A WORD WITH YOU By Ron Hutchcraft #4860 - "Moving to Higher Ground" Psalm 46:1-3 Listen to the audio broadcast! http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/ramhurl?p=pnm&f=/rhm/sounds/awwy/awwy4860.rm The Indians call them Paha Sapa. We call them the Black Hills. The people who live in Keystone, South Dakota, call them their backyard. If you have ever visited Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills, you probably drove by or through Keystone. But the Keystone you drive through now isn't where Keystone used to be - not since the flood of 1972. It was devastating. Back then, Keystone was in the valley by a lazy little creek which suddenly became a raging flood one day in '72, roaring through the valley, destroying the town, and claiming many lives in the area. Well, it was then that the folks of Keystone decided to make a change. When they rebuilt their business district and many of their homes, it wasn't on the ground they had always been on. The flood changed all that. They moved up the mountain to higher ground. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Moving to Higher Ground." Life's floods come in many forms; those major crises or disasters that carry away much of what we had been depending on. An illness maybe or a death can do that, a divorce can do it, a disaster, a broken relationship, the loss of your job. There are many upheavals that come rushing in and they change the landscape forever. And they make you think, maybe for the first time, about where is the best place to build the rest of your life. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 46. "God is our refuge and strength; an ever present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea; (here come the floods) though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging" (vs. 1-3). We're talking here about life's major upheavals; everything you used to count on washed away. But remember, "God is our refuge and strength," so we don't have to fear those things. Why? Because when you've lost everything, you haven't lost everything! Not if you have a deep, personal love relationship with the God who never leaves, never lets go of those who belong to Him. The Psalm goes on to say, "The Lord Almighty is with us, come and see the works of the Lord" (vs. 7-8). And then a simple statement that may explain the reason the flood was allowed to happen, so you would finally, "Be still and know that I am God" (vs. 10). Maybe, for all practical purposes, you've been "God" in your life. You've been controlling things; you've been living life your way. And you've been building your life around someone or something here on earth - something or someone that the flood may be washing away, or maybe it already has. God's message to you through all of this stress and pain: "It's time to move to higher ground." Having seen how fragile, how losable all our earth stuff is, maybe you're ready to build on something you can never lose, no matter what hits you. You were created to build your life on the One who gave you your life - God Himself. But the Bible says we've built it on ourselves. And it took the brutal death of God's Son, Jesus on the cross, to pay the death penalty for all of our "I'll be God" choices. The folks in Keystone, South Dakota, would never have considered moving to higher ground until that flood hit. And maybe you would have never considered turning your life over to Jesus Christ, but now the floods have hit. But you know now that nothing earth can offer you will give you what your heart is so hungry for. Isn't it time to move up the hill? It's the hill where Jesus died for you to finally have something "ever-lasting"? If that's what you want, would you tell Jesus that you're done running your life and you want to put your trust in the One who died for your sin? And then, I hope you'll let me send you the little booklet I wrote about this. It's helped others get started with Jesus and it might help you. You can just contact us by going to yoursforlife.net or calling us toll free at 1-877-741-1200. The flood has done its damage. It's sent its message. The ground you've been on is not where you were meant to live. It's time to move to the higher ground that you were made for. And Jesus is the higher ground where you will be safe - forever. If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, and you would like to make sure today, Ron would like to send to you a free copy of the booklet, "Yours for Life: How to Have Life's Most Important Relationship." To read it online, click here: http://www.yoursforlife.net/ OR, to request your free copy of "Yours for Life," click here: http://rhm.gospelcom.net/yours/yflorder.html -------------------------------------------------------------------- Discuss today's "A Word With You," post your comments, or encourage others in our discussion forum! http://forums.gospelcom.net/view/rhm/awwy How can I help support the work of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries? http://rhm.gospelcom.net/support/ To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit YOURS FOR LIFE: HOW TO HAVE LIFE'S MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP at: http://www.yoursforlife.net Or, call 1-888-NEED HIM. "A Word With You" by Ron Hutchcraft is a daily radio challenge, with slice-of-life illustrations and insights - providing practical help on the issues that matter most. If your local Christian radio station does not air "A Word With You," please let them know how much you value this program. Over six years of transcripts are available online, at http://rhm.gospelcom.net/awwy/ Ron Hutchcraft Ministries is a member of the Gospel Communications Network - http://www.gospelcom.net "A Word With You" is a production of: Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc. http://rhm.gospelcom.net/ Email: RHM@... Phone: 1-877-741-1200 Copyright (c) 2005, Ron Hutchcraft. Permission to distribute this material via email, or individual copies, is automatically granted on the condition it will be used for non-commercial purposes, and will not be sold. To reproduce "A Word With You" transcripts in any other format, including Internet websites, written permission is needed from Ron Hutchcraft. Copyright (c) 2005, Ron Hutchcraft. Reprinted with permission. "A Word With You" is a radio outreach of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.