Friendship

by   March 18, 2023 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            Our church has a men’s group that meets every other week which we call the Fight Club. The intent of the group is to encourage and challenge each other in our walk with Jesus. Choosing to walk with Jesus is not easy, but it is easy to walk away from Him. Our desire is to help each other deal with the challenges that we face in daily life and to remind ourselves that we are not alone in our fight.

            The other night in our meeting the topic of friendship with God came up. When I was lying in bed that night thinking about our discussion, I thought about my best friend, Jay. Jay and I worked together at Elkin High School. We ate lunch together every day. We have been to each other’s home and helped with numerous projects. He helped me move once…that’s friendship.      We always had fun together and were often up to something if you saw us together. We loved to laugh and to get others to laugh, too. One of the best parts about our friendship was the fact that there were no pretenses. We talked openly and honestly with each other. There was no judgement. We accepted each other even if we thought differently about some topics. I have missed my best friend since he passed.

            I feel very blessed because I have a number of very good friends. It is great to spend time with my friends because the conversation flows so smoothly and effortlessly. I always hate for the time to end and look forward to the next time we can see each other.

            I started thinking about Jesus and His disciples. Obviously when Jesus was in human form He could not be friends with everyone in the world. He limited Himself and lived within His limits. We know Jesus had friends like Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. His closest friendships were with His disciples. Even among His disciples, some were closer to Jesus than others.

            The Bible tells us that Jesus was closest to Peter, James, and John. They made up His inner circle. This doesn’t mean that Jesus wasn’t close to the other disciples, it just means he was closer to these three. I have been thinking about that and wondering why He developed closer relationships with some over others.

            I have been considering Judas, who betrayed Jesus. Did Jesus want to be close to Judas? Yes, the door was open to him because he was among the twelve disciples. But Judas was hiding that he was stealing from the ministry to benefit himself. I think Jesus knew he was doing it and tried to draw him back. Judas could not let Jesus see this dark side. He kept his sin hidden. It was that choice not to repent that kept him from a closer walk with Jesus and ultimately led to his betrayal of Jesus.

            I love Peter, who was one of Jesus’ closest friends. He was always blowing it. He made plenty of mistakes and often said the wrong thing. But he still remained one of Jesus’ closest allies. Why would Jesus let someone who made so many mistakes into His inner circle? Peter lived a repentant and broken life. He turned to Jesus time and again asking for forgiveness and help to be the man of God that Jesus saw and believed he could be.

            I believe the invitation is open to you and me. Jesus wants to develop a friendship with us but the ball is in our court. It’s up to us. We get to choose how close we get to Jesus. Like Peter, it doesn’t matter how many mistakes we make along the way. It depends on our heart, our willingness to repent when we make wrong choices, and our obedience to Him. The door is open through prayer, fellowship with Him, worship, and spending time reading and meditating on His Word.  We can connect as deeply as the disciples and become His friends.

            I want to encourage you to live like Peter, James, and John and become friends with God. Don’t try to hide things from God, rather, expose them and find the forgiveness and peace that you need. Go beyond reading your Bible and think about what you have read, asking God to reveal Himself to you. Pray and talk to Him like He is your best friend. Drop any pretense and be real with God. I promise if you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. This friendship will last beyond this lifetime into eternity. Make the investment and become God’s friend.

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

Carpe Diem

by   March 17, 2023 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

The above Latin phrase, made famous by the American movie Dead Poet’s Society, was first used by the poet Horace. Its use by Horace is most accurately translated as “Pluck the day,” and after the movie it became popular in American culture and before long it was printed on tee shirts, caps, and mugs. However, the word “pluck”, for whatever reason, proved too much for American sensibilities and the phrase became translated as “Seize the day.” (Such a refinement) Given a coffee mug with that inscription by the head of school where I worked, like the other administrators, I understood the phrase, as a rising professional, to mean that I was to grab each day and shake it out making the most of it as opportunities arose. If opportunities did not arise to pluck, then I was to create them, then pluck.  Seizing the day meant that I, in my mid-40’s, was in charge. Anything that was accomplished in my realm of the school was directly related to either my ideas or actions or both. It was all up to  me, and I lived several years following that belief in my personal and  professional  life.

Thinking of the two interpretations of Horace’s phrase, I recall the saying attributed to  Mark Twain, that the difference  between the right word and almost the right word, is the difference between lightening and the lightening bug. Pluck and seize when viewed as verbs are much alike, but are they the same?  When we seize do we pluck?

One of my mother’s favorite “chores” was to  sweep the front porch, steps, and sidewalk of her mill house. She did  not rush to arrive to this or rush in its doing. She would sweep the  wooden porch some, stop and look around her front yard, sweep some more and adjust the chairs and plants. Satisfied with the porch’s condition, she moved on to the three concrete steps and stepping down carefully, she cleaned each below her as she went. Stopping at the juncture of the steps and sidewalk, she would survey the goings-on of Juniper Street and then begin sweeping the private sidewalk that led to public one. Arriving at that junction, she turned, chatted with any neighbor near or a passer-bye, then carrying her broom like a proud knight, she went back inside of her house to finish any cleaning left undone. My mother, a girl of the South Carolina Sandhills, grew up in a time when front yards of sand were swept of their loose sand to make a  clean place to entertain company under a large shade tree. Sometimes, as Maggie did in Alice Walker’s short story, Everyday Use, people would make a design using the loose sand on the edge of the cleared area. Thus, a “living room” space was created for the company. There was no sand on my mother’s sidewalk, steps, or porch, but her daily sweeping of it made certain that no visitor would trip on a acorn or small limb, and its cleanliness invited folks to come on in.

Today we have leaf blowers, those noisy machines that will clean the area that took my mother thirty minutes or so to  sweep in just a few minutes. Time saved, and all that dirt blown away into the yard or gutter. Time saved to be used inside cleaning or to be used on another household chore. Time saved is money saved. If my mother had had a leaf blower to use out front, she would have been more efficient and more productive. If my mother had had a leaf blower, she would have been “seizing the day” and producing more.

Yet, even had my mother been given a leaf blower, one she could have used, I know that she would have just left it gathering dust in her garage. She, like so many of her peers, was not interested in being more productive or efficient or cost effective. She swept her front porch, steps, and sidewalk with her straw broom because she enjoyed the doing of that act. She enjoyed observing the activity on her street and its people. She enjoyed the result of her labor. In my mind, she was plucking. Not the day but a small piece of it. She understood that one cannot grab and hold an entire day, but one could pluck a moment. She plucked it, enjoyed it, and continued on. Like so many, she had faith in the words, “Give us this day….”

A lesson I finally learned at half-past fifty.

Bits and Pieces

by   March 16, 2023 with No Comments

By David Freeze

The next race in the area is a new one with a strong message. Scheduled for next Saturday, March 11, is the Jace Landon TBI Aftercare Awareness 5K at Knox Middle School. Serving as the race director is Jace’s mother, Nichole Steadman. She said, “This race means a lot to me personally because I lost my son Jace due to a traumatic brain injury. He was in a serious car accident in December of 2020 where he suffered a severe TBI and subsequently took his life on Mother’s Day 2022. Too many people with TBIs suffer in silence. March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and this gives me the opportunity to spread awareness throughout our community about the importance of TBI aftercare.”

Runners and walkers of all abilities are invited for the 9am 5K start. A fun run for kids 12 and under will follow on the Knox track after the 5K. Commemorative dri-fit shirts, plenty of awards and refreshments will be part of Nichole’s effort to share more information about traumatic brain injury. Registration is open at runsignup.com.

The Forum of Salisbury has been a big part of fitness opportunities in Rowan County for 25 years. Their anniversary was Wednesday, March 1. The business opened on March 1, 1998, as Gold’s Gym and became The Forum in 2006. The Forum has strong community ties to numerous non-profits, most notably Rowan Helping Ministries and Prevent Child Abuse Rowan. The Butterball 5K, Salisbury’s Thanksgiving morning holiday tradition, annually draws the largest 5K participation in Salisbury. The Forum also hosts the Resolution Run 5K on New Year’s Day.

GM Rayna Gardner said, “We rarely say no to any local organization. We sponsor every high school for one sport or another and every yearbook. We do smaller stuff for the middle schools and elementary schools. Right now, with the school system, we provide $1000 a month in cash and memberships for The Forum and SoFul to their staff members of the month (there are two of them a month). We do a bazillion golf tournaments and so forth and so on. We buy enough BBQ chicken fundraiser plates to feed our whole staff many times over. Matt has always been super about giving back to the community that has been so good to him!”

The Forum has had the same owners (Marsh and Steve Safrit), the same Childcare Manager and Personal Training Manager for all of its 25 years. Gardner said they are proud to have helped over 30,000 people from our area in their individual fitness journeys.

The Salisbury Rowan Runners and Salisbury Parks and Recreation kick off the spring Beginning Runners Class on Tuesday, March 14, at the Salisbury PD at 6 p.m. The class meets on Tuesdays for eight weeks and will culminate with a graduation ceremony at this year’s Bare Bones 5K on May 6 at Knox Middle School.

My own journey across all 100 counties nearly kicked off this past Thursday, but one day this coming week I’ll begin to visit all 100 counties over the next year. I will drive to the county seat, then run 1½ miles in each one and take time to learn a little more about the history of the county and county seat. As usual on my cycling adventures, I’ll take a few photos and hopefully meet some interesting people. I am anticipating being hungry quite a bit, so I hope to visit some unique local business for food. Might be a restaurant, a convenience store or maybe even a donut shop. And I am looking for the historic courthouses that many of the county seats still have. My journey, so my rules. The Post will publish a map showing my progress.

Look for more information on the BRC classes and the Jace Landon 5K, along with other upcoming events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org

Committing to Where we are Celebrated

by   March 15, 2023 with No Comments

By Ed Traut

Matthew 10:14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

  • It was Jesus’s instruction that we focus on those that are receptive to what we share.
  • We have a message within us and we ought to continually want to give it to those who want to receive it.  Often we don’t know until we give it who will receive.
  • If there is a constant resistance we don’t need to keep pursuing it if they have heard it we can just move on to the next person that will receive it not wasting our energy on those that are not really interested in the gospel or yet ready for it.

Prayer:  Lord I commit myself to You today.  I ask Holy Spirit that You will guide me and make me effective in being a witness and a soul winner.  Lead me to someone today to witness and/or to lead them to the thrown of grace.  I am Yours Lord.  Amen.  

Ed Traut
Prophetic Life

Big Ol’ Bucket

by   March 14, 2023 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

We used to have the best doctor. When David’s A1C registered high, she gave him a plan to lower it. Of course the plan came with a stern warning about his consumption of grits and other Southern manna. But her advice worked. Even better, she treated him like a son and praised his efforts each time he had bloodwork. She was so encouraging that his blood pressure, which usually shot through the roof like a rocket during a visit, came down to somewhat normal. But then she committed the unpardonable.


Our beloved Mrs. Caroline Adams retired. Dang encouraging grandma. Oh how we miss her. Life will never be the same.
As you surely know by now, I am a delicate flower. Currently I’m going through another health issue on top of the mystery illness I deal with. Of course the older I get the more the crazy symptoms pile on. In fact I told the Lord this morning that I am tired of asking for help and getting none. I decided to just quit asking. Then the story in the Daily Bread devotional spoke of the eerie quiet in a Russian orphanage where the babies learn not to cry because they know that no help will come. What a terribly sad commentary. Just as I finished reading the article the Lord reminded me of this verse.

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.” -Psalm 56:8


Apparently Somebody does care.


Then I wondered how large that bottle must be. Since I’m a big ol’ crybaby, the Lord probably uses a five gallon bucket… or three. So let’s do this.


The next time we get to wondering if anybody cares at all, let’s practice this. Let’s go ahead and cry out to the Lord and know He loves us enough to collect all our tears. His Son also cried out. He even wondered why God had forsaken Him.
I bet His bucket is even bigger than mine.

Seeking Peace

by   March 11, 2023 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            I think if we are honest we all can struggle at times to find and maintain peace. Beach lovers know it exists when you are down at the shore. Mountain lovers say it’s almost tangible in the mountains. Some swear that they find peace near streams, babbling brooks, or waterfalls. I can find it sitting quietly on my front porch.

            I think most of us have a place where we can go and find peace. I sometimes wonder if we believe that peace is tied to that location. Many men like fishing and hunting for the excitement the sport offers, but I believe that secretly they enjoy the peacefulness they experience in the waiting quietly part of their sport.

            We all find peace in our own unique ways. The problem isn’t finding peace but rather maintaining our peace. My pastor has been teaching us that everything we need in this life is available to us from heaven. This is a very scriptural concept. He has also been trying to teach us that since it is available to us then we can make something like a withdrawal from heaven to meet our needs.

            Let’s consider a practical application. I wanted to make a withdrawal of peace before going to Walmart this morning…a place where peace does not exist. Walking across the parking lot I could hear music blaring from speakers. I walked down an aisle only to discover a fellow in an electric cart going backwards beeping. There were people everywhere.

            I went about my business. Somewhere halfway through my list I stopped to ponder my little experiment. In spite of all the noise and the many distractions I really could feel His peace. It was not like walking the beach, but deep inside there was this little bubble of peace.

            Returning home I was really glad to sit peacefully on my front porch. Few things are more peaceful than eating my lunch on the front porch with a good book. I guess the result of my experiment was that peace is available to me even in Walmart.

            Peace is not the absence of noise. I feel some of the strongest peace in my life while we are singing worship songs at church. There will always be some noise and sound around us that does not define peace in our lives. Peace is more the state of our hearts and minds.

            What are some things that will push peace from us? Worry will crush peace every time. Being anxious about circumstances will steal your peace. Lack of sleep and rest will zap your peace. Distractions can move your focus from peace. Your emotions can betray your peace. The list of things that can pull or push us away from peace is long.

            How do we maintain our peace in a chaotic world? First, we have to consider that losing our peace might be a signal that we have moved away from God. Second, we have to realize that it is almost impossible to have peace when tragedy strikes. That’s normal. Even though life pulls on us, there are things we can do to maintain our peace.

            I believe that one thing we need to do is focus on the things that are good around us. I think it will actually increase our peace if we spend time each day thanking God for our many blessings. I know we all have problems and stress but if we can make our minds focus on the positive and give thanks for those things I believe our peace will grow stronger.

            I believe that there are many things that can increase our peace. I am learning that regular exercise improves my peace. Spending time with friends increases our peace. Laughing at a comedian or a movie can do a lot to lighten your mood and give you peace. Needless to say, laying your burdens down in prayer and trusting the Lord to take care of them will increase your peace. Worshipping Him and listening to Christian music will lift your spirit and increase your peace. Sometimes just turning off your electronics can do the trick.

            I believe that peace is available to us and that we miss it simply because we miss Him. I want to encourage you to reconnect with Jesus, the true Prince of Peace. Let His Spirit minister to your heart and mind. Let His love wash away the worries of this world. We really don’t need to go someplace to find our peace, we need to go to Someone. I bid each of you the peace of Christ.

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

Chirping Sparrows

by   March 10, 2023 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

This morning’s ride on the stationary bike began earlier than usual. When I had uncovered the bike and adjusted every detail to begin my five-mile workout, the small grove of 14 pine trees between our road and me were still shrouded in soft, morning shadows. Because of the crisp December wind, I hurried to get moving in order to create some warmth because the sun had yet to clear the horizon of Lake Norman.

Before too long, my rotations on the stationary bike began to create a stronger blood flow, and I sensed a rise of my temperature. While no sweat dripped from my brow, the steady wind was not now causing as much discomfort as it was just a few minutes before. The rhythm of the ride steadied, and as my arms flowed into it my entire body joined. It was then that I noticed a small movement in the pine tree grove next to me. Then I saw another and another and another.

I watched as I cranked the bike. Small sparrows were busy looking for a morsel or more on the ground under the 14 pine trees. Because of the morning shadows I could not see the sparrows as clearly as I wished, but by the small bodies and action, I think that I was seeing a morning flock of chipping sparrows. It seemed that when I saw one, I saw another. Their constant movement along the ground prevented any accurate count, but I was more interested in how they were almost indistinguishable from a pine needle or piece of pine bark or a fallen leaf from one of the dogwood trees. When I thought I was seeing a chipping sparrow, the breeze would blow the leaf across the ground. But I saw many as they flurried across the ground in search for food. Then they quietly disappeared, leaving me to now have time to notice the first sun rays grace the grove’s shadows.

 I have watched many sunrises from this postage stamp of earth where I ride each morning. All of them are the same, but all are different. They are like people in that way. But no matter, I watched this one as I shifted to a higher gear for more resistance. I wanted the heat created by the harder riding, but I also wanted the warmth the sun would give. And I also needed to observe it, aware that the rotating earth and nature’s way would not wait. Aware of the moment,  I watched as the sunlight first graced the tree tops across the road in Ken’s yard and, clearing the housetops on our side of the lake, cast shadows of morning on the pine forest floor where the chipping sparrows had just been. Soon the shadows under the pine grove disappeared,   its needle covered floor revealed by soft, early morning sunlight. Deep shadows, chipping sparrows, and a morning moment replaced by another as the day, like all days, made its offer.

I began my warm down, but I still took notice as the day began. Watching the sun rise, seeing its rays break the grip of night, and feeling its warmth, I applauded its promise and the hope of that promise. A new day that would resemble yesterday and tomorrow, but one that had its own personality and potential. Its own hope. The Pharisee turned Christian, St. Paul, writes in Romans—“we are saved by hope.”

Indeed.

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