Valley of Oh-No

by   September 19, 2022 with No Comments

By Lynna Cark

There’s a trap set for you. I don’t know what that looks like in your world. In Nehemiah’s it was set for him in the valley of Ono. I’m guessing that’s pronounced, “Oh NO!” Wouldn’t it be cool if everything were labeled by descriptive words, so we knew what we were getting into? “Hey honey. Wanta buy that house on Money Pit Lane, or the one over in Rainbow Valley?” or “Let’s try a vacation at the Shark Pit Villas.” “Where you wanta eat tonight?” “Oh I don’t know, maybe that new place, Hurler’s Grill.”

Somehow Nehemiah knew the invitation would not turn out well. So he stalled. He was even diplomatic. But they persisted. Finally he responded in a voice much like the witch in Princess Bride… “LIAR!!” I love that line. We use it often at family functions. Princess Bride is so deep… so quotable.

Nehemiah called them out as the liars they were and watched his back [and most surely his front as well.] Verse Nine gives the goal of his enemy and ours too. “They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining they could break our resolve and stop the work.” Next line holds the key to his success and ours. “So I prayed for strength to continue the work.”

Today, name your trap. It could be anger, past hurt, secret sin, or something as simple as mine, which is fear. I actually had to go to counseling to figure that out. When I finally named my crippling fear for the sinful choice that it is, my life changed. Now that I recognize the trap, my thought patterns are more deliberately opposite of fear. Do that for yourself, for your family, for the God you love. Name the trap that Satan, uses to hold you captive. Is it pride, criticism, or something you don’t even recognize? I know it took me a long time to realize what was holding me back. Ask the Lord for help. Then pray for strength to continue the work.

God has big plans for His church. Everyone has something to give. I really believe it all starts with prayer. He seems to emphasize that a lot. So let’s do it His way, realizing we cannot accomplish anything without His blessing. So look that old devil in the eye and call him the liar he is the next time he whispers that you don’t matter. Because God really does want to complete His work in you and use you for His glory!

Today Lord, reveal the trap set for me. Give me wisdom to recognize what holds me back. Then strengthen me to avoid anything that would hinder Your plan. Give me strength in You.

More: Philippians 1:6; Romans 12:1,2; Hebrews 12:1,2

Walking

by   September 17, 2022 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            I have always been an active person, especially in the spring and the fall. When the weather is good, I want to be outside doing something. In the fall, there will be leaves to get up and the garden will need to be put to bed for winter. In the spring, I can’t wait to plant my garden and to clean things up from winter. Naturally, the grass needs cutting, which is good exercise.

            The trouble, according to my doctor, is that I am less active in the winter, and especially during the hot summer days around here. My physical is in August every year and the need to be active year around always comes up. Something clicked when I was in his office last year and I decided that it was time to find a way to remain active.

            I considered my options. I know I am not a runner unless there is a dog, lion, or bear chasing me. I don’t have a bike so that was out. We don’t have any fancy indoor equipment. I am not big on sit-ups, jumping jacks, or push-ups. Walking seemed to be the most appealing.

            I live in a nice neighborhood and we have lots of people who walk. My first day out was a very warm afternoon and I didn’t make it very far. I realized that I was out of shape. As the weather cooled, my distance improved. I was out there walking and improving almost every day. I was consistent and improving right into the heart of winter. I don’t mind the cold as much as I mind the heat. I even walked in the snow.

            When I started my job in January I worked hard to learn the new curriculum. I walked less. Then I took an online class to help in the new job. There were lots of excuses for not taking my daily walks. It is hard to start a good habit, and easy to give it up. Soon it was summer and I don’t even like walking to the mailbox in the heat and humidity, so walking was definitely out.

            I went for my annual physical this year and had to fess up to giving up this good habit. He reminded me that walking is not only good for your physical body but for your mental and spiritual health, too. I am back to walking again. I am gradually building back to the same distance I was walking when I gave it up.

            Walking is better than running for someone of my age, says the doctor. When I walk my mind is free to think about things. This could be bad if I spend my walk worrying. We live in a day and time where there are lots of things that can fill our minds with worry. I won’t bother list them as I am sure you have your own list of things that can pull you down. We need to train our minds to think on good things. Philippians 4:8 and 9 give us a great list of things to think about as we walk. It also promises that if we meditate on this good list of things, that our minds will be filled with the peace of God.

            Inviting God on walks or whatever exercise you do is probably a good plan. God wants to talk with us, and inviting Him into our exercise routine is the perfect opportunity to talk with Him. Praying for others is great. Praying about situations instead of worrying about them is excellent. Casting all your worries upon God is something God encourages us to do. Asking for His wisdom and guidance is great too because you are in a place where you can hear Him better. Spending time with God builds your friendship and trust with Him. Allowing His love to invade your heart and His peace to invade your mind will change your perspective on life.

            I want to encourage you to do the things that are necessary to maintain your body, mind, and spirit. Taking care of yourself physically by getting proper rest and exercise can make for a healthier and happier body. Casting all your worry and anxiety on God will free your mind to think about good things and make you feel happier and more at peace. And doing the things that I always encourage: spending time in God’s word and praying will strengthen your spirit. I believe God wants you to be strong physically, mentally, and spiritually, so take good care of yourself. I need to go; it’s time for my walk.     

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

Duel Citizenship

by   September 16, 2022 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

David McCullough’s The American Spirit is a timely read. A 2017 collection of fifteen of his speeches covering several years and settings, it is timely because its sub-title, Who We Are and What We Stand For is a reminder that 2022 is a good time to re-examine our character.

The selected speeches scan from 1989 to 2016 and were delivered at the White House and the United States Capitol and Monticello and other such settings, but, as fitting for a scholar like McCullough, most were shared at colleges and universities. As expected, each speech gave some history of the occasion, information about some of the people behind the occasion, and as he writes in the introduction, he always came away from each speaking date “with my outlook greatly restored, having seen, again and again, long-standing American values still firmly in place, good people involved in joint efforts to accomplish changes for the better, the American spirit still at work.” But, best of all, he gives a lesson or lessons in each speech.

 At Hillsdale College in 2005, for instance, he quotes Daniel Boorstin, Barbara Tuchman, E.M. Forster,  John and Abigail Adams, and speaks of such Signers as Benjamin Rush. Not surprisingly, all of his words are spoken from his love and appreciation of our history, which he implores us to learn. He shares how his friend Daniel Boorstin thought that “trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers”,  and he cautions us that, “Citizenship isn’t just voting.” And he shows us how to be more than just voting citizens.

“Read. Read, read!” A command from a fellow citizen who knows the necessity of being informed.

Now, I am sure that when McCullough delivered these speeches he was thinking of our secular citizenship and the debt we owe our country. He is correct that a good citizen does more than vote in every election cycle. A good citizen reads and studies and thinks of history and the events and people who came before. And a good citizen understands that those folks were like us-fallible humans.

But McCullough’s words are applicable to another citizenship role in many of our lives—the role of citizenship in Christ. Just as we are told to read our secular history, we need to read and study not only the Bible but other sources concerning Christianity.  Read the histories of Jesus’ world and better understand the forces He encountered. Read modern day Christian writers such as Clarence Jordan, Howard Thurman, C.S. Lewis, Samuel Wells, A.W. Tozer, or any number of the good writers available. Their words are reminders of how a Christian life should be lived, and when attending Sunday service do not act and think like the secular voter McCullough warns us against who believes that showing up is all that is required.

McCullough tells us that being a citizen requires more than voting just as Jesus tells us that being a Christ Follower requires more than sitting in a pew on Sunday.  Both citizenships require action: Acts of study, thought, and deeds. Anything short is false.

Another Ride Comes to an End

by   September 15, 2022 with No Comments

By David Freeze

 As I mentioned the other day, it is always bittersweet to see the latest cycling adventure come to its end. As I write this, I am on the Amtrak Crescent leaving Birmingham, Alabama. I checked out early this morning from the motel and walked the bike to the Amtrak terminal, just a quick 1.1 miles. I walked in and told them it was time to go home, both me and the bike. Seems easy, doesn’t it?


    I met Cheryl, head ticket agent, and she looked at the bike and said that I couldn’t ship it even if my ticket said it could ride. No one would be at Salisbury to take it off the train. She called someone and got the OK to put it on the train. Then we began to talk about my adventures, how she had an unused bike that would now get used, and other things. With the pressure off, I was ready to get on the train. Trains have always been a favorite of mine and I was about to go on my longest ride ever, about 20 hours.


  With help from Travels by Allison, I had a roomette, a small sleeper compartment for two. There is a bed overhead and the two chairs make beds too. I was amazed at all the well-planned small space the unit has. There is a toilet, a sink, my own thermostat, plenty of lighting and big window. Meals are included, WiFi works most of the time, and I can’t remember being so relaxed in forever.  Good for the mental and physical stress of what I expect will be somewhere over 1300 total miles. My legs are getting a needed day of rest and a couple of naps won’t hurt either.


    I love the sound of the train whistle and the gentle rolling of the train from side to side. Most of the train ride so far has been in the rain and I have enjoyed being in the dry this time. The train staff are all exceptionally nice while being professional. Other passengers in the car are quiet and respectful. I have a schedule of stops back to Salisbury, regular stops through the night, and expect to get back to the depot about 6:15 am.


    It’s time for my final thoughts on this ride. Thanks to all the sponsors that I know about until I get home. Father and Son Produce, Dick and Jane Richards, Skinny Wheels, Men on Mission at First Baptist Church in China Grove, Wayne Cobb, Gear for Races. All of them have been along for the ride before. I appreciate each and every one of them.


      Thanks to the Salisbury Post and especially good friends Paris Goodnight and Andy Mooney. They fielded the photos and daily updates and made them look good. Rayna Gardner, The Forum General Manager, again managed the whole production as only she can. Amanda Lewis helped with technical issues.


    Two events stick out for me. Early on, I was getting a little bored with my own company and decided to stop at Walmart and get a cheap AM-FM radio. But somehow, I never used it once. I decided that I needed to spend a lot of time daily doing much better with my prayers. Long stretches passed by while God and I talked about my concerns. And His too. The radio just never seemed important again.


   The second was on the evening that my final 30 miles fell apart. I had been thinking that I was well past time for an impending flat or an issue otherwise with the bike. I was concerned for the last week about all the roadside metal, wires and junk that the bike rode through. Then, after that last big storm, I knew the first flat put me in big jeopardy of making New Orleans by dark. The third did me in. I already had a train ticket to leave today and a day of sightseeing in the city planned. No extra days to do that remaining 30 miles.


   After all was said and done, I am sure that the biggest lesson was sent my way when Johnny Walker and David Bourg both stopped to help and we covered the “Pay it forward” philosophy extensively. In the shape the world is in today, what better way to see if we can fix some of the turmoil by only expecting to do something good for the next person. Without any reward except for them to do the same. Those guys set the example, especially David with giving me a ride into the city when he had something else planned.


   So, those will be my takeaways from this adventure.  Plenty more lesser good things happened too, actually too many to revisit them all. But running the bases at the Field of Dreams, the day of fun at Hannibal, all the other days of safe pedaling and people like Cheryl, Layne Logue and plenty of motel owners or others who gave me a good deal or a kind gesture. Or maybe just a friendly “Hello.”


    I got to see a lot of history, always a big part of these adventures. But I wonder why cities like Vicksburg and Natchez don’t take the attitude that Hannibal does. US 61 was a good road and I would have liked to have finished it into New Orleans. But there will be another day, and hopefully by then Missouri, Mississippi and Louisiana will continue to pave over more of the rumble strips.


    And finally one of my favorite parts, each year I make new friends who invest their time in writing to me about something to see or do, or maybe they just offered encouragement. Either way, I am glad that you and the Post readers rode along again. I always feel great when someone says that I make them feel just like they were along for the ride.


    We will do it again soon, and I am already thinking about possibilities. Thank you all for being part of another adventure, learning something more about our great nation and maybe getting to know each other a little better. I appreciate you all!

A Full Day

by   September 13, 2022 with No Comments

By David Freeze

 Today was about seeing New Orleans and I planned to get as much done as possible. First up was the World War ll Museum, followed by some time at the Mississippi River and a sightseeing tour if there was time.


  I walked 6 tenths of a mile to the museum with few people on the streets. Just a few folks wandering around the museum plaza anxious to get in. There were just a couple odd guys, one of them standing in the street and hollering to the cars that passed by. There were a few statues and plaques outside to see and I made use of that time to read about the museum. We got in at 9am, which they do nearly every day of the year. Once inside, I paid for the ticket and Tom Hanks’ movie that celebrates the museum and honors those who fought. Galleries follow all the different portions of the war from having an undersized and ill-prepared armed forces that would soon take on war machines already operating with vast power.


    Historian and author Stephen Ambrose along with movie producer Stephen Spielberg got credit for starting the museum, and Hanks and many others have joined in. Those galleries were impressive to me, especially the stories in their own words from the heroes that fought and survived. Brave soldiers who didn’t survive have their stories told too. The equipment displays are real, from all the armies that were involved. A wonderful place worth seeing, worth a least a full day and maybe two, already recognized as New Orleans top attraction.


    Hanks produced the movie in 4-D, meaning the screen is wide angle, the sounds are incredible and the chairs and floor shake at appropriate times.


    After five hours, my first thing when outside was to find a small amount of food. A $5 large cookie and $3 bottle of water. I walked back then to Jackson Square, seen by many as the center of old New Orleans. There is a great viewing area of the working river, and I watched tugboats push barges by. A couple of military ships and a riverboat were also close by, with a small cruise liner moored in the distance.


   I took an hour and a half tour of the city, the last one available for the day. New Orleans is vastly cleaned up and much brighter than when I was here last. I found out that the city is in fact an island, visitors and residents unable to leave except by plane, boat or bridge. Insurance is often more than the house payment, and celebrities like John Goodman and Sandra Bullock have their primary residences here. Beyoncé just bought a huge old church that is a block long and is making it a residence too.


   The trolley system has operated since 1835 and one car still operates that is almost 90 years old. The Mississippi at the viewing spot is about a half mile wide and 200 feet deep. The street performers that I remembered from my last visit no longer perform in Jackson Square, which is now a nice park. But some of those performers entertain at other locations near the square.


    I walked a lot, nearly all day and really enjoyed the city. I did get a standard bag of three beignets, French donuts. Very popular were the places selling them and one stays open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I did order mine without powdered sugar and it took the girl a long time to get them that way. The line never stops at Cafe Du Monde.. There is a fantastic downtown market that has all kinds of gifts and probably at least a hundred open air vendors.


   Typically, I usually listen for scams and found a few, but I think that is part of the game. One guy who set up his truck near the beignet place, where water and soft drinks were really high, had a sign that said bottled water for $2. I asked for two and he said, “$5.” I told him I wanted the $2 water and he still pulled them out of another cooler and said, “You get it for a discount!”


   I got a huge slice of pizza twice at the same place and got s few things for my granddaughter. Finally, after one more visit to the river with a street performer playing great organ music, and I have called it a day.


    My train, the Crescent, leaves at 9am, but riderless bike and I will walk there early. My longest train ride was to New York City close to 20 years ago, and I am really excited about this one. It should be about 752 miles and will last about 20 hours.
    One more day of traveling and then this journey will be ending. There is some sadness when they all end, but with that sadness comes an opportunity for planning the next one.


I hope you will join me tomorrow when I write from the Amtrak Crescent while seeing yet another part of America. See you back here then and as always, thanks for your prayers!

Remembering

by   September 12, 2022 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

Nehemiah 8:13 tells us that the spiritual leaders and the family leaders got together to go over God’s Word in greater detail, kinda like life group but without the pizza. While studying, they discovered that the Lord had introduced a special family time of camping out. They were to go up in the hills, and drag back some branches. They are told what kinds of trees to take from. Then they were to make these into shelters for their families to live in the great outdoors for a whole week each year; sort of a stick house that would be built on top of the flat roof of their regular house. This was to remind them of years ago when God delivered their ancestors from slavery in Egypt, and they made temporary homes. So I’m guessing they would sit with the children, in their homemade shelters, maybe watching the sunset or stars and telling the story of their relatives. Who knew that God is the Inventor of Staycation?

I can imagine that their children were much like ours saying, “Tell us the part about the frogs! Eewwww! Where is Egypt anyway? Tell us the part about the death angel! Tell us about the Red Sea opening up and the walls of water they walked between. Could they see the fishes?”

Do our children know where we came from? Do they know any stories of miracles God has done in our lives? Do they ever say, “Tell us about the time we had no money for school clothes and God brought the lady by with the bag of clothes that fit us just right!” “Tell us about the time you and mommy prayed for food in college and someone left a meal on your doorstep.” “Remember the time we locked our keys in the car and the policeman stopped to help us?”

Intentional thankful remembering; God is very honored by it. It helps us recall what He’s brought us through. It gives us hope that the future will be just fine, because He is in it.

Today, think of some things God has brought you & your family through. Maybe take a little time to talk about how the Lord has blessed you. The next time you bring a need to the Lord, write it in your Bible and put the date beside it. You’ll be surprised at all you recall next year at this time. His care is worth remembering!

Lord, strengthen us today to remember and rejoice in You. Thank you for all You’ve done, and all You are about to do through us and our beloved church. Forgive us for forgetting. Help us be more intentional about remembering. Remind us to say “Thank You!” to You and to those around us often, because it is important to You.

More: Nehemiah 9- The people recount their deliverance from Egypt

Psalm 103:2 “Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things He does for me!”

Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unfair. He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him and how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other Christians, as you still do.”

September

by   September 10, 2022 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            I went to write down the date the other day and it hit me—it’s September! What happened to this year? It’s been a busy year. I have to admit that I have been noticing signs that the year is moving along. The days are getting shorter, which I don’t like. The other thing I noticed is that certain constellations that I look for in the night’s sky have gone out of view.

            I do like the change in seasons. I never tire of fall and spring, but I do get tired of the relentless heat of summer and the chill of winter. Spring and fall bring lots of outside work, which I love. When the weather is cool, I can work outside all day long. So, as the temperature starts to come down, I look forward to spending more time outside.

            One of my favorite parts of spring and fall is eating lunch on the front porch. I will grab a book, my lunch, and travel to someplace with the characters in the story. We live in a peaceful neighborhood and it is so nice to enjoy the quiet outside. In fact, I enjoy sitting out there quietly late at night. It gives me time to think and to pray. I miss those quiet moments in the middle of a hot and humid summer or the bone chilling days of winter.

            The students and teachers have returned to their classrooms. I remember starting back each fall and getting the routines of school life going again. I always loved my job and still love being a teacher. I would encourage you to pray for teachers. They need wisdom on how to instruct their students and help prepare them for life. They also need to know how to deal with all the problems students bring with them to school.

            The students need your prayers, too. They need the right attitude about learning. They need help to stay focused on learning. We live in a very distracting world. Besides their classmates, their phones can cause their focus to be elsewhere. For many students, schools are the safest place they will be all day. So we need to pray that God will keep our schools safe. If the past is any indication, we need to pray hard for His protection.

            I just looked at the calendar again. This weekend will mark the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Every one of us can remember exactly what we were doing when we first heard the news. I was teaching, and couldn’t believe the rumors as they started to circulate. I remember getting out of class and going to a history teacher’s room asking, “What is going on?” It took seeing it on the TV to convince me of what had happened.

            One of the many things that I remember in the days that followed was how united we were as a country. We were Americans. We all flew our American flags. It didn’t matter if you looked different or were from a different political party, we stood shoulder to shoulder as Americans. We were united.

            What happened to that unity? The answer is the politicians have taught us to hate people from “the other” political party. The media reinforces this division and distrust as it feeds us what we want to hear. Finally, social media allows us to express our feelings of distrust and anger for anyone who thinks differently.

            Jesus died to break down the walls of division and hate. He sought unity for His followers. Jesus came to bring people together from different backgrounds and political philosophies. Jesus’ goal was not political, it was spiritual. Jesus wants every person to have a relationship with the Heavenly Father. Jesus wants every person in heaven, regardless of political beliefs. We have allowed the enemy to divide us from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus came so we would love each other and build unity throughout the body of Christ. Whether we are from Russia, Ukraine, China, Mexico, or America, we are the body of Christ and we should live in unity.

            I want to encourage you to look for ways we can be united. Jesus loves all people from every background and nation of the world. He wants everyone to know Him and the Father. We need to turn our hearts away from division and back to a place where we can seek the unity that He desires. Let’s stop trying to tear each other apart and listen to the Spirit, who is trying to draw us together. United we stand together in faith.

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

The Gospels of Rome

by   September 9, 2022 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

The Gospels and Rome

Jesus and the Empire of God

Warren Carter

Cascade Books, 2021

Carter wastes no time in explaining his use of cultural intertextuality avenue for reading and studying the Gospels. He reminds us that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John composed while Rome ruled: “The empire does not disappear from the Gospels just because an emperor or  governor or soldier or tax is not mentioned.” He then uses selected Gospel texts alongside Roman texts to create an opportunity for the reader to “make meaning in the intersections among them.”

Intertextuality is an interesting way to read the Gospels and while I had unknowingly done it in the past, I had not been aware of its wide range. For instance, one of the Gospel stories that Carter uses is the scene where Jesus instructs two disciples to go into Jerusalem and they will find a donkey with here colt tied. If asked, the disciples are to say that the Master needs them. Jesus then rides the donkey into Jerusalem.

Carter shows how this well-known arrival by Jesus, where he is greeted by the screaming crown, is like the manner a Roman ruler or victorious general would enter a city.  He cites many historical accounts to support and then compare the entry of Jesus with that of Augustus, Gaius, and Titus into Rome or other locations.

I enjoyed Carter’s examination of the Gospels by intertextuality because it directly shows the Roman world that Jesus lived in with all its problems: “Rome-sanctioned, Jerusalem-based local leaders, pervasive sickness, food insecurity, occupied territory, language of sovereignty, fantasies of revenge, and visions of a new and just world all interact with Roman imperial structures and [practices.” Carter in those words shows us the world in which Jesus walked and preached. It should give us encouragement for the world we face.

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