Fall Creek Christian Church

"Yet I never shrank from telling you the truth, either publicly or in your homes. I have had one message for Jews and Gentiles alike -- the necessity of turning from sin and turning to God, and of faith in our Lord Jesus." - Acts 20:20-21 I have some wonderful truth tellers in my life. My wife is one. My kids. The leaders at church. Close friends. Truth tellers are those who care more about us than whether or not we like them at any given moment. They says things like, "You're just being selfish. ... That was rude. ... Self-pity doesn't look good on you. ... That's not right. ..." Sometimes I receive these kinds of conversations well. Sometimes ... not so much. I, like all of you, am a work in progress or at least I hope I am. Paul was a truth teller. He was consistent. He didn't present a public face and then a different private face. Truth didn't change with the person's heritage. He was passionate about three things: not sinning, seeki...

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:44 ESV) How many of us have been having a bad day, and someone says something that completely lifts our entire countenance? We instantly feel better, which isn't a bad thing. We are supposed to encourage and support one another. The danger comes when we start collecting the complements as a way to tell ourselves how great we are. We are, at this point, craving the glory from others. The Greek word for receive in the verse above is λαμβάνω lambanō, and one of its meanings is "to collect." We aren't supposed to be like the Pharisees and collect the glory that people give us. We are supposed to reflect that glory as a way if praise to God, admitting that He is the only one that is worthy of that kind of glory. We as Christians cannot allow ourselves to be collectors of glory, but need to become reflectors of glory. We seek the glory that ...