Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - Together On the Outside, Broken On the Inside - #5044

Thursday, May 11, 2006

He's three months old, and he looks like the picture of health. He's a handsome baby with a full head of dark hair, he's doubled his weight since he was born, he's strong, he takes in everything going on around him, and he's got a smile that will melt your heart. But inside, it's a different story. He's already had two major heart surgeries in his short life and there's the prospect of more in the future.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today "Together On the Outside, Broken On the Inside."

That little guy is a picture of so many of us. He looks so healthy on the outside, but he's got major heart problems on the inside. Most of us have figured out how to look so together and so in control. But inside, where no one but God can see, it's a very different story.

Inside there's those secrets that no one knows; that darkness that we hope no one ever knows; those wounds that no one can heal; the guilt that no one can remove; the answers that no one can give us; the fear and insecurity and frustration of not really being sure why we're here or where we're going.

In some strange way, those disturbances in your heart are actually the whispers of the God who made you. They are the hollow echoes in a heart that He was supposed to inhabit, a life that He was supposed to direct. The trouble that hides behind our image of strength is really telling us that someone's missing; that somehow we are away from the God who is the source of our life and of all that's missing inside us.

Of course, God isn't fooled by our cool exterior. The Bible says that though "man looks at the outside appearance ... God looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 ) And here's what the Bible says about all our secrets: "He knows the secrets of the heart." (Psalm 44:21 ) And then it says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13 ) That should concern us, because in the Bible's words, "God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ." (Romans 2:16 )

Here's what He says about the results of His spiritual EKG of your heart and mine: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure." (Jeremiah 17:9 ) That's why God can't live in the heart that was made for Him - our sin. But then, in Ezekiel 36 , beginning with verse 26, our word for today from the Word of God, He gives us this stunning promise: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you ... I will put My Spirit in you ... you will be My people and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness."

That saving, that spiritual rescue from certain death, didn't come cheap. It cost God the life of His Son. It took the sacrifice of the only perfect life there ever was to absorb God's punishment for all your sin. And it took His resurrection from the dead to open the way for you to live with God forever in heaven - forgiven, clean, one of His kids - forever.

That's the amazing offer that Jesus makes to you today. What you feel in your heart is His knocking on the door of your heart. He's giving you this opportunity to open up your life to Him to be your personal Savior from your personal sin. This can be the day that He gives you a new heart spiritually; the day the God of the galaxies literally moves into you upon invitation. How do you do that? You tell Him, "God, I know I've sinned. I know You sent Your Son to pay for my sin. And I believe He is my only hope. So I'm turning from the sin that has kept me from You and I'm turning to Jesus to make me clean and to make me Yours."

I'm committed to helping you find Him for yourself. That's why I've prepared a brief and really simple explanation of just how to begin your personal relationship with God. You can listen to it or you could read it at our website; that's yoursforlife.net. Or you can call to get Yours For Life in booklet form at 877-741-1200.

You're just one heartfelt prayer away from God's miracle in your heart. You began your day away from Him. You can go to sleep tonight with Him in your heart.