Praise and Thanksgiving

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT)

While these are helpful words, are these the verses we’d likely turn to when seeking to comfort someone at a time of great loss? Likely not, but I want to balance these verses with the words of Jesus in Matthew 26:26-29: “As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘Take this and eat it, for this is My body.’ And He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, ‘Each of you drink from it, for this is My blood, which confirms the covenant between God and His people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. Mark My words – I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in My Father’s Kingdom.”

Why these verses? Because Jesus is thanking His Father for the privilege of offering Himself in death, for shedding His own blood and laying down His young life. Let that sink in for a minute. If Jesus can and did give thanks to the Father for the privilege of offering Himself on our behalf, how much more should we celebrate the privilege of laying down our lives for Him – in life and in death.

It’s one thing to celebrate and praise and honor the Lord at Baptism or even a wedding of two people who love Jesus, but while it’s good, it’s expected. What opens lost people’s eye’s and heart are the words of living and dying saints who are praising the Lord for the gift of death because they know when they close their eyes in death they will open them in the presence of their Savior.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote: “The measure of our spirituality is the amount of praise and thanksgiving in our prayer.” Prayer in the midst of heartache and pain should still offer reverence, honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving to our Savior. But why? Because the greatest gift in ANY circumstance is the presence of the Lord! If we can’t count on Jesus in the hard times, why praise Him at all? He doesn’t promise to only be with us in the good times, it says in Hebrews 13:5 that He will NEVER leave or forsake us!

As I struggle with more days I feel weak and it’s difficult for me to get much accomplished, on some levels my extended time in bed reminds me of more opportunity to praise and honor the Lord for the gift of His presence. It’s then He often brings to mind a Scripture to ponder or someone to whom I should reach out. He reminds me when I die, I’ll be with Him, but I’m not dead yet, so be grateful I can still be useful to Him even if only in small ways.

Praise for the Lord must be irrespective of our circumstances. He doesn’t change and His love for us and His presence with us stands firm whether things are going well or poorly. Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16: “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” “Yeh, but what if I’m out of work, all alone, no money, no place to live, NOTHING!” I’ve been there and it was in that very circumstance I learned I could trust the Lord because He’s all I needed. He is our Provider and will give us everything we need exactly when we need it.

On those days when I had no money for food, admittedly, there were a few days I went to bed hungry, but often He would send someone to take me out or give me a few dollars. And when I had no money to pay my rent, He ALWAYS supplied my need. HE HAS NEVER FAILED ME IN MY TIMES OF NEED, AND HE WON’T FAIL YOU WHEN YOUR TRUST IS IN HIM! We can give Him praise and thanksgiving regardless of our circumstances! He’s deserving, but equally important, we NEED to nurture His Spirit within us.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Gospel Without Detours

*Please allow this timely message from Ron Hutchcraft to challenge you as it challenged me. Keeping our focus on Jesus is critical at all times, but especially when sharing Him with others. Blessings, Ed 😊

Our friends Marv and Annie were with us at a convention in Chicago. They’re from Denver; I was in my hometown. Annie’s doctor had let her make the trip to Chicago even though she was eight months pregnant. Well, we had a reception our first night at the convention downtown. I jokingly told her, “Hey, if the baby decides to come tonight, just call our room. This is my city, girl. I’ll take care of everything!” Yeah, well, it didn’t turn out to be a joke. The call came in the middle of the night, and minutes later we had a lady in hard labor in my back seat. Oh, my goodness! I thought we’d have time to get out to our obstetrician in the suburbs. Not a chance! I had no idea where downtown hospitals were. I never needed one before. Oh, boy! I finally found one – a veterans’ hospital. No maternity ward! Well, eventually I found a hospital with great facilities – just in time. Today we all laugh about it, but it’s certainly not one of my proudest moments.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Gospel Without Detours.”

I almost messed up the beginning of a new life – all because I went in the wrong direction. That’s easy to do with what the Bible calls being “born again.” If you belong to Jesus, I’ve got to believe you know folks who don’t, and that you want them to be in heaven with you. That can only happen if they’re born into God’s family by putting their trust in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for them.

But that rebirth can be aborted if you go the wrong direction in sharing Christ with someone. See, there’s a detour on the road to Jesus and you’ve got to avoid that detour at all costs. I call it the trap – one that is so easy to fall into when you’re having a spiritual conversation. When Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman at the well, she tried to deflect Jesus’ claim on her life by using the trap.

In John 4, beginning with verse 20, she tries to get Jesus to start down that deadly detour. Here’s what it is – talking religion. She said, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” In other words, “Jesus, the issue is we have different religions. Yours is good for you; mine is good for me.” Sound familiar? Jesus won’t go there. In verse 24, He says, “God is a spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” In other words, “This isn’t about what religion you are, Ma’am. It’s about your relationship with God.” Then Jesus introduces Himself as the looked-for Messiah. Jesus makes Himself the issue, and He still is today.

There’s just too much at stake for you to allow yourself to fall into the trap of talking religion with someone who needs Jesus. The issue really has nothing to do with religion. It’s whether or not you’ve had your sins forgiven so you can have a relationship with God. It’s really all about Jesus and all about his cross.

Paul said that in 1 Corinthians 2:2 when he said, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” It’s not about your religion. It’s not about your religious rules. It’s not about your rituals. It’s not about Christianity. It’s not about Christians. It’s not about attacking their lifestyle. It’s all about Jesus. So stick to Jesus. Keep bringing it back to Jesus; bring them back to His cross.

Your mission is clear. To take a person that you care about by the hand and lead them up Skull Hill to the foot of an old rugged cross, and point to the Son of God dying for them, and say, “Man, this is how much He loves you.” Any other direction is the wrong direction – one that leads away from the Jesus that they need. So, take them straight to Jesus.

What Does It Mean to “Confess” and “Believe”?

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.’” (Romans 10:9-11 NLT)

The saying of or repeating words does not equal confession. In the above verse confession means to agree with God’s estimation of our condition as sinful and separated from Him; undone, unable to correct or provide adequate means of dealing with our lost condition without His help and intervention. Confession is a plea for help, as a person stranded on a deserted island recognizes without outside help and assistance, they have no hope of survival. I’m agreeing that Jesus is Lord, as in my only hope of eternal rescue. However, confessing isn’t simply agreeing I need to be saved from my sin, it’s to agree Jesus is the only One who can save me; He’s the ONLY answer to my sin problem.

Couple that with what it means to believe. Believing isn’t simply intellectual assent in the sense of agreeing with another person’s evaluation of something. In the Biblical sense to believe is to place our full trust in Jesus to forgive and save us because we’re “impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul” (Strong’s). It’s the drowning man grasping the hand of His rescuer understanding not to do so is certain death. We entrust not only our past sin, but our eternal purity into the capable hands of our Savior. When we sit in a chair we entrust the weight of our entire body to the chair, believing it will hold us up.

Photo by Oktay Ku00f6seou011flu on Pexels.com

We’re quick to give intellectual assent without committing our whole being to the Lord Jesus. I’m reminded of the great tightrope walker, Charles Blondin, who in February of 1824 walked across Niagara Falls. After walking back and forth a few times, even eating while on the rope, he pushed a wheelbarrow back and forth to the cheers of an enthusiastic crowd. “Who believes I can push a person across the rope in the wheelbarrow?” Again, the cheers were deafening. Finally, he said: “Who will be first?” and the crowd was silent.

It’s so like us when it’s time to “confess” and “believe”. Having been to many Billy Graham crusades and other similar gatherings where large crowds attend and many respond, but don’t follow through, we want to say words but not allow the Lord to actually change our heart and the direction of our life. Too many of our “confessions” are emotion-driven and not Spirit-driven. How do we know the difference?

As I’ve said many times, “the proof is in the pudding”! When someone says they’re allowing the Lord to change their life, but they show no signs of repentance or shifting in their behavior, habits, language, or the general direction of their life, they’ve said words, but they haven’t allowed the Lord to give them a new heart. Is it my place to make that observation?

Ultimately the Lord alone knows our heart, but if my task as a Jesus follower is to make disciples and I’m trying to disciple someone who doesn’t want to come to church, read or study their Bible, spend time learning to pray and walk in a way pleasing to the Lord, I’m spinning my wheels and wasting time I could be investing in someone who IS ready and willing to learn those godly habits. Will I write the other person off? No, I’ll continue to stay in touch, but unless and until the Lord convicts and convinces them of their need of Him, I’m wasting my time.

Confession and believing lead to life-change and a growing love for and dependence upon Jesus or they have no value.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Path of Sin

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is slave to sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:34-36 NLT)

The above words to Jesus’ Jewish listeners were offensive, as they believed they were descendants of Abraham and had never been enslaved by anyone, yet, without forgiveness from the only Son of God, they would forever remain enslaved by the sin that scarred their heart and damned their soul.

That message continues to challenge us today as so many believe their religious upbringing, straight moral compass, compassion for others, or a thousand other human attributes can earn them a place in heaven, never stopping to consider the wrath of sin cannot be erased by human behavior, only by divine intervention. The Cross alone purchased for us the freedom we need from our sin, but allegiance to the One who died there is the only path to receive it.

“A Broad Path” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

The path of sin is wide and inviting, but the narrow way to heaven is our only hope of escape, and when we find it, we are compelled by the Spirit to share how we escaped with those who are still following the path of their sin. Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenges us when he writes: “Nothing can be more cruel than the leniency which abandons others to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe reprimand which calls another Christian in one’s community back from the path of sin.”

The sad truth is Satan doesn’t stop tempting us when we become a Jesus follower. On many levels he intensifies his attacks. If he can’t keep people from going to church and committing their lives to Jesus, he can do his best to keep them ineffective in reaching their friends, family, and others in their spheres of influence for the Lord.

The two greatest tools of Satan are discouragement and busyness. He may not be able to keep us from Jesus, but if he can keep us discouraged or too busy to really invest ourselves in God’s eternal Kingdom, he’s still got us where he wants us – ineffective in reaching lost people for Jesus. If I were to ask you: “With how many people have you shared your love for Jesus in the last month?” how would you respond? You might wrongly believe that you witness everyday by just being a good person, doing your job, not cussing, loving your family, and paying your taxes, but there are millions of people who don’t even know Jesus who do those things.

The path of sin is filled with very good people who have never turned from death to life by yielding their life and allegiance to Jesus. The issue isn’t niceness or goodness and badness; it’s life or death. Have you been given new life through a transforming relationship with the only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ?

But here’s the truth to which Bonhoeffer was addressing: sin isn’t simply an issue for lost people, it’s also a major issue with saved people. Our sin nature isn’t eliminated at our new birth, but we are, by God’s grace, given the Holy Spirit to empower us to live above it. However, it often takes new believers time to learn how to submit to the authority of the Spirit and accept His empowering presence to enable us to live above the power of sin.

Remember the powerful words of John in 1 John 2:1: “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins – and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” Prayerfully, you may no longer wrestle with habitual sin, but you certainly know someone in your spiritual family who does. Be God’s agent of healing by helping them to understand their need of forgiveness, the infilling, powerful presence of the Spirit who indwells them as God’s child and commit to walk with them through the deliverance and healing process of being free from the sin that so easily entangles them.

Jesus purchased our freedom on the Cross. We have the power, authority, and obligation to walk in that freedom and to share it with others. The path of sin is treacherous and is taking its deadly toll, but thanks to the Lord Jesus, we have victory and deliverance through the Cross. Let’s commit to living like it!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Leaving the Life-Saving Station

By: Ron Hutchcraft

*I found Ron’s interesting perspective on a very vital topic inspiring and convicting and believe it’s well worth reading. Blessings, Ed 😊

There’s a stretch of the Outer Banks of North Carolina that’s known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” because hundreds of ships have been lost there over the centuries. So it was there that something called the United States Life-Saving Service was born. They established these white frame buildings called life-saving stations like seven miles apart along the very treacherous parts of the coast. The Life-Saving Service was actually a spawning ground for heroes. In one case, for example, this ship was in distress with four men staying alive by just hanging onto this mast for dear life. Six of the seven men from the closest station went out into a storm that could very well consume them. Before they went out they left a verbal will with the man who was left running the station. Twenty-two hours without food or sleep. Well, they finally brought back those four stranded men, and then they collapsed on the beach in exhaustion. It was incredible heroism. I mean, that was the norm for the men of the life-saving stations.

One interesting observation: never in the history of the Life-Saving Service did the drowning person ever come to the door of their station and ask to be rescued, “Excuse me, I’m drowning. Can you help me?” No, in every single rescue, the rescuers had to leave the safety of the life-saving station, go out into the surf and into the storm to keep someone from dying.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Leaving the Life-Saving Station.”

It’s the nature of rescue isn’t it? You have to leave the comfort of the life-saving station to save the people who are dying outside. The life-saving station is a great place to get rescuers strong enough to go out into the storm to bring people in. And it’s a great place to bring people after they’ve been rescued. But if we wait for dying people to come into the life-saving station to get rescued, most of them are going to die without a chance.

That’s the nature of spiritual rescue. Over the years it’s been known by many names – evangelism, soul-winning, witnessing. But maybe we’ve lost the urgency of what really is at stake here. Every lost person you know who has never begun a personal relationship with Christ, every lost person within the reach of your church is, in the words of the Bible, “perishing… staggering toward slaughter” (Proverbs 24:11), “without hope and without God” (Ephesians 2:12), and ultimately, someone who will be forever, in the Bible’s words, “shut out from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). They are spiritually dying people, and their only hope is rescue by someone who is close enough to save them.

Sadly, we’ve been waiting for them to come to one of our meetings, our programs, our religious place, our life-saving station. But Jesus said in Luke 19:10, our word for today from the Word of God, that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” He said that in the house of a reviled tax collector, where Jesus had been criticized for going. But Jesus shows us that you have to go where the lost people are to rescue them. You have to seek them if you want to save them.

We keep having programs to rescue the dying – often few of them are ever there. The plan of God is for someone like you or me – an everyday follower of Jesus – to be the one to rescue the dying people around you. If we have to go where the lost people are to rescue them, well guess what? You already are where some of them are; you are every day. Don’t just let them go on dying. Leave the safe spot, the comfortable spot where you’ve wanted to stay and take some risks to rescue them. You follow the Man who left the comfort zone of heaven to risk it all, to give it all to rescue you. Now He’s asking you to join Him in rescuing some others who will die forever without Him.

There is nothing greater you could do with your influence, nothing greater you could do with your life than to rescue someone who would have otherwise died; to help someone else be rescued from hell and be in heaven with you forever.

Disciples and Church

“Jesus came and told His disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this. I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20 NLT)

What is the Church? The Church is the sum total of every born-again believer who has ever lived – from Peter, James and John to you and me if we’re saved by grace and filled with God’s Spirit. Our goal is not simply to go to heaven, it’s to take as many lost people as possible with us on our way.

Church attenders attend church; disciples make disciples who make disciples who not only attend church, but they also take “church” with them wherever they go – to school, work, play, social gatherings, vacations, as well as sports and training events and other activities that put us in touch with others who may not know Jesus.

Jesus’ heart wasn’t to gather people to hear great messages, sing emotionally stirring songs, pray thunderous prayers and leave feeling they’d been “fed”! His heart was and is to compel His followers to allow His Spirit to fill them so full of Himself it will be difficult to differentiate between Him and them. He wants us to follow Him so closely we can’t discern if it’s our breath or His, our heartbeat or His.

Disciples aren’t simply religious followers, they’re spiritual planters and harvesters, born to plant, water, and reap a harvest of those whose hearts and minds have been prepared by God’s Spirit to receive the Good News of the Gospel. As born-again believers in the Only Son of God, we’re not simply consumers, we’re filled with God’s Spirit to share His life and love with everyone with whom we have contact.

We’re Ambassadors of the living Christ created to spread His love and life wherever He leads us and with whomever He puts us in contact. To believe we can yield our life and allegiance to Jesus and remain the same is to misunderstand the clear instruction of Scripture. Mike Breen had it right when he wrote: “If you make disciples, you always get the church. But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples.”

If our focus is church, our energy will be poured into the church, but if we’re committed to the Church’s Mission of reaching lost people and training them to obey the clear commands of the Savior, then reproduce themselves in others, then we’re showing evidence of truly understanding the Lord’s great Commandment in Matthew 28, but it must begin with us. Discipleship isn’t only Pastors’ responsibility; it’s each Jesus follower’s commission.

So, may I ask you: how many people, young and old, are you pouring your faith in Jesus into? Who are you training to become like you as you follow Jesus. Remember Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11:1: “And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” Obviously, we’re going to make the kind of disciple we are; so, the question then becomes: “Who am I following?” Am I following the Jesus of the Bible or a counterfeit? Am I seeking with all that is within me to emulate the character of the Jesus of the Bible or some semblance based on my denominational preferences.

Regardless of our educational or even theological training, our focus must be on Jesus and what He accomplished on the Cross. To stray from the clear teaching of the Gospel message is to leave people ill equipped to face eternity.

Please, for the sake of those you’re influencing, keep the main thing the main thing! Teach them how to love Jesus, live faithfully for Him and to teach others to do the same.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Are You Preaching?

“Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:12-14 NLT)

As the evidence multiplies that we’re living in the last days, it’s imperative that we grow in our outreach efforts to reach everyone we possibly can with the message of the Gospel. Do you realize that you are “preaching” Christ every second of every day? It’s not a question of whether or not, it’s simply a question of “What are you preaching?”

Each person who reads these words will fall into one of two categories: lost or found; saved or lost! There’s no in-between. And, yes, either way your life is “preaching” exactly what you believe and why. Preaching doesn’t necessarily imply religious topics, it’s simply a declaration of what we believe, but in this season of the world and of our individual lives, it’s imperative that we understand what’s at stake and what the implications are for each of our lives.

When I was a child, we used to play “hide and seek,” and the one who was designated as the “seeker” would count to some designated number to give the others time to hide, then say: “Ready or not, here I come!” That’s Jesus’ declaration in Matthew 24 and other critical verses in the New Testament. He came to earth to lay down His life so that every child who would ever be born would have an opportunity to have their sins forgiven and to be given new life in Him.

He’s the only way to heaven, and the timeline is His return. Once He returns the gateway to heaven will be closed and only those who have yielded their life and allegiance to Him will be saved and permitted entrance into heaven. If you don’t know Him, why are you waiting? Is it really worth risking your eternal life?

On the other hand, those of us who know and love Him, what are we waiting for, in terms of sharing His love with everyone with whom we have contact? And don’t misunderstand, we can’t be obnoxious or pushy, we simply live our lives and follow the Lord’s lead. How hard is it to say something like: “It seems you’re really struggling, would you mind if I prayed for you?” Or, “It’s been a while since we’ve spent any time together, how about lunch one day next week?” Or, “Have you ever given any thought to what happens after you die?”

John Wesley reminds us: “One of the principal rules of religion is, to lose no occasion of serving God. And since he is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve him in our neighbor.” We may not have access to those in foreign lands, so we reach those with whom we do have contact. We must be about our Father’s business of reaching those in our spheres of influence while there’s still time. “Preaching” Christ basically means sharing with others what the Lord is sharing with us, through His Word and as He speaks to us through prayer.

Again, John Wesley’s powerful words apply when he wrote: “I don’t read the Bible to preach. I preach because I have read the Bible.” If you’re not reading God’s Word and spending quality time speaking and listening to Him in prayer, you won’t have anything to share with anyone else. Sit before the Lord and lift the names of those you want to reach for Him and let Him give you a strategy. Our responsibility isn’t to get results, our responsibility is to obey the Lord by sharing His message, by “preaching” His words of life. He will guide us; we simply need to listen and obey. Are you listening? Are you obeying?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Finally Clean

By: Ron Hutchcraft

*There can be little doubt how much I love and respect Ron Hutchcraft, but he continues to bless and help me through his timely articles. I just had to share this one with you. Blessings, Ed 😊

My wife and I had been on the road for quite a while, and company was coming as soon as we got home. Frankly, with the whirlwind that preceded our departure, there was some unfinished work that we left behind at home. And, thankfully, a friend came over while we were gone and pitched in. One job my wife had asked her to tackle was to get some stubborn food and melted wax spots out of our nice red tablecloth. Well, one of the first things we noticed when we walked in the door after our trip was that tablecloth spread out on the dining room table, looking as good as new. And it had a handwritten note on it. It simply said: “I’m clean. I’ve been washed, and all my dirty spots came out.” Pretty amazing – a note from a tablecloth. That could only happen at our house.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Finally Clean.”

Not long after I read that note on the tablecloth, I thought to myself, “Ron, you should have a note like that on you.” Because those words describe what Jesus Christ did for me; something no religion could have ever done. “I’m clean. I’ve been washed, and all my dirty spots came out.” You know, actually, that’s the testimony of every person who has ever trusted Jesus to forgive their sins, based on what He did on the cross for them. And you know, it could describe you before this day is over.

In 2 Kings 5, beginning with verse 10, our word for today from the Word of God, God tells the true story of a man who is a revealing example of how this dirty-to-clean miracle works. Naaman is a Syrian military leader who, for all his fame and success, can’t do a thing about the terminal leprosy he suddenly developed. Hearing about Elisha, God’s prophet, Naaman travels to Israel with his entourage to try to find a cure. He tries to buy the cure with the big money he brings with him, and the man of God won’t touch the money.

Then, speaking through His prophet, God tells Naaman, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” Naaman is not about to humble himself and bathe in the muddy Jordan River. He tells his servants he should just go home and do it his way. But they urge him to give this strange prescription a try, and here’s the outcome: “So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.” Wow!

Well, here’s the point: if you’ll go to the place where God says you can be cured of your terminal sin-cancer and do what He says, He’ll make you clean, He’ll make you new. You can’t buy His forgiveness by giving Him money. You can’t earn His forgiveness by doing great things. You can only receive His forgiveness by going, in your heart, to Jesus’ cross and throwing yourself on His mercy and His love. He’s the only One who can make you clean because He’s the only One who could or would pay the death penalty for all your sin.

So, this can be the day you can bring to Jesus all those mistakes, all the wreckage, the regrets of a lifetime, so you can be clean inside for the first time in your life. Doesn’t that sound good? He’s waiting to hear from you. You can talk to Him something like this: “Jesus, You died on that cross to pay for my sin, and you know, I have never really grabbed you in total trust to be my Rescuer from my sin. But beginning today, Jesus, I’m pinning all my hopes on You, because I know you’re alive. Starting today, Jesus, I’m yours.”

You know, if you want that new beginning that only Jesus can give you, I urge you to go to our website and check out the information there from the Bible about how to know you have begun a relationship with Jesus and you belong to Him. It’s ANewStory.com. And that’s a pretty good name for it, because that’s where your new story could begin.

See, there’s no greater peace, no greater freedom than to be able to say from this day on, “I’m clean! I’ve been washed, and all my dirty spots came out!”

Is Your Life Undone?

“Next the devil took Him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ‘I will give it all to You,’ he said, ‘if You will kneel down and worship me.’ ‘Get out of here, Satan,’ Jesus told him, ‘For the Scriptures say, “You must worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.”’” (Matthew 4:8-10 NLT)

An undone life is a life being lived out of harmony with the plans and purposes of the Lord Jesus. To prioritize our own activities and desires above the Lord’s is to misunderstand our responsibility as a child of God. Worship isn’t something we do only on Sunday or in a corporate setting, but the intent of our heart in every activity of our day. Our life will only be as on course as our heart is in tune with our Savior.

Salvation is not a solo act, it’s designed to be lived in community, in harmony with others who are on their journey with Jesus. We learn from one another, protect one another, admonish one another, pray for one another, serve with one another, as well as worship with one another. The Body of Christ is a plurality of individuals whose lives have been bonded together by the love of Jesus for all eternity. 

To try to live the life of a Jesus follower without commitment to and community with the Body is like our legs saying: “I got this! I don’t need any other parts of the body!” It’s ludicrous and blasphemous to isolate ourselves from fellow believers and have the audacity to believe we can be whole in Christ! Our wholeness grows out of our friendship, fellowship, and partnership with the other members of the Body of Christ, the Church.

Brian Kay had it right when he wrote: “… the normal Christian life becomes entirely undone when it is not lived in the presence of other believers, in regular acts of worship and service.” It makes sense to ask ourselves some questions regarding our walk with the Lord. For example:

1. How invested am I in reading, studying and memorizing God’s Word?

2. How involved am I in learning the ministry of prayer – as I pray for myself, my family, lost loved ones, fellow believers, co-workers, classmates, neighbors, others?

3. What is my strategy for reaching those the Lord has laid on my heart to reach for Him?

4. Have I learned a brief, but clear presentation of the Gospel to use with those with whom the Lord puts me in contact? For example: The Roman Road.

5. As I view my daily calendar and peruse my bank account, how evident is it that Jesus is the Lord of my life? How am I investing the time and money the Lord has given me to forward His eternal purposes?

Satan is a roaring lion who is always looking for ways to derail us in our walk with the Lord. He isn’t necessarily interested in having us “backslide”, he just doesn’t want the Lord to be our top priority. “Why can’t we just fit Jesus into a neat category like, marriage, work, recreation, etc.?” Because it’s all or nothing with the Lord. He doesn’t want part of us, He demands all of us – heart, mind, soul, and body!

That’s what love demands and there’s no short cut. To believe we can go “half-in” with the Lord is like believing we can be a star pitcher or quarterback and only show up for half the practices and games. If your life is undone, it’s likely because Jesus isn’t at the top of your “To-do” list. Put Him there and you’ll find a quality of life you never dared dream was possible. It’s an amazing thing to know Jesus personally, intimately, passionately. I highly recommend it!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Do You Really Want to Go to Hell?

“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36 NLT)

People on earth today, both in the Church and those who never attend, seem so casual about the thought of hell. The thought of not being in God’s presence doesn’t even register. What if you had to live without the Sun? How long do you think you’d last? While some life may persist on earth, under the earth or ocean for a few years, sustainable life for humans would be impossible. Why do I even mention that? Because the Sun is God’s gift to mankind that, like many of His other gifts, will not be present in hell.

Many believe hell will just be a continuation of life on earth – relationships, work, living life, but without the restrictions and hassles of trying to be good or please anyone. Hanging out with your buds, drinking, carousing, just being “me”, but those days are gone forever when our eyes close in death. A more appropriate picture of hell would be solitary confinement in complete darkness with nothing but memories of all the opportunities you had to give yourself to Jesus but ignored them.

Is that really something that appeals to you? Is the thought of being loved by the God of Creation so repulsive to you that you’d rather rot in loneliness and pain for all eternity? And, of course, the thought may cross your mind: “Why would a God of love even allow that?” While He certainly doesn’t desire hell and separation from Him for anyone (see Matthew 18:14), it’s the logical end to anyone who rejects His love and chooses their own way. He’s made a way for everyone to choose life and heaven, but He’s left the choice to them…to YOU! The choice is life or death; being in His presence or out of it forever.

The biggest difference between Jesus and Satan is, Jesus is upfront, clear, and completely truthful about the joy-filled benefits of following Him, as well as the consequences of not choosing to follow Him. Satan on the other hand only fills our heads and hearts with ideas that satisfy us in this life, never being truthful about what the afterlife will be without Jesus.

Let me share just a few verses that confirm what I’ve said. Please read them carefully and allow the Lord to speak into your heart and mind:

John 3:16-18: “For God loved the world (YOU) so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone (YOU) who believes in Him WILL NOT PERISH but have ETERNAL LIFE. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s Light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.”

Luke 16:23 – “In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.” (Notice the rich man was alone). 2 Thessalonians 1:9 – “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” Revelation 20:15 – “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”  The closest association we can make between the agony of loneliness with our own regret is the feeling of being burned alive but not consumed.

Do you really want to go to hell? YOU DON’T HAVE TO! THE LORD JESUS DIED SO YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO! PLEASE open your heart to the Lord Jesus and allow Him to forgive you, fill you with His Spirit and give you a new life you never dreamed possible. Just tap ANewStory.com and let Ron Hutchcraft explain how simple it is to give your life to the Lord. You will literally NEVER regret it.

Blessings, Ed