Download MP3 (right click to save)

Our grandson was two that day he and Mommy unpacked the Nativity scene and set out all the cast of that first Christmas. Well, everyone except Baby Jesus. They couldn't find Him. Hours later, our concerned grandson greeted Daddy at the door with two words - "Where's Jesus?"

Well, that might be the question God's asking some of us as He looks at our lives this Christmas season. "Where's Jesus?" Because you can have everything but Jesus.

God said to church folks in the Bible: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Now, apparently, you can be into Jesus, but not have Jesus in you! He's in you only if there's been a time when you've personally welcomed Him into your life as your personal Savior who gave His life for your personal sin.

If you want to know Jesus for real, tell Him that. And call us at 888-NEED-HIM.

So, "where's Jesus?" won't be a question anymore. He's in your heart!

Download MP3 (right click to save)

When you name a baby these days, there are books full of names to choose from - including what those names mean. But when God's Son came to earth, the name was picked by God Himself. To tell us exactly why He came.

God said, "You shall call His name Jesus because He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:18). See, Jesus means "Jehovah rescues." God's Rescuer, sent to save you from a deadly situation you can't get yourself out of - the eternal death penalty the Bible says we get for running our own lives. Like those hurricane victims you've seen on rooftops, surrounded by a flood, the only hope is a Rescuer from above. Well, that's you and me, and the Rescuer is Jesus.

Now, this Christmas season, He's come down the rope to save you - if you'll grab onto Him as your only hope. By telling Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

We're here to help you do that. Call us at 888-NEED-HIM or chat with us at ChatAboutJesus.com.

He came such a long way, paid such a huge price, and now He's reaching for you.

Download MP3 (right click to save)

From the giant Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center to the not-so-giant one in our living room, there's a problem with Christmas trees. They're great for a while - and then they're gone.

So are we. The Bible says, "You do not even know what will happen tomorrow...You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14). A "Family Circus" cartoon shows this little boy commenting on the birth and death dates on a tombstone: He said, "I guess Grandpa's life was just the dash between the numbers."

It's important to be ready for eternity whenever and however it comes. That's why I'm so grateful Jesus came that first Christmas. His announced mission: "To save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). And we need saving. Because the Bible makes clear the wrong things we've done have put a wall between us and the God we will meet on Judgment Day.

In God's Words, "Christ died for our sins" (Romans 5:8). He died so we don't have to. This Christmas - what a time to grab Jesus - because we're not guaranteed any more time.

If you want to begin a relationship with Him, chat with us at ChatAboutJesus.com. Get ready for eternity.

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Newborn babies are really cute - and really helpless. Those wrinkly little baby hands really can't do much of anything. Now imagine that Jewish baby in Mary's arms that first Christmas morning, with those helpless little baby hands. The same hands that created a hundred billion galaxies!

The Bible says of Jesus, "By Him all things were created" (Colossians 1:16). Then it follows with this stunning statement: "God forgave us all our sins...He took it away, nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 2:13-14). The baby's hands...the Creator's hands were ultimately the hands that carried your sins and mine to a cross. God took all the sins of your life, put them in the palm of His Son's hands, and nailed them to the cross.

Three days settle your eternity. That Christmas Day when God's Son came to save you. That Good Friday when He died in your place. And today - when you decide whether to grab His hand as your only hope.

If you want to get this settled, call us at 888-NEED-HIM or chat with us at ChatAboutJesus.com and grab the hand that your life depends on!

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Two and a half feet of snow had just left a million people without power where we were! We checked into the motel before the storm, but now as I stood at the front desk the phone rang incessantly. The answer was the same every time, "Sorry, no room" - click. Those are tough words to hear.

Jesus knows that feeling. The night He came, the inn keeper told His dad, "No room," and shut the door. Of course it wasn't the last time Jesus got shut out. A lot of us are so busy and so about running our own life we're basically saying, "Jesus, I like you, but I just don't have room for you." So Jesus can't get into a life that He died for...maybe yours.

He died to pay for the sin that would cause you to be shut out of heaven. But the Bible says, "To all those who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). If you open the door to the man who died for you, you can be sure He'll open the door of heaven to you.

If you're ready to belong to Jesus, give us a call at 888-NEED-HIM, because no room for Jesus means no chance of heaven.

Download MP3 (right click to save)

When our kids were growing up, they faithfully let us know what they wanted for Christmas. Sometime in September, I think. Now they make sure we all know what their kids want!

That first Christmas, God made very clear what His wish is. In the words of the Bible, "The Lord is not wanting anyone to perish" (2 Peter 3:9). And that's why Christmas. That's why Jesus. Here's how the Bible explains the cosmic meaning of that manger: "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

In Bethlehem, God launched His rescue mission to save you from the death penalty for your sin. At the cross, God's Son paid that price.

The Rescuer is reaching for you. Right now. Right where you are. If you're ready to grab His hand, I hope you'll call us at 888-NEED-HIM. God gave the best He had to bring you home.

Download MP3 (right click to save)

I ran into our local newspaper editor at the Christmas parade, and he told me about an exclusive story they were working on. Knowing a little bit about journalist-think, I said, "Hey, it's all about the story, isn't it? Especially when it comes to Christmas, huh?"

And it really is an amazing story. First, the stable - where the God who made the galaxies comes to us as one of us. And then that cross - where the Baby of Bethlehem becomes the sacrifice to pay my death penalty for my sin. And that earth-shaking third chapter - the grave. The empty grave. Where Jesus blew death away, proving that only He can give you eternal life.

The next chapter is waiting to be written by you. As you decide what you will do with the Man who died for you. Give yourself to Him or ignore His death for you. Which will decide the ending of the story? Heaven or hell.

If you'd like to get this settled once and for all this Christmas season, would you call us at 888-NEED-HIM? And your story will never be the same.

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Our granddaughter was only a year old when she revealed that she was going to be our manger arranger. Well, it was pretty moving the first time Mommy saw how her little daughter had rearranged the figures in their manger scene. Everyone - humans, animals - was facing Jesus. And it's been that way every Christmas since.

Now, our granddaughter's onto something. See, every one of us was made to face Jesus. The Bible says we were "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). But the Bible also says we've chosen to go the opposite direction - "Each one has turned to His own way" (Isaiah 53:6). It's called sin. Created for Him, living for me. That's why we're lonely, and empty and wondering why we're here. And why we have no chance of heaven.

Except for what Jesus did. When He paid for our sin on the cross. He's alive today, waiting to welcome you into His love. And if you're ready to have Him forgive every sin, would you call us at 888-NEED-HIM? Because one day you will face Jesus - as your Savior or your Judge.

Download MP3 (right click to save)

Let's be honest - there's something about Christmas that brings out the kid in all of us. Actually, I hope you'll let the kid in you express itself this Christmas - when it comes to the One whose coming we celebrate.

Jesus said, "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). According to Jesus, your going to heaven depends on you putting total, childlike trust in Him as your only hope of heaven. Why? He came here to die for us because our good works, our religion could never pay the death penalty for our sins.

If you're religious, if you've got a lot of Christianity, you really have to swallow your pride to admit that somehow you've missed Christ in it all. But your eternity depends on it. You may have never really given yourself to the One who died to forgive your sins, and it's time. Will you grab Jesus right now like a little child hanging onto his Daddy?

If you want to begin this relationship today, call us at 888-NEED-HIM or chat with us at ChatAboutJesus.com and finally, you'll really belong to Jesus.

Download MP3 (right click to save)

In just a few weeks before Christmas last year, my wife and I had ten friends die. Clouds over Christmas. Especially for the families of those who were gone. Grief and sadness mixed with "joy to the world."

Still, the angels said that first Christmas there was "good news of great joy" (Luke 2:10) - even for those walking through "the valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23:4). Maybe especially for them. See, the prophecy of Jesus' birth said, "The rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living...in the shadow of death" (Luke 1:78, 79).

Jesus has shown a bright light on that dark tunnel we call death. He went there Himself to die for our sins. To open the way to heaven. To shatter death's power. He's waiting to bring that light and that life to you, this Christmas.

If you want this Jesus, would you call us at 888-NEED-HIM. Then even in the valley of the shadow you can say, "I will fear no evil. For You are with me."