Fall Creek Christian Church

"So, we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it." Hebrews 2:1 As the huge barracuda circled back around towards me again, I quickly but carefully dropped to my knees on my paddleboard. I have horrible balance on those boards and the thought of falling off and drifting away from what felt like my only place of safety put a good scare in me. The teeth on that fish were like daggers and I had no interest in finding out how sharp they were. The author of Hebrews was very concerned about drifting as well. Specifically, he didn't want them drifting from the truth. Apparently, this was as much a problem then as it is today. Jesus told us that truth sets us free. What does drifting from the truth do to us? The antidote to drifting as he presents it here is very careful listening. Watch out for loud distractions. There is no substitute for truth. Many people are peddling alternate versions of truth knowingly or unknowingly ...

"But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do."  James 1:6-8 There's a crucial moment in fishing when a person has one foot in the boat and one foot still on the dock. Any poorly calculated movements during that time can result in some fairly unpleasant outcomes. I've watched people perform the splits who really aren't able to perform the splits. Yikes! I've seen others tumble into the boat to avoid the inevitable splash. Others well ... just get wet. None of these are desirable outcomes. In our verses for the day, James speaks to this one-foot-in phenomenon as it relates to a relationship with God. To put it mildly, it's bad. He uses words like "blown...

" I waited patiently  for the  Lord ;  he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me up out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him." Psalm 40:1-3 On a mission trip to the coast of Panama, I found an unexpected physical, mental, emotional and spiritual challenger.  Mud.  The ground upon which we were building homes and a school was saturated with rain.  After the first day of hauling lumber and supplies over the construction site, we had turned the ground into a deep, thick, and slimy mess.  Each step, day after day, was a fierce fight to keep possession of our boots. When the week came to an end, we left our boots, loaded up the boats, and headed for solid ground.  The first step on dry ground was like a sweet reunion with a dear friend.  The joy of rediscover...