The Bible says His death was "a sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10). He died in your place to pay for the sins that you would otherwise have to pay for eternally.

    And now He's pursued you to wherever you are today. You can walk away or run away again, I suppose, but He'll keep pursuing you to rescue you until the day you run out of time. Some day will be your last day to get ready for God before you meet God. But for now, His arms are open, inviting you to come home to the One you were made for. When you walk away from Him, you walk away from the only possible hope of a life with meaning and an eternity in heaven. Be glad He's loved you enough to pursue you all the way to a cross.

    My prayer is that this might be the day when you run to God and let the battle finally be over. Your personal love relationship with God begins when you say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." You have nothing to fear from coming to Jesus. He loved you enough to die for you. He will never do you wrong.

[Rookieupgrade1]

A WORD WITH YOU
By Ron Hutchcraft
#5095 - "Saying Goodbye to What's Been Holding Your Back"
Luke 5:15

Listen to the audio broadcast!
http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/ramhurl?p=pnm&f=/rhm/sounds/awwy/awwy5095.rm

    Our daughter might still be sucking on her binky if we hadn't negotiated a deal. She was very attached to that pacifier, long after she really didn't need it anymore. Then my wife struck that bargain - the doll that our girl really wanted in exchange for her binky. From that day on, the binky was no more. I kept it in a drawer for my tough days. Not long ago, our son and daughter-in-law had a similar crossroads moment with our granddaughter. She could not imagine life without her binky, until Mommy and Daddy announced her Bye-Bye Binky Party. On that day, she would surrender her binky and there would be a party in her honor with cake, decorations and even little presents. And suddenly, she didn't need her binky anymore!

    I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Saying Goodbye to What's Been Holding You Back."

    A child with their pacifier, Linus with his blanket - things they've depended on that they don't really need anymore. Even we grownup kids have things we depend on that are actually holding us back from what our life could be. But we hold on to it as stubbornly as a child to her binky or Linus to his blanket until someone comes along and shows us something better.

    For me, for millions of people, that someone is Jesus Christ. He liberated people from what they needed so long when He was here on earth, and He's still doing it today. He wants to do it for you.

    One example of how it works is recorded in Luke 5, beginning with verse 15. It's our word for today from the Word of God. "Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus." The Bible describes some extraordinary measures they had to employ to accomplish their mission, but they did get their paralyzed friend to Jesus. The story continues: "He said to the paralyzed man, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.'" Can you imagine this? That mat has supported this man his whole life. It's been used to carry him where he couldn't walk himself. Suddenly, Jesus is telling him to get up and carry what's been carrying him all these years!

    It says, "Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God." I could just imagine this man shouting, "I've needed this thing my whole life, but I don't need it anymore!" That's the kind of freedom Jesus wants to bring to you; freedom from always needing a man or a woman to make you feel valued and secure. Think of how they've let you down. Freedom from being an approval junkie, from seeing yourself as a victim all the time, from trying to find your worth in your work or your performance, freedom from the bottle, the drug, the sex, the applause that you've thought you needed to complete you. They never have, they never will.

    Then along comes Jesus, the Man who loves you enough to die to pay for the sin that keeps you from God; who's powerful enough to walk out of His grave. The Bible says of Jesus, "You are complete in Him" (Colossians 2:10) and only in Him, because the Bible tells us you were "...created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). Every other thing you've leaned on for love and significance and completeness is an unfulfilling substitute for the real thing - for Jesus.

    And today, He's come to you and He's saying, "Get up. You don't need what you've used to support you for so long. I'm what you've needed all along." What a day this could be if you would make it your Jesus-day - the day you open your heart for Him to come in and forgive all the sin of your life and free you from the dependencies that have been holding you back. Just talk to Him where you are. Tell Him you're done driving your own life, that your only hope is Him and what He did on the cross for you, and that you're his from today on.

    If that's what you want, I hope you'll check out our website where I've got a brief explanation of just how to begin this life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Just go to yoursforlife.net. Or you can call for the booklet "Yours For Life" at 877-741-1200.

    This can be your declaration of independence. The day you say, "The thing I've been depending on for so long - I don't need it anymore because I have Jesus now. I'm His, I'm complete, and I'm free!"