Fall Creek Christian Church

"The Lord Almighty has sworn this oath: 'It will all happen as I have planned. It will come about according to my purposes. I will break the Assyrians when they are in Israel; I will trample them on my mountains. My people will no longer be their slaves. I have a plan for the whole earth, for my mighty power reaches throughout the world. The Lord Almighty has spoken -- who can change his plans? When his hand moves, who can stop him?'" Isaiah 14:24-27 I had every intention of following through. The weather was great. The lawn was long. The mowers were ready to roll. Nothing but green lights. It was go time! However, after some lengthy conversations, after meetings I had failed to take into account and after the setting of the sun, go time came and went. My plan was blown up. My checklist item that read, "Mow the yard," was still on the list. Have you ever been there? In our verses for the day, God reveals that this breakdown between plan and reality is one h...

"But Jehoshaphat asked, 'Isn't there a prophet of the Lord around, too? I would like to ask him the same question. ... So Micaiah told him, 'In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountain, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, 'Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.' ... So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat led their armies against Ramoth-gilead." II Chronicles 18:6,16,28 After reciting my litany of aches, pains, and "things I used to be able to do", my doctor gave me her prescription. Eat healthier. Consume less caffeine. Exercise ... a lot. So, I went home grabbed a bag of chips and a soda, sat down on the lazy boy and complained about how she had no idea what she was talking about it. Fundamentally, my problem was not an information shortage. It was an unwillingness to do anything with the information I had. Our story today reveals a king suffering from that same malady I see in myself way too often. K...

"They (Nehemiah and the Jewish people's enemies) all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and to bring about confusion there.  But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves."  Nehemiah 4:8-9 On a regular basis, I find myself faced with the question, "Would you rather ________________ or would you __________________?"  Immediately, my mind begins to race to find a way to change the "or" into an "and".  For example, "I'd like the apple pie AND the ice cream.  Just put them on the same plate."  I understand that there are definitely either/or decisions in life.  Many times however, there are powerful, not to mention absolutely critical, "ands" that need to be pursued as well. Nehemiah thought so.  His first and most passionate response to life was prayer.  He cried out to God all the time.  Yet, time and time again we see the wonderful and necessary "and" in his j...