Fall Creek Christian Church

"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!) ... God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:4-10 I sat in the meeting helplessly distracted. My attempt to keep my notes brief resulted in an abbreviation that I simply could not recall. It wasn't a terribly significant conversation point, but the forgetting was beyond irksome. I did my best to move on and engage with the conversation only to shout out an hour or so later, "I remember what it was!" Oops. Graciously, they allowed me to share

"Oh what a day of crushing defeat! ... Judah's defenses have been stripped away. You run to the armory for your weapons. You inspect the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. ... But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago." Isaiah 22:5-11 Too many times I've sat across the table from my sweetheart in silence. We've walked passed one another speaking only perfunctory comments. We've lay in bed in the darkness wide awake with a thick tension between us. Who will be the first to apologize? Who will be willing to at least own their part of the ugly? Stubbornness is a relational jackhammer that attacks the sacred bonds of marriage and all other relationships for that matter. Over and over again in the Bible, as in our scripture for today, God confronts stubbornness. Specifically, his people's stubbornness as it related to his instruction and will for them. They t

"Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind." Isaiah 7:2 It's one thing to look at pictures and video, but it's something quite different to see it in person. The power of tornadoes and hurricanes is equal parts awesome and terrifying. On a single street, one house leveled, another completely unscathed. Massive trees twisted like pretzels, stripped of their branches, leaves and even bark, drooping defeated in the face of the wind's power. When the trees begin to be shaken, it's time to take cover. Isaiah uses the powerful picture of trees being shaken to describe the depth of the fear that had gripped King Ahaz as his enemies amassed against him to destroy his nation. God sent Isaiah to let him know that this combined enemy army will not touch him. His violent shaking with fear was unnecessary. Why? Simply, God sa

"But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless--like chasing after the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere." Ecclesiastes 2:11 So, this crazy light on the back door of our minivan kept popping out every time we closed the door. The pieces that lock it into place had tired. No amount of coaxing could get it to stay. "Fine," I said to myself. "I'll fix it." I set out on a lengthy engineering plan that required pieces from some junk in the garage, electrical tape, and precision placement. One door shut later, the whole thing came hopelessly apart. Ugh! What a waste of my time. Solomon thought about wasted time more than anyone else. He pondered extensively all of life's activities, both the challenges and pleasures that it contains. His conclusion was rather dismal ... "Meaningless!" The stuff of earth had no ability to satisfy his restless soul. At the end of his disappointing