Fall Creek Christian Church

“So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world."  I Peter  1:13 "Not again" and "What was I thinking?" are, unfortunately, all too familiar phrases to us. I remember, as a teenager, standing next to my severely dented car trying to explain to the police officer why the other two cars that were there were all smashed up. It was a lengthy chat to be sure. The short version? I made a stupid decision. Our verse for the day gives us a solid preventative strategy for avoiding fuzzy mindedness and haphazard living. Look forward. Get your attention passed the immediate moment. Specifically, hold your gaze on Jesus. His arrival is imminent. He brings with him his salvation. Consider just for a second how the decision before us appears next to our revealed Savior. Is it a befitting welcoming gift or not?   Instinctively we know, if only we would have counted to ten, we c...

"That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup unworthily, not honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. But if we examine ourselves, we will not be examined by God and judged in this way."   I Corinthians 11:28-31   I'm not a big fan of self examination. As a matter of fact, there are at least a million other activities I'd rather participate in than taking a good, long, honest look at myself. My guess is most of us would prefer to examine other people's lives. The multitude of gossip magazines and web-sites bear this reality out. Introspection is, at times, uncomfortable, discouraging, and frustrating. We would all much rather say, "Nobody's perfect" and leave it at that than face the cold hard truth about our cold hard hearts. I need to give Paul c...

"Develop your business before building your house."  Proverbs 24:27 On more occasions than I care to remember, I've made the mistake of "after". You know this mistake don't you? We speak to our spouse after we commit to an activity. We determine an item is beyond our budget after we purchase it. We're told the position is actually not a sure thing after we quit our job. We discover a course of action is unwise after we are unable to turn back. Yikes!  It upsets our stomach just thinking about it.   The writer of this proverb was no stranger to this same gut-wrenching error.  His counsel?  In a word - "before".  The principle of "before" will save us countless headaches and sleepless nights.  Before we act, wait.  Before we speak, think.  Before we commit, count the cost.  Before anything and everything, pray. There are at least two action steps that flow from this conversation.  First, it's time to quit trying to justify and...

"Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. 'Why are you being so kind to me?' she asked. 'I am only a foreigner.' 'Yes, I know,' Boaz replied. 'But I also know about the love and kindness you have shown your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully.'" Ruth 2:10-12   If your world is anything like mine, there are no shortages of options as to what to do and where to go.  Choices have to be made.  After all, we cannot do everything.  My wife and I have a "go to" question that helps us sort through the options.  Very simply, "What is the right thing to do?"  We try to set aside our wants, preferences and assumed limitations and seek God for the answer to the question.  We don't always get it right by any stretch o...

"He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." Proverbs 13:20 When our fearless leader showed up with full body white cover ups, I should have known things were about to get really really interesting. The owners of the house, who had no means to pay anyone, had a kitchen drain that had come apart under their crawl space. We were there to fix it in Jesus' name. Water, etc. had been pouring out onto to the ground for who knows how long. We had to lay down some plastic tarp, crawl over the muck and through the cobwebs to get to the drain pipe to repair it. The men I was with that day reminded me that sometimes loving others is a tough and dirty job. The writer of the Proverbs here lets us know in no uncertain terms that we will come under the influence of those with whom we spend our time. Guilty by association if you will. We get to choose ... Do we want to be guilty of being wise or being foolish? Granted, we are told to love ...