Fall Creek Christian Church

“I, the Lord, was very angry with your ancestors. Therefore, say to the people, 'This is what the Lord Almighty says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty."  Zechariah 1:2-3 Having watched my children play soccer for many years, it took them a long time to learn that sometimes they needed to return the ball to the back in order for it to go forward. It's counter-intuitive, but critical to changing the point of attack to exploit the weaknesses of an opponent.   In our verses for the day, God let the people know they had some returning to do. Before they could move forward as a nation, they had to go back and return to the one they had left. They had to own their past mistakes, look hard into the mirror of reality and then come clean before God.  Returning can be an extremely tough proposition. It typically involves apologies, restitution and a large helping of humble pie. Are there any places you need to return to? It may be that your next breakthr

“Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are. But Jonah got up and went into the opposite direction to get away from the Lord." Jonah 1: 2-3a As soon as I made the turn, something told me that things were not quite right. I'm sure it was my sharp tactical senses that alerted me and not the fact that the oncoming traffic was in the exact same lane as I was. Thankfully, I was able to swerve off the road before the inevitable and unfortunate lead news story materialized. As our verses for the day clearly indicate, going the wrong way is not unique to me. Jonah got all turned around too. However, his wrong way moment was not caused by an unfortunate bad guess. He was on the run. Not from some dark sinister force. No, he was on the run from God! This wrong way decision led to that whole nasty belly of the fish business. Eventually, Jonah did do his job. However, we're never quite sure if his heart eve

“Dear friend, don't let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God's children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God."  III John 11 I remember listening to a speaker many years ago who posed this question to all of us in the audience. "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" My mind drifted to a whole series of questions. Would I be found guilty? Do words alone suffice? What would be the nature of the evidence? Would everyone agree on just exactly what evidence would be needed?  Jesus' best friend John had put some thought into this very question as well. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, he identified in this verse one of the clear indicators of a person who is walking with Jesus - they do good. When faced with a decision to do things God's way or the world's way, they consistently choose God's way. In y

“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

“Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me." Ezekiel 33:7 I was warned several times as a young man to drive slower in snowy conditions. Embarrassingly, it took more than one trip into the ditch before I began to realize the warning was legitimate. Warnings are a big deal. Heeding or ignoring them can mean the difference between life and death. Ezekiel highlights in the verses for the day that God had even established the job of "watchman" for the sole purpose of delivering warnings. As God's prophet, Ezekiel was charged to issue spiritual warnings on God's behalf to God's people. Serious stuff. He was told later that if he didn't give the warnings, he would be held responsible and presumably dealt with accordingly. Who are the "watchmen" today? Who has the job of issuing warnings? Who is responsible to tell people, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, bu

“And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him."  Hebrew 9:27-28 Many great stories begin with the word, "Once." Yours did. Mine did. We were physically born once. My birthplace was South Dakota. You have yours. We are glad that some moments are "once" moments. We wish other "once" moments were more than once. Either way, they are significant and unavoidable as we see in our verses for the day.   The writer of Hebrews gives us a solid dose of reality in the whole "once" conversation. Each of us will die ... once. Judgment is to follow. We will stand before God. How that goes depends on how we have responded to another "once" moment - one in Jesus' life. He died for our sins once. By doing so,

“For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we are. Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God whom we must explain all that we have done."  Hebrews  4:12-13 I immediately knew something wasn't quite right. Unfortunately, the crystal clear pool water provided me no safe harbor from the reality that my swimsuit was now around my ankles. I moved quickly to rectify the situation, but I was pretty sure some of the poolside conversation revolved around the briefly appearing full moon in the middle of a hot, sunny day. Being exposed is typically a situation that most of us look to avoid. Given that reality, verses like the ones for today can be more than a little troubling ... "innermost thoughts", "exposes", "nothing can hide", "naked and exposed"... Yikes!!! Add

“Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are defiled. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are despicable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good."  Titus  1:15-16 I'm sure there were moments in my life growing up where my parents wish they could've denied knowing me. Moments where it would have been easier to simply say, "Nope, I have no idea whose kid that is", than to deal with the reality of my actions. I'm thankful they didn't as I'm sure my kids are glad that I've never denied them. It's a real bummer to be denied, to be disowned, for someone we care about to just walk away. Here in Paul's letter to Titus, we find out that it's possible to deny God. Here, he's not speaking about the person who says, "I don't believe in God." He's talking about the pe

“Remember that some people lead sinful lives, and everyone knows they will be judged. But there are others whose sin will not be revealed until later. In the same way, everyone knows how much good some people do, but there are others whose good deeds won't be known until later."   I Timothy 5:24-25 I was more than a little confused when I opened the letter. It was from the city of Dayton. It contained a picture of our van, a comparative analysis of our speed and the posted speed limit and finally an invitation to send them some money to make restitution for our transgression. The inability to see the driver in the photograph has led to an ongoing debate in our home as to who was actually driving at the time. Regardless, weeks after the incident we had to face justice and send them a check.  "Later" is a very common and significant theme in the Bible. The complete fulfillment of all the promises of God are reserved for later. Paul tells Timothy in this letter that &qu

“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 now the Lord pleads, 'Stop right where you are! Look for the old, godly way and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, 'No, that's not the road we want!'"  Jeremiah  6:16 I've made it a point recently to go for drives with no particular place to go. No time crunch. No agenda. Just open windows and radio on. I'll turn somewhere thinking, "I wonder where this road leads." Off I go to find out. I've learned that every road ends up somewhere even if it's nowhere ... as in a dead end.   Through his prophet Jeremiah, God spoke about paths and roads too. We never just end up somewhere. We've made numerous choices along the way that have taken us exactly where we are right now. God told his people that the godly way, the right path laid out by God himself is the one that leads to a rest-filled soul. Yet, we reject it. "That's not the road I want!", we say. What's the condition o

“If you fail under pressure, your strength is not very great." Proverbs 24:10 "And then, I completely lost it." Have you ever told a story that contained that line before? I have. Typically, it ends with me apologizing to any number of people. The pressure of the moment was too much. Looking back, it would be more accurate to say that my strength was actually too little.  The writer of this Proverb stated it clearly. When there is failure ... be it a blow-up, a moral collapse, or the fumbling of a wonderful opportunity ... the blame is not to be placed anywhere else. It's ours and ours alone. When we wilt under pressure, it's our lack of strength that needs to be addressed. Circumstances are just circumstances. The antidote to our strength shortage? We must find strength from somewhere, from someone else. Consider Paul's triumphal statement, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." We need  Jesus Strength!  When we accept Jesus as

“...'You will not recover from this illness.' When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord...Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: 'Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, 'This is what the God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life...'"  Isaiah 38:1-6 Nearly thirty years ago, I was bound and determined to ask someone a very important question. Hours were spent formulating and preparing for the moment. In spite of my nerves and in spite of the numerous ways the "ask" could have been derailed, I went for it. From the moment the ring went on her finger to this present moment, I am beyond thankful that I asked my wife for her hand in marriage. Hezekiah, the king of Judah, found the wonder of asking as well. He was told to get his house in order. Game over. His earth journey was finished. Then, he asked. It was a bold ask for sure. God, in his

“Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority." I Peter 3:22 There have been more times than I care to admit where I've had an authority problem. And like the lyric to a famous song I've discovered, "When I fight authority, authority always wins." It doesn't matter if I get caught or not. Rebellion has never served me well. Sooner or later, I come to regret those decisions that represent me demanding my way particularly those that run contrary to Jesus' instructions. In our verse for the day, Peter provides us with a glimpse behind the curtain into the throne room of God. Jesus is there seated in the place of honor next to God. Angels are there. Authorities and powers are there too. In the world unseen to us, there is no confusion as to who is in charge. They all get it. Jesus rules.  Meanwhile, back here on earth, a battle rages. There are pretender

“'Come now, let us argue this out,' says the Lord. 'No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool...'" Isaiah  1:18 The first snowfall of the year always seems to be the most dazzling. The flakes are so clear in flight they appear to be translucent. It's only as they accumulate that the brilliant white is truly revealed. It's remarkable to me how spellbinding it is to watch those flakes drift down so effortlessly out of the sky. And then, once the clouds roll on and the brilliant sun strikes those collected flakes, it's as if a switch has been flipped to reveal a spotless and radiant carpet of light. I believe God was appealing to his people using just such a scene to powerfully communicate what it means to be forgiven by God. He alone is uniquely positioned to do the impossible -- remove any vestige of the stains of s

“because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between yes and no. He is the one whom Timothy, Silas, and I preached to you, and he is the divine Yes - God's affirmation. For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in him. That is why we say "Amen" when we give glory to God through Christ." I Corinthians 1:19-20 We've all heard the expression, "Their word is as good as gold." In other words, this person keeps their promises. They honor their commitments. They have a track record of reliability. Most of us want that kind of a reputation. We'll go to great lengths to build it and protect it. And yet, on occasion we have failed to deliver on our word. Thankfully, most people will be patient and understanding until it becomes habitual. In our verses for the day, Paul emphatically points to the faithful promise keeper, the "Yes" of God who is a person - Jesus. He is the living embodiment of the fulfillment of God's promises. Ev

“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. How my heart yearns within me! I am overwhelmed at the thought."    Job 19:25-27 As I stood there looking intently into the deep space images captured on film by the Hubble telescope, my sense of smallness was at an all-time high. To be a speck of humanity on a speck of dust called the earth in a speck of a solar system in a speck of a galaxy among galaxies was too overwhelming to process. I withdrew from those photos stunned, but also in awesome wonder of the one who made and sustains it all. Suffering Job found himself lost in wonder too. He was completely overwhelmed at the thought of being in the presence of his Redeemer. Not even his dying and decaying body could dissuade him of the anticipatory joy of seeing God face to face. As a man of great faith, he knew

“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 I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said, 'O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel."  Nehemiah 1:4-6a Once, while on a spelunking adventure with a group of teenage guys, one of the larger young men got stuck, seriously stuck. All the pushing and pulling we were doing was in vain. He was seriously scared and as his youth pastor, I was a wreak. Finally, after a moment's rest to catch our breath, the Lord nudged me to pray. As my eyes opened at the, "Amen", I saw a ledge above him I hadn't seen before which enabled me to get the leverage I needed to pull him out ... to cheers and tears of praise. Nehemiah was broken. The thought that God's people and God's city, Jerusalem, were in disarray was

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."  Acts 4:31 I was sitting in my kitchen as a kid when I felt something I had never felt before. The water in the glass on the counter began to ripple and a muffled rattle was coming from the cabinets. Bewildered, I strained my young mind trying to figure out just exactly what was happening. And then ... "Earthquake!!" Well, okay a mild tremor, but still, it was certainly an anomaly and a bit disconcerting. Things, me, being shaken by a powerful force forged an indelible memory in my brain. The group in Acts 4:31 were shaken as well. No, it wasn't an earthquake, a passing jet, or a crashing thunderbolt. None of those come close to the force that shook their meeting place that day. It was nothing less than God himself, the Holy Spirit,who filled them up from the top of their heads to the soles of thei

“For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen." Romans  11:36 I enjoy a great question. Most of us do. A good question is one that can't be handled with trite answers. They inspire something deeper than intellectual curiosity. At one time the question, "Why do you think she is the one you are supposed to marry?" was just such a question for me. At another time, "What makes you so sure you should be in full-time ministry?" tumbled through my thoughts. Good questions deserve good answers.   In the verse for the day, Paul takes just a few words to answer three monumentally significant questions. It's truly remarkable. First question. Where did everything come from? Second question. How does everything maintain its existence? Third question. Why in the world is everything here anyway. The answers: God, God's power, and God's glory. Everything was made for him and by him. Everythi

 " Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love." I John  4:18 It's a great relief to have negative things expelled from our lives. After having my wisdom teeth removed, they went into dry sockets. Pain and misery were my only companions for nearly two weeks. There is no way to describe the elation when they finally healed up. I felt like jumping, dancing and doing flips for joy. The only reason I didn't is because I can't really jump, dance or do flips, but you get the point.  In our verse for the day, John tells us something truly remarkable. Fear has been expelled from the life of the one who truly embraces the love of God in Jesus. How does that happen? Fear involves punishment. If we still think we are going to be punished for our sin, we haven't fully understood what Jesus was doing on the cross. He took our punishment. Why?

“And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  Matthew  22:39 "To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper." Proverbs 19:8 There are times when I'm looking at my wife or my children listening intently to every word they're saying. I understand the meaning of the words, but I have no idea what they're trying to communicate. I'll give them my all too familiar blank look and say, "I have no idea what you just said or what it is you're asking me." After another pass or two, we normally break through to clarity and move on from there. I've noticed there are times when I'm reading the Bible where I have that similar experience of lack of understanding. The second greatest command of Jesus is one of those examples. It's not so much the "love your neighbor" part. It's the "as yourself" part. What does that mean? One of the great truths about the Bible is

“The oldest son of Israel (Jacob) was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father's concubines, his birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben is not listed in the genealogy as the firstborn son. It was the descendants of Judah that became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation, but the birthright belonged to Joseph."  I Chronicles 5:1-2  Family is a many-splendored organism. For good and, at times, not so good, our families both write and tell a story. We are both products of and reactions to the environments, within which, we grew up. The fact that we are aware of this reality in no way diminishes it's impact. In some cases, it actually heightens our responses. I treasure the family I grew up in and hope and pray my children treasure theirs.  In the verses for the day, the priest and historian Ezra, made a point to explain some of the dynamics in the family of Jacob, also known as

“And now I am going to Jerusalem, drawn there irresistibly by the Holy Spirit, not knowing what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit has told me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus - the work of telling others the Good News about God's wonderful kindness and love." Acts 20:22-24 The boss man's arrival on the job site was normally followed by several barked instructions which would typically be changed two or three times before taking his next breath. He was a no-nonsense, "we gotta job to do" kind of guy. I learned many wonderful lessons from him during those college summers shoveling asphalt. One of which, very simply, was "Do what you're told". It's amazing how many people simply drop the ball on their assignments. With the boss man, you either figured it out right away or you were invited to go home ... with your ears ringing ...

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength."  Proverbs  17:22 Most of us love to laugh. I do. It makes us feel better. During a recent trip with a great group of guys, we laughed ... a lot. I felt refreshed and energized, grateful for the adventure. As I understand it, there is a whole science behind the link of joy and health. Conversely, emotional darkness or the "broken spirit" leaves a person listless and mopey.  The writer of our proverb for today needed no explanation about endorphins to understand the impact of a broken heart. A thick crushing canopy of darkness takes down the heartiest among us. The cure? Cheer. Where does one go to find cheer? It's not found on the street corner or the changing of any circumstance in our lives. Nehemiah spilled the beans ... "The joy of the Lord is your strength." A joy rooted in something or someone other than God himself will ultimately lead us to a place of sapped streng

“For David had done what was pleasing in the Lord's sight and had obeyed the Lord's command throughout his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite."  I Kings 15:5 I remember reading the roster for the sixth grade basketball team. I felt pretty confident going into the tryouts that I would get on the team. If memory serves me correctly, there was an "A" and a "B" team. Surely I was on one of the lists. Nope. It felt like everyone made a team except me. I learned very quickly the sharp stinging edge of the  except . The narrator/author of I Kings was compelled to publish David's  except  once again. Adultery. Conspiracy to commit murder. It was a very ugly story.   David followed God ... most of the time. In Psalm 51, he came to terms with his e xcept  ... "Have mercy on me, O God." God did.  You and I have some of those  excepts  too don't we? We can let them haunt us. We can pretend they never happened and hope they go away. We c

“...God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants -- though he had no children yet. ... As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased."  Acts 7:5, 17 Promises are a big deal. We receive them. We give them. We are angered when others break them and grieved when we break them. I am so thankful that my wife has kept hers to me ... "till death do us part." It hasn't been easy for her. Trust me. Yet, through all these years, she has stood behind her promises. Stephen, in his speech to the religious leaders, made a point to emphasize promises ... specifically, the promises of God. He reminded them of their fulfillment as a precursor to identifying Jesus as the fulfillment of God's ultimate promise, the promise of a deliverer. Their rejection of God's fulfillment of his promise placed them outside of the blessing of the promise. Their res

“Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!' 'My Lord and my God!' Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, 'You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway.'"  John 20:27-29 "You won't believe your eyes!" shouts the carny. "Come see the three-headed chicken!" ... The emcee calls out, "Do you believe?" and then asks for quiet as the master illusionist attempts to perform the "impossible". With a bang and a flash of smoke, the elephant is gone. The crowd cheers. ... What we believe or not believe is the primary course setter for our lives.    Jesus continually called people to believe in him. In the verses for the day, he made an intentional decision to challenge Thomas to believe. He told Thomas to look and touch. He did. He believed. Seeing was believing for Th

“I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live." Psalm 116:1-2 So many people are struggling to be heard these days. There seems to be no limit to the extremes people will go to try to get others to look their way. I'm so grateful for the people in my life who are great listeners. When speaking with them, I don't have to struggle to get a word into the conversation. As a matter of fact, my words are actually invited. And, if the words don't come out no good, it's okay.  Being heard is a big deal ... a really big deal. The writer of today's verses expressed it beautifully. To be heard is to be loved. People are drawn to those who are simply willing to listen. There is no better listener than God himself. He's never too busy, too tired, or disinterested. His ears are turned towards you. Today, there is someone around you hoping you'll listen. You have been gifted by

“...Saul realized his troops were rapidly slipping away. So he demanded, "Bring me the burnt offerings and the peace offerings!" And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself. Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and welcomed him, but Samuel said, "What is this you have done?"..."  I Samuel 13:8-11 1-2-3, spin the ball, shoot. Turn the cap inside out. One practice swing then hit. We see it all the time in sports. Rituals. Attempts by players to get in the zone or by fans to send some magical positive energy to their team through the flatscreen. In the context of sports, it's harmless fun. However, this ritual for outcomes isn't always a harmless proposition. In our verses for today, we see King Saul in trouble. He had been told to wait for Samuel the prophet and priest, but he was overwhelmed with fear. In his panic, he made the decision to make the offerings Samuel was supposed to make. His logi