Fall Creek Christian Church

"Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as the king sought the Lord, God gave him success. ... But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord's Temple and personally burning incense on the altar. ... as he was standing there with the priests before the incense altar in the Lord's Temple, leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead." II Chronicles 26:5,16,19 One bad play. That's all it takes. Coming from a card playing family, I know too well the agony of the misplay. The wrong card at the wrong time and "Ugh!" it's over. It doesn't matter that every other play was perfect. As soon as that mistake is made, the other players jump on it and down you go. Thankfully, with cards, each hand marks a reset. Life, however, is a bit more complicated. Uzziah was a righteous king for a...

"So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as your own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering." Romans 8:15-17 "Congratulations! You have a son!" The words of the Ukrainian translator reverberated in my ears as I tried to process the numerous emotions of the moment. One less child without a family. My new son, although 10 years old, was an orphan no more. He carries our name. He is no less our child or a sibling to our other kids. His mother and I remind them regularly, "Remember who you are." Paul's use of adoption to express what happens when we accept Jesus as our Savior has taken on a more t...

"When people work, their wages are not a gift. Workers earn what they receive. But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work." Romans 4:4-5 For my first paying job, I worked at a pizza place. I made pizzas, took orders on the phone, cleaned the dining area, mopped the floors, etc. I tried to keep a positive attitude and did for the most part, but it finally became a greater burden than the wage I was earning could overcome. We feel good when our wages match what we feel we deserve for our labor.  In his letter to those living in Rome, Paul had some things to say about wages too. In our verses for the day, he tells us there is a wage we simply cannot earn and that is to be declared "righteous" by God. It is a faith issue not a works issue. Our preoccupation with wages steers us off course when we speak of spiritual matters. Later in his letter, Paul tells us that our wage (what we deserve) for our work (sin) is death.  ...

"The next day, as gale force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. The following day they even took some of the ship's gear and threw it overboard. The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone." Acts 27:18-20 As the hour quickly dissipated, my frustration level had peaked and I was done. The escape room had beat us. We had no clue giver to help us get unstuck and we had twisted ourselves up in all the circles in which we had been running. Simply put, all hope was gone. No amount of positive thinking or picking ourselves up by the bootstraps was going to move us forward.  All the people on this boat with Paul had reached a similar place where they felt completely and utterly without hope. None of their seaman skills could save them from the teeth of this storm that had absolutely crushed their spirits. It was there at the end of their ropes where they were fi...

"The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked,'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' They replied,'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.' And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God."  Acts 16:29-34 Our household is quickly moving back to where it started some 30 years ago. The young starry eyed couple carrying now the evidence in soul and body of having traveled a few miles. In and now out of the doors of this family have traveled a next generation each one as unique as a sunset. The prayer then, now a...

"'Go out and stand before me on the mountain,' the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, ... " I Kings 19:11-13 There are a few members of our family who tend towards the more dramatic. It keeps life interesting. There's a largeness to the big emotion and there is certainly a place for it. The more subdued among us enjoy the smiles inspired by their flair. It is, however, due to their willingness to enter into our more low key worlds that allows room for our relationshi...

"...A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. ... But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went." Acts 8:1-4 When our family gets together these days, numbered among us is one dog, one puppy, and one fully mobile 1 year old granddaughter. The three of them are quite the friend group/partners in crime, full of energy and into everything. It doesn't take long for them to take all that's within reach and scatter it all throughout the house -- shoes, clothes, toys, water bottles and the like. They serve as a tangible reminder of life.  It didn't take long for the same group of violent religious leaders who killed Jesus to continue their attacks against Jesus' followers. They murdered a Spirit-filled man named Stephen and began to actively pursue more. As a result, this ini...