Fall Creek Christian Church

"So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife.(This happened ten years after had settled in the land of Canaan.) So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt." Genesis 16:4-5 The solution was obvious as far as I was concerned. If we were going to avoid bottoming out in the shallow water, we needed to get our canoe right up to the bank where the current was flowing fast and the water was deeper. The problem with my idea was that "right up to the bank" involved encountering substantial tree limbs followed by a large splash. All could have been avoided with a more patient examination. Sarai looked around at the reality of the situation, her barrenness and Abram with no heir, and identified the obvious and common solution in their world of having a servant carry a child for Abram. Apparently, Abram tho...

“When Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign, the king loved her more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. To celebrate the occasion, he gave a banquet in Esther's honor for all his princes and servants, giving generous gifts to everyone and declaring a public festival for the provinces."  Esther  2:16-18 Every once in awhile my retirement planner friend and I get together for lunch. Primarily, we catch up with all that is going on in our lives. We give updates on our families. We share the latest about the ministries, in which, we're involved, and basically just enjoy one another's company. We do, however, make sure somewhere during our time together that we review the retirement plan. We look at what's going on, make changes when we need to and be sure we're both on the same page. Our verses...

"When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community -- the heads of the clans of Israel -- heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they were satisfied.  Phinehas son of Eleazer, the priest replied to them, 'Today we know the Lord is among us because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord as we thought.  Instead, you have rescued Israel from being destroyed by the hand of the Lord.'" - Joshua 23:30-31 Jumping to conclusions is a common malpractice in our interactions with others.  I've wasted an incredible amount of time and energy anguishing over scenarios that existed only in my mind.  I discovered later, if only I would have paused, asked a few questions, waited, or simply listened very carefully, all the angst could have been avoided. In our verses for the day, we see Phinehas and friends practicing the fine art of listening.  It appeared as if 2 1/2 tribes of Israel were committing a great sin and...

"Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom.  And wherever he went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness.  He felt great compassion for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn't know where to go for help.  They were like sheep without a shepherd."      Matthew 9:35-38 As a kid, it somehow makes sense to get into a rock throwing fight with other kids.  The story of Goliath should have alerted me to the potentially harmful outcomes of such an endeavor.  Yet, the rock battle was engaged.  It lasted until I, like the unusually large aforementioned Bible character, caught one of those stones with my forehead.  This predictable outcome was followed by a steady stream of blood and terrified panic.  Fortunately, there was a sweet lady who lived near the war zone who opened her door to me and ten...