Fall Creek Christian Church

"Listen to my pleading, O Lord.  Be merciful and answer me!  My heart has heard you say, 'Come and talk with me.'  And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming."  Psalm 27:7-8 On a regular basis, I'll say to one of my kids, "Sit down for a second.  Let's chat."  After convincing them that they are not in trouble, I let them know that I just want to catch up.  I want to know what they're thinking about and what's been going on in their world.  It's too easy to dwell in the same house and yet live disconnected lives.  Touch points are necessary for understanding, care, and genuine love.   David, who wrote our verses for the day, apparently felt the same way.  He was crying out to God for connection.  How awesome was that to hear God respond to him with an invitation, "Come here David and let's have a chat."  The invitation had barely been issued and David says, "I'm coming Lord, I'm coming!" Be encoura...

"...Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right." Ecclesiastes 8:5b I knew what I needed to do. My nagging conscience and the constant turmoil in my heart was simply not going to go away until I made things right. The man in the gas station had taken a look out the window with his binoculars to look at the pump that I had just finished using and told me it said, "such and such." I gave him the money, got in my car and pulled away. Curious, due to the oddity of the experience, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the pump said, "such and such .05". Yikes, I thought. He missed the nickel. Running a little bit late already, I kept on going. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get that 5 cents out of my head. It stalked me like the beating heart in Edgar Allan Poe's story. Needless to say, the guy working at the gas station when I returned to slap that nickel down on the counter was more than a little b...

"If you keep your mouth shut, you will stay out of trouble." Proverbs 21:23 As a young pastor, I seemed to find myself in awkward conversations more often then I care to admit. Upon introducing myself to a guest one Sunday morning, I noted who she was with and then turned back to her and asked, "Are you her mom?" After a shriek of horror, she let me know that they were sisters. I attempted to apologize, but was rebuffed most severely. My foot was firmly entrenched in my mouth and there was no escape. She left with great anger and disgust never to visit again. Yikes! I felt horrible. Thankfully, those moments are decreasing with age and experience, but every once in awhile I still visit the terrible land of Foot-In-Mouth. In our verse for the day, the Bible is so completely clear and concise in regards to our words. Just keep your mouth shut. Ponder this question for awhile, "How different would your marriage be, your family be, your workplace, yo...