Fall Creek Christian Church

“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