Fall Creek Christian Church

"So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." II Corinthians 4   "Ouch!", that little barb stuck deep. I could see my careless words had, once again, landed with an unintended sting. Back to the way too familiar doghouse I go. Trouble. "That can't be right.", I say to myself. I know we made a few additional purchases and ran into a few medical bills, but "Whoa!" Trouble. "Don't do it! Don't do it!", I'm yelling at myself in my own head. Everything in me wants to return fire as Jesus' words echo in my ears, "Turn the other cheek." Trouble.  Paul (and Jesus for that matter) never undersold the reality of troubles in this life. "All kinds", Jesus said. In this chapter, Paul uses words like pressed, persecuted, and pushed down. He tells us that th

  "Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered -- how fleeting my life is." Psalm 39  I'm the Monday drop-off and pick-up. The teacher slides the minivan door open, unbuckles her from her car seat and with a hug, a kiss on my cheek and an "I love you pop-pop!", off she heads into preschool. Yesterday, I dropped her mother off for kindergarten with a hug, a kiss on my cheek and an "I love you daddy!" Two little girls separated by 25 years by the calendar, but by nothing in my heart and mind. I have no doubt that David pondered such thoughts as his little kids ran all around the palace underfoot providing laughter and joy to him only to turn around and bump into their children. The brevity of life is often times lost in the busyness of life. At best, each of us is but a breath. A lifetime, a moment -- both are fleeting, water spilled on the ground unable to be recaptured. In his reflections, David remembers and

 "When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some." I Corinthians 9:19-27 So, how does a Caucasian, English-speaking, middle-class American talk about Jesus with a group of hut-inhabiting, indigenous people in Panama who do not speak English? That was the question I was talking with the Lord about all day before the evening gathering where I was slated to preach through an interpreter. During that day, I noticed one of the family matriarchs had placed an old pot with fresh water at the bottom of the ladder that led up to her hut. No dirty feet were getting into her house! That familiar picture allowed me to share with the people that Jesus came to take our dirt/sin away so we could come into the Heavenly Father's house. Paul faced the same challenge everywhere he went with the Good News of Jesus. His audiences were as diverse as any. Diffe

  "Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? Instead you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers." I Cor. 6:7-8 Frustrated, I find myself muttering under my breath, as I have once again, managed to get my extension cord all tangled and knotted up. I thought for sure, when I rolled it up so carefully the last time I used it, that all would be well this time. Nope. Loops and knots. Knots and loops. Running the end through one loop makes a knot with the other. It turns a straight forward project into an aggravating time consumer. Hmm... maybe that's why they make those extension cord holders? As Paul wrote the Corinthian church, they were all tangled up as well. Wrong was right and right was wrong. Their worldly pasts were driving their Jesus following present and it was a mess. What do you do when you're wronged? Take them t

"He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did turn away from doing what was right." II Chronicles 34 Ugh! Once again, the delicious comfort food in front of me was just too much for me to resist. Why can't healthy foods be comfort foods? Big sugar and carb content foods are just so good, too good if you ask me. Somehow turnips and tuna don't bring the same feeling as french fries and a Frosty. Turning away from the right foods is not hard to do. After all, the wrong foods are easily accessible, cheap and taste so good -- buttery crust hot apple pie with ice cream anyone?     Josiah, the boy king, seemed to be born with a spiritual true north. Undoubtedly, there were some godly influences in his life. At eight years old, recess is still the highlight of the day - not administrating a nation. At 16, however, he made a choice. It's a choice available to all of us actually. He chose to seek the Lord. Seeking t