It was the biggest night of the year in a little town called Cornwall. It was the night of the annual Christmas pageant. Since there are no nearby malls or cities to compete with, the pageant is pretty much packed out every year. It's an especially big deal for the children in town. They get to try out for the roles in the Christmas story, and everybody wants a part.

Which leads us to the problem of Harold. See, Harold wanted to be in the play, too, but he was...well, he was kind of a slow and simple kid. The directors were ambivalent, I mean, they knew Harold would be crushed if he didn't have a part, but they were afraid he might mess up the town's magic moment if he did. Finally, they decided to cast Harold as the innkeeper - the one who turns Mary and Joseph away the night Jesus is to be born. He only has one line: "I'm sorry, we have no room." Well, no one could imagine what that one line was going to do to everyone's Christmas.

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

The night of the pageant the church was packed, as usual. I mean, the set was in place, and there was an entire wall with scenes of Bethlehem painted on it, including the door of the inn where Harold would greet - and then turn away - the young Jewish travelers.

Backstage, the angels were playing Frisbee with their halos, and the shepherds were waiting 'till the last minute to put on their annually laundered bathrobes, and Harold was being personally coached by the nervous directors. "Now remember, Harold, when Joseph says, 'Do you have a room for the night?' you say...you say..." Hesitantly, Harold said, "I'm sorry. We... We have no room." The directors looked at each other somewhat hopefully. They'd done all they could.

Well, the Christmas story unfolded according to plan - angels singing, Joseph's dream, the trip to Bethlehem. Finally, Joseph and Mary arrived at the door of the Bethlehem Inn, looking appropriately tired, discussing whether the baby might come tonight. Joseph knocked on the inn door. Backstage, the directors were just out of sight, coaching Harold to open the door now. And wouldn't you know it - the door was stuck! The whole set shook; Harold tried to get that door open. When he finally did, Joseph asked his question on cue: "Do you have a room for the night?"

Harold froze. From backstage, a loud whisper: "I'm sorry. We have no room." And Harold mumbled, "I'm sorry. We have no room." And, with a little coaching, he shut the door. Well, the directors heaved a sigh of relief - prematurely. As Mary and Joseph disappeared into the night, the set suddenly started shaking again, and the door opened. Harold was back! And then, in an unrehearsed moment that folks would never forget, Harold went running after the young couple, shouting as loud as he could, "Wait! Wait! You can have my room!"

I think little Harold may have understood the real issue of Christmas better than anyone there that night. How can you leave Jesus outside? You have to make room for Jesus. And that may be the issue for you this Christmas season. What will you do with this Son of God who came to earth to find you? This One who trades a throne room for a stable, angel praise for human mockery, this Creator who gives Himself on a cross? The Bible gives us the only appropriate response in Galatians 2:20, our word for today from the Word of God: "The life I now live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." You look at what Jesus did to pay for your sin on that cross, and you say those life-changing words - "For me."

Jesus is at your door this Christmas. Maybe He's been knocking for a long time and maybe He won't keep knocking much longer. All your life - even in the events of the last few months - it's been to prepare you for this crossroads moment with Jesus your Savior.

I'd love to help you cross over as the Bible says, "from death to life" belonging to Jesus. Our website is there for that purpose - ANewStory.com. Don't leave Him outside any longer. Open the door this Christmas season. "Jesus, I cannot keep You out any longer. Come on in. You can have my room. You can have my life."

It was Christmas Eve, and the Hutchcraft family was acting out the Christmas story. Our daughter was Mary, with a towel draped over her head. Our oldest son was Joseph, bathrobe and all. Our then two-year-old son was the closest we could come to a baby, so he was in the giant laundry basket. I was, of course, an angel dressed in a white sheet, sitting celestially on the back of the couch. And my wife - well, she wanted to be a sheep. So she was crawling around the living room floor with our sheepskin rug draped over her, doing her very best "baaa's." And the doorbell rang! It was two teenage girls from our youth group. Their folks were home getting drunk, and they were wondering if they could come to our house for a little sanity. When they came in, our Christmas players were in full gear, "baaa" and all. The door was open and we invited them right into our Christmas.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Open Door at the Manger."

It was only appropriate that we should say to anyone who came to our door on Christmas Eve, "Come on in." After all, that's what God did when His Son was born that first Christmas. He threw open the door and said, "Come on in" no matter what you're like. He might be saying that to you this very day.

Anybody's welcome to come on in and join God's family. How do we know? Well, for one thing, look at who got the first invitation to "come on in." Shepherds. These guys were considered the lowest of the low-lifes. They were unfit to even be allowed in God's temple. So of all the people God could invite to the first Christmas party, who does He ask to come? Shepherds.

It says so in Luke 2, beginning with verse 8, in our Christmas word for today from the Word of God. "There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them..." The angel made this startling announcement: "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." So Jesus begins His life on earth by welcoming in people that most would say are definitely "not His type."

Maybe that's how you feel; you're not the religious type. Maybe you, like the shepherds, have experienced your share of closed doors, rejection, condemnation, and plenty of loneliness. It could be you've done a lot of things, and made a lot of mistakes, just looking for love and acceptance. And you know you've done a lot of wrong things. But that's the very kind of people Jesus came for!

The people who miss Jesus and miss heaven are the people who think they've got it all together, who are very religious and very good and they think not really in need of a Savior who died on the cross for their sins. But just like He did for those shepherds, whether you were born in church or never been in church in your life, Jesus is throwing open the door to His family and to His heaven and He's saying, "Come on in. I died. I rose again so you and I can be together forever."

The greatest mistake you could ever make would be if you missed what Jesus died to give you. Can you think of a better time to throw open the door of your life to Jesus than Christmastime - the time He left heaven to come here to rescue you? He's waiting for you to reach out to Him and put your total trust in what He did for you on the cross - whatever you've done. This isn't about what you've done. It's about what He's done on the cross for you.

Right where you are, at this very special time, why don't you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours from this day on." Your life will never be the same. I would love to help you right now make that new beginning of making the Savior your Savior this Christmas season.

I just invite you to go to our website and there you can find for yourself how to be sure you've begun this relationship with Jesus. The website is ANewStory.com.

And as we celebrate the day Jesus was born, you can celebrate the day you get born into His family. Go to sleep tonight with Christ in your heart with His peace in your soul. From Him, and from our team here - Merry Christmas!

Visiting people who are in the hospital - I'm guessing that's not your favorite thing to do. A lot of times it's hard to know what to say to the person; especially if their condition is serious. But there are some visits where it's easy to think of things to say - like when you're visiting a new mom or a new baby. All you have to say is, "Aww, she's beautiful!" "Oh, he looks so smart; so alert" or "That's the cutest baby I've ever seen!" See, you're supposed to say these things even if the baby still looks all red and bald and wrinkled. But that first Christmas...well, one of the first people to see Mary's baby did not follow the usual script.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Strange Words For a Christmas Mom."

Following the Jewish custom, Mary and Joseph brought their baby boy to the temple to be circumcised, just eight days after that first Christmas. God had someone waiting for them there - an old man named Simeon who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the One he called "the Lord's Christ." He actually held the baby in his arms and praised God for sending Him.

But then came those strange words for a new mom. In Simeon's words we find the shadow of great pain for Mary but great hope for you and me. In Luke 2:34-35, our word for today from the Word of God, "Simeon...said to Mary, His mother: 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel...the thoughts of many will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.'" That's not exactly what a new mom wants to hear.

But eight days into Jesus' life on earth, Simeon is foreshadowing the end of Jesus' life. The Bible tells us that 33 years later "near the cross stood His mother" (John 19:25). And surely, as Mary saw her boy nailed to a cross and pierced by a soldier's spear, that sword Simeon spoke of must have pierced her soul.

So as we sing our "sleep in heavenly peace" and "joy to the world" carols, let's not miss the shadow looming over the manger. It's the shadow of a cross. But that cross was not some tragic twist of fate. It was the plan of a God who loves you so very much. It was His plan to give you and me a chance to go to heaven instead of hell; to enjoy the relationship with God we were made for but we've missed because we're running our own lives.

And if there had been any other way to erase your sin from God's book and pay for your sin, believe me, God would have done it. But all your goodness, and your religion, and your Christianity can't pay sin's death penalty. Someone had to die to pay for it, and Someone did - the Son of God.

The writer of the classic carol, "What Child Is This" expressed it powerfully: "Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the cross be borne for me, for you; hail, hail, the Word made flesh, the Babe, the son of Mary."

So you've had your Christmases, you've celebrated Jesus' coming. Have you ever had your Good Friday where you stand at the foot of that cross and say the two words that are the difference between heaven and hell, "For me, Jesus. And I'm giving me to You." That's the only way you can receive the gift of eternal life that He died to give you.

Have you known about Jesus all your life but maybe missed that step? If you've never done that, let this be your Jesus-day. You'll have a lot more to celebrate than just Jesus' coming to earth. This season you'll celebrate His coming into your life. If that's what you want, tell Him right now, "Jesus, I want to belong to You. I am taking for myself what You died for on the cross." What a new beginning this will be for you.

A lot of people have found help in beginning that relationship at our website. And I want to invite you to check it out this very day. It's ANewStory.com.

It wasn't just Mary's heart that was pierced on that awful day on Skull Hill. We can only imagine the anguish in God the Father's heart, watching His Son be broken for you. So you can be sure that God will never forget what you do with His Son.

One of the amusing sides of Christmas is people shopping in departments they never otherwise shop in - generally clueless. Let me give you an example that I can relate to - men shopping in the ladies clothing department. Oh, we're a mess. Now, if you need a good laugh; you're feeling a little down, you ought to go to the ladies garment department somewhere; especially the more personal the item is, the funnier it is to watch men shopping. They're slightly embarrassed, generally incompetent at what they're doing, and it's very important if you're going to go shopping for a woman during the Christmas season that you get the woman's size: your wife, your mother, your sister, your girlfriend, or whatever. And you trust that the tags are right, of course, on the size. You know that a small had better be a small, because you don't know anything. A large had better be a large. Now, you want to know how to sow some confusion and have some fun? (Don't anybody do this, please.) Imagine if someone snuck into that store late one night and just changed the tags around. Well, people would make a lot of wrong choices, all because the sizes were wrong. Now, that doesn't happen to clothes, but it does happen to people, and it takes the Christmas Story to straighten out small and large.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Christmas Rightsizes the World."

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Luke 1:52-53. Mary is pregnant; she's carrying the baby Jesus, and we get a little idea of the insight God has given her as she prays this prayer, what is often called The Magnificat. She says, "God has brought down rulers from their thrones, but He has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, but He has sent the rich away empty."

You know, Mary has the right sizes on the right people. She has the smalls on the small, and the bigs on the big. You see, the world would call these the big people - those people who are called rulers and rich. But she says, "the rulers have been brought down. The rich have been sent away empty." God's heroes - the people the world calls small. They're identified as the humble, who He lifts up, and the hungry, who He fills up.

You see, what is a big deal to men is a little deal to God - big deal like money, gifts, title, fame. That's a little deal to God. Conversely, what's a little deal to men: "You don't have much money. You don't have much influence. Not many people know you. You're average." See, that's a big deal to God. You hear people say all the time, "Well, I'm just a... I'm just a student. I'm just a mother. I'm just a secretary. I'm just a helper. I'm just a Sunday school teacher. I'm just a laborer. It's just a small church. It's just a little class. I'm just a choir member." With God, there are no "just a's," not in God's value system.

Bethlehem, we're told, was "little among the villages, but out of you (little village) will come the Prince," Mary, the peasant but the Mother of God's Son. Shepherds, the outcasts of their society, the first evangelists. I wonder if you have the two qualifications for God's heroes: humble, which means you are totally depending on the Lord, and hungry, restless to know and serve Him more. God likes to make folks like that big for Him - the humble and the hungry.

Remember to give attention to the people others ignore. They're the big people to God - children, the poor, the powerless. Oh, by the way, don't ever call yourself "just a..." again. God does His biggest things through the smallest instruments. Call big what God calls big. Make sure you've got the right size.

Every day the people who broadcast the news to us have to decide what's going to be big news and what's going to be little news. The big news they talk about first. And the little news may not get mentioned at all.

Unfortunately, there are often disasters that occur every day, and they may or may not be big news. Most disasters produce casualties, but casualties are sort of little news. That means people just got hurt. Then there are fatalities. And when there are fatalities, well, sadly, that makes it big news - somebody was killed. The fatality factor seems to propel news to page one. The story of Christmas has a casualty in it, a fatality and a champion.

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

Now, I know you thought this was about Christmas and it is. But we're suddenly going to be in the Garden of Eden for a minute with our word for today from the Word of God which is in Genesis 3:15. The great tragedy; perhaps the greatest tragedy of history has just taken place as Adam and Eve have chosen to disobey God. Sin has entered a perfect world, and God is already talking about the solution.

He speaks to the serpent, who is the Devil, and says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers. He (that's her offspring) will crush your head and you (that's the serpent) will strike his heel." Did you know that Christmas began in the Garden of Eden? The answer for sin began at the moment sin entered the world. Because God says here there will come a man ultimately descended from Adam and Eve - from the very people who perpetrated sin in the world - a man will come who will crush the serpent.

Notice the verbs here. It says the serpent, Satan, will strike the heel of the Messiah who will come. Satan's going to be able to hurt the Redeemer. That happened at the cross. But it was canceled three days later when Jesus Christ walked out of His grave. But notice what the Redeemer is going to do to the serpent - crush his head. That's the difference between a casualty and a fatality. When the Redeemer comes, Satan will receive a death blow He says.

You need to know that the Devil, for all of his interference in your life right now, is a dead man. Colossians 2:15 says "Christ disarmed the powers and the authorities, and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." If you're in Christ, if you belong to Jesus, the most the Devil can do is to wound you. You may be a casualty, but thank God you will never be a fatality. Satan tried over and over again to wipe out the Messianic line - the family from which Jesus would come. And then he tried to wipe out all the babies that were the age of baby Jesus. It didn't work. He's beaten!

Why would you ever let the Devil or his people beat you or intimidate you? God has entered human history in person. Everywhere Jesus went the forces of darkness surrendered. Everywhere Jesus goes now through your life, those forces of darkness still must surrender.

So, Christmas isn't just a warm and fuzzy little story about a baby in a stable and a star. In the battle for human lives, in the battle you're facing today, Christmas is God's knockout punch.

I was speeding along the Interstate - legally speeding of course - and this van passed me. He pulled into the right lane and then he seemed to be maintaining a pretty consistent speed. For many miles, I ended up traveling behind him. I noticed there was something unusual about this van - it had a plastic bubble that was mounted just above the roof. I had some ideas of why it might be there, especially in light of the words printed on the side of the van. It gave the name of a large express mail delivery service, followed by these words, "Critical Care Van." Later, actually a law enforcement friend of mine confirmed my theory of what that vehicle was actually carrying - parts. Body parts needed for transplants that can save lives. And the bubble on top? My friend said that's a strobe light that actually turns traffic lights green as the van approaches them! Wonder how I could get one of those for me?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Green Lights on the Rescue Road."

The driver of that Critical Care Van is, of course, on an important mission and he needs green lights all the way. So do we, if we're carrying out a mission that's been given to us by our Lord. See, He's got assignments for all of us who belong to Him. He's got assignments for you. Maybe you're living out His assignment right now, or maybe you're holding back on saying "yes" to an assignment He's trying to give you. In either case, there's something decisive that you need to know. When you're on a mission for Jesus, He's the One who turns the lights green as you go. He actually promised.

1 Thessalonians 5:24, our word for today from the Word of God, is one of the places where He made that promise. It simply says, "The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it." That's it! When Jesus prompts you to do something for Him, He isn't about to leave you stranded somewhere in the middle of His mission and in the middle of His will. You can't see how it's going to get done, how it's ever going to come together. He says, "I got you into this, I'll see that it gets done!"

Where's the money going to come from? His problem. If it's God's will, it's God's bill. Where are the people you need going to come from? He's already getting them ready for you and you ready for them. How are you going to get over the huge obstacles that are in the way? The God who parts Red Seas is going to make the way for you. How can you possibly do this thing when you are so flawed, so inadequate, so ordinary? Since when is this about what you can do? With God's assignment always comes God's enabling!

Look, Jesus might be summoning you right now to undertake some work for Him. It may be here, it may be thousands of miles from here. Maybe He's summoning you to touch some lives for Him, maybe a few in your immediate world, or maybe more people than you could ever imagine. But many times, all we see are the red lights ahead. So we resist our Master's call and we miss His amazing will. Your Lord has promised to turn those red lights green - not before you move out for Him, but as you're moving out for Him.

Just like that Critical Care Van, you're carrying something that lives depend on - the Good News of Jesus Christ. There are people that He is depending on you to tell, so they can be rescued from an eternity without God and without hope. Don't let those red lights keep you sitting in the parking lot.

Now start driving toward that mission God has given you, and leave those green lights to Him!

There are certain occupations where I think you need a particularly strong self image. For example, I would think a dentist needs a strong self image. I mean, he's a professional, he's helping people, but it's just hard to have so many people dreading what you do. Or in the world of sports, like a baseball umpire? Everybody thinks they can see better than the umpire can. You can tell because they keep yelling, "Hey, are you blind?" Because they don't agree with your call. Everybody thinks they have a higher IQ than you do. They keep commenting on the intelligence of an umpire negatively just because they don't agree with him.

But you couldn't have baseball without the umpires. I mean, can you imagine the players trying to agree on whether a guy was safe or out at second? That would end the game right there. Or how about letting the fans decide? Man, there would be chaos without the umpire. So, let's say there's a dramatic play at home plate. The winning run is sliding into home plate as the ball is thrown to the catcher, there's a cloud of dust, there are thousands of voices giving their opinion whether the runner was safe or not, but there's only one voice that matters. The umpire settles it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Own Personal Umpire."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Colossians 3:15 where God says, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace." Notice here it says that "the peace of Christ should rule in your hearts." Now, that word in the original language of the New Testament means to be the judge; the one who awards the prize. In essence, "Let the peace of Christ be the umpire in your heart."

In other words, the peace of God is your own personal umpire. As you make each day's choices, you need some way to decide what should be safe and what should be out. Well, that's the peace of Christ. You've got a lot of choices. You've got right or wrong choices, and some of them are not covered by a specific rule in the Bible. You've got to decide which way to go in a lot of situations; which option is the one God wants.

Well, the Bible says, "Let the peace of Christ decide." Let it be the umpire. Now, this peace comes as you continue to bring a choice to God. You come to Him with a blank piece of paper and you say, "God, you know what I'd like, but I'm not going to give you a contract to sign. This is my blank piece of paper. What do you want?" And as you pray it through, I think you'll find that one way you're supposed to go. One road feels right most of the time when you're praying about it when it's just you and Jesus - as you pray about it over and over again.

Now, I'm not talking about rushed prayer here. You've got to have time to let Him put His thoughts into your heart. But as you get off your knees and start to go through your day, the peace of Christ is going to be challenged by a lot of other voices - like the umpire and all those people in the stands. I mean as soon as you get with other people, God's will starts to seem a little less clear than it did when you were just with Him. There are all these other voices, but you've got to focus on the one voice that decides it.

How can you tune your peace meter so you can hear and receive the peace of Christ? Well, the next verse says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." So you need to have some increased time in God's Word. You need to memorize some verses. You need to read whenever you can, looking for a personal word from the Lord. The more you get full of God's Word, the more God has to work with in giving you His personal guidance. His peace and His Word always go together.

Human umpires? Well, they're right some of the time. God's umpire is right all the time. Why don't you offer your choices to the Lord and ask for His peace as the confirming signal in your heart, that sense that you've had a divine "OK" or a divine "forget it"? God's peace is His wonderful way of calling "Safe!" or "Out!" on the calls you have to make. And you'll always win if you go along with God's personal umpire.

It's about that time of year when you start getting all those Christmas letters from people. You know, all those family letters that tell you about all the things they've done: Junior's in Boy Scouts, Emily's in cheerleading. I've noticed there's one recurring word; it's almost like a theme that runs through all those letters. It's that little four-letter word "busy." Everybody tells you how busy they are all year long. "I'm busy, busy, busy and I have a busy, busy, busy family."

I don't know how it is at your house, but the race is at full speed in most of our homes right now getting ready for Christmas: The dinners, the parties, the shopping, the wrapping, the churching, the decorating, entertaining, and driving. Aren't you tired just hearing about it? It's amazing that the angels introduced this season by saying, "Peace on earth." Christmas seems more like a time when instead of peace on earth we're "going to pieces" doesn't it?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have "A Word With You" today about "How Did Martha Get In The Christmas Story?"

Well, in the midst of all this Christmas chaos, I want to blow the whistle, call a time out, and ask an important question, "How did Martha get in the Christmas Story?" We'll talk about that in just a moment.

First, our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 10 - I'll begin reading at verse 38. It is not part of the Christmas Story, but then again, maybe in a strange way it is. "As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha (there she is) opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me.' 'Martha, Martha' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"

Boy, Martha would have been a real treat during the Christmas season, don't you think? She had a way of getting all stressed out. And what was happening here was that although there was not a Christmas to celebrate, it was Jesus' season at Martha's house and she's going crazy! She would have written a great Christmas letter because she's busy. The tragedy is that Martha is so busy with the festivities of Jesus' coming, she has no time for Jesus.

Here we are, you and I, in the most Christ-conscious, Christ-honoring time our culture has. Oh, there's a lot of phony in it, but this is the most Christ-honoring time that we have. And if you and your family aren't closer to Christ at Christmas, haven't you missed the point of it all? You've wasted this golden time.

I'm realistic enough to know that you're not going to cancel all your plans...all the running around before Christmas. But if possible, how about lowering your expectations of yourself? Don't try to do a year's worth of everything in the next few days. And more importantly, stop right now and put a reserved sign on some prime time between now and Christmas. Commit yourself to quality time with Jesus each morning from now through Christmas. It will stabilize you during these stressful days.

Wouldn't it be ironic if Christmas actually crowded out your time with Christ? It's so easy to lose that time in all this busyness, isn't it? Don't! No, study the Christmas accounts in the Bible. Convene the family for some quality, spiritual time around the Lord Jesus - more than you usually do. I mean, it's going to have to be intentional - a decision.

Reach out to your lost neighbors; pray for them. Use your time in line and in traffic to worship the Lord and focus on Him. Give thanks daily for the gifts coming your way. Here comes a verb that doesn't exist. Don't get "Martha'd" this Christmas. Put Him first. Put your time with Him first. Make everything else fit around His time.

Don't get so busy with the festivities of Jesus' coming that you have no time for Jesus.