My farm girl had a high tolerance for pain. "I know," you say, "she married you." No, I mean physical pain. She seldom complained and I often didn't know she was hurting. There was a season in her life when she was in constant pain for about eight years. A lot of remedies and treatments took their turn trying to help her but actually nothing worked; the flare-ups continued...until something happened. With a big smile on her face, she said, "I am pain-free for the first time in eight years." And she was so grateful. What happened? Our family doctor went to work diagnosing the problem and he concluded it was fibromyalgia. And once our doctor diagnosed what the real problem was, we could start working on some real relief!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Real Disease - Beyond Your Symptoms."

It may be that you've been experiencing some painful symptoms in your life recently. I'm talking emotionally, not necessarily physically. There have been too many blowups, too many dark times, too much loneliness, more and more stress, less and less peace. Like my wife with her physical pain, you're experiencing some painful, disturbing symptoms. And so far, no treatment, no pain reliever has really taken away the pain.

It's time to bring in the Specialist, the One who can get beyond the symptoms and give you the diagnosis of the underlying problem. That would be your Creator. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 3 where God talks about some ugly symptoms. People, it says, whose "tongues practice deceit," whose "mouths are full of cursing and bitterness," it says "their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways." There's this dark side of us that lies and hurts people and basically is out of control. Here's a phrase that might sum up a lot of your life, "And the way of peace they do not know."

Then comes the diagnosis of what's behind so much of the pain in our lives. "There is no one righteous, not even one...all have turned away...there is no fear of God before their eyes." And then, the sobering bottom line, Romans 3:23 - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." You're in there, I'm in there, we're "all" in there. Our symptom might be loneliness or depression or guilt or darkness inside, but the disease is the cancer called sin. We've done our life our way instead of God's way so we're cut off from the "glory" of His love, His help, and His peace. Just like my wife with her years of physical pain, your symptoms won't start clearing up until you treat the disease that's causing them.

But God doesn't just diagnose the disease, He provides the cure. In verse 24: "We are justified (made right with God) freely by God's grace through the redemption (the rescue!) that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood." In plain language, we had no hope of our sin-cancer being cured, but God, the very One we sinned against, sacrificed His one and only Son to pay the death penalty for our sin. The cure involves blood - the blood Jesus poured out when He died to remove the guilt and the hell of your sin and mine.

That blood cure becomes your cure when you put all your trust in Jesus to forgive every sin you've ever done. He's ready to begin that healing right now if you're ready to begin a trust relationship with Him as your personal Savior. You can tell Him that right now. A real life on earth and eternal life when you die. That's real life. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours."

Go to our website. There are some things there that I've written just to help you walk right into this relationship with Him. Go to ANewStory.com.

After all this pain, God has diagnosed the disease that caused so much of it. And He has paid the ultimate price for you to be spiritually healed. Today He stands ready to do for you what only He can do. Just ask Him to.

Oh, when the auditor leaves from our annual audit, man, our administrative team is high-fivin'. Partly because, well, we've been blessed to get a clean audit year after year, and partly it's just because it's over! They work pretty hard to be ready for all the things the auditor wants to check out.

In the business world, and sometimes even in the Christian world, audits aren't always happy. Auditors can find things that get you in trouble with your boss, with the government, even with the law. Audits uncover hidden secrets.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Audit Of A Lifetime."

Now, I have a meeting scheduled with the auditor in the future. Except, I don't know when it is, because the appointment is with The Auditor, and only He knows when my audit of a lifetime is going to be. Fact is we're all facing the audit of our lives. Our word for today from the word of God in Romans 14:12 says "...each of us will give an account of himself to God."

There will be no exceptions, "...each of us." There will be no excuses, "...will give account of himself to God." No blaming your spouse, your parents, your kids, your friends, your coworkers, your environment. I will answer for me and me alone. Also, there will be no secrets. Romans 2:16 says, "God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ." The Auditor knows every website we've ever visited, every e-mail or conversation we've been involved with, every sin we thought we got away with.

Many times I've seen a road sign with these stark words: "Prepare to meet your God" (Amos 4:12). Since heaven's all-knowing Auditor will expose everything about my life, it actually makes sense to work on what I'll face in His presence. The Auditor has let us know what He'll be auditing. I'd like to know that now.

Now, I know He'll be auditing the words I speak. Jesus said so; "Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless (or worthless that means) word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37). All our words, including the gossip, the angry stuff, the putdowns, the dirty stuff, will be there to meet us on the day of judgment and there will be no denying my own words.

The Auditor's also going to examine why I do what I do. The Bible says, "Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts" (1 Corinthians 4:5). I'm not too excited about those new full body scans that they're installing at airports; they reveal what no one else can see. But that's nothing compared to God's full heart scan at the judgment seat. No matter how good what I've done may be, it will burn if my real motive was me, not Him. God cares a lot more about why we do than what we do. If it wasn't for His glory, if it wasn't because of pure love, it will never survive the audit.

Then Jesus said, "Give an account of your management" (Luke 16:2). The audit is going to be about what I've done with what He's given to me: my money, my influence, my home, my abilities, my opportunities. I'm suspecting that a lot of us are going to be feeling the shame and sadness of what might have been, of how much we could have done and should have done.

And then this warning. "When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not...speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood" (Ezekiel 3:18). Whew! God will confront me with all the people I didn't tell about Jesus, whose eternity depended on hearing about Him.

And here is the hardest-hitting exposure of all, the audit of a lifetime, "...the books were opened. Another book was opened which is the Book of Life...If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:12, 15). What an unspeakably awful moment.

Jesus checks the Book of Life to see if a person's name is there. If it's not, it's too late. It's entered there when you pin all your hopes on the Christ who died on the cross so you would never have to have that moment. You could have your name put in His book today by giving your life to Him.

The audit is coming, be ready for the audit. Prepare to meet your God.

Over the years our son-in-law's made no secret of his basketball loyalties. Even when he was living in the heart of New York Knicks, he was boldly and passionately a Chicago Bulls fan.

Like many Bulls fans, my son-in-law was wrapped up in Michael Jordan when he was at the top of his career in the 1990s. He read his biography, he taped his championship games, and of course he had to go see him play, and he bought the sports memorabilia associated with a superstar player. At Christmas, we would all fall into his trap and we'd feed his Jordan thing with Jordan presents. He was a walking encyclopedia of facts about Michael Jordan. But if he were to give him a call, I'm afraid Mr. Jordan would just say, "Who is this?" Even though our son-in-law knew almost everything about him, he didn't know him. That's the big difference isn't it?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Knowing The Facts, Missing The Relationship."

The gap between knowing about someone and knowing someone is huge, especially when it comes to whether or not you know the God who made you. When you read our word for today from the Word of God, it appears that a lot of people are living with a false sense of spiritual security thinking they're okay because they know a lot about Jesus.

Matthew 7:21-23 are some of the most disturbing verses in the Bible. Listen to Jesus: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from Me.'"

What awful words to hear Jesus say on Judgment Day "I never knew you." And He'll say it to people who knew all the right words, who had all the right beliefs, and they did all the right things, they were at all the right meetings. Apparently, it's possible to have a lot of Christianity and miss Christ; to know a lot about Jesus but not to know Him.

Jesus said the one He knows and who knows Him is "he who does the will of My Father." Well, what is that? John 6:40 says "My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life." So the difference between eternal life and eternal judgment is "looking to the Son" and "believing in Him." That "believe" word means to totally trust, to commit yourself to. And it's possible to know all the verses, to have been around Jesus your whole life, to be in a religion that's all about Jesus, and miss the step of actually making Him your own Savior from your own sin. To miss that moment of telling Jesus, "I'm putting all my trust in you, Jesus, and what you did on the cross when you died for the sins I've done."

For some people, the distance between heaven and hell is 18 inches - the distance from their head to their heart. Could it be you've got Jesus in your head, but you've never invited Him into your heart? That you agree with everything about Him, but you've never actually committed yourself to Him? If you have done that, it's settled. But if you don't know you have, you probably haven't.

But that could change in these next few moments if you'd just finally admit that for all you know about Jesus, you don't know Him. And tell Him right where you are that you're moving Him from your head to your heart; that you're trusting Him as your own Savior from your own sin.

Do you know you've done that? Are you sure? Get it done today. Our website is there as an anchor place for you to find the information that will help you be sure you belong to Him. Please go there. It's ANewStory.com.

"I never knew you." Those are words I don't ever want you to hear from Jesus. They're words He doesn't want you to hear. Get to His cross today, where you can finally know the One that you know so much about. And have Him in your heart, not just your head.

America runs on coffee! Yeah, let's face it! Now, you might object to that, but I don't know on what grounds. You know, there are people who drink coffee, and then there are some who mainline coffee. I have friends who do that, and it keeps people like the makers of those little quickie coffee units very busy. In fact, those little units are a good example of the importance of something called the filter.

Now, when you pour into those filters, the hot water goes straight through and enough coffee gets through to taste good, but the grounds don't get through the filter and you don't want them to. I mean, the reason being that most people I know aren't fans of chewing their coffee, and what makes the difference is the filter. Of course, there's a much larger filter around your life that makes all the difference in your quality of life.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Got the Pain? Get the Point!"

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in 1 Corinthians 10. I'm reading from verse 13. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man, and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Did you notice those words "God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear"? "Not let you." In other words, everything has to get past God before it gets to you. It's got to have His permission. So, God is reviewing every test and every trial that comes into your life before it gets to you. Otherwise the Bible wouldn't say that He "let it come to you." Every problem you're facing right now has been, according to the Word of God, Father filtered. Wow! It can't get past your Heavenly Father before it gets to you.

Of course we know that from the book of Job don't we? The devil wanted to bring all kinds of turmoil and anguish into Job's life. But before he could do that, he had to check with God. He couldn't just go do it on his own. And God, knowing that it would build Job's life, and that ultimately he would double the blessing on his life, said, "Yes, that's okay. You can do it."

The pain that we have in our lives, the struggles that we have, some of it God sends and some of it God allows, but all of it has to get past Him. Now, I find the hard times in my life much less terrifying when I know that God, if He hasn't sent it, has at least allowed it. And He will never allow something to come into your life that can break you; only what will build you.

It's like a weight lifter who, even though he has to strain and push and it hurts to lift more than he's ever lifted before, he's stronger as a result of lifting greater weight. God may allow greater weight to come into your life - not to crush you, but enough to make you stronger.

So, look for the Lord and look for the lesson in that tough time you're going through. And if you're going to get the pain, get the point. Your Father loves you very deeply; He's allowed that to come into your life. Don't say, "Is this from the devil or is this from the Lord?" I don't think we'll ever figure that out. But you can say, "How can God use this?" Because He wouldn't have sent it if He couldn't use it.

What are you facing right now? I'll tell you this, It has been Father filtered. And the filter makes all the difference, because the Father loves you very much.

As I sit at my desk, I'm looking at this framed, century-old newspaper on the wall. It's there because I never want to forget the story it tells or the choice it represents. I guess, in short, I'd call it the tale of the three ships.

Everybody knows one of them - the Titanic. The one that 2,200 passengers thought was unsinkable. But that fateful night in the ice fields of the North Atlantic, the Titanic went down and over 1,500 passengers died. Only about 700 survived. Their only hope was a rescue.

Only about ten miles away, the SS Californian saw the flares from the endangered Titanic. Captain Lord decided it was too risky to try to reach her in the dark, so the Californian stayed where she was.

The Carpathia was a daunting 58 miles away when they spotted the flares and they heard the distress calls. There were some 700 passengers on board that night as Captain Rostron gave his fateful order, "Mr. Dean, turn this ship around." See, Captain Rostron ordered that all heat be turned off so that all the power could be directed to the ship's engines. As she steamed toward Titanic's last known location on the captain's orders, rooms were converted to infirmaries, hot food and drink were prepared and lifeboats were readied. Somehow, the Carpathia navigated around a deadly field of icebergs in the dark. Later, actually, Captain Rostron would say that it was like an unseen hand was guiding them.

But his heart sank when he arrived at the site, because there was no trace of the mighty Titanic. What he did find was 20 lifeboats, carrying those 700 survivors, whose lives were in jeopardy from hours of exposure to 28-degree temperatures. Had it not been for the Carpathia's courageous intervention, there probably would have been no Titanic survivors.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Tale of Three Ships."

Three ships. The Titanic. The ship where people thought they were safe, that in reality, was a ship of death where their only hope was a rescue. The Californian. The ship that was within reach of the dying people but did nothing to save them. The Carpathia. The ship that did whatever it took to rescue the dying, no matter the risks.

We all either are - or were - on the Titanic. Because God says, "Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard," and "the wages of sin is death." But in our word for today from the Word of God in Galatians 1:4, the Bible says, "Jesus gave His life for our sins...in order to rescue us." Our eternal destiny depends on our reaching for the Rescuer - Jesus.

Some of us who have been rescued by Jesus are like the Californian. We have spiritually dying people within our reach. And the command of God from Scripture is to "rescue those being led away to death" (Proverbs 24:11).

But we're doing nothing. It's too risky. We've got all these fears of what might happen if we tried to tell them about Jesus and if we tried to rescue them.

But some of us are like the Carpathia; more concerned about the dying people than we are about ourselves. Doing whatever it takes to save them. Well, that would be like our Jesus. We'd be recognizing that we are under orders. And here's how the Bible puts it: to "snatch others from the fire and save them" (Jude 23).

Three ships. This tale of three ships confronts me, and all of us, with a soul-searching question. It might even be a life-or-death question for you, "Which ship am I on?"

If you don't have Jesus in your heart; if you've never been to Him to have your sins forgiven, your ship's going down even if you feel like it's unsinkable. No religion, no achievement, no relationship can save you except a relationship with Jesus Christ who died to pay for your sins.

This is your day to turn in death for life and feeling dirty for feeling clean, and lonely for love, and hell for heaven. If you've never reached out to the Rescuer, would you do it today? Say, "Jesus, I'm yours." Go to our website where you can be sure you belong to Him. We'll show you how! It's ANewStory.com.

This is the day of rescue!

Blindfolds have usually been a hindrance in my life. I mean, I think the first blindfold I ever remember having on was when I was little. I was at a birthday party and we were playing, you know, like Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Now, I've never been real coordinated, so you put a blindfold on me and spin me around a few times, I usually end up pinning it on the hostess. Anyway, it's great to be the laughing stock at the birthday party.

Now, as a teenager, they put me in this trust walk where my un-blindfolded friend was leading me around blindfolded through water, into walls, and into trees. And then even as a grownup at parties, all I know is that when they blindfold me I know I'm going to end up looking like the village idiot.

But blindfolds? They aren't always bad. I mean, think about that famous statue you can see at the Supreme Court. You remember Blind Justice? She's holding the scales of justice, upholding the law without being able to see faces, or expressions, or wardrobes, or appearances. Well you get a better verdict that way.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bible Wears a Blindfold."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God. It comes from 2 Samuel 12:1. It follows after David, the king, has committed his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and then his conspiracy to have her husband murdered and the conspiracy to cover that up. It says, "The Lord sent Nathan to David." Well, this is not going to be a very exciting mission, because it is the Prophet Nathan's job to confront the king, David.

He tells this parabolic story about a man who took a poor man's flock away from him, symbolizing what David had done. And then Nathan said to David in verse 7, "You are the man who did that. This is what the Lord God of Israel says, 'I anointed you king over Israel, I delivered you from the hand of Saul. The sword will never depart from your house because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own."

Now, Nathan's got a tough assignment here. He has to impartially apply the laws of God to his friend, his king. The one called "the man after God's own heart" David. But like Blind Justice, the Bible makes no distinctions when it comes to God's standards. The Bible wears a blindfold.

I was discussing divorce and how the church should handle that with a pastor friend of mine, and we've discussed many issues like that, that Christians disagree on. I'm not trying to solve that issue here, but I did say to him, "You know, I had a feeling that if we just read the Bible and didn't know anybody, we'd have a pretty clear view of what God wants. Then someone we care about comes along and it kind of gets us confused about what the Bible says." And I told him, "I think the problems start when a verse gets a face."

That's true when we discuss many issues today. Today in Christian circles, we're accepting of so much more stuff - stuff that we wouldn't have touched like say ten years ago. Our sociology often decides more than our theology. Our culture decides more than our Christianity. We can only enjoy the full blessing of God if we insist on the high standards of God.

And I've got to tell you, it's tempting not to when there's a face - especially somebody you care about - in front of the verse. But it isn't really love to lower the standards of God to make some temporary situation more comfortable. Those standards are not there to destroy people; they are the path to personal happiness. No matter how it looks, we must apply the Biblical guidelines with gentleness, not judgment; with love, not legalism. But we cannot dilute the Word of God for any person, for any situation. Not even King David could get such a compromise.

To rightly represent a holy God in this anything-goes world, we have to always be sure of the Bible's way of life and take our stand there.

When it comes to the Olympics, it seems as if there are always certain athletes that give the Games this personal touch for us. Let's go back to the 1994 Winter Olympics. I remember we all wanted to see the women's skating showdown between Nancy Kerrigan and Tanya Harding. In 1998, it was two teenagers named Michelle and Tara. Michelle Kwan was heavily favored to leave Japan and the Olympics with that gold medal; 15-year old Tara Lipinski was expected to bring home the silver maybe.

But in a stunning performance, and an Olympic upset, young Tara Lipinski captured the gold. Michelle Kwan, who had skated an almost flawless program, was disappointed but she was gracious. She won a silver medal that so many would love to win, but you know it still had to hurt. Some of that hurt slipped out as she sent a message to her family, and TV carried it around the world. She said, "I love you, Mom and Dad, and Karen and Jimmy. I hope you still love me." Ouch!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Love Even When You Lose."

"I hope you still love me." That's not just a feeling a disappointed Olympian has felt. Many of us have had those moments when we have wondered, "Can you love me like this? I mean, the way I've failed you or hurt you? I'm not very lovable right now."

It's just a fact that a lot of love in our lives is "performance love." People will love us if we perform. Sales people know a company and co-workers base your worth on this month's sales. Did you get the grades? Did you get the win? But who loves you when you lose? When you're not as young and attractive anymore? Who loves you when you've blown it? When you can't do the things that have always brought you approval? You may know all too well the sting of love that used to be there for you. The love that was supposed to always be there, but it's gone.

Conditional love. There are lots of people who are willing to say, "I love you if..." What your heart cries for, though, and mine too, is someone who will just say, "I love you. There is nothing you can do to make me love you more. There is nothing you can do to make me love you less. I have made my choice. I love you. That will never change."

Maybe you think that kind of "never-leave-you" love is impossible. Well, there really is a love you cannot lose, because it's a love you cannot earn. The undeniable proof of that love is described in our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 5:8. "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." In other words, God loved us enough to sacrifice His only Son for us even though we were doing the things God hates.

Maybe you've tried to earn God's love by being a good person, a religious person, a Christian person. But God says clearly that the way to begin a relationship with Him is "not by works" (Ephesians 2:9). It's by His "grace," the Bible says, which means undeserved love. All your goodness cannot erase a lifetime of sinning. Sin puts us on eternity's Death Row. But even with all our "sin-garbage" - totally unlovable spiritually - God sent His Son to die for us; to die for you. If He didn't turn His back on you when His Son was hanging on that cross for you, He will never turn His back on you.

Once you put your total trust in Jesus to be your Rescuer from your sin, you have His unloseable love. And on your very worst days, you can ask God, "Do You love me like this?" and He will always answer, "Yes." This is the love your heart has been aching for all these years. He's within your reach right now. Just tell Jesus you're giving your life to Him, beginning today.

I'd love to help you know how for sure you belong to Him if you would just go to our website. That's why it's there. It's ANewStory.com. Please check it out today.

Imagine, never unloved again, never another day alone. Not because you deserve it but because Jesus died to remove what could ever take you out of God's love. He made His move on the cross, and now, my friend, it's your move.

If you're up late enough - I'm saying really late - you might catch an episode of the old TV series "The Twilight Zone." Rod Serling, the host, wrote some very imaginative and actually sometimes strange stories that ended up on that series. And it's funny after all these years; I still remember one, even though it's been a long time. This bank teller suddenly develops the ability to know what people are thinking, and he thinks he has a great gift. The amusing part was that while people were speaking, he knew what they were really thinking as they said those words. Aren't you glad this was just fiction?

For example, he heard the banker saying to a customer that had a considerable amount of money in the bank, "We certainly enjoyed visiting with you." Meanwhile he's hearing his thoughts say, "I wouldn't even want to be in the same room with you if you didn't have so much money." Well, by the end of the story, as I recall it, he's not so sure he wants this gift anymore. Someone who knows what you're thinking about; aren't you glad that's just fiction? Or is it?

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

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 5, and I'm going to begin reading at verse 20, where a young man has just been lowered through a roof by his determined friends. See, they want their paralyzed friend to have a healing touch from Jesus. You may remember the story. The Bible says, "When Jesus saw their faith, He said, 'Friend, your sins are forgiven.' The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, 'Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?' Jesus knew what they were thinking (oh, here we go!) and asked, 'Why are you thinking these things in your heart?'"

Now, these people didn't say they were doubting Jesus, but Jesus knew they were. See, a passage like this teaches us that if you think it, Jesus knows it. How does that make you feel? I mean, a lot of folks whose outer life is admirably righteous have a moral zoo going on inside. See, Jesus is interested in your thoughts, not just your actions. For example He told us, "If a man commits adultery in his heart; if he lusts after a woman, that's a form of adultery" - mental adultery.

Now, we work pretty hard to get the outside looking good, don't we? But 1 Samuel 16 says, "God looks on the heart." What you think about all day; that's the real you. Jesus knows the bitterness behind those nice words; He knows the jealousy behind the smiles, the lust behind your lectures on sin. He knows the pride behind all that Christian work you do. He knows the thoughts of unfaithfulness that maybe you're covering up with words of love. He wants to be the Lord of what you think about, not just what you do. In fact, the wonderful possibility is given to us in 2 Corinthians 10:5. Here's what it says: "We can bring every thought into the captivity and obedience of Christ."

So, fight the war on the first front, and that's where you think. Sin always lands as a thought first; repentance begins with the things I'm thinking about. That's why David said, "Lord, I want you to know my thoughts." So, let Christ invade the real you, not just the one everybody can see. You need Him in your mind all day. He already knows what's going on there. So talk to Him about it, be honest about it, release His power to change your mind. The Bible says that we can "be transformed by the renewing of our mind." That's the power of a living Christ inside of you if you will open up all the closets in your mind with all the darkness and monsters in it for Him to change.

The greatest strongholds for the kingship of Jesus Christ are in my mind, and they can be, and they must be, surrendered to His will.