When our oldest child was born, they didn't even let fathers go into the labor room. That was nice. Then when our second one was born, fathers must have gotten a little smarter. They let us go into the labor room, but not the delivery room. And by the time our third one was born, hey, fathers had really gotten smart! I was actively involved with the doctor in the delivery. But, of course, I couldn't just walk right into the delivery room. No! First, I had to do what the doctor and nurse had to do - scrub up! Oh yeah, they made sure I washed thoroughly with disinfectant. Then they covered every part of me but my hands and my eyes and my nose - and they put a mask over my mouth, a thoroughly ugly cap on my head and this goofy smock over my clothes. My only consolation was the doctor looked as geeky as I did. They gave me paper booties, oh that was cool, but I understood. They can't allow any dirt to infect that environment. You've to be clean to get in.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Dirt Allowed."

It seems like more people are thinking more these days about spiritual issues. That's a good thing, including what happens after we take our last breath. One area of curiosity is heaven - which we can guess about if we want, or we can get our information from the One who made heaven, who lives there, who sets the standards for going there. Of course, that would be God. Who, in the Bible, describes heaven, not as a state of mind, but as a very real, very mind-blowing place.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Revelation 21:4. It is a partial description of heaven. "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain." Later it says, "The great street of the city was of pure gold." Imagine! This is what we consider the most precious substance on earth. We'll be walking on it in heaven! It's pavement. We can't begin to imagine the glory of this eternal destination.

Then in that same passage, here's something very disturbing, "Nothing impure will ever enter it," He says, "nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life" (Revelation 21:27). God says heaven is a lot like that delivery room; no one is allowed in there who isn't clean. They would infect an environment that has to be pure. God's saying here that He can't allow anyone with sin into heaven or it won't be heaven any more.

But here's why that's so disturbing. Romans 3:10 in the Bible says, "There is no one righteous, not even one." Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Well, if sinners can't get into heaven, then you and I have no chance no matter how religious we are. No matter how much good we do, it doesn't remove any of the dirt of a lifetime of choices that were "my way" instead of God's way, that defied what God wanted. The scriptures show us that there will be a lot of surprised people in hell; people who thought they could get to heaven by being good enough. But their good didn't remove the sin that keeps people out of heaven.

But this verse mentions those who will enter heaven - those in the Lamb's Book of Life. Your name goes there when you get every sin of your life erased from God's book. Here's the only disinfectant that can do that. 1 John 1:7 says, "The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." Our only hope of being clean enough to enter heaven is what Jesus did when He died on the cross to take the death penalty that we deserved to pay for our sin. The question is, has there ever been a time when, in your heart, you've stood at Jesus' cross and basically said, "Lord, I'm putting my total trust in you to forgive me, to erase my sins from your book? You're my only hope."

If you've never done that, if you're not sure you've done that, why don't you make sure today. Jesus has become your personal Rescuer from your personal sin at that point. Go to our website because I've put there the information that will help you nail down and make sure this is the day that Jesus becomes your Savior from your sin. That website is ANewStory.com.

We're all too dirty to enter that sin-free environment of heaven. You can get clean this very day, but only Jesus can do it. If you want to go into Jesus' heaven, you've got to get clean. This is that day.

I've only been to Israel once, and just for a short visit, but I will never forget the thrill of seeing those places where Jesus walked when He was there, and watching all those names and places in the Bible suddenly come alive. It really was one of the highlights of my life, except for one thing. I went alone, on my way back home from a ministry trip to Africa. As I stood on the Mount of Olives, and as I walked the streets of old Jerusalem, as I experienced the feel of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee, you know what I kept thinking? "I want my wife to see all of this. I want to experience this with my kids!" Yes, Israel was terrific, but I really wanted to share it with the people I love.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your People In Heaven."

I guess that's just the way it is when you're enjoying a special place; you want the people you care about to be there, sharing it with you. That must include the most special place of all - heaven.

Imagine that you get to heaven and you see Jesus. After you fall on your face in adoration and awe, you begin to thank Him for all He did to get you to heaven. And then you ask a question that's been on your mind since you arrived, "Lord, is Scott here? Is Linda here?" What if Jesus says, "Oh, did you bring him? Did you bring her?" See, Jesus was counting on you to help those people you love understand what He did for them on the cross and to point them to the only One who could get them to heaven.

In our word for today from the Word of God, Paul anticipated the joys he was expecting when he got to heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, he says, "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy." Now, when Paul sees Jesus, his joy is going to be that the people he loved - that he loved enough to introduce to Jesus - will be there with him.

I wonder who you'll be looking for when you get to heaven; people who, as far as you know, may not be headed there right now. If you want them to be there in heaven with you, you've got to tell them how they can know the Savior who died to get them there. In fact, that's why God has you in their lives, to help them go to heaven with you. So, how are you doing with that?

There are very few sadnesses deeper in life than standing by the casket of someone you could have told about Christ - you should have told about Christ - but you didn't. Well, you know, we can't have any of those opportunities back, but we do have the friends and neighbors and coworkers and loved ones who are still with us. And we still have time to tell them, but no one knows how much time.

This very day you could start praying what I call the "3-open prayer." First, "Lord, open a door." That's a natural, God-given opportunity to bring up your relationship with Christ. Then, "Lord, open their heart." And then finally, "Lord, open my mouth." You don't even have to pray, "Lord, if it's Your will." It is His will. "Lord, open a door. Lord, a natural opportunity. Lord, open their heart; get them ready, and Lord, open my mouth with the words, and the approach, and the tone, and the courage to tell them what I know about You." Begin to seek opportunities, pursue opportunities to tell the people in your personal world about the Son of God who loved them enough to pay for their sin so they don't have to.

If there are people you want to have in heaven with you, please while there's still time, share with them the only message that can get them there.

There were a lot of dramatic images from the military action known as Operation Iraqi Freedom - but I think few were more dramatic than the middle-of-the-night rescue of a prisoner of war, Jessica Lynch. If you were around at the time, you probably remember it. As Coalition forces advanced quickly from the Kuwaiti border to the capital of Baghdad, Pfc. Lynch's unit of Army maintenance troops made a wrong turn, ended up in the middle of an enemy ambush, and no one knew Jessie Lynch's fate. She was listed as missing in action. But acting on the tip of Iraqi sympathizers, a Special Operations Force fought their way into the hospital where she was imprisoned, found her, and quickly carried her to a waiting helicopter. And then, they had to fight their way out, too. But Private Lynch was safe - saved by rescuers who risked it all to bring her out.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Day You're Rescued."

I'll never begin to know what it must have been like to be a prisoner of someone like Saddam Hussein's brutal regime. But I do know a little bit about how it feels to be rescued from a situation that I couldn't get out of, that otherwise would have been fatal. I know what it is to be rescued by someone who risked it all - actually, who gave it all, to bring me out. It's a life-saving experience shared by millions of people over 2,000 years. It's a rescue that can happen to you.

This rescue was planned in heaven and executed by no one less than the very Son of God, Jesus Christ. It's described by God Himself in Colossians 1:13-14, our word for today from the Word of God. It says of God that "He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

We don't realize it, but we are in as deadly a situation as that rescued POW was in - actually a lot more deadly, because without a rescue we will be imprisoned forever in an awful place the Bible calls hell. That's where the death penalty is carried out for a human being who has run their own life instead of letting their Creator run it. Who has dared to say, "God, you run the universe. I'll run me." Which, according to the Bible, describes all of us, no matter how religious we might be, and no matter what religion we're from. We're sinners. We are unable to get ourselves out of our own dark side, we're unable to get ourselves out of the penalty for our sin. We are trapped in what the Bible calls "the dominion of darkness."

But Jesus came, fighting his way to rescue us. Dying on a cross to pay the penalty we deserve, so we could have (as the Bible says) "the forgiveness of sins" instead of the punishment for our sins. No religion can get you out - only a rescue can. And only Jesus did what had to be done to rescue you. This very day - maybe through these very words - He is breaking into your life, offering to be your personal Rescuer from your personal sin and its eternal penalty. If you'll grab Jesus by His hand and just say, "Jesus, You're my only hope. You paid for my sins when you died on the cross. You proved you're alive by walking out of your grave. I want you to walk into my life today. Beginning today, I am Yours, Jesus."

Don't you want to know that you're right with God? Don't you want to know that eternity is settled? If you want to know you belong to this Rescuer that loves you more than anyone ever could, let this be the day you give yourself to Him.

Let this be the day that you check out a website that is all for you at a moment like this. It is literally designed for this crossroads moment in a person's life - ANewStory.com. I invite you, I urge you, I encourage you to go there as soon as you can.

Jesus paid the ultimate price; made the ultimate sacrifice to bring you out. The strong hand of your Redeemer; I wish you could actually see it. He's reaching for you right now. Please - grab Him now.

There's nothing more discouraging for the family chef than these three words, "I'm not hungry." Maybe you've faced those words. You know, kids have impatient stomachs. Of course, only kids. We don't, right, adults? But kids have impatient stomachs, so they eat whenever the urge hits and whatever the urge tells them to eat. And, of course, I'm sure our kids were like yours. They would usually go to the refrigerator and get some carrots or a tossed salad. Right? Some broccoli, some high fiber cereal? No! Our kids did not! Don't worry, neither do yours. Oh yeah, they'd go after junk food. Most kids today are junk food junkies, and they fill up on it. So, my wife would give us this beautiful spread of pot roast, and potatoes, and fresh vegetables, home baked bread. And the troops, "I'm not hungry." They're too full to eat. How discouraging when they're full of junk food. Now junk food may be okay, but not when it spoils your appetite for real food.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Spiritual Hunger, Spiritual Junk".

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in Luke 8. It's the familiar story of the parable of the seed and the sower. And as you know, Jesus talks about the seed falling on four different kinds of ground. Let's look at one today. He says in verse 11, and this is the meaning of the parable, "The seed is the Word of God." And in verse 14, "The seed (or the Word) that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they're choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature."

Now these are people, who are Christians, and they remain Christians, but they are God's under-developed children. Children who never experience what they could have experienced. They always miss God's best. Why? They were choked. Choked by worries, anxieties, things they're afraid of. They're choked by chasing what money can buy. They're choked by focusing their energies on their own pleasure, their own feeling good. God has a lot of spiritually anorexic kids. You know that? They have an appetite disorder.

They're just not hungry for the Bible any more. They're not hungry for time with Jesus. They're not hungry for church; for spiritual input; for Christian fellowship. They almost go just dutifully. Have you noticed in yourself maybe recently a diminishing desire to get into the Bible; to get with God's people? Oh, you used to have an appetite. Where did it go? Could it be you've been filling up on junk food? Maybe things that aren't wrong in themselves; they're just taking over what you think about and talk about most of the time.

An unbalanced interest or concern has taken over and crowded out any room for God's Word in your life. Maybe you've become preoccupied with a hobby, television, the Internet, soap operas, music, maybe a special friend, maybe your car, maybe your house. Maybe God's time in your life, God's voice, God's Word are being choked by something far less important, far less eternal. It's just been crowded out. All your thinking time, all your mentally neutral time is gone. Do you have a spiritual appetite problem? Could it be that some junk food is filling you up?

God has so much prepared for you; so much He wants to say to you; so many ways He wants to lighten your load. But you come to the table saying, "I'm not hungry." Next time you're reaching for more mental junk food, reach instead for the banquet of the Bible. Spiritually it is the breakfast, the lunch, and the dinner of champions!

Because we've spent so much time on Indian reservations over the years, the story I heard about one little Native American boy is especially meaningful to me. He lived with his mom in a little hut on a reservation in the Southwest. His dad had died, and that meant the boy had to take responsibility for their sheep at a pretty young age. One day a missionary passed through their village and he explained to the little boy how Jesus Christ died for him and wanted to be his Shepherd. And that day this little shepherd invited Jesus into his heart.

As the missionary was about to leave, he asked the boy if he could teach him a Bible verse. The boy said, "I don't think I can remember it." But the missionary gave him just five simple words from the Bible to remember. "The Lord is my Shepherd." But the missionary taught him a little trick for remembering it. He said, "Use the fingers of your right hand to help you remember 'The - Lord - is - my - Shepherd.' And when you get to the fourth word, wrap your left hand around the fourth finger of your right hand. 'The Lord is my Shepherd.'" Well, the boy remembered it - really remembered it - as the missionary would learn when he returned one year later.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Two Words That Decide Eternity."

When the missionary revisited that village, he stopped by the hut where the little shepherd boy lived with his mother. He knocked on the door and the mother answered. When the missionary asked for her son, she said, "Oh, you didn't hear? Last winter a sudden blizzard hit us while my boy was out in the hills with the sheep. He didn't make it back. It was three days before they found him frozen to death."

The missionary couldn't muster any words except a quiet, "I'm sorry." Then Mom said, "You know, when they found my boy and they brushed all the snow off his body, they discovered something very unusual. His left hand was wrapped around the fourth finger of his right hand."

"The Lord is my Shepherd." Is He yours? It's possible that you know about Jesus, that you believe in Jesus, that you go to His meetings, maybe you even do things for Jesus. But somehow, you've never made Him yours. You've never made the Shepherd your Shepherd. You've never made the Savior your Savior.

The difference is two little words found in our word for today from the Word of God from Galatians 2:20. "I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." You stand at that cross that you may have known about all your life. You look up at the price the Son of God is paying there. And you say with your heart, "For me. He's dying there for me. It's my sin He's paying for." And then you say, again with all your heart, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

If you don't know you've done that, you probably haven't. Because it's a conscious choice. And you need to. Having Jesus in your head will never get you to heaven. He's got to be in your heart. This could be your day to finally move Him from your head to your heart so you don't miss heaven by those 18 inches.

Right now, wherever you are, would you talk to Jesus? That tug in your heart? That's not me; that's Him. Maybe you could talk to Him in words something like this: "Lord, I've been running my own life. I resign. I believe that when You died on that cross, You were paying for every one of my sins. And now I'm giving You what You paid for with your life - I'm giving You me."

That's the choice that changes everything, including your eternity. I want so much for you to be sure you belong to Him. That's why I'm going to urge you to go to our website, ANewStory.com, because right there you will find the information that will help you secure this relationship and know beyond any shadow of a doubt that now Jesus lives in your heart and you will live in His heaven.

Can you say it now? "The Lord is my Shepherd."

I imagine it's been a little while since you've asked somebody, "How's your liver today?" I never thought about it until my wife got sick. She had hepatitis, and for many months I learned how vital the liver is; never thought about it before. It's the filtration plant of your body. We've got all kinds of toxic materials pumping into us every day in medicines that we take, and foods that we eat, and our liver keeps those poisons from getting into our blood stream. Now, liver disease like hepatitis or cirrhosis can cripple you or even kill you if the poison can't be filtered. See, it's deadly if the poisons don't get filtered and they get into your blood stream. And there is one toxin that is on the loose, and it has a long history of being a killer.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Poison In the Blood Stream."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is going to come from Matthew 27. I'll begin reading from verse 18. And you are going to see the identification of perhaps one of life's most deadly toxins. We're in the middle of one of history's most ironic and most tragic episodes. Israel's Messiah has come in the person of Jesus Christ, and yet ironically it is the religious leaders who are clamoring to have Him executed. They bring Him to Pilate, because they don't have the authority to put Him to death. And there was a sobering footnote here as He is on trial before Pilate. You may have read past it many times. It's sort of a spiritual EKG that looks inside the human heart; what makes people so mean, so critical, so destructive. And it identifies that awful poison in the human blood stream.

Here's what it says in a little footnote to the trial of Jesus. "For Pilate knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him." In the words of the King James Bible, "Out of envy they had delivered Jesus up to him." Oh, they offered a lot of smoke screens; they gave other reasons. A lot of it was spiritual talk. There were religious reasons, and they sounded very, very spiritual about it. But the real issue - bottom line - was envy. Jesus was delivered up because of it, and people are still being delivered up because of envy.

The dictionary says that envy is, "A feeling of discontent or jealousy, usually with ill will at seeing another's superiority, advantages or success." You see, envy is a denial of God's faithful provision for His children. It's saying, "You know what? He's got one and I don't. How come? How come I don't have any? It's not fair." And it often causes us to crucify people with religious words of course.

But envy is a poison in the blood stream. It always starts with comparing. You can't envy unless you first compare homes, children, or beauty, or opportunities, or clothes, or positions with what somebody else has. Isn't it interesting that one of the Ten Commandments of God is "You shall not covet." And you know what? You'll never covet if you don't compare. It always starts with comparing.

Think of someone you've been critical of lately - maybe negative toward them. When they come around you, you start getting some dark feelings. I wonder if you'd be honest enough to examine your motives today. Could it be envy at the root? You've seen what you perceive to be maybe their superiority, or their advantages, or their success. Ask yourself this, "If envy is in my life, Lord, who is the object of it? Envy gets all dressed up, starts to deliver someone up for destruction. It is an ugly poison in the blood stream. Pray for that person that you might be comparing yourself with and envying.

Call envy by name, and trust your Shepherd to give you what's right for you. Filter out that poison of envy. It's a killer!

"Moon joy." That's what the Artemis commander called the crew's lunar euphoria as they approached the moon. And that was just the beginning. For all their science, for all their simulations, they were almost at a loss for words.

The view behind the moon and seeing the Earth left them in awe. And to think - they were looking at one little blue marble in one galaxy. In what is estimated now to be two trillion galaxies!

Four people have now traveled farther from our planet than all the billions who have lived on Earth. The commander said "It was the most spectacular moment... It paused all four of us in our tracks." As they got their first full glimpse of their home planet.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The View From the Moon and the Search in Your Heart."

We're wow-ed by our sunsets on earth. They got to see an "Earthset" as the earth dropped below the lunar horizon - and a stunning view of the moon eclipsing the sun.

Commander Wiseman said, "No matter how long we look at this, our brains are not processing this image in front of us. It is absolutely spectacular. Surreal. I know there's no adjectives. I'm going to need to invent some new ones to describe what we are looking at out this window."

Three thousand years ago, the psalmist David seemed to be lost in wonder, too, just viewing the night sky from earth. Here's what he said in our word for today from the Word of God - Psalm 8:3-4.

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?" (Psalm 8:3-4).

The wonders of our tiny corner of the cosmos overflow the heart, whether simple or scientific. So what is the word for what we feel in these awe-filled moments that take us beyond ourselves?

The word is worship. But, like love, worship is incomplete without an object. "I love" is a nice beginning, but it needs a name after it. So does a heart that is overflowing with feelings of wonder, inspired by the majesty of creation.

Creation itself is not enough for a heart in search of somewhere to land our soaring soul. We are reaching for the Source.

The sacred Scriptures complete our cosmic soul journey by pointing us to Jesus. The Christ. The Son of God.

Colossians 1 says, "For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible... all things have been created through Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:15-16).

One crew member said, "You're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live. You are special."

Looking at the cosmos from this "special" place, David marveled that the Creator of it all would be "mindful" of us or "care for" us.

This planet is not even a speck in the oceans of galaxies. But it is here that God Almighty chose to make creatures in His own image! Made - and here's what takes my breath away - to have a love relationship with Him! The Son of God Himself came here, to this little planet to make that relationship possible - by dying for the sin that stands between us.

The wonders of a space journey to our farthest destination so far have revealed the greater journey of every heart on this planet. To find the One behind the wonders. Who not only created this planet. But who has visited this planet to take us to Him. The wonder of all wonders is that... "God so loved the world!"

This world. Our world. Us.

And the relationship He made us for is within your reach today if you say, "Jesus, I am Yours from this day forward." If you want that relationship, then our website is for you today, go there. It's ANewStory.com.

When you reach for Jesus, the greatest wonder of all is not in the skies. It's in your heart. He's in your heart.

Certain birthdays are like, you know, special milestones. Every birthday is a milestone, but take 40 for example. For some reason, we sort of enshrine that particular one as a special marking place in your life. And I remember when my wife had her 40th birthday. I'm not going to tell you when that was, but she handled it very well. I mean, she was so cool about it; it was no big deal. I hope when I get to my 40th I'll be able to handle it as well. Well, it wasn't like she had just crossed some great river in her life. Then my 12-year-old son came along a few months later. He said this, "Hey Mom, do you know you've been on earth for 14,662 days?" You put it that way, it takes on a whole different feel. Forty years doesn't sound too bad, but 14,000 plus days? Hello, prehistoric! After he said that I got to thinking about the days that we had with our three children, and you begin to realize how many are gone, and how many are left, and how quickly they slipped away. And you think about kids. They don't think about next year, next month, or next week. It's all about the day isn't it? You know, we need to take a better look at the days we still have; the days that you have.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Ephesians 5. I'm going to begin reading in verse 15. "Be very careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." This verse that's in the middle, verse 16, talks about making the most of every opportunity. It's sort of in a sandwich between two verses that have some very intriguing phrases, "Don't live unwisely." Live smart in other words. Don't be foolish.

And then it talks about your destiny here on earth - God's will. And it all seems to be wrapped around this phrase, "Making the most of every opportunity." You want to live smart? You want to get God's will? Seize every opportunity. Now, it's no coincidence that the verses that follow this are about family relationships. In fact, in chapter 6, verse 4, only a few verses later, it says this to fathers: "Bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord." I think the way you do that is to capture each 24-hour period as another moment to mold the lives of your children and your grandchildren. There's so little time to strengthen them for a world that is so lost.

We need to ask ourselves, "Lord, have we touched You together today as a family...me and my kids? Have we talked about where we saw the Lord today in our lives...our God sightings? Have we celebrated how something in the Bible helped us today, or have we prayed about something real and personal together today. Have we explored the Bible together today? Have we gone out to some people in need and done the work of Jesus together? Have we touched each other today? Have we expressed our love for each other today? Have we gotten in touch with what made each other happy today? Have we talked about things that were hurting the other members of our family?

See, the greatest classroom our kids will ever experience is the classroom of everyday life - that natural teaching that comes up in the flow of the day. See, by the time you finally have time to do this with the kids, they probably won't.

I know one of the greatest burdens of my life is the days we lost. One of the greatest challenges of my life: how do you make the most of the days ahead? It means reordering some priorities; it means leaving time in what tends to be a wall-to-wall schedule, and asking God each morning for the opportunities, the determination, the timing to mark your children for Christ that day.

Hey, the days are flying by. Grab each one; capture it for Christ. You can't have any of the days back that are already gone, but you can make the rest of your days the best of your days.