Fall Creek Christian Church

  "'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' he asked them. 'No,' they replied, 'we haven't even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.'" Acts 19:1-20 There was no point in denying it. I was caught red-handed and full-cheeked. The chocolate chip cookies that were still warm and gooey simply over powered any ability on my part to refrain. My wife had made them for a specific reason which did not include my indulgence. "Are you eating those cookies?" she asked. I chewed faster, but it was no use. She had already walked around the corner and saw the chocolate on my fingers and face. After a good talking to, I sheepishly left the kitchen stealthily grabbing one more cookie on my way out. The missionary journeys of Paul were filled with the evidence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the disciples that when he left, the Holy Spirit would come and dwell within them. In the verses for the day, the evidence of his presence is unmistakable. As ...

"And Elijah said to the king, 'This is what the Lord says: Why did you send messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Is there no God in Israel to answer your question? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.'" II Kings 1 As the substitute teacher attempted in vain to restore order in my 7th grade history class, I allowed myself to enter into the growing chaos. Many of us kept messing with each other and largely dismissed the sub as irrelevant. Unbeknownst to us, however, he was writing names down with great precision for our regular teacher. Upon returning to school on Monday, our teacher read all the names on the list. One by one we were called to the hallway to receive our well-deserved swat.  Ahaziah, the king of Israel, and his people needed a hard lesson in respect as well. I'm sure any of the characters in the story would have gladly taken a swat instea...

  "...And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord." I Kings 11:1-13   To this day, we still don't know what happened. None of us could figure out why our friend ejected himself from the training program after three years of investment. There was nothing else in mind to pursue, just "I quit." It was painful to watch as nothing came together for him. No focus. No long-term goals or planning. Just floundering. We have all kept a mental note of where he could have been if his heart hadn't been turned away.   King Solomon was a noble and godly man. He sought the will of God and the best for his people. He was a builder, an author, and a close observer of God's law for a very long time. Then it happened. His heart was turned. God gave strict instructions not to marry outside of the Jewish community. Solomon chose to diverge from that plan, God's plan. As a result, he shipwrecked his walk with God. A life that started out so strong ended up dera...

"But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife's consent, he kept the rest."  Acts 5  It didn't seem like that big a deal. True, I lied to my mom in order to get out of going to church. But seriously, one Sunday out of 52. It wasn't like the world was going to come to an end, right? After my family left, I was there alone wondering what I was going to do. My troubled conscience simply wouldn't allow me any peace. I never felt the need to try to pull that stunt again.  Ananias and Sapphira found out that lying was a bad idea, too, especially to God. Their desire to be seen as generous overwhelmed their desire to actually be generous. Integrity is a big deal. There must be consistency between who we say we are and how we live. Shortly after their judgement fell, the disciples' integrity was also tested. Even under the whi...

"Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, 'Hushai's advice is better than Ahithophel's.' For the Lord had determined to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster upon Absalom!" II Samuel 17 I used to think that summer was road construction season. However, the never-ending reality of flashing signs and orange barrels lining the highways reveal that now all seasons are construction season. The crews work during the day. They work during the night. The evidence of their work isn't only seen in traffic jams but also in smooth roads and stable bridges for which we are all grateful.   Family problems are one thing, but a brother assaulting his sister and a brother killing his brother and a son attempting to kill his father is something completely different. It goes way beyond the average family dysfunction. This description is of King David's family! In the middle of this literal royal mess, we s...