Fall Creek Christian Church

“'You go and listen to what the Lord our God says. Then come and tell us everything he tells you, and we will listen and obey.' 'The Lord heard your request and said to me, 'I have heard what the people have said to you, and they are right. Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever.'" Deuteronomy 5:27-29  Do you remember your one shining moment ... that moment where everything in the world was right all at the same time? When I scored the winning goal in my sixth grade soccer championship game in overtime, all was good. Those few minutes were some of the greatest in my life. It may be a family memory, an adventure of some kind, or the breakthrough of an insurmountable obstacle. Somewhere, sometime, you stood on top of the world.  The people of Israel had a propensity to wander. The firm hand of discipline fell on them again and again. But not

"Jesus cut him short. 'Be quiet! Come out of the man,' he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further. Amazed, the people exclaimed, 'What authority and power this man's words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!" Luke 4:35-36 Two of the men whose words have impacted me deeply are with Jesus now, but their influence on my life remains in full effect. One taught me what it means to work ... harder, longer and until someone else says to stop. The other continually spoke of God's magnitude and the privilege of his children to dream big dreams and to follow him into their realization. Those who followed Jesus around were afforded the privilege of being immersed in the very words of God. Words of power. Words of healing. Words of deliverance. Words of hope. Words of instruction. Words of rebuke. Words of life. Peter, even in the face of everything

“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited his people and redeemed them. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago." Luke 1:68-70 Visiting people is something we're all familiar with. We love when people come and visit us. We share life, build friendships and just laugh together. Life is meant to be shared. It's meant to be celebrated. Visiting gives us that opportunity. When we either leave someone else's home or they ours, we feel a fullness in our hearts.    Zechariah was no different. Jesus showed up at his doorstep, a welcome visitor. He was only an infant at the time, but nevertheless there he was. Zechariah came alive. He couldn't contain himself so he just started praising. "Here he is! Our Savior! It's happening exactly the way God told us it would!" He celebrated his promise keeping God. His soul came alive. This visit from Jesus fueled the

“Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated." Numbers  11:10 When our children were very young, we established our home as a "No Whining Zone". Violators were immediately removed from the rest of the family and placed into the whining chair in the corner of the next room. When they were done whining, they could return to the family. At no time did we ever acknowledge them when they were whining much less give in to them ... straight to the whiner's chair.    The problem of whining, as we see in our verse for the day, did not originate with my family. God's people were also infected with the virus. God refused to put up with up it. His discipline was swift and severe. Whining is simply unacceptable. It reveals an ungrateful and self-centered attitude that ultimately ruins a person. Love moves swiftly to address it.  As adults, we become more subtle at whining. We

“So Jesus called them together and said, 'You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.'" Mark 10:42-45 I've never enjoyed working for someone who took pleasure in bossing people around. I've been yelled at and falsely accused. I even had one who angrily kicked my trashcan across the room. I can only assume it was an attempt to intimidate me. These are scenes that are not unique to me or our time in history as we see in our verses for the day.  The disciples were trying to position themselves at the top of the pecking order. They were losing sight of the perfect picture of leadership they witnessed every moment they were with Jesus. He nee