25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOMENTS FROM RON HUTCHCRAFT - DAY 9

Day 9:  How Santa Can Mess You Up

It freaked me out as a kid. Santa's got this big book where he's either got me down as "naughty" or "nice." I find out which one on Christmas morning!

Unfortunately, a lot of us think God operates sort of Santa-style. He's got this big book in the sky with each of us either on the "nice" list who will go to heaven or the "naughty" list who will go to hell. Most of us think we're on the "nice" list. We'll find out when we die.

But the Bible says "All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory" (Romans 3:23 ). We are all on the list of sinners who are unfit to live with a perfect God in His heaven. Some of the people in the greatest spiritual danger are people who have lots of Christianity, but have somehow missed Christ. Because they've never taken for themselves what Jesus died to give them - sins forgiven, hell canceled, heaven guaranteed.

The question is: Has there ever been a time when you've given yourself to the Savior who gave Himself for you? If you're not sure, please call us at 888-Need-Him or chat with us live at needhim.org. You can't afford to miss Him.

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOMENTS FROM RON HUTCHCRAFT - DAY 8

Day 8:  Holiday Heart Repairs

It wasn't exactly what our family had in mind for Christmas In early December, someone we loved went into the hospital for a routine cardiac procedure - and was rushed to open heart surgery the next morning. The doctor found a heart condition that needed immediate repair. Or, as he said, "I can't be sure she'll have a Christmas." The surgery was life-saving - and life-changing.

Dr. Jesus may be making a similar spiritual diagnosis for someone listening right now. "You need surgery for a deadly heart condition. You won't make it without it." It's a heart condition we all have. The Bible says, "Your sins have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2 ). And "the soul who sins...will die" (Ezekiel 18:4 ) Our running of our own life has left us living life here without meaning and life hereafter without hope.

Enter Christmas. Jesus came to save our life by giving His. On a cross. And we're not going to make it unless He forgives our sin and fixes our heart. He's waiting to do that for you today. We'd love to talk with you about it at 888-Need-Him or chat with us live at needhim.org. Because none of us knows how much time we've got left.

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOMENTS FROM RON HUTCHCRAFT - DAY 7

Day 7:  One Light in the Christmas Night

On a Southwest Indian reservation I know well, there are Christmas lights almost nowhere. Just desert darkness.

Except for that one village church. It's covered with lights, with a brightly lit cross on top. One Christmas Eve, Amy walked the village - her pain again drowned with alcohol. Then she saw the light on the cross. That night, her life changed forever as she prayed with the pastor's wife to give her life to Jesus Christ.

We've all got our personal darkness. Around us. Inside us. Sin...guilt...brokenness. But we don't have to live in that darkness anymore. Because Jesus came. The Bible says Jesus is "the rising sun who will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death" (Luke 1:78-79 ). Now, he says that will happen "through the forgiveness of...sins" (Luke 1:77 ). The light that has forever changed the darkness of so many of us still shines from that cross where He died for us.

And He's reaching out to you this Christmas. Isn't it time you reached back? Call us at 888-Need-Him or chat with us live at needhim.org. It's been dark long enough.

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOMENTS FROM RON HUTCHCRAFT - DAY 6

Day 6:  Jingle Bells and Jesus

Last fall, at a retreat where I was speaking, someone asked all my grandchildren to sing "Jesus Loves Me" up in front. It was adorable. Especially our little two-year-old guy. He was singing his own song. "Jingle Bells." Yeah, months before Christmas.

Now, our grandson's not the only one who's got "Jingle Bells" and Jesus confused. Christmas is so entangled with the Claus guy, and psycho Christmas shopping and a barrage of celebrations, you can miss Jesus in the season that's rooted in His birth. But behind the Christmas season fog is a game-changing message that is summed up in that little song - "Jesus loves me, this I know."

Why else would He have left heaven for a stinking stable - and worshipping angels for humans who had no use for Him? Why else would He have let men He had made nail Him to a tree He had created? Why else would He take our hell so we could go to His heaven? Because "Jesus loves me - this I know." And if you'll give yourself to Him, you can know His love for yourself. Forever.

If that's what you want, call us at 888-Need-Him or chat with us live at needhim.org. Because you really do need Him.

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOMENTS FROM RON HUTCHCRAFT - DAY 5

Day 5:  The Christmas List Not to Miss

I've got a list for Christmas - with all the people I love on it. Santa's got a couple of lists - "naughty" and "nice." Surely I'm on the "nice" list.

God's got two lists this Christmas. They're like the lists posted in the White Star Line offices after the sinking of the Titanic - one said "known to be saved;" the other, "known to be lost." Well, listen to what the Bible says: "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life. He that does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12 ).

Those who've trusted in Jesus and His death for their sins have their sins forgiven. They're going to heaven. Those who don't have a relationship with Him still face the awful death penalty for their sins. But, thank God, we can change from the "lost" list to the "saved" list! I did. The moment I reached out to Jesus to make Him my Savior from my sins.

This Christmas, Jesus stands ready to change your eternal address. If you want to belong to Him, call us at 888-Need-Him or chat with us live at needhim.org. Let this be your Jesus-day.

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOMENTS FROM RON HUTCHCRAFT - DAY 4

Day 4: The Littlest Shepherd

No sooner did our three-year-old granddaughter arrive for Christmas, and she was roaming through the house with an empty wrapping paper tube in her hand. She told me, "I'm a shepherd. I'm looking for my lost sheep." I thought, "She's on the same mission that brought the Son of God to earth that first Christmas." Looking for His lost sheep.

Jesus said He came "to seek and save what was lost" (Luke 19:10 ) and that He will "go to look for the one that has wandered off" (Matthew 18:12 ). And this Christmas, it could be that He's come looking for you. Because He knows you're lost. Maybe you know you're lost.

The Bible says we've all wandered away from God like sheep (Isaiah 53:6 ), and our only hope is if God comes looking for us. Well, that's Jesus. His search brought Him all the way to an awful cross. And now right to where you are - to give you this opportunity to grab Him as your Rescuer from your sin.

Now, if you're tired of "lost," we'd love to help you get started with Jesus. Call us at 888-Need-Him or chat with us live at needhim.org. He'll bring you "home" for Christmas.

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOMENTS FROM RON HUTCHCRAFT - DAY 3

Day 3: A Bomb? On Christmas?

Words that go with Christmas - present...cookies...tree. Bomb? Well, you may remember that last Christmas Day a terrorist tried to blow up an airplane in Detroit. That's nice.


Sadly, it's a reminder that even in this season of "peace on earth," we live in a dangerous and unpredictable world. It's been a year of dizzying change. We're all trying to figure out the new normal. We're more confused about what's really secure - and more desperate than ever to find some solid rock to stand on.

Well, since that first Christmas, millions have found that rock in this Bible promise: "Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:39 ). Man, that's "unloseable" love. Recession-proof, terror-proof, divorce-proof, death-proof. Not in Christianity the religion. But in Christ - the relationship!

The Bible says He loves us so much that He gave His life to pay for our sins. Which makes possible a love relationship with God that nothing can take away. And you might be ready for that kind of unloseable love. Well, call us at 888-Need-Him or chat with us live at needhim.org. It's a crazy world. But there's a powerful Savior!

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOMENTS FROM RON HUTCHCRAFT - DAY 2

 Day 2: Retro Christmas

Retro toys for Christmas - our crazy sons try to outdo each other by finding the ultimate toy to give from each other's childhood. The "A-Team"...Star Wars...superhero action figures. Echoes from the past.

Now of course, not all retro stuff is happy stuff. Christmas has a way of reigniting some painful memories from our past. The sins done against us. The sins we've done. The broken things. But Christmas brings hope for the pain and regrets of our past!

God says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. I am doing a new thing!" (Isaiah 43:18 ). And, that "new thing" began at a stable in Bethlehem...it was made possible by Jesus' payment for our sin on the Cross...and it becomes yours the day you pin all your hopes on Him to be your Savior. He erases every sin of your life from God's book. He moves into your heart, He replaces despair with hope and brokenness with healing. It's the gift He's waiting to give you this Christmas.

We'd love to help you experience Him. Call us at 888-Need-Him or chat with us live at needhim.org. Make today Day One of the new you.

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MOMENTS FROM RON HUTCHCRAFT - DAY 1

Day 1: Christmas - and the End of Goodbyes

Hey, it's a great day when our missionary kids get home for Christmas. It's a hard day when they leave. Christmas goodbyes are tough. Now, a few weeks ago we buried my cousin, and this will be his family's first Christmas without him. But they know that Christmas means the end of goodbyes is just around the bend.

The Bible says "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ" (Romans 6:23 ). Jesus came on Christmas to make life "eternal." If the death-wages of our sin can somehow be paid. And that's why Jesus died on that cross. Because only He could die for our sin.

My cousin put all his trust in Jesus to forgive his sin. So has his family. So that graveside was so much more than a steel box, a hole in the ground. We were sending our loved one ahead to a heaven Jesus guaranteed. Because of Jesus, the reunion's comin'!

Now, if you're not sure you're going to heaven when you die, you can get that settled with Jesus this very day. Call us at 888-Need-Him or chat with us live at needhim.org.

RED'S STORY

My friend Lara, director of Walk by Faith Ministries, has posted an awesome testimony of God's love and healing power on her blog, which I would like to share with you.  Just click on this link--Walk by Faith Ministry: special tails.  It is the second "tail" on the page.

I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

"But Jesus looked at them and said to them,
With men this is impossible,  but with God
all things are possible." - (Matthew 19:26)

Over the years, the Lord has used my gardening attempts to teach me many lessons.  Usually it's through my tomato plants, and it's something like how at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Witnessing a Miracle, and More Lessons from the Tomato Plant).

This year's lesson was a bit different.  The Lord used a couple of "dead" indoor plants. to teach me volumes about His grace.

These plants had become real eyesores, and yet I didn't have the heart to throw them away.  Instead, I stuck them out on the balcony and told the Lord they were all His to do with as He pleased.  I figured they could stay out there for the summer, and if they were  still "dead" by then, I wouldn't feel so bad about getting rid of them.

The one pot looked like there was nothing left in it except for a bunch of dirt, and the few leaves left on the aloe plant were all brown and dried out looking.

Now I wish I had thought to take pictures to document how truly beyond redemption they appeared, instead of waiting until some signs of life took me by surprise and I excitedly snapped the picture on the left.

What a powerful reminder of  how God doesn't look at things the way we do with our limited vision.  I tend to get so stuck in the moment, I  forget things are not always the way they seem, and that I'm just seeing one piece of the puzzle instead of the whole picture, as only He can do. 

It is never too late or too seemingly impossible for God to change things around.  (The picture on the right is what those "dead" plants look like now.)

A POWERFUL MESSAGE FROM A FRIEND

Just wanted to share this powerful message by my friend Lara Moody, Director of Walk by Faith Ministries. May it bless and encourage you wherever you find yourself today.