Fall Creek Christian Church

Dear Church Family, As most of you know by now, our church building was vandalized on Sunday night.  Like all of you, I have gone through a roller coaster of emotions from being annoyed, to feeling violated, to being angry and everywhere in between.  How could someone stand under the lit cross on the front of our building and hurl rocks to smash our windows?  I'm afraid I don't have any answers for you nor can we ask those responsible as that is still unknown at this point in time.  In praying through this sad event, God has reminded me of some truths that you may find helpful in the face of this crime against us. Our mission as a church is: To lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.  Any church family who is sincerely committed to that mission not only in words, but also in deeds, is a church family who needs to expect and be prepared for any and all attacks from the enemy.  Just to be clear, our enemy as the scriptures say, is not flesh and blood.  We don

"An empty stable stays clean, but no income comes from an empty stable."  Proverbs 14:4 On multiple occasions raising kids, we've had conversations with them about the connection between work and having some spending money.  We'll be asked questions like, "Why did she get money to buy ______ and I didn't?" To which we respond, "Well, did you do _______ or help with _______ ?"  Their expressions are priceless as they answer, "Uh..."  In our family, it didn't take long for the kids to figure out that the one who goes with dad to the hardware store and helps with a project receives a "thank you" of some kind. The proverb for the day expresses this principle in a clear, no non-sense manner.  In an agricultural society, someone with an empty, clean stable was on the fast track to becoming destitute.  Shoveling a little manure is far better than going hungry. There is the obvious application here to earn a living by work

"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 t

"On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel.  He said, 'Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.'  So the sun and the moon stood still until the Israelites had defeated their enemies.  Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar?  The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day.  The Lord fought for Israel that day.  Never before or since has there been a day like that one, when the Lord answered such a request from a human being."   Joshua 10:12-14 Children are fantastic at dreaming up big requests.  They ask us to go to exotic places, to purchase immeasurably expensive items, to perform super human feats, to rewrite history, just to name a few.  For kids, impossible is nothing. Apparently, Joshua had refused to grow up.  Or, perhaps, he simply never lost sight of the magnitude of his Creator.  As the bat

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.  Do everything in love." I Cor. 16:13-14 How would you answer the question, "What does it mean to be a man?"  Desiring to be a man myself and one who wants to encourage others to be men as well, I've thought about it quite a bit.  About the only thing I'm completely sure of is that I have not fully "arrived" in my understanding of what it means to be a man.  Some things I have observed in my journey so far would include: being a male does not make one a man and our society will be of little to no help in increasing our understanding of what it means to be a man.  Our search for answers must begin with and continue with our creator. In our verses for the day, we see God posting a sign ... Wanted: Men  Not just any men.  He's looking for attentive men.  Firmly rooted men.  Men of courage.  Men of strength.  Men who are driven by the highest motivation - Love. Our worl