Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - You Are Not Forgotten - #6266

Monday, January 17, 2011

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If you follow baseball, you know what a designated hitter is. When you really need a hit, you put in this guy who's got a really good batting average. Now, we didn't have a designated hitter in our town, but they sort of made me the designated prayer in our town. I'm not sure how I got that assignment, but when they were having some kind of a community function and they needed a prayer, they'd call me.

Well, I had an interesting assignment out of many of those that came up when I was asked to remember America's MIAs and POWs. There was a ceremony for them. Now, in case you've forgotten the initials, MIA means missing in action, and you know, we still think about a number of unaccounted for servicemen left over from past wars. And there have been intelligence reports that some of them may still be alive. So this ceremony was to commemorate them. When I got there, there were some veterans there in their fatigue pants and their black T-shirts, wearing their berets from Vietnam. And there were speeches, a gun salute, a flag raising. And I was impressed by the flag raising, because underneath the American flag they raised a banner, maybe you've seen it. It's a black banner. It has these words on it: You are not forgotten. You know, there are a lot of MIAs who are not from a war that America's military fought. In fact, you might even be one of them.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Are Not Forgotten."

MIA - missing in action. You know, God has MIAs from His family. Maybe it's someone who's been around the Bible, been around Jesus at some point in their life. Yet somewhere they wandered away. Maybe that person is you. Maybe you can remember even as a child being exposed to Jesus and being exposed to the Bible, and somehow you've ended up listening today to a Christian radio station. It's mostly memories, but the memories are there. Now, you're not really against Jesus, but you're not close to Him like you used to be. And you're away from God's people right now; you're away from God's Word, kind of doing your own thing; experimenting. Maybe you've been avoiding the people and the places that would remind you of that Christ that you were once close to. Maybe on the roles of your parents, or your Christian friends, or your church, you're missing in action.

Would you listen to a word for today from the Word of God? Psalm 139 - "Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I arise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go to the heavens you're there. If I make my bed in the depths you're there. If I arise on the winds of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me. Even the darkness will not be dark to You. The night will shine like day, for darkness is as light to You." You know, God's been following your life through every twist, every turn, every detour. And today He's brought us together to raise a banner that says, "You are not forgotten." He loves you. He knows you. He wants you back.

Maybe you're on the other end of the MIA drama. Someone you love is spiritually missing in action. I want you to know that God is lovingly pursuing them today, and your prayer will be answered.

Don't wait until everything comes crashing down to get back to the Lord. The Christ who died for you is calling you home. You've been on enough roads to know that all the other brightly lit paths are dead end streets, aren't they? Why be a prisoner in enemy territory one day longer? Listen, maybe we can help you find your way back to Him. I'd invite you just to check out our website today. A lot of people have gone there at a time like this. It's YoursForLife.net.

Your Savior has not forgotten you, even though maybe you have tried to forget Him. Open up your life. Let His peace replace all that hurt and all that restlessness. You are not forgotten. You can come home today.