MAD Live Event in Dunlap, TN

We had a great time with about 140 people at the Ewtonville Baptist Church in Dunlap, TN today. Did the first past of the MAD Live Event during Sunday School and Worship time. We then finished it tonight. We praise God for four new believers and the equipping of a bunch of God's people. I can't wait to see how the Lord will use them! Thanks to Charley and Sandee York for helping to make this happen, as well as Pastor Brian for allowing us to come and minister.

When Your Checkbook Doesn't Balance

Look, it's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it. And the bank does their part; they send you that photocopy of all the checks that you've written in the last month. And you get to compare those with what you've recorded in your checkbook. Don't you look forward to doing that? You get to participate in the necessary evil called balancing your checkbook.

Sometimes you can kick back and say, "Yep, it all adds up." But I remember a few times when it didn't. How about you? This is why I may not have as much hair as I used to. While you're pulling out your hair, you're thinking, "I'm spending an awful lot!" One college student said, "Hey, I must still have money, I still have checks!" Well, fortunately it's never been that bad for me, but I'll tell you this, "You dare not rest until your checkbook tells you exactly where you are and gives you the accurate picture." I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Your Checkbook Doesn't Balance."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew chapter 6, and we'll begin at verse 19. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy; where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Let me give you kind of an up-to-date version of what I think Jesus is saying here. "Show Me your checkbook, and I'll show you your heart." See, your checkbook is a history of your life. Did you ever think of it that way? If you went back over all the checks you've ever written in your lifetime, it's kind of like there's your life. Maybe you wrote a check for your wedding expenses one day, or the funeral home when you lost a loved one, or to the doctor when you had a baby or an illness.

There have been a lot of checks to the bank where you paid for that house that was your dream. Remember? Or for new clothes, or all those charges you built up-and most of that stuff is interest-new toys, your possessions, your vacations. You see, your checkbook is the history of your life. It's also a history of your heart. That's what Jesus was saying. He says your checkbook shows where your real love is; much more than saying your theology does.

So how does God say He finds out what's in our heart? Well, not by your vocabulary; not by your date book saying, "If you're really busy doing Christian things." Not by your reputation or asking all the other Christian folks. No, He says, "Show Me your checkbook." See where you're spending the biggest share of what you have. It tells you where your heart is. And for the most part, we're spending it on earth stuff. That's like putting your valuables on the Titanic. This planet, this world system is going down. Would you put your valuables on the Titanic?

See, some look at the unarguable evidence of their checkbook and finally they go, "You know what? This is out-of-balance. Not mathematically, but eternally. I'm spending way too much on earth stuff." What we spend on interest, what we spend on luxuries alone could probably pay for most of the ministry needs you've heard of in the world today.

The fact is, most of our checkbook entries point to ourselves; spending on me, spending on earth stuff. Isn't it time we balanced our checkbook in line with what will last; steadily decreasing the percentage we spend on our kingdom, and steadily increasing the amount we spend on Christ's forever kingdom?

Jesus is saying, "If I don't have your treasures, I don't have your heart." Your life could be so much more significant and so much more satisfying if you would just balance your checkbook with heaven in mind.

Walk thru the Bible in upstate NY

was WAY UP north right near Lake Ontario at the Yates Baptist Church doing a Walk thru the Bible Old Testament seminar yesterday. They were a fun group of people and I was blessed to be able to share with them. Thanks to Pastor Lyell for allowing me to come. And than you to my friend Stacey and his wife Stephanie for their hospitality!

The Mystery Plane and the Unsinkable Ship

As a "frequent flyer," I've flown a lot of miles over the years all over the world. So let me tell you the eerie disappearance of Malaysia Air 370 hit a little too close to home. I've said the sad goodbyes to my wife and children and boarded those international flights. They prayed - I prayed - that "daddy will get home safe." The 239 passengers on that plane did not.

Beyond the mystery of what happened is the misery of those left behind. I mean, you probably watched as I did the unspeakable grief of the loved ones of those passengers, waiting for word on the person they love and watching hope slip away.

It's always painful to lose someone you love, but the suddenness of this, the devastating possibilities, all the awful unanswered questions that may never be answered.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Mystery Plane and the Unsinkable Ship."

For some reason, watching all this unfold took me back to another disaster that riveted the world over a century ago. An unspeakable tragedy, out of the blue. Information slow in coming. No trace of many passengers. Loved ones desperate for information. It wasn't a plane that disappeared. It was a ship. You know, the Titanic with 2,200 people aboard. The scope of the loss defied anything anyone could conceive.

And there, in Liverpool, families were waiting to learn the fate of someone they loved. As news filtered back from the disaster, White Star Lines notified the next of kin by posting the name of each identified passenger on a board outside their office with two lists: "Those known to be saved" and "Those known to be lost." Two groups. Only two. When they had set sail, they were first class, second class, third class and crew. Now they were saved or lost.

As I've been exposed to God's heart as expressed in the Bible, I've realized that's how He views all of us. Whatever group we're in - ethnically, politically, religiously, socially - He sees each of us being in one of two groups: saved or lost.

Here's how the Bible says it. It's in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 John 5:11-12, "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." Now, it's not in Christianity. It's not in any religion. It's in His Son, Jesus. It goes on to say, "And he who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

That's because His Son did what had to be done for a sinner like me to ever go to God's heaven. God's really clear about the penalty for my cosmic defiance of my Creator's rule of my life. It says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). That's not the stopping of your heart. That's eternal separation from the source of all life and love, and everything good in the universe; eternal separation from God - lost forever.

Except for the hope in that statement, "God has given us eternal life." In the person of His Son, Jesus, who, again according to God's Book, "carried our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). So what was happening on that cross was the payment for your sin and mine; the only One God could ever accept. Why did He do that? Because it says, "He came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15) like me. Like you.

I was once "known to be lost." But the greatest miracle of my life is that I'm now "known to be saved" because God sent a Rescuer, and I grabbed His outstretched hand. Which may very well be reaching to you where you are right now. Would you grab His hand and say, "Jesus, you are my only hope. I am yours"?

If you want to know how to do that, if you want to be sure you belong to Him, would you meet me at our website and let me show you there how to secure your relationship with Christ. Go to ANewStory.com. This is your day to be rescued by the Rescuer who gave His life to save you.

A full weekend of Ministry and God's blessing!

I had a busy weekend of ministry! Saturday I was in my old storming grounds of the Northern Tier. As I drove north from Jersey Shore on Route 44, the memories of living up there, the wildlife, great motorcycle roads and scenery made me homesick for the area. I taught a MAD Live Event at the First Baptist Church of Cedar Run on Saturday. I then hurried south to Paxinos, PA to speak at a Father/Son dinner, then I did a MAD Live Event at the Stonington Baptist Church today. I was blessed by the response of the people in both churches, and I praise God for another 8 souls added to the Lamb's Book of Life!

Is Jesus Lord?

Is Jesus Lord? - James MacDonald

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you” (Psalm 16:1–2, ESV).

Christians casually, sometimes even flippantly, refer to Jesus as Lord. It’s not without precedent—in the New Testament, Jesus Christ is referred to as Lord 740 times. But what does it really mean to call Him “Lord”? It means Jesus is our ruler, sovereign, owner, master, and sole authority. He is Lord.

Without Jesus as your Lord, you have no good thing. As David expressed in Psalm 16, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” Don’t be deceived by what you think you have—youth is fleeting, wealth is empty, gifts and abilities are ultimately worthless. Without Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, you have no good thing. Surrendering to His lordship is the starting point and purpose for true life.

A popular but terribly misguided notion is that Jesus can be your Savior without being Lord. Perhaps you’ve even thought this way: I’m trusting in Jesus to forgive my sins; later in life I’ll make Him Lord. That thinking is false—nobody makes Jesus Lord. He is Lord. The question is whether you will bow your knee to Him willingly in this life or under compulsion in the next (Philippians 2:10–11). He doesn’t just want to forgive you and escort you to heaven. He wants to live through you and change you on the way.

So what does it mean to experience Jesus Christ as Lord of your life? It means you are yielding to His rule over every area of your life. He is . . .

Lord of your conduct. Jesus wants His desires and His will to rule over your actions, your words and feelings—your very character.

Lord of your relationships. Jesus wants to preside over your dating relationship or how you treat your spouse. He wants to rule over the way you parent. Jesus wants to be Lord over every interaction with business associates. All your relationships should yield to His rule.

Lord of your time. What should you do with your available time? How should you invest your life? If you want to live a life of purpose, you need to be about more than just flipping pages on the calendar. Jesus wants His priorities to be yours.

Lord of your talents. When you become a Christian, you are given some unique gifts; they are supernatural abilities intended to build God’s kingdom. Jesus wants to be Lord of the talents He gave you—whether those are gifts of music, teaching, mercy, helping, etc. Jesus wants to rule over how you invest those gifts in His kingdom.

Lord of your treasure. According to Christ, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Jesus doesn’t care about the cash that’s burning a hole in your wallet. He cares about your money because He knows that until He has what you have, He doesn’t have you. When you surrender all you have to the lordship of Jesus, He gives it back so you can use it for Him. And He wants you to experience the joy in that.

Have you embraced Jesus as Lord? Nothing in your life will ever make sense until this does. If you ever wonder, What is life really about? How shall I invest my life?—here is your answer. Everything flows from this: Jesus Christ as Lord.

How the Lord used us in MAY of 2014

“May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.” Cathy and I praise God for another great month of ministry. We completed 5 MAD Live Events and we were blessed to have seen the Lord save 16 more people who surrendered their lives to Christ in repentance and faith! God is good! We presented to one large group – about 180 people and the rest of the events were in smaller churches.

We also safely completed our 7th Annual Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure. We had a small group of men participate, and God blessed us with perfect riding weather and safety. As usual, there were great times of fellowship and sharing and Cathy kept us full of good food. We rode on the Devil’s Triangle, the Tail of the Dragon, and the Cherohala Skyway. Upon leaving the Devil’s Triangle, we were passing Powell, TN, so I thought the guys would enjoy visiting The Crown College of the Bible. We stopped in unannounced and were treated to a wonderful tour by Dr. Samworth, the man in charge of the seminary. What an amazing place this college is!

Over the years we have lodged at different places for this trip, but each presented a unique set of challenges. This year we were led to an incredible place which we plan on using every year from now on (Lord willing). We can’t say enough good things about the Smoky Mountain Christian Village in Pigeon Forge. It is an amazing facility with a service minded, loving and caring staff. If you ever travel to eastern TN, check it out!

What a huge blessing we received after completing a MAD Live Event in Allentown, PA. A family attended the MAD Live Event and their careers involve TV and video production. They were impacted by the training and offered to film and edit a professional introductory video for our ministry website. They also offered to do a full video of a MAD Live Event with 3 TV cameras…one on me, one on the screen and one capturing audience reaction. These videos will be edited and compiled into a set which we can offer to people and churches. This video series of the MAD Live Event could then be posted on the www.myproplay.com website which will provide us with the opportunity to equip many more people, provide us with MUCH needed exposure, and give us some addition revenue for the ministry. We are looking for a church within a reasonable driving distance of Allentown so this professional quality DVD set can recorded and produced. We would appreciate your daily prayers about this opportunity specifically.

After doing the final MAD Live Event of the month in Whitehouse Station, NJ, the church asked me to stay and address all of the small groups and combined Sunday School classes on Sunday. The sanctuary was pretty full and I spoke for about 75 minutes summarizing the teachings from the day before, and quoting a number of passages from David Platt’s book, Follow Me. I HIGHLY recommend that everyone purchase his two books – Radical and Follow Me. They truly rocked my world and they will rock yours as well. They’re only about $8-9 apiece on Amazon and other sites. Based on the feedback, it was clear that the Holy Spirit was working powerfully in hearts and lives. Many, many people spoke with me at the half hour break between Sunday School and the service, as well as after the service was over. Praise God!!!

We also received a donation and thank you letter from someone attending this event in Allentown: “Thank you for coming to Cedar Crest on Saturday. It happened to be my 50th birthday and there is no better way that I could have spent it.”

For those not connected to our ministry Facebook page, you can become a follower of my BLOG, which is on my website near the bottom. It will regularly update you as to what the Lord is doing and how He is using us.

On the financial side, we were blessed to see an uptick in our support raising efforts. We are now at ~58%! We praise God for this as we have lost some supporters due to financial issues related to the economy, but God has graciously brought us some new supporters to make up for the losses and actually increased our numbers! PTL!!! We thank you for your faithful support. God has been so faithful to us, keeping us alive and providing for our needs through our faithful monthly supporters and the love offerings we receive at the MAD Live Events. We continue to trust Him to meet our needs.

JUNE SCHEDULE

• June 1 - Teach Adult Sunday School Class - Calvary Bible Church, Whitehouse Station, NJ • June 7 - MAD Live Event - Slate Run Baptist Church, Slate Run, PA • June 7 - Speak at Men’s Banquet - Stonington Baptist Church, Paxinos, PA • June 8 - MAD Live Event - Stonington Baptist Church, Paxinos, PA • June 10 – CEF Interviewer training class – I have been asked by CEF to interview a number of summer campers, determine if they have a relationship with the Lord, and if not, lead them to Christ. I have to attend this class to be trained before the interviews are done over a period of 2 days in August. • June 14 - Walk thru the Bible Old Testament Seminar - Yates Baptist Church - Lyndonville, NY • June 21 - MAD Live Event - Rio Knoxville - Knoxville, TN • June 22 - MAD Live Event - Ewtonville Baptist Church, Dunlap, TN

PRAYER REQUESTS

• “Fall bookings” is our number one prayer request. It is a day-in and day-out struggle to get dates on the calendar. Please pray for open doors and the exposure we need so our phone begins to ring. In the meantime, I will continue to grind it out on the phone! • Please pray that we will get into larger churches and have more people attend the Live Events. We have no control over how many people attend our Events, but the average number of participants is way down this year, most likely because we have been ministering in smaller churches. Our desire is to have more of an impact for the Kingdom. • There’s a possible breakthrough in regards to the opportunity to advertise in the national Christian motorcycle ministry’s monthly magazine. Please pray for victory in this opportunity. • For God’s Spirit to move powerfully as we minister in the places where He opens doors

Love in Christ, Cathy and Don