God Our Healer

by   February 22, 2020 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            Last week was a busy one. It wasn’t overly busy; it was the “just right” kind of busy. I have a crazy schedule where I get up before dawn and teach online courses to children in China. I love my little job and I especially love the kids. This early morning interruption of my sleep often causes me to take a nap later in the day. My cat loves to curl up with me when I lay down.

            Last Friday, Valentine’s Day, we decided to order food out and to avoid all the lines. We did some domestic engineering so we could have nice romantic evening at home. We watched a romantic comedy and had a great evening. At the end of the day I felt like I had worked in the yard all day.

            Saturday found me resting and laying low all day. I had a few other symptoms and told my wife that I would probably go to the doctor on Monday. I rarely go to the doctor.  I sent a few emails asking for prayer. Something was up.

            On Sunday, I woke up feeling worse. I considered staying home from church, but it was my week with the children and I wanted to be there for them. I also wanted to go ask for prayer. While I believe in modern medical science, I always like to check with my Heavenly Father first.

            After the music part of the service, the pastor asked anyone who needed prayer to raise their hand. I raised both my hands. The congregation gathered around those of us who raised our hands. The pastor prayed for us, while those standing around us also prayed. The presence of the Lord was sweet.

            The first thing I noticed when the prayer was over was the feeling of fatigue was gone. I still had some pain, but it was less. By evening, I thought that even the pain would be gone by Monday morning. That wasn’t the case, but I felt better and decided to wait on seeing the doctor. I am hoping and believing that everything will be better.

            Why did God stop and notice me on Sunday? Did all the others who asked for prayer receive what they asked for, too? I know that we are all special in God’s sight. We are, after all, His children.

            I have known some people who were in stage 3 and 4 cancer who were completely healed, and others who went home to be with the Lord. The question we all want to know is why? We don’t always get to understand everything on this side of heaven.

            I will share with you some personal insights. When Jesus died on the cross between two criminals, only one got into heaven – the one who asked. I think we often forget to ask God for His healing touch. Maybe we falsely believe that God is too busy. He’s never too busy for His children. We also need to combine faith when we ask, believing that God can and will heal us.

            Sometimes God heals, and sometimes God chooses to walk with us through the medical procedures. I don’t know or understand why. I do know that I have many friends who have gone through incredible medical nightmares and discovered that their faith grew in leaps and bounds. They have a testimony they share every chance they get, and God gets the glory. I know firsthand that when you walk through the storms of life, God walks incredibly close to you. AND He will see you through.

            I know that our God is faithful and He will NEVER leave or forsake us. It may feel dark and you may feel alone, but I promise you that God hears your cries and He will answer your call. God never promised an easy path in life, but He did promise to be with us. Don’t give up. There are so many promises in the Bible for you. Spend time searching and finding them. Write them out and keep them in front of your eyes. God’s promises will never fail.

            I want to encourage you, yes you, to ask God, to fan the flames of your faith, and to trust your Heavenly Father who loves you more than any human being ever could. It’s scary to ask for a touch from the Master’s hand, because He may not bring an instant healing. But I believe that God can guide the doctor’s hands, give the doctor wisdom, and I KNOW He will walk with you as you go through this terrible storm. I am praying for you, believing with you, that you will soon have a testimony to share.

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

Be a Hero

by   February 22, 2020 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

His age is 24. His number is 15. His name is Patrick. He plays football.

And faith in God was his message in an interview:

*He had gone to church since he was young.

*He kept going to church when he got older.

*He went to Bible study on Friday.

*He went to chapel on Saturday.

*He walked into the stadium on Sunday.

*He kneeled – and prayed – at the goalpost.

Toward the end of the interview, he said that he liked being at a stage where he could glorify God.

He sure was that night as 148.5 million watched.

Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, had just led his team to a Super Bowl victory.

On that huge world stage in his life – and in that important stage of his life – his faith was displayed.

He was a hero.

He was a man of faith.

A hero – of faith.

I watched in awe, as I said to my family, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to have a world stage like that to share your faith on?”

Hebrews 11 has a list of what is often referred to as heroes of faith. The list includes:

*Sara – who doubted God.

*Noah – who had gotten drunk and embarrassed himself in front of his sons.

*Rahab – who was a moral failure.

*Moses – who was disobedient to God.

*Abraham – who was old when he began his journey of faith – and who lied, deceived, and laughed at God.

Their lives were not perfect, but their purpose was. They were on the stage where God put them – and in the stage of life where God wanted them.

They all had faith. And their faith still impacts us today.

Can we be a hero of faith?

Maybe not to THE world.

But maybe we can to OUR world.

In our ways. In our words. In our work. In our worship.

On a stage – or in a stage – where God can use us.

Our lives are not perfect – but our purpose is.

The world may not see us kneeling at a goalpost, but a child may see us kneeling by their bedside.

The world may not hear us say the name of Jesus to an audience of millions, but some in our world will see – and feel – our heart as we share the love of Christ daily with those God has put in our path.

Don’t feel like a hero?

A.W. Tozer said, “We can be in our day what the heroes of faith were in their day – but remember at the time, they didn’t know they were heroes.”

I believe there can be a hero of faith inside each of us.

Tell someone they are a hero of faith.

Be someone’s hero of faith.

Ann is a speaker and teacher. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com

It’ll Go Up

by   February 21, 2020 with No Comments

            By Roger Barbee

Tucked in the driver’s door of my van is a small CD case. Most of the CD’s in it are commercially made, but a few were made by friends. Last week I removed one from the back  of the case that had written on it “Good ones” in the precise black ink penmanship of Connor, a deceased brother-in-law who had complied many CD’s for me before he died. After his funeral, I gave the ones I had to his  granddaughter, but this one had somehow remained with me, tucked away.

The note on it is correct: The jazz, soul, rock, and blues songs are by various artists and all are good. It is a soulful and restful gathering of vocals and instrumentals, but none of the songs or the musicians are identified. Yet, I put it in the slot and listened as I drove around on errands. The ninth song on the CD grabbed me: A rendition of Bob Dylan’s song from the 60’s, I Will Be Released. Driving about town I would push the repeat button each time the song finished, listening to the voice that I could not identify but liking the way the unknown woman had arranged the song of injustice. After about a week of driving and listening, I came into the modern world and typed the song title into the search engine of my computer. Mercy! This old dog finally found Nina Simone singing the version that Connor copied for the CD.

When you have 4:21 to spare, go to: https://youtu.be/w-du8MDE8nk and treat yourself. You will hear Simone’s  great voice and the fabulous musicians give life to Dylan’s song. But as much as I like the rendition, it is the first fifteen seconds that cause me to remember Connor.

Listening carefully, you will hear the musicians beginning, but something goes wrong and Simone says to them,  “Y’all pushin’, you’re pushin’ it, you’re pushin’ it!  Just relax, relax. You’re pushing it. It’ll go up by itself! Don’t put nothin’ in it unless ya feel it! Let’s do it again, please.”

Relax she says and it will go up by itself. While Simone is speaking about the cutting of  the song, her words carry way over into living. I like to think that she knew that, and I  know that Connor did. He lived that. He never pushed because he  knew that it would go up by itself. He was not indifferent or lazy. In fact, he was quite successful. But he enjoyed living. He loved people. Being around him was relaxing and fun and it required nothing but feeling life: The good living he modeled by feeling it.

What a chance for me on removing the gold CD from the back of the case. While Connor comes to me through the music on the CD, he especially does through cut number 9 and Simone’s charge not to push it, but to relax and feel it. It will go up by itself.

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