Fall Creek Christian Church

  "Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare of the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. Psalm 91:1-2 While enjoying a day on the beach with my family, my wife and I took a long stroll together enjoying the sun, surf and people watching. It's a great sport, people watching. We're all so unique. Anyway, during the stroll, I looked up at a gentleman playing with his grandchildren having a blast. Then it hit me, he is the former coach of such and such NFL team! I wonder how many times a day he's asked, "Are you so and so?"  Identity is a big deal. The Psalmist wanted everyone to know who it was that he was living under. We all make a choice who we are going to trust. He described powerfully and briefly just exactly who he was willing to trust with his life. The Most High. The Almighty. The Lord. His Refuge. His Place of Safety ... God....

"I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me ... to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave from my heart a good report ... I followed the Lord my God completely. So that day Moses promised me, 'The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your special possession ... because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.' ... Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey ... So I'm asking you to give me that hill country that the Lord promised me ..." Joshua 14:6-14 Starting and finishing are not the same thing. I've driven my wife crazy and myself too for that matter by leaving things half done. As I write this devotion, my garage is half-cleaned and half-sorted leaving it nearly half-functional. I, of course, have lots of great reasons (lame excuses) why the mess remains, but the painfully obvious reality is that finishing it would be awesome.  Caleb was a ...

"One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight.When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said,"Woman, you are healed of your sickness!" Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised and thanked God!" Luke 13:10-13 Entitlement is an ancient plague. Individual lives, families and even entire societies have been decimated by its deep soul penetrating tentacles. I grieve the many times I have been given an amazing gift only to fail to recognize it or properly express my gratitude for it. It makes me wonder, what might eighteen seconds in hell do for our appreciation of what Jesus did for us on the cross?  The woman in our story was a prisoner in her own body for eighteen years. The devil had her all contorted and crippled. I wonder what was going through her mind when Jes...

"If you see your neighbor's ox or sheep wondering away, don't pretend not to see it. Take it back to its owner. ... If you see your neighbor's ox or donkey lying on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it to its feet!" Deut. 22:1,4 Awhile ago, as we were leaving our house, a dog I didn't know wandered into our garage. My wife immediately recognized her as our neighbor's dog who had undoubtedly made an escape. After coaxing her into our car, we drove to their house and delivered her to some greatly relieved kids who had been running through the neighborhood looking for her. It was just the right thing to do. This principle of just doing the right thing is one that permeates the Old Testament law. The verses for the day reflect it with the command to return a lost animal and to help a neighbor when they need it. Sometimes, it's easier to just look the other way isn't it? What we don't see, we don't feel...