Fall Creek Christian Church

  "Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested,'Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!'" Exodus 5:22-23  "Okay! Okay!" I said as one more prayer time had been interrupted by the Holy Spirit's conviction to take a step of faith in regards to our giving to the church. We were young, trying to juggle young children, keep up an old house and old cars all on a small single income. The thought of giving more literally took the oxygen right out of my lungs. I "argued" (code word for disobeyed) with God for a long time until I finally relented. Upon increasing our giving, our slow financial decline went into a free fall. "Seriously God! Why did you tell us to do this?!"  Have you ever been there? Moses was. In Exodus 5, any grand visions of marching in...

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, 'The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.'" Matthew 9:35-38 "Alright everybody, it's family house cleaning day!" I would say with as much positivity and enthusiasm as possible. My paternal proclamation would be met with groans and whines that communicated a deep despair that no words ever could. The set time to clean would arrive. Names and tasks would be linked in a way that recognized developmental capability complete with a sense of equality. Even still, we would be met at starting time with a deafening silence. No helpers to be seen. Just crickets...chirp, chirp. Everywhere Jesus went, people were hurting and in crisis. Sickness, demonic oppression, poverty, injustice, spiritual bankruptcy j...

  "Finally Abram said to Lot, 'Let's not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all we are close relatives! The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I'll take the land to the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I'll go to the left.'" Genesis 13:8-9 A familiar conversation takes place each time my wife and I decide to go out for dinner. "I don't know. Where do you want to go? Wherever is fine. Where do you want to go?" Perhaps that sounds familiar to you? Eventually, we'll land the plane and all is well. However, there are times when we both have a very strong and a very different opinion about a decision that needs to be made. Things start to get a little dicey really quick. So, now what? Great question. Abram and his nephew Lot found themselves in just such a predicament. Both of th...

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. ... I heard a shout from the throne, saying, 'Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.' And the one sitting on the throne said,'Look I am making everything new!' ... " Revelations 21:1-5 As I walked out of the store carrying my brand new sport coat, I was pretty excited. We don't do new very often. It fit just right. The color was spot on for the occasion at hand. My first daughter was about to get married. All kinds of new emotions filled my heart as we prayed and planned for the big day. And now, all those new emotions inside would be covered by a new coat on the outside. The pictures from that day revealed a radiant bride and an em...

"Then he said to me, 'This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. ... Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand ... " Zechariah 4:6, 10 This missions project was intimidating to say the least. Reroofing the house, painting the exterior and dragging immense quantities of trash to the road for pick up. Sadly, every house on the street was also consumed with garbage. All the projects were completed as the sun was setting on the last day. Driving out of town, we decided to drive past by what was now "our home" and were brought to tears when we turned on the street and saw that every other home on it had dragged all the junk and trash out of their yards to the front to be picked up too. Small beginnings can turn into huge finishes.   Zechariah was sent by God to encourage Zerubbabe...

"The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.  Nahum 1:7 "He's stuck!!" shouted one of the guys. Our little afternoon spelunking adventure had just taken an unwanted turn. One of our guys had gotten wedged between two rock outcroppings. All the pushing and pulling we could muster failed to liberate him. Fear and even panic began to creep into our bones. Nudged by the Holy Spirit to pray, we cried to God who mercifully directed us to a different ledge that provided just the leverage we needed to get him out.  Nahum lived among a beaten down and discouraged group of people. The Assyrians, specifically those in the powerful city of Nineveh, had traumatized and brutalized the people of Israel over and over again. No end was in sight. Nahum came to tell them that the oppression they lived under was coming to an end. God told them, "I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck and tear off the chains of oppression....

"That is why the Lord says, 'Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don't tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.' Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. he is eager to relent and not punish." Joel 2:12-13  "Road Closed - Local Traffic Only," said the sign. I looked down the road and I didn't see any construction barrels or cones. No trucks. Nothing. I'm not a huge fan of detours, so I kept plowing ahead. After a few miles, I was feeling really great about my decision to stay the course. Past one more neighborhood then one more turn ... "Yikes!" Bridge out, trucks, construction workers, barrels ... A necessary u-turn back to the right track.    The prophet Joel, consistent with God's other prophets, was a straight shooter. The people of Israel were headed the wro...