Doug’s Columns

By Doug Creamer

The Future

            I had to go to Winston early in the week, and I saw some trees starting to show some color while I was up there. Wait…the calendar says October! That can’t be right. It was in the 90’s last week, it can’t really be fall yet. Whether we are ready for it or not, fall is here.

            I have been peeking ahead at the winter forecast and it is looking quite interesting. I do want to caution you about all the fear-mongering that some weather websites are promoting. We are not going to get buried in snow. If you follow the almanacs you will see that one is predicting a warm winter while the other is predicting a cold winter. What do you believe? While most of you know that I am a snow lover and am always hopeful that we will get some snow every winter, I am not getting too excited just yet.

            There has been much written in all the media about the super strong El Niño. We can’t make winter predictions based on one factor. We do know that El Niño winters tend to be wetter, but that does not mean all snow. We might get rain, sleet, and freezing rain. The best news about a wet winter is that I hope we can wipe out the drought conditions which have lingered for the southeast.

            You can be sure that I will be watching the trends and the forecast very closely and sharing my opinion with whomever will listen. What falls from the sky is not decided by any weather personality but by a much higher power than that! God has already seen the winter and the winter weather that is ahead for us. Our job is to trust Him and know that He is keeping a close eye on us.

            It’s not just the weather but all aspects of our lives that God has in complete control. He knows what is going on in your life right now, both the good and the bad. He knows the things you are struggling with and sees the path that will lead you through them. He knows the challenges that are still to come and is making plans to help you through it.

            The future can feel scary and overwhelming. No one knows what tomorrow holds. I have some friends who firmly believe that Jesus is coming back within the next couple of years and others who wonder when He is coming back. The answer according to the Bible is that no one, including Jesus, knows when He is coming back to get us. Only the Father knows when Jesus will come to bring us home. Heaven and the future are exciting and interesting topics but remembering who holds them is more important.

            I believe that God wants us to live each day impacting the people around us for His kingdom. We can do that by sharing encouraging words. Maybe we can lift someone’s burden or give them a helping hand. Showing people kindness can change a person’s day in a positive way. We all have opportunities every day to bring light and hope to people.

            The future is filled with the unknown. How do we prepare? How do we know what things to do or not do? What are His plans and how do I fit in? There are many questions about the future but we have to learn to trust Him with the details. Having faith that we can hear His voice and live in obedience will help us feel assured that we are on the right path.

            Our future is in His hands. The Bible teaches us that God makes good plans for our future. He is a good Father. Our job is to seek His will and guidance, especially when we are facing big changes. Should we change jobs, move, get married, retire? It’s not easy to know and figure out His will. That’s why it is important to be connected into a local church where you have brothers and sisters who can join you in your prayers. God will reveal His plans, which are sometimes different than ours, because He can see things we can’t.

            I want to encourage you to trust God with your future. God is in control of the weather, the stock market, the rapture, and the intimate details of your life. He has made great plans for you. There will be struggles but He will see you through because you are an overcomer. God has your future, our future, in His hands. Our job is to walk by faith and trust Him.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

We Are a Family

            How do you think about the people you attend church with every Sunday? Are they friends? Acquaintances? Are they people you can lean on in a crisis? Are they people you see only once a week? Do you know them and do they know you? That is a lot of questions and things to consider about the people we see at church each week.

            The Bible calls a church a number of things. It’s called a light on a hill. We should be a beacon of hope to the lost in our communities. We are known as the bride of Christ. That reveals the depth of His love for us and the fact that He can’t wait to bring us home. We are also called the body of Christ. While we are many members, we each have a role and responsibility within our churches to fulfill to make our body work.

            When I think about my church, I like to think of us as a family. I don’t know about your family, but most families have members who have been through some tough times. Some have brought life’s troubles on by their own choices; others have experienced tragedies and are struggling to deal with life. No matter what happens in life, we are still family.

            I was thinking about Jesus’ family, especially His family tree. There are quite a few interesting people in His family background. The most prominent is King David. The Bible calls David a man after God’s heart. But David did not have a stellar character. We all know that David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed to hide it. We have all read the story of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth was not Jewish and yet she is in Jesus’ genealogy. Who could forget the story of Rahab the prostitute who helped to save the spies? Did you know that she is in Jesus’ genealogy?

            The disciples were not perfect either. James and John were known as the “Sons of Thunder” because they wanted to call down fire upon the Samaritans because they didn’t welcome them into their town. Matthew was a tax collector. Most tax collectors notoriously overcharged people and pocketed the extra money. Thomas doubted the resurrection and Judas betrayed Jesus. These men were Jesus’ disciples.

            We all fall short in many ways and need the love and mercy of God. If Jesus can make room for us in the family of God shouldn’t we all make room for others? I believe God wants to reach out to our neighbors and friends through us. He wants us to be lights in our communities to help show people the way to God.

            God’s heart is for every person to find and build a relationship with Him. When we join God’s family we aren’t called to sit in the stands and watch others work. We are called to bring our talents, gifts, and abilities and use them in our church family. There are many spiritual gifts that God gives the church to help members grow and mature in their faith, and I believe we each have some that God wants us to use. We all play a vital part in our church families.

            I did not get the gift of a musical voice. Nobody should have to suffer through listening to me sing, even though God loves to hear me. But I do have the gift to teach and I use it in my church to teach the children and the adult Sunday school class. If you read my columns you know that I have the gift of encouragement and we can all use some encouragement at times. I believe God has given you talents, gifts, and abilities. He wants you to be use them to help make your church family better and stronger.

            I want to encourage you to find your place in the family of God. God has given you special abilities that your church needs. Some are visible, like mine when I teach Sunday school. Others are behind the scenes, like the people who mow the grass or do the accounting. It may not be visible to others but their role is vital to the success of that church family. The person singing in the choir is just as important as those who serve in the nursery. We all have roles to play and things we can do to help make our church a warm and welcoming place to those who are lost and looking for a savior. Find your place. Do your thing. You are an important part of your church family!

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

Maintaining the Temple

            It’s hard work to maintain our homes. They need repairs and updating. Time takes a toll on our homes and styles change. Regular cleaning takes time and energy. There are weekly chores and seasonal chores that require us to work around the house.

            Our physical bodies need maintaining as well. Some people love to work out and maintain their physique. I am not one of them. I do enjoy walking in my community and I like working in my yard. I am not interested in going to the gym or even working out on my own. I do try to take care of myself, just not by going to the gym.

            I fell a couple of years ago and have had back problems off and on since the fall. I have been fortunate that a massage therapist could help me when things were hurting. She recently told me that I really needed to get some physical therapy to help fix the root problem. My doctor made a recommendation, and against my wishes I had to start doing some physical therapy.      I found out after a couple sessions that my physical therapist is a doctor. I was her first patient to evaluate after being hired. She had just graduated and this is her first full-time job. She evaluated me and found that the muscles in my back were all tight. The exercises she has me doing are designed to stretch those tight muscles out and to strengthen my core muscles.

            She will demonstrate what she wants me to do. For some of the exercises I find them challenging and she has to help me keep my body in the right position to benefit. For other exercises I tell her that she has a twenty-something body and I have a sixty-something body that will not do what she just demonstrated. We both laugh and then she makes me do it. She has a great sense of humor and I attempt to keep us both laughing while I am there. I give her fake complaints and she tells me I can do it, which I do. She tells me that my joking around makes the time pass quickly.

            One day she had me sit in a chair and “try” to touch my toes. I tried but I couldn’t reach them. She sat beside me and easily touched her toes. I teased her that I probably could have done it when I was her age. Then a woman clearly older than me was asked to do the same thing and she also easily touched her toes, which had everyone laughing. The best laugh I got out of her was when I “complained” that she was trying to give me six pack abs.

            Like any good teacher, she gives me homework. She explained early on that I would have to do exercises at home if I wanted to make progress. The homework was challenging at first, but things have gotten easier as I continue to work at them.

            While we both like to laugh while I am there, I really appreciate her desire to help me eliminate the pain. The pain will not go away on its own. These same principles apply to our spiritual lives. We aren’t going to grow and maintain our spiritual lives if we don’t put any effort into it. Spiritual growth requires the hard work of self-discipline, dedication to reading the Bible and prayer, connecting with others in fellowship, persevering through the hard times, and building a more intimate connection with God.

            Maintaining our spiritual lives takes time and effort. The rewards are incredible because the God who made the entire universe wants to know you and to be known by you. He wants you to discover more about Him. He wants to guide you through the ups and downs in life. He wants to bring comfort and healing to the brokenness in your life. He wants to deepen your understanding that His ways, which are not your ways, are best.

            I want to encourage you to take the steps necessary to grow and maintain your spiritual temple. Connect with God because He deeply desires to connect with you. Read the Bible, starting in the New Testament, where you can discover more about Jesus. Pray and talk with God. Attend church where you can connect with others who are on the same journey as you. It will require some effort on your part, but the benefits will last you for all eternity.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

Hard Prayers

            Have you ever prayed and felt like God wasn’t listening? Maybe you felt like your prayers were just hitting the ceiling and bouncing back down. I think we get this feeling because it seems like nothing is happening. We pray and we pray but there are no results…that we can see. We ask God, we beg God…but there is no answer. How do we move forward on other things that need prayers when we feel like this one important thing to us hasn’t received any action from heaven?

            Unanswered prayers give birth to doubt. Struggle. Sometimes God feels so close we imagine we can touch Him. Then there seems to be those times when we feel lost in a desert wandering around looking for Him. Do you even hear me, God? How long, Lord, will you leave me alone? Don’t you care that I am hurting?

            King David, a man after God’s heart, felt this way. We hear David’s cry to God in Psalm 13, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” That sounds pretty desperate. We don’t know what drove David to write such words but we can hear the pain in his voice. In a way, David helps us to know it’s okay to express our laments to God.

            In the first two verses of Psalm 13 David offers his complaints or laments to God. In the second two verses David lays out his petitions to God. In the final two verses there is a transformation that occurs. David reminds himself of God’s great love. How could someone who loves us so much that He gave His Son to die for us ever leave or forsake us? We need to remember that in those dark moments. We need to remember all the ways God has come through for us in the past and know that He will not leave us in our present circumstances. He WILL come through for us. He has not forgotten. His love will sustain us.

            The next thing is truly amazing. David commands His heart to rejoice and praise God. Think about that. David is in a rough place, a place that He just complained to God about a few verses earlier, and now he is commanding his heart to rejoice and praise God. Did David feel like rejoicing? NO! Was his heart in it? Probably not. Imagine Paul and Silas in prison, bound with chains after being beaten. They chose to rejoice and praise God. Then their prison doors were opened and the jailer tended to their wounds. Paul and Silas shared their faith, still in pain from the beating, and they got to see the jailer and his family get born again!

            Paul and Silas learned from David that we have to rejoice and worship God even though our circumstances aren’t fixed. We praise and worship because we trust Him with our circumstances, knowing that He is going to help us work it out. Our family experienced several losses over the last year or so and there were times I didn’t want to worship God. I was hurting inside but I commanded my soul to rejoice and worship anyway. It was hard. I did it with tears. It was a sacrifice of praise. Those are so beautiful to God, when we worship Him even when we don’t understand all that is going on. We trust Him to be at work even when we can’t see Him working.

            Does that mean the pain goes away? That the suffering ends? That healing is given? That deliverance has come? NO! It means that we trust Him even when, especially when, we don’t understand what is happening. When it looks like things are out of control we have to run to Him and cling to Him and have faith that He will work everything out for our good. It doesn’t look possible with the mess before us, but He is the God of the impossible!

            I want to encourage you to pray…especially when it feels hard. God hears every prayer! Nothing has escaped God’s attention. God is working even if we can’t see Him working. God knows what you need. Maybe it feels like He is testing you, but that is only because He wants to draw you closer. He wants you to learn that He is your provider, your healer, your deliverer, and your friend. He is your comforter through your pain. He doesn’t promise you will understand but He promises never to leave you. He is a good, good Father who has incredible plans for your life here and with Him in heaven.  

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

Our Reputation

            You have to be living off the grid to not be aware that Dolly Parton passed away. She was an American treasure. She was a kind and giving person. I did a little digging and discovered that she gave away about half of her wealth to people in need. That is hard to imagine. I heard that she hosted Saturday Night Live and only gave them two rules about her appearance on the show. She would not use profanity and she would not make fun of Jesus. 

            The way we live matters. Notice I didn’t say that the way people think about us matters. There will always be people out there that put others down. The Bible even tells us that this will happen. It then instructs us to live in such a way that their accusations will fall to the ground because everyone will be able to tell they aren’t true. If we live in a way that honors God, we can be assured that He will take care of our reputation.

            Most of us face a much bigger problem than the way others see us; our problem lies in the way we see ourselves. Some people think way too highly of themselves, but honestly, that is not most of us. Most of us think too little about ourselves. We think bad thoughts about our character. We assume our failures and sins define who we are in God’s eyes. We focus on our flaws and shortcomings and fail to see ourselves the way God sees us.

            If we have confessed our sins, God promises to forgive and forget them. God does not remember any of your sins or failures. He only sees Christ in you and who you will become. God has many great plans for your future and He sees you fulfilling His purposes in your generation. He sees you as His son or daughter. He sees you as His servant and His best friend. He sees the potential locked up inside of you and wants to bring that out. He sees you as an overcomer.

            If God sees us that way, why do we get stuck seeing ourselves in such a negative light? We live in a fallen world and often forget that the resurrection power of Jesus lives in us. While our thoughts and the devil’s lies try to keep us down, God and a great crowd of witnesses are cheering us on. We have to stop looking in the mirror and seeing the flaws and start looking with eyes filled with faith toward our Heavenly Father. We need to learn to see ourselves through His loving eyes.

            We should work hard to protect our reputation. The Bible teaches us that a good reputation is more valuable than gold. That means that when we are at work, we should look at our work as working for God, not the customer or our boss. We should give our best to the things we have been given to do. We want our work to bring glory and honor to God. If we cut corners, do poor work, and rip people off then our reputation will suffer. When our reputation is tarnished our reflection of God is impacted.

            What do we do if our reputation has been tarnished by our past? First, we need to have the integrity to take the responsibility. Then we will have to work diligently to repair the damage. Hard work pays off in the long run. I think true humility and honesty about your abilities and skills will help build a positive image. Learning from others with more experience will help you build a stronger reputation. Let others know they can trust you and that you take your work seriously. If you break your trust, fail to perform as expected, it takes a long time to rebuild it. A strong work ethic takes an inner commitment that will be proven over time.

            I want to encourage you to consider your reputation carefully. What do people say and think about you? Does your work and the way you lead your life reflect positively or negatively on God? Are people attracted to God when they spend time with you or are they repelled? God wants us to be lights in a dark world, helping those who are far from Him to find their way home. Love and forgiveness open the doors to people’s hearts. That’s why Jesus taught us to love our neighbors. Our reputation can help people make a vital connection to God or it can close the door. How we live really does matter if we hope to reach people who are looking for God.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

Praying

            I love to spend time talking with God. I talk to Him throughout the day, when I am driving, walking, sitting on my front porch, and laying in bed. I want to invite Him into my daily life. Obviously, there are places and times when I can connect with God better than in other places. Walking the beach is an easy connection because all the distractions of daily life are removed. When I am going through a tough time or in a stressful moment it is hard to connect with God. Our emotional state can impact our connection.

            It’s important to make the connection with God every day. I know…I have had those kinds of days when making that connection feels impossible. I’ve had those days that were so packed with things to do I almost have to remind myself to breath. Where does God fit into those days? How do we find time to connect with God when we don’t have any time to ourselves?

            I believe we need to set aside time every day to pray and talk with God. One benefit is we can ask God for guidance on those crazy busy days. God can see our day and He can give us helpful ways to navigate the craziness that is waiting for us. He sees things we can’t. His ways are always higher and better than ours. I know on multiple occasions He has shown me things to do or say that changed things in such a positive way. So taking that time with Him can reduce the stress and make for a better day.

            I have heard some people say that God knows everything: our past, present, and future, so if He already knows everything, why bother to pray? I think we pray because God wants to show us His love, kindness, and mercy. If we choose not to pray, not to ask, then we will miss our opportunity to receive His many blessings. We have to remember that He is our Heavenly Father and like the good, good Father that He is, He wants to bless us and meet our needs. He also wants to come alongside us and help us.

            Here is another thing that I firmly believe: God sometimes chooses not to give us everything we think we need because He wants to walk with us through the challenges of life. God wants us to know Him as God our helper, healer, provider, and good loving Father. He likes to draw close to us, walk with us, and reveal Himself to us. I believe He allows us to struggle so we will turn to Him in our time of need. That way we will see Him as our Father.

            One of our problems with seeing Him as Father comes when He says “no” to our requests. No is not bad because He sees how yes might be a bad thing for us. No can also be a temporary thing, like no for now. God wants us to grow and mature in our faith. That means that we have to learn things like trust, faith, and obedience. Those are tough lessons. The other thing He can do is draw us closer, which is what our Father really desires.

            I believe we should express our wants and desires to God. He knows what they are because He knows everything about us. Then we need to walk in faith and trust. Prayer is really about building the most important relationship we will ever work on in our lives. It’s getting to know the heart of God: His deep love, mercy, and compassion. He then wants us to reflect that on the people in our lives. Then they can experience God’s goodness through us.

            I want to encourage you to pray, to have a heart-to-heart conversation with God. Express your love, hopes, dreams, wants and needs. After you are done praying for yourself, take some time to lift up the people in your life. Ask God to bless and show His love to them. Ask God to heal and restore them. Ask God to meet their needs. Ask God to save them and their families. Ask God to send His angels to watch over them. Ask God to reveal His goodness and mercy to them. That is what God wants. He wants to draw close to us…all of us! When you pray those things, you are praying God’s heart and His deepest desire for all mankind. God wants us to pray and talk with Him as God, Father, and friend.   Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

It’s Back to School

            How can students be going back to school already? It still feels like summer. When I was a kid, school started the day after Labor Day. That changed long ago. It’s so hot students might as well be in the air conditioned classrooms. It’s not just the public schools that have started, but colleges are back, too.

            Hopefully, families enjoyed a vacation and spending some quality time together. It’s always great to get away and hard to come home and head back to work and school. One thing good about returning to school is that families can get back into their routines. Routines help us maintain our daily lives.

            It’s time to be back in school and learning. Did you take a “first day of school” picture of your kids? That was an annual event at our house when I was growing up. We got some new clothes and shoes for the new school year. You have to take a picture. I took a picture of my last first day of school the year that I retired. Then I took another picture of my very last day of work when I retired. I have a t-shirt on that says, “Retired teacher, every child left behind!”

            Hopefully, teachers are refreshed and ready to teach a new group of students. Trying to teach a post-Covid, tech-savvy group of students has got to be a challenge for even the best teachers. Teachers must learn to apply new teaching methods to reach the next generation of learners. I hope our students have a good, safe year where their minds are challenged and they create great life-long memories. 

            I am currently teaching in the high school equivalency program, which operates on a year-round schedule. We enroll new students several times a year, hoping to help them graduate. For some of our students it has been many years since they went back to school. For others it hasn’t been too long since they were in school. What we hope is to catch them on fire for learning so they can see themselves not only graduating but pursuing their dreams.  

            Sometimes the problem is that we don’t see in ourselves the ability to grow and move past the challenges to succeed. That’s why we need to go back to school. This same concept applies to our spiritual lives. We find ourselves up against a challenge that feels too daunting. We begin to believe the lies that we will never be able to overcome, never graduate from the struggles to success. That’s when we need to head back to school.

            We don’t literally need to go back to school, but we need to re-educate our minds which have convinced us that we can’t do the thing that God knows we can. How do we change our thinking when it begins to work against us? We have to head back to a spiritual school. The first stop is in The Book! We need to read The Good Book and see what God says about us. Doesn’t the Bible teach us that we are overcomers, champions, and victors? We need to dig into the scriptures and find those promises and meditate and memorize them.

            Next, we need to engage our faith. We need to tell our minds that we believe God’s words and His promises to us because the Bible is the truth. Our faith and trust in God need to educate our minds. We need to begin praying in faith the promises of God; then things are going to begin to change. When we begin to see ourselves the way God sees us, the newly educated mind will start working with us as we take steps of faith to be the overcomer God made us to be.

            All of us struggle to grow into the image that God made us, to be the men and women of faith He called us to be. I want to encourage you to go back to school and learn the things that are missing in your journey of faith. Retrain your mind to apply faith in areas where you are struggling. Don’t settle for less than God made you to be. Learning something new is going to be a fight, but I believe it is a battle worth fighting because I know you can and will win. How can I say that so confidently? I know He has called you to be an overcomer. Don’t be afraid to go back to school and learn what you need because I believe you will find the victory you desire.     

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

Skunks and Missionaries

            We were out late the other evening, but we had our dinner planned and quickly worked to get it on the table once we got home. I got the grill hot while my wife got the chicken ready. The chicken was cooking nicely while I was leaning up against the door jamb at the garage. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little face a few inches from my leg. An animal was sitting under a plant, but I couldn’t really see it very well. I said, “Hello baby, how are you?” My voice scared the little critter. I thought it was a cat. I looked closer and decided the head was too small to be a cat. I briefly thought it was a possum looking for a nice place to sleep in the garage.          

            I realized it was a wild animal and I needed to be careful. I quickly stepped into the garage and slammed the door. It was at the moment that I wondered if the critter might be a skunk. There have been skunks in our neighborhood recently. That thought sent me running for a flashlight. When I got back and eased the door open I got a little whiff of the air. The critter left a little scent behind for me to enjoy…it was just a little puff…a skunk sent.

            I had dinner on the grill that needed attention but I didn’t want to get a skunk shower! He must have wandered away when I went to get the flashlight. The trouble is it left me hyped up. I didn’t relax until I was safely inside with our food. It took a little bit to quiet down.

            I want to ask God why He created skunks. I guess that goes for mosquitos, ticks, flies, mice, and a whole bunch of other critters. Some are meant for food for other animals but who would want to eat a skunk? I am sure that there is a purpose for all God’s creatures. It’s a lot like us. God has a purpose for each one of us. We weren’t made by accident. He created us with things for each one of us to do. Our job is to figure that out and to fulfill our purpose.

            I had lunch with a missionary the other day. He shared about life on the front lines and what his family was doing in order to share the gospel. It was interesting to listen to the daily challenges they face and how his team has to operate in the country. I asked my missionary friend about his dreams and ways he could expand his efforts in reaching out to the people. I was excited by his ideas and hopes.

            My friend will soon be returning to the missionary field and the work that God has called him to do there. I was thinking about our conversation on the way home. Each of us has a calling on our lives. We may not be called to the missionary field or to be a pastor, but we have a calling to do what God created us to do.

            Think about it. Would you like to attend your church if no one bothered to cut the grass? Would you like to use a dirty bathroom? What would happen if no one paid the church bills? It would be quite uncomfortable in our church buildings without heat and air conditioning. I have visited a church where no one greeted or welcomed me. I did not return. Imagine the chaos if we didn’t have elders or deacons in our churches. Can you imagine Sunday school without teachers? Every job makes a difference in our churches and no job is unimportant. God expects us to step up and do our part in making His church work. From the cleaners to the elders, we are all needed.

            I want to encourage you to consider what you are doing to help at your church. Every person is important to fulfilling the mission your church has been assigned in your community. Missionaries and evangelists help to win the lost, but once people are saved, they need pastors and teachers to help them grow and find their place in the body of Christ. From members of the choir to those who work with the children, God needs us all. Have you thanked those who quietly work behind the scenes to pay the bills and do the cleaning? Have you discovered your gifts and talents and found a way you can make a difference at your church? If God has a purpose for skunks, He has a purpose for you, too!   

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com