A Word With You Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.

If you've flown commercially a lot. Well you've got to get used to the little presentation by the flight attendant and it can kind of get boring. Your attention might drift a little bit. There was this one flight - we had a flight attendant who kept throwing in humorous surprises and fresh ways of saying things, everyone was listening to him. For example he said, "Now, we're preparing for landing and you need to put your seats in the upright, most uncomfortable position." See, they never say that! I thought that was good! We all laughed. And then I liked the part where he said, "The captain has turned on the seat belt sign, which is an indication he has finally found the airport." I love it! It sounds unpredictable. This man knew something about communication. If you have important information to communicate, don't be so predictable. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Parent's Best Classroom." God has given moms and dads some really important announcements for them to make to their children. He actually talks about them in Deuteronomy 6, and I'll begin reading at verse 5: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Then impress them on your children." Well, we try to do that. If you're a Christian parent, I'm sure you try to impress the ways of God, the teachings of God, the boundaries of God on your children. But sometimes our children respond with the same kind of, well, disinterest that I did to those predictable airline announcements. "Yeah, here we go again!" They know what you're going to say before you say it. So maybe it isn't enough that we teach our children about the Lord. We need to do it in ways and in places where it's not so predictable, so maybe we'll have their full attention. In the rest of Deuteronomy 6:7, Moses tells how to do that. "Talk about them (that's God's commandments) when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up." See, sometimes we get immune to hearing Biblical truths the way they've always been presented, in places we always hear them. We've got like practiced responses to a sermon, or to family devotions, or to Christian meetings. We know what to expect. We know how we're supposed to act. It's predictable. But there's something disarming about God-talk in the middle of everyday activity - the classroom of everyday life: when we're walking, riding, getting ready for bed at night. See, the best place for your son, or daughter, or grandchild to see God at work might be on the baseball field. Or on the way to the store with you, suddenly some question comes up that gives you a teachable moment. Grab that! Maybe it's debriefing their day over a Big Mac, or maybe it's in those more mellow bedtime moments, riding along with you all the places you chauffeur them. That's the classroom of everyday life, the best place to learn about the God that I hope, as the Bible says, "you love with all your heart." Don't just depend on formal settings to get the job done, not when you want to introduce God to your child. They may shut down for the formal announcements. But look for God together in the ordinary, the relaxed, the casual, the everyday. As a parent, you have the blessed responsibility of passing on God's announcements to kids that He has trusted to you. Make sure those announcements aren't just true. Make sure they're interesting. I think if I had not begun a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by the time I had kids, I would have been driven into His arms. Because so much they need me to be I couldn't be for them, too much selfishness, too much anger, too much hurting, too much "me." And I've found as a Dad in Jesus, a Savior who keeps His promise, "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old is gone. A new life has begun." All my failures, all my mistakes, all my sins forgiven, and the po

I should have realized I was never going to make it as a tennis player. Oh, I played the most with my son. And, I think I had a decent serve for a beginner. But I had trouble returning my son's shots. Now, I think you'll agree that is a basic skill for succeeding in tennis. You do have to get it back to the other guy. For example: volleyball - you lose the point when you can't return the shot; ping-pong - oh, you know, there are a lot of places where that's important. In fact, in most arenas returning the shot - well, that's an important skill to be cultivated. In one arena it's a skill to be eliminated. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You've Been Hurt." Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Peter 2. I'll be reading verse 21. "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps." Now let's stop for just a minute here. Peter is saying that this world needs more of Jesus. And there are a lot of people around you who are desperate to have Jesus walk among them, and He can. He can walk into your office. He can walk into your school. He can be in your family through you, because He's in you. Now, the Bible here says that Christ is our example, and the Greek word that's used there talks about a copy head on a school child's slate. And as they were learning their alphabet - alpha, beta, gamma, delta...the Greek alphabet - they would just simply copy the letter at the top and try to make their letter as much like the letter at the top as they could - an exact copy. Now, this says that Christ is our copy head. He's the one we're trying to make an exact replica of. We're trying to be as much like Him in our life as possible so that when people come in contact with us, they come in contact with Him. Now, when is it hardest to follow that example? When is it hardest to be like Jesus? Well, when it's most important to be. Verse 23: "When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate. When He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly." The real proof that shows a person's real character is what he does when he's being shot at. Now, you notice what happened to Jesus here? He was insulted, but there was no retaliation. They hurt Him and yet there were no threats coming back. Our Master was abusively, horribly treated. He was deeply hurt. And boy did He have the power to hurt back like you and I never will, and He chose not to! Now, when are you most likely to sin? Well, probably when someone is really attacking you, criticizing you, coming after you, when they're firing something at you. Maybe you've been betrayed recently, or you've been deeply wounded verbally, or maybe you've even been hurt physically. Everything in you cries out, "I'll fix him!" "I'll fix her!" Your mind starts racing through ways that you can retaliate, ways you can even the score. And now here comes the Jesus test. Does knowing Christ make any difference when it really counts? In Romans 12 the Apostle Paul says, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil; do not take revenge, but leave room for God's wrath." Let God even the score - He's much better at it than you are. Jesus turned to His Father for justice. An eye for an eye is not the way of Jesus. Even from His cross He says of those who have nailed Him to that cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." That's the example for us. When you refuse to return the shot, you refuse to shrink to the level of your attackers, you refuse to let them control you. And more importantly, you rise to the level of your Lord, who gives you the grace not to hurt back. Life isn't tennis. In Christ you win if you don't return the shot. So, hold your fire!

When you eat in a hurry you sometimes leave some traces of the meal on your face, and you sort of wear your food. There are some crumbs maybe, or some tomato sauce, or this little spot of chocolate. Of course, you don't know it. Now I have to eat on the run a lot of times, and that means sometimes you might be able to tell. Of course, I don't mean to carry it around with me. I mean, you know, my wife or my son in the past have told me, "You know, you've got food on your face!" Well, I want to tell you it's embarrassing to hear, but I need to hear it. Of course I don't always say "thank you" to them. Sometimes this smart alec just says, "Oh, yeah, you know, I'm saving it for later when I need a snack." Well that doesn't seem to please them, but I have to say that I do clean it up after someone points it out to me. Of course, if I'm not looking my best, I'd rather hear it from someone who cares about me, right? I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I'd like to have A Word With You today about "Hard to Hear News - You Really Should Listen." Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 27:6 and here is what it says, "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Now I don't like that word "wounds." It's not a pleasurable word. But it says, "The wounds from a friend can be trusted." What makes these wounds bearable, this bad news that they're giving us, is that it's from someone who cares about us. You know, it's like when someone in my family says, "Ron you've got food on your face," or someone you care about says, "Excuse me, but um, do you know you're unbuttoned?" or, "you're unzipped," or, "you've got a spot there." Now, look, do you like hearing that? No, it's not fun to hear it. It's embarrassing. But wouldn't you rather know than not know? Would you like those who love you to tell you even if it's not fun to hear? Well, of course you would! See, what's more important, is when we have emotional or spiritual (shall we say) food on our face. Our personality is unzipped, our personality is unbuttoned. If you care about someone, you will lovingly tell that person even the unpleasant, inconvenient truth, and if you're smart you'll respond appreciatively to bad news that comes from a good friend. Now we're talking about constructive criticism here, not tearing someone down, but constructive criticism. The responsibility of a Christian friend is to hold up a mirror and say, "Man, look at your strengths. Do you know what you've got going for you? I love it when you do that." Then at other times it's our responsibility to say, "You know, here's something that might slow you down, that might keep good things from happening." It's okay to point out weaknesses if you've pointed out strengths. First, you tell them about what they're doing right. But then there are gentle ways to tell them about the other part. "I'm not sure you know how this comes across. I'm afraid it might sound this way to other people. Can I just let you know how that is?" Or, "I'm concerned about what this could do if it keeps happening. That's why I want to tell you about it." "Look, this is going to be hard for me to say and it's going to be hard for you to hear, but you know what? I love you enough to tell you what I'm about to tell you." Don't let your friends self-destruct because you're afraid to tell them the truth. The Bible talks about speaking the truth in love. And it says to let your speech always be seasoned with grace. Now, when you're the one receiving the criticism, will you listen? Will you find the grace to thank them for telling you? Then weigh what they've said even if maybe they're only ten percent right. Maybe you should look at the ten percent. Ask for their prayer to ask God to help you change in that area. Someone just loved you enough to tell you what someone should have told you maybe a long time ago. Don't jump on your friend. Don't jump on your family member for holding up a mirror. Don't stone the messenger. De

Forgetting can get you into a lot of trouble. Like forgetting someone's name, or maybe forgetting an appointment, or maybe you forgot your homework. Or, "The dog ate it." Yeah, uh-huh, or you wouldn't want to forget your wedding anniversary. Oh, no... No, that can cause trouble. But forgetting is a basic skill for people who want to be emotionally free and spiritually alive. Oh, some kinds of forgetting really help. No, not the accidental kind. We're talking about the deliberate kind. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Forgetting Is Freedom." Now, our word for today from the Word of God is about deliberate forgetting and it's in Philippians 3:13. Paul is actually using an Olympic runners' example when he says, "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." Did you notice that word forget? He says, "Like a good runner, I'm not looking back." I know when you look back you lose the race. So you keep your eyes on the track, you keep your eyes on the tape, you keep your eyes on the goal. Don't waste any energy looking at the ground you've already covered. "Forget what is behind..." See, that is actually a fundamental characteristic of a Christian who's going to make daily progress in his relationship with Christ - the ability to forget. Forget what? Well, three things about the past that we tend to keep remembering. First of all, if you're going to grow spiritually you have to forget your past achievements. Earlier in Philippians 3, Paul listed all of his great spiritual achievements, which are greater than anything I think you or I could list. And he said, "None of them really matter. They're like garbage." There was an airline that said, "We've got to earn our wings every day." Well, that's kind of how it is spiritually. You can't run on spiritual memories. You know, "I'm okay today because of some great yesterdays I had spiritually." You've got to be restless for more progress, so forget the past achievements. Secondly, you've got to forget the past failures. You might have said, "Well, I really, really was going real well out there. I was humming for the Lord, and all of a sudden things caved in and I goofed. And I don't know if I can ever get back on track. I think I can't." It's like Peter when he'd fished all night and caught nothing, Jesus said, "Go out there and fish again. You'll catch more than you ever have or ever dreamed." Forget the past failures. Get up! None of those failures have to matter today. And the other thing then that you're going to have to forget if you're going to make spiritual progress is past damages. You've been hurt, you've been wounded. You know what? Bitterness is a terrible bondage. It's like emotional cancer, and maybe right now it's hard for you to get out from under that person, those incidents that have hurt you. But if you're going to get on with your life spiritually and go for His gold, you've got to forget the past damages. You know, the Bible says, "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." So get God's divine eraser and say, "God, help me to erase this and move on and set both of us free." See, the enemy loves to have you dwell on the past. Do you know why? Because it can't be changed. He wants you to think about those past failures because you can't do anything about them. He wants you to think about those past damages because you can't change those, instead of what you can affect, which is this 24-hour period of time and a future that has yet to be written. Turn the page on the previous chapters. Forget! Press for the gold and don't look back.

I had a busy schedule of speaking in the Chicago area that week. But I had one night free. It happened to be during what they call Founder's Week at Moody Bible Institute. That's the annual conference that commemorates the birthday of the founder, D.L. Moody. When I heard that one of my favorite speakers was there that night, I told my wife I wanted to attend. And we did, along with some of our ministry team members. Since we would be arriving a little late, I called and asked that some seats be reserved and they were kind enough to accommodate us. But something very unexpected happened that night at Founders Week. The president of the Moody Alumni Association began reading a brief biography of the person who was to be honored as that year's Alumnus of the Year. The more he read, the more familiar this life story sounded. To my total shock, he was describing me! My wife says I slowly sank in my chair and I fought a losing battle with the tears in my eyes over God's amazing grace in my life. Afterwards, I had 1,000 questions about how I actually ended up at that session that night. My family and my team members had been involved in an eight-month conspiracy to maneuver me to Chicago for that week and to a schedule that led me right to the right place at the right time. I was pretty sure it had been my choice. Well, I had been skillfully directed to that choice through the imperceptible workings of someone else. I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's Big Plan to Get You to Heaven." After that surprising night, I saw one of the most amazing, most debated mysteries of God's Word in a brighter light, our Word for today from the Word of God - Ephesians 1:4-5. It's an incredible behind-the-scenes look at what it took to give you a place in God's family. God says, "The Father chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ." In other words, God has had His eye on you since before there was a you, since before there was a world! In verses like these, God takes us behind the scenes of that day when you put your trust in Jesus to be your Savior, that simple choice. And there was, in fact, an eternal rescue plan at work that finally brought you to Christ that day. See what I mean about understanding this through my surprise the night of that award? I thought I was there as a result of my decision, which in a way was true. No one ever mentioned that meeting to me, and I did make a choice to go there. But behind that, there was a master plan at work that began long before I made "my choice" - a choice to which I had been skillfully and carefully guided. In a way, I did make the choice. But then in another way, it was predestined. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting I have resolved the centuries-old struggle to understand the tension between predestination and free will and between us choosing Christ and God choosing us. But these verses and the illustration that I lived do make some very encouraging facts very clear. 1. You really matter to God! Maybe you've been mistreated by folks here on earth, passed over, unappreciated, undervalued. But the God of the universe values you so much He's been working on you being in His family from creation to Calvary to your conversion. 2. You're safe with God. After all He's done for all these millennia to bring you into His family, He's not about to let you go now. 3. He is working on an awesome master plan to rescue the people you're concerned about. And you are part of His eternal plan to reach them. It is really amazing, isn't it? And it answers so many of our self-doubts, our fears, and our feelings of inadequacy. And it should drive us to our knees in amazed praise. The night I received that award, there was a lot more to it than I could ever understand at the time. And for you to come to Jesus that day you did, there was a lot more to it

Whether you're in your car, or in your home, or almost anywhere you are right now, I think you probably have available to you what you're going to need for our next few minutes. Yeah, because you're either near one or you might even carry one. Now, some people use this object too much, other people could afford to use it a little more. Maybe you've guessed what it is by now. Yep, it's a mirror, and you'll need it today, because that's where we're going to end up. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's 'Welcome Home' Arms." Now, our word for today from the Word of God will take us ultimately to the mirror. In fact, it's found in Luke 15:17. If you're real conversant with your New Testament, you might recognize Luke 15 as being the home of that familiar story we call the Prodigal Son. And you know in that story he had gone to his apparently well-to-do father and said, "Dad, I'm restless. I don't know if I want to stay home anymore. I wonder if you could give me my share of the inheritance, and then I'm going to get this out of my system. I want to get out of here. I know you haven't died yet, but could I have my inheritance?" Now, I don't really know what was on his mind, and we don't know why he wanted to leave. Maybe he was tired of the rules his dad had, and then he had an older brother. Maybe he didn't get along with him. But he went away, and the Bible says, "He went to a far country." So he wanted to get far away. It didn't take him long to blow all his money. He had a lot of friends as long as he had that money. Then he lost his friends when he lost his "bucks." And he ended up working for a pig farmer - the worst possible thing a Jewish boy could end up doing would be feeding the pigs. But he was so desperate, he had to do an unkosher job. And here he said, "Boy, I wonder if my dad would even take me back as one of his servants?" And there he is sorting it out, trying to figure out, "How did I ever get in this mess? How did I end up in a pig pen?" Maybe for you, you're looking at your life and you're not in the pig pen right now, but things aren't going right. You're restless, you're feeling disoriented, confused, disappointed, there's a lot of frustration that's built up over the last few months, maybe some anger. You're really looking for some answers, and you're saying, "Whose fault is it I'm in this mess?" Luke 15:17 tells us the end of the Prodigal Son's search for the answer. And in these simple words recorded in the King James Version of the New Testament it says this: "And he came to himself." Now, I know that means he came to his senses. But I think it also implies to us that after he went down the list and he said, "Okay, it's not my Father's fault. Okay, well let's see, if I didn't have that brother. No, no, it's not my brother's fault. If my friends weren't so fickle. No, I guess I can't blame my friends. If only I hadn't run out of money, if I hadn't invested in the wrong thing, or if it weren't for this boss who is giving me this crummy job." Finally, after scratching off all the other causes, he ends up looking in the mirror. I told you we'd come back there. It says, "He came finally to himself." Maybe that's the first place you're going to begin to find deliverance from your restlessness, your frustration. You've got to look in the mirror and say, "Lord, I think I'm the one who needs to be changed. I'm not going to blame it on my circumstances, or the problem people in my life, or my wife, or my husband, or my kids, or my parents, or the economy, a lack of resources. It's not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer." Every counselor's first job is to get a person to take the responsibility for their own situation. Whether you're a parent, or a son, or a daughter, or a worker, or a boss, I trust that you will begin to say, "Lord, begin with me." And if you've never begun a relationship with Jesus, the life-giver, well He's what yo