A beard really changes people - especially men. You can make a man look older, scruffier, wiser, or more suspicious. A beard does amazing things. Some wives and girlfriends can't wait for their guy to grow it. Others can't wait for him to shave it. My friend, Lou, spent much of his time clean-shaven. He also spent many of those same years as an alcoholic. They were terrible years for his wife and for his daughters. One day, Lou became so desperate he surrendered the control of his out-of-control life to Jesus Christ. From that moment on, the Savior beat that bottle that had always beaten Lou, and right about then, he started to grow a beard. He actually has had it for several years, but a couple of years ago he decided to shave it one morning. He walked out to his family, and he said, "Hey, what do you think?" His little girl started to cry. She begged her Daddy to grow his beard back. See, the old face made her think of her old Dad. She was afraid the old Dad was back.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Old You, Gone for Good."

Our word for today from the Word of God is in 2 Corinthians 5:17. It's a promise from God to do something we could never do for ourselves. It's a miracle only He can do. Listen to this: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Man, what words! "New creation" not from the outside in. No, this is from the inside out, and it's what happened to Lou and it could happen to you. You've got to come to the point where you're tired of not being the man or woman, or the husband or wife, or the mom or dad that you really want to be. You know, that person that you love really needs you to change.

Okay, here's my right hand on the right side of this table. This is the man I want to be - that people need for me to be. Now, here's my left hand over here on the other side of the table - this is what I actually am. I can't seem to close this gap between these two hands. That admission in itself is the first step to having a new you. Behind our mask of having it all together is a man or woman who may be addicted to selfishness, or unfaithfulness, or to lust, or to depression, or maybe we're addicted to a temper that's out of control, a sexual appetite, a habit. We've tried reforming. It hasn't worked!

That's what gets us ready for Jesus. See, you're ready as this verse says, to be "In Christ." Without Him, we're in trouble. The ultimate diagnosis of our inner darkness is called sin. We've got the wrong person running things. And the Bible says, "Sin, when it is full grown gives birth to death." Sin separates us from the people we love, from the person we want to be, from the person we need to be. Worst of all, it separates us from our Creator forever, unless we are "In Christ."

How do you get in Christ? John 3:16 says, "God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not die, but will have eternal life." All that faith that you've put in yourself and your religion and in other people? You take all that and you put it all in Jesus now. You say, "Jesus, I'm yours."

That's the new beginning, a new dad, a new mom, a new son, a new daughter, a new mate, a new friend. Someone much stronger will be in your driver's seat. Jesus will take your life places you never dreamed it could go and daily recreate you into someone who is becoming like Jesus Himself. Why don't you make this the day that the new you begins - your new beginning day. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours."

In fact, our website is there to help that new beginning, it's called ANewStory.com. Check it out today and you can find, there, what you need to know to begin this relationship with Jesus.

As my friend's daughter found out, a new Dad is more than just a new face. It's a transformed heart. It's a miracle only Jesus can do. And it's a miracle that Jesus is waiting to do for you right now.

Mystery rides were part of growing up at our house. Usually it was a Sunday afternoon, and I'd pile our three kids into our car for a ride. I think we explored every corner of our area. And as we did, we discovered over the years, a lot of great things. But I've got one son who's a lot like me. He wants to know the plan before we leave.

"Hey, Dad, where are we going? Where are we going to eat? What are we going to eat? What are we going to do while we're there? How long will we be there? What time are we going to get home?" He would pump me with more questions; I felt like I was being interrogated by a police sergeant. Sometimes I knew it was better not to explain where we were going. I mean we've done things that would have sounded boring if I had told about them, but they turned out to be exciting and I knew they would. Plus surprises are fun anyway. So, my kids got used to hearing two words when we were about to begin a mystery trip, "Trust me." I don't think I let them down. It was good training for journeys with their other Father.

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

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the life of the Apostle Paul. He's still Saul of Tarsus here. Acts 9 - he's on his way to wipe out Christians. He missed some in Jerusalem. So he said, "I'll get them in Damascus. They all went there; I'll find them in Syria." We begin in verse 3: "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?' 'Well, who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 'Now, get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'"

Now, it's interesting that Saul's training for his whole life in Christ began immediately with a mystery trip. Yeah, did you notice that? He has just opened up to Jesus, and the Lord says, "Go into the city and you will be told." "Lord, what do you want me to do there? Who am I going to meet there? How am I even going to be able to see; I'm blind right now?" The Lord says, "Go and you will be told." Well, he spent the rest of his life living like that.

In Acts 20, when he was on his way to Jerusalem as the great Apostle Paul and his friends were trying to discourage him, he said, "Compelled by the Spirit, I am going not knowing." See, you have a heavenly Father who often takes His children on mystery trips. Maybe you're on one of His mystery trips right now. There's a good destination He's got in mind, but right now He's telling you just the next step. In essence, He's saying to you as He did to Saul, "Go, and you will be told as you are on the way."

It may well be that you're in the middle of one of those times right now, and the tendency is to say, "Now, Lord, if you'll just give me all the information, give me all the facts, I'll start going that direction." And the Lord says, "No, you start moving in that direction I've told you to go, and you'll get more information as you go."

Now, maybe you're waiting to have all your questions answered before you move, and right now there are more question marks than there are periods or exclamation points for sure. Can you almost hear your Father saying as He bundles you into His car, "Trust Me, let's start traveling together."

Hey, He died for you. Is He ever going to do you wrong? God's mystery trips always lead to a destination that is selected with you in mind, for your good. So, why not settle back, enjoy the trip, and let Him drive. Trust your Father and don't be afraid of going not knowing.

This was a Fourth of July where there would be no fireworks. Just a lot of tears.

It was raining when the campers went to sleep that night. But no one knew that the Guadalupe River would turn into a raging flood while they slept.

The girls at Mystic Camp were awakened by that flood smashing into their cabins. Some were able to escape. Twenty-four could not.

A few days ago, the President recalled that awful night. In the middle of his State of the Union address. He told the story of one of the Mystic Camp girls. Her name, Milly Cate. Eleven years old.

In the midst of the surging flood, she prayed for God to save her.

And a man who seemed to come out of nowhere, did.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hope When The Water Is Rising."

He was Scott Ruskan. Coast Guard rescue swimmer. You know those guys who come down from a chopper to rescue people from oceans and housetops.

Now Scott had gone to college to major in accounting. But Somewhere along the way, he decided his calling was to rescue. But this was his first mission.

And he was the answer to Milly Cate's prayer.

We know that because the President of the United States told us told the story. He said, "As the waters threatened to sweep her away, 11-year-old Milly Cate McClymond closed her eyes and prayed to God she thought she was going to die. Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescuer Scott Ruskan descended from a helicopter above."

You know Milly Cate was one of 164 people that he rescued that awful night. He was the only first responder around.

The President introduced him and then honored him on the spot with the prestigious Legion of Merit medal for "exceptionally meritorious conduct."

But his real "award," well that was the young girl next to him. Milly Cate.

Who, facing almost certain death, had one hope that night. A rescuer from above. Thank God, he came.

You know in a way, that's my story, too. And, no doubt, the story of many who are hearing this.

I want you to hear our word for the day from the Word of God. It tells the greatest rescue story of all.

Galatians 1:4: "Jesus gave His life for us... to rescue us."

Now with Good Friday approaching, that's what that middle cross at a place called Skull Hill was all about. The greatest act of love in the history of mankind. As the Bible explains, "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24).

And that's because instead of living for the One who gave us our life, we have raised our fist and said, "You run the universe, God - I'll run me." And spiritual hijacking carries an unspeakable, eternal death penalty.

So there I was, I stood facing the onrushing flood of the judgment of Almighty God. Nothing I could do could pay that death penalty.

And here is the stunning rescue story that captured my heart forever. I did the sinning. God's Son did the dying! That's how much He loves me, and you.

The Rescuer from above didn't just risk His life to save us. He gave His life.

And like a camper facing death that tragic night, my only hope was a Rescuer from above. And I'm compelled to say this today. And get to you with this message, because I don't want you or anybody to miss Him. God says, "I have set before you life and death. Now choose life" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

I pray you will do that this day. If you have never reached out to the Rescuer to be your rescuer from your sin take care of that now. Say, "Jesus I am yours from this day forward."

Check out our website would you, because there you will find what you need know to be sure you belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com.

Because when Jesus comes to rescue you, you ought to grab His hand. Because Hope has come.