Fall Creek Christian Church

"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." Philippians 2:5-8 It was already a very emotional moment. Having lived in the orphanage for nearly seven years, the other kids and the good-hearted teachers were the only family our son had. As he was leaving to join our family, the tears were flowing. The other kids were all up near the van as the driver prepared to leave. In the hands of one of the other little boys was a Spiderman action figure. We had bought it for our son and he loved it. Apparently, as he prepared his little suitcase to head into his new life, he gave his action figure away to his buddy. As we reflect on Paul's call to be like Jesus,

"And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. ... Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true." Joshua 21:44-45   I wasn't wanting to hurt or disappoint my wife. I didn't wake up that day formulating some dastardly plan to produce unhappiness in her life. Losing her respect is never on my "to-do" list. Sadly, however, that's exactly what happened. I had told her I would take care of this task that was very important to her. "Don't worry sweetheart ... I'll git-r-dun!" Thankful, she moved on to something else. Turns out so did I. Her git-r-dun guy came up short and didn't keep his word. I'd rather not describe the look in her eyes when she realized I didn't come through for her.    The people of Israel were living in enviable times during Joshua's tenure as their leader.

"The rich man replied,'No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.' But Abraham said, 'If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.' Luke 16:30-31   As the debate between a Christian and an atheist began to wind down, the Christian just simply commented that there was no amount of evidence that could be provided to convince the atheist of God's existence. The atheist responded with the comment that if a huge ethereal being greeted him when he walked out his front door, he might consider it. To which, the Christian said, "No, you would just say you saw a hallucination just like you claimed all those who saw the resurrected Jesus did."   Jesus made the very same observation about the people of his day with this parable he told in Luke 16. Not even the presence of those raised back to life from the dead w

  "The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions." Deuteronomy 29:29 Years ago, I remember a bunch of press being given to the "discovery" of secret hidden messages in the Bible. I believe some people were taking the first words of certain paragraphs and piecing together some kind of cryptic revelation. "No thanks!" one observer said at the time. "I have enough trouble following everything written in the Bible that's in plain sight." Do I hear an "Amen!"? The people of Israel seemed to struggle with the same problem. Moses passionately laid it out again and again. Obey. Be careful to obey. Do not neglect to obey. Obedience is good. Disobedience is bad. Here he said it again with an interesting twist. God knows things you don't. Don't worry about that. You