Fall Creek Christian Church

"He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do." John 6:1-13 Test day. I remember all too well the feelings of discomfort connected to that expression from my school days. I was so thankful the last time I had to take one. Tests felt so much like a cruel game of, "Guess What I'm Thinking?" with the author of the test. During one particularly grueling test, I noticed one of my classmates cheating like there was no tomorrow. Predictably, he aced it and I let's just say, didn't. It occurred to me later that I was actually being tested in two different ways that day. By God's grace alone, I passed them both. Philip was in the hot seat that day. Jesus, out of the twelve disciples, decided to single him out for testing. From all appearances, there was a massive resource shortage. Five thousand men plus women and children all hungry up against whatever money Judas had in the money bag. Philip was apparently incredulous as he emphaticall

"'What do you mean what's the matter?' Micah replied. 'You've taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!" Judges 17, 18 Unaware of some purchases that my wife had made earlier in the day, I didn't even hesitate to use my debit card at the checkout line. However, our bank was fully aware of all those purchases as well as the one I was attempting to make at the present moment. Clearly, the math didn't add up. Something from nothing is something less than nothing and that, as it turns, is frowned upon by our aforementioned bank. In short, the bank told the merchant there was nothing left and the merchant told me, "Declined." Micah was one panicked individual. His personal little self-directed and self-centered religion was coming apart at the seams. He had idols. He had priests. He had a shrine and even a sacred ephod (a priestly garment). All this, he thought, secured the LORD's blessing. When the warri

"'Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come follow me.' But when the man heard this, he became very sad, for he was very rich."..."Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, 'I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!'" Luke 18:18-25; Luke 19:1-10 It was more than a little hard to watch. The man was truly broken up. On the show, people bring all these different items to the pawn shop to sell looking to get a few bucks out of their "treasure". Sometimes, they do. Other times, like this one, not so much. The man had paid a great deal of money for this autographed whatever with papers of authenticity and everything. He was shocked to discover the whole thing was forgery. His treasure was worth absolutely nothing. In the stories for today, Jesus ran into two wealthy men. One of them came looki

"Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you." Joshua 6-7 As we boarded our return flight, I began to process the rest of the realities of getting home. Land in next airport, transfer to next plane, land, get luggage, take shuttle to car, drive home. "Drive home", I thought again. "I need the key. Where's the key?", I asked myself and then my sweetheart and then my kids. We all took turns scouring my briefcase. No key. I prayed. We all prayed. It turns out God cares about keys. Deep in the recesses of my suitcase, hidden at the very bottom of my toiletry bag -- the key.   Joshua had a problem on his hands. He didn't even know it until they lost a battle, badly. He and the other leaders fell on their face before God for hours

  "Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me." Luke 11:14-28 I encountered a new food recently. It's called mofongo. I should have known by the name to tread lightly. Mofongo turned out to be well, let's just say, not my favorite. Well, that's a little disingenuous. I thought it was awful. Others in my family felt quite differently. They thought the mofongo was pretty good. No one seemed to be in the middle when it came to the mofongo. It was a "yum" or a "yuk".  In the Bible verses for today, Jesus revealed an incredibly significant truth. He told the crowd that day as well as us today that when it comes to him, there's no neutral position. I liken it to a V-shaped snowplow. The snow flies one way or another. None of it can stay in the middle. Neutral ground does not exist. It's the same reality with the person of Jesus. No one can "kind of" like Jesus. Ne

"Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship Gods you have not known before."   -Deuteronomy 11 There he stood, all two-and-a-half-feet of his two-and-a-half-year-old self fully engaged with the decision at hand. "Sorry buddy", his mother, my daughter, explained to him, "We don't always get we want." She continued, "If you choose to continue to whine and throw a fit, you'll have to sit in timeout. If you choose to nicely and calmly find something else to do, you're welcome to stay here with all of us. It's your choice."  Moses was having just such a conversation with the people of Israel in preparation for their entrance into the promised land. He reminded them of all that God had done for them in the past.

  "Gabriel appeared to her and said, 'Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!'" Luke 1:26-38 "Um...are you sure about this?", I asked. I knew I was going to work on the maintenance crew for the summer, but I wasn't prepared for this news. "Yep", he said, "You're going to lead this team and make sure all of these critical support areas of the camp are right on track." I had never led anything. This plan didn't seem like a winning situation. I didn't know this; I didn't know that...blah, blah, blah. None of that mattered I was told. I was chosen and that was the end of it.  I have to believe similar thoughts went through Mary's mind when old Gabriel showed up with some news for her straight from God. Mary was a young woman. She was a "lowly servant girl." She was not married, but was about to be pregnant. None of that played out well in her world. Yet, she was chosen to become the mother of the &quo

  "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!" Numbers 21:4-9 I've always been confused about the medical symbol -- a snake wrapped around the top of a pole. First, I don't like snakes. Never have, never will. If I come across one, I immediately recoil. Snakes, spiders and sharks; no thanks! One day, I did a little research. Okay fine, internet black hole. It turns out that it is the rod of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing. I think a much better source for this symbol is this story in the Bible. The people were at it again. They never stopped speaking out against God and Moses. Again and again, God brought swift discipline into their lives. This time, it was poisonous snakes. They were all over the place and the people were getting bit and dying. It's amazing how quickly deadly snake venom brings a group to repentance! Moses prayed for them and God told h

  "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!'" Numbers 11:10-23 Growing up our kids regularly took turns sitting in the whining chair. It was a little green chair that allowed the whiner their own space in a different room to process their emotions and consider the disrespectful, annoying and selfish tone of their voice. Once they gathered themselves, they were allowed to return to the family. Most of the time, all went well. However, if the whining continued, the chair was ready for action!!  Moses had hundreds of thousands of whiners. There weren't enough chairs to put them all in one. God brought fire to wipe some of them out, but the whining continued. Moses was absolutely worn out. "Kill me and put me out of my misery!!" he asked God. The whining was pure torture. He couldn't take it anymore. Graciously, God stepped in and provided him some help. He anointed more leaders. He prom

"'I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them." Mark 10:13-31 One of the things my heart ached for the most when my children grew up were the times when I would come home and they would run into my arms, "Daddy!!" I could have had a terrible day, but in that moment, all was made right. They saw me and their hearts were filled with joy. I didn't do anything. I didn't bring them a gift. I just showed up. That's it. These days, my grandkids have given this priceless gift back to me, "Grandpa!!" Jesus loved to have the little kids run to him as well. The disciples didn't get it. More accurately, they were annoyed by it and tried to keep them away. Jesus told the disciples to leave the kids alone. They were interfering with those who belonged to the Kingdom. Enter the rich man. T

"'But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.'" Mark 6:1-13 Recently, my friend's son just completed Navy SEAL training and received his Trident. As a rightfully proud papa, he was telling me about the graduation and had pictures of the events of the weekend. It was awesome. Of the many themes of the training, one that stood out as it does with all our military branches -- Do what your told. Pretty simple really. Obey the commands. In doing so, those in charge have confidence of mission success which includes everyone making it through alive.  In Mark 6, we see both Jesus and the disciples doing what they were told. Preach, heal, and cast out demons. Jesus' hometown crew was deeply offended. Who does he think he is? He was just here making stuff in the wood shop. Even relatives and members of his own family were unbelieving. The disciples were l

  "He is a voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road for him!'" Mark 1:1-15 "Make sure your chin strap in is on tight. You don't want your helmet spinning over your face when we hit the rapids. Keep your hand on the very end of your paddle. If you don't, a bounce will send that paddle handle right into your teeth." I appreciated those coaching tips and the others our whitewater river raft guide gave us. I kind of like seeing where I'm going, not to mention keeping my teeth! Adventure preparation at its best. John the Baptist had a big job. He was the one charged to clear off the debris of religious hypocrisy, sin accommodation and spiritual apathy. The hearts of the people simply weren't prepared for Jesus' arrival. His message was straight forward. "Turn from sin! Turn to God for forgiveness!" It was a message of truth and grace. The truth - You're a sinner and far f

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" Matthew 25:31-46   "Okay, who started that one?", I ask. With a sly grin, one of my fellow staff members raises his hand. They're known as "rabbit trails". An erratic, off topic verbal meandering that chews up time, but doesn't accomplish anything. Secretly, I don't mind very much. We typically end up giggling like kids who are trying to be quiet in church, but they just can't. It's a sign of a healthy team revealing no one is taking themselves too seriously. However, what is relatively harmless in a meeting (rabbit trails) can be absolutely devastating in our relationship with Jesus. Here in this parable, Jesus reveals a judgement day reality. Love for others expressed in tangible service reveals a heart that has been transformed by an authentic relationship with Jesus. "Welcome home!&q

"So, God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus, the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle." Exodus 13:17-22; 14 "Where in the world is this GPS taking us?", I asked myself. As directionally challenged as I am, even I could sense we were wandering far from the most direct route. We went through neighborhoods, entered and exited smaller highways just to arrive right back at the same highway we were on thirty minutes ago. However, as we went over the overpass to get back onto the highway, we could see behind us flashing lights and traffic backed up for miles.  The people of Israel 's GPS was three-fold, Moses, God's pillar of cloud/fire and his angel (Ex. 14:19). Wow! Avoiding the Philistines? Okay. However, when the Lord had them circle back and pin themselves in between the water and Pharoah's chariots, something felt more than a little off. Those who had just left Egypt "with fists raised in defia

  "But Joseph replied, 'Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people." Genesis 50 "Well, that was humiliating", I thought to myself. I was embarrassed, which quickly went to anger. I did my best to present a front that I didn't care and attempted to laugh it off. I waited way too long to obey God and forgive this person. If someone who is in authority over asks you to do something that is uncomfortable, it's hard to say, "No." Today, I would. Through that, God taught me how important it is to make sure to respect the dignity of all people.  Even after their reunion and years lived together in peace, Joseph's brothers always thought he would pay them back for their evil. Joseph never did. His eyes and heart were always attentive to what God was doing. As a slave, he understood his position in the master's house as God-ap

"For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger -- someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house." Matthew 12:22-45 As he lay in the hospital bed, I couldn't see his little "friend", but he sure could. It wasn't until after several minutes of talking, did he reveal that it was even there. He wasn't hallucinating. He was being harassed by a demonic spirit posing as a comforting little friend. After assuring him that this presence wasn't his friend, all three of us went straight to prayer. We prayed until we felt God's peace. Upon opening his eyes, his little friend was gone.  Matthew recorded countless examples of Jesus confronting demons. Paul told us that our fight isn't against flesh and blood, but with the spiritual forces of darkness. In this passage, several truths are revealed. Jesus is greater than, infinitely greater than, the devil. The devil's

  "Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, 'She is obviously your wife! Why did you say that she was your sister?!' 'Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,' Isaac replied." Genesis 26:1-9 "The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, 'Lord, save us! We're going to drown! Jesus responded, 'Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!' Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves and suddenly there was a great calm." Matthew 8:23-27   There she stood halfway on the platform and halfway on the snowboard that had been mounted to the high ropes course cabling. All that was left was for her to do was to shift her weight forward and put her other foot on the board and off she would go to the next platform. "You can do it sweetheart!", I encouraged. And then, just as I thought my phone battery was about to run out, off she stepped. Fear was whipped and I thought, "What a cool 50 som