Fall Creek Christian Church

“Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6-7 I used to be very confused when people told me about panic attacks. I'm ashamed to admit this thought to you, but I used to think that panic attacks were for the weak. I've since learned that they are a common experience for people who are well ... in a word, human. My first bout with them caught me totally by surprise and I honestly had no idea what was happening. I couldn't catch my breath or stop my heart from racing wildly. My prayer life went to a whole new level that day.  In our verses for today, Paul dealt head on with the "life muzzler" of worry. His instruction? Pray more. Ask more. Thank more. Worry loves a vacuum, an idle heart and mind. Paul told us to...

“So you received the message (of Jesus) with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. As a result, you have become an example ... And the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere ... for everywhere we go we find people telling us about your faith in God ..."  I Thessalonians 1:6-8 One of my near daily prayers for my children, and myself for that matter, is that they "shine a bright light." No fading into the crowd. No  -  just like everyone else . Stand up. Stand out ... for all the right reasons. The opportunity to both influence and be influenced is there every single day. The heart of my prayer for my family is that they would be influenced by the good and that they would influence others for the better. When Paul wrote this letter to this church in Thessalonica, he marveled at their example. Everywhere he went, people were talking about this church. They were Christ ...

So he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do You want me to do? Then the Lord  said to him, Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.  -  Acts 9:6 Saul (Paul) who had been persecuting the Disciples, within a matter of moments quickly had the correct response to Jesus and that was “Lord, what do You want me to do?” How many of us have looked not only to a New Year but each day and not bothered to stop and ask this question? This question changed Paul's life, and without a doubt it can change ours also. I had a very wise Elder tell me about 8 years ago that it is more important to ask all the right questions than it is to know all the right answers. As a believer in Christ could there be a more important question that we should be asking? How much different can today, tomorrow and 2012 be if we ask that question vs. asking for God to bless our plans and our decisions? What if we not only ask but that we ...

"For you, dear friends have been called to live in freedom--not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.  For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'   But instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out!  Beware of destroying one another.  Galatians 5:13-15 "Ouch!!", was all I could say.  It was a subconscious response to the wound that I had just received.  In this instance, however, it was not a hammer to my thumb, nor was it a stubbed toe on the dresser.  It was an attempt of a friend to be funny that went wrong.  Later, when we were by ourselves, I told them that I knew they didn't intend to hurt me, but that the words they spoke really stung.  They knew that and were very apologetic and both us are careful these days to speak well to and about each other.  There are...