Can’t Be Afraid

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By Ed Traut

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

  • Challenges there will always be.  Varied, more intense and less intense, but troubles are not uncommon.
  • The Lord has us covered and expects us to not react or be anxious about them because where fear and panic is faith is gone.
  • It is for us to give thanks and to pray and to ask God what we need so that we may have His peace in the midst of any storm. 

Prayer: Lord I do receive Your peace and thank You that You have paid the price for me to have the fullness of that peace and I will focus and give You thanks and tell You of my needs trusting that You will take care of me.  Amen. 
 

Ed Traut
Prophetic Life

More

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By Ann Farabee

MORE

Happy New Year!

We all say it.

We all hope for it.

As one year ends and another begins, we tend to take a look back and also take a look forward to our future.

No matter what we are or no matter where we are, God has more in store for us.

A career in education left me acknowledging and celebrating pretty much every special occasion listed on a calendar, along with student birthdays. Special days were always talked about within my classroom, and were also celebrated whenever and however possible. My intake of cupcakes with my students to celebrate events was quite large – and quite enjoyable.

The special days in life are often anticipated far ahead of time and celebrated to a great degree.

The older I get, special occasions still rise to the top of my list. The New Year has never been a favorite, because it mostly has reminded me that Christmas is over and it is time to get back to work. Also, the requirement to stay up until past 12am has never been of interest to me, other than the year 2000, when we all waited up to see if the world was going to end.

I have always had friends who insist that we all pick a WORD for the new year.

Last year, my word was REST.

Of course that was a failure. I did not rest. I tried out the concept the first weekend, and even tried to take a nap, but it did not happen. Napping, apparently, is not a concept I understand.

So, I am giving the concept of a word for the year one more chance.

 My word for 2025 is MORE.

That is because there is MORE in store for us:

Look back –  to where God brought you from.

Look ahead  – to what God will do for you.

Look within – to who you really are.

Look up – to who God really is.

God supplies bread for our daily needs, forgiveness for our daily sins, and strength for our daily burdens. What a mighty God we serve!

Lord, help us in every circumstance to be content with that which comes every day from Your Merciful Hand.

My MORE in 2025 is to trust Jesus MORE!

To do MORE for Jesus!

To be MORE for Jesus!

Will you join me?

 For we are MORE than conquerors through HIM that loves us!

Let me know your word for 2025 at annfarabee@gmail.com.

Sleepless in Salisbury – D

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By Lynna Clark

“Delight thyself also in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” -Psalm 37:4

When the Lord and His goodness becomes our joy, our mindset changes. Instead of toddlers begging for new toys, we become more interested in what God’s very best entails. Things like strength for the day, the ability to love others in all their messiness; and best of all, the grace to forgive ourselves as we draw near to our God. Bonus verse: James 4:8 invites us to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Think on these things as you dwell in His care tonight.

Godsmacked

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By Ashlie Miller

When was the last time you were gobsmacked by love as a recipient or by learning of someone else’s love for another? I’m not talking about another predictable Hallmark love story or a fictional reel on social media created for views. I mean a genuine love story that defies all reason and logic – someone expressing utterly selfless love, and perhaps the recipient doesn’t reciprocate, seems aloof to it, or flat-out rejects it (and no, I’m not alluding to parents and teens).

Our congregation at Mission Bible Church has been reading through Hosea in our reading plan and learning more through a sermon series. The gripping story of Hosea and Gomer is one for the ages. While that is an intriguing story (I would love to have dinner with Gomer as one of my “who would you like to have dinner with from the past?” hypotheticals), it pales in comparison to the greater story God wanted His children to see. 

The divided nations of Israel and Judah both fell into rejecting God (one had a few better kings, but both nations had real issues). Hearts were prone to wickedness. They combined forms of true worship with wicked, pagan worship – child sacrifice, for example. The spiritual leaders of the temples built for their own God were either drunk or bought out for money to do the bidding of wicked kings. When God would woo them, they would put out a stiff hand of rejection. When He would allow them to fall into the hands of pagans they admired as a way to discipline them and give them what they thought they wanted, they still would not return fully to Him in humility. Hosea 11:4 says God “bent down to them to them and fed them”, but verse 7 shows that the people were “bent on turning away from [Him].”

God has perfect feelings. He expresses further in chapter 11, “Though they call out to the Most High, He shall not raise them up at all.” He follows that immediately with, “How can I give you up…How can I hand you over…? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.” God had every right to reject them as His people, or at least in the eyes of modern man. But God says, “I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath” (Hosea 11:9).

Imagine the modern-day advice if you were in a similar situation. You may have experienced someone taking advantage of you, not appreciating all you selflessly do, or turning on you to pursue something or someone contrary to all you hold dear in your life with them. The modern advice: “cut them out” or “cancel them.” In our imperfect human forms, sometimes that is the best way to survive in our broken world. But God can take it because His goal is to have His children back. 

How can He do this? Why doesn’t He wipe us off the face of the earth when we betray Him and reject His love for us?  Because God is faithful to His promises, to His divine character, and to what He reveals about Himself: “The Lord, our Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (fun scavenger hunt – look up this phrase or derivatives of it throughout the Bible).

The holy, perfect nature of God is merciful and patient. It flows from Him effortlessly. Wow, what an unbelievable love – one that pursues us in various ways, sometimes allows us to be left to our own devices, and is faithful in His love towards us! Have you been gobsmacked by it yet?

Ashlie Miller writes from Concord, NC. You can email her at: mrs.ashliemiller@gmail.com.

Unforgettable

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Steve Hartman shares a Valentine’s Story that is truly unforgettable. How do you keep a marriage together to almost 70 years…. Watch and learn! Enjoy!

Being There

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By Doug Creamer

Since I retired I have attended many funerals. Friends and several church members have gone home to be with the Lord. Being retired gives me the opportunity to be there for my friends and family during their time of need. I never know what to say to the family other than I am sorry for their loss. 

I went to a funeral this week for my Sunday school teacher’s husband. I have been to their home several times as they hosted Christmas parties for our class. He always made me feel so welcome to their home. He served in many different diplomatic positions for our government here at home and abroad. He and his wife have served and traveled to many nations around the world.

His experience gave him a great understanding of politics. He personally knew many politicians, and served in multiple administrations including President Ford’s administration. He had insights about where our country is and where we are going. I enjoyed the opportunities to talk with him and get his perspective on current events, issues, and politics. He was a man who had great insight into how our country works and I know he will be greatly missed.  

I think funerals can be very insightful. I love to hear the speakers as they share stories and reflect on the individual being honored. It’s okay to laugh at a funeral if someone shares a humorous story. It’s good to share the pain of the family as they deal with the loss of their loved one. Today my heart was moved by the passionate singing of an old friend who has the voice of an angel.

It’s hard to understand the impact your presence brings at funerals for the family who is struggling with their loss. While I am a writer and I work with words all the time, I struggle to find the right words of comfort to offer families who have lost loved ones. I have come to understand that words are not necessary, it’s the love and support we bring that makes all the difference. I am always glad that I went to the funeral so the family knows my heart is with them. Someday we are all going to find ourselves standing in their place and we will be glad when others show up for us.

When it comes down to it, it’s not just funerals when we find ourselves in need of people’s love and support. We might be struggling with depression, anxiety, health issues, loss of a job, or some other difficult situations where we need our brothers and sisters in Christ to stand with us. God did not intend for us to make our life’s journey alone. We were created to be together, to come together, to stand together, and sometimes to sit and cry together as we experience the challenges life brings our way.

I like praying alone and with others. When we pray, we hope God will intervene in our situation and keep us from having to walk through the trials and challenges of life. I have witnessed firsthand how God can heal and deliver someone. What a great celebration that brings when we see God’s miraculous hand at work in our lives.

But what happens when God doesn’t move, doesn’t heal, or doesn’t deliver us? We are forced to go THROUGH the challenge. We don’t want to go through, we want to be delivered. Sometimes when we go through we learn so much about God and His incredible love for us. It also reveals the depth of love and support from our spiritual families, which means so much.

That’s what being there is all about. I need you during my challenging times to be there encouraging and challenging me to press on, to keep going, to not give up, to believe God’s promises are for me, and to trust Him when I can’t feel or see Him. Your presence with me can give me the courage to take the next step, to keep moving forward when I want to give up.

I want to encourage you to be there for the people in your life when they are facing difficult and challenging times. I need you and you need me to be there for each other. Your experiences with God can help others who are facing the same challenges you have lived through. Be there. Share your story of hope. Pray and encourage those in need. Let’s take each other’s hand and be there to help each other through life’s challenges. We are not alone and we will get through this thing together.  Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

Sojourners

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By Roger Barbee

            In the epic poem,  The Odyssey, Odysseus returns to his home island after being absent for twenty years. Because the suitors have taken possession of his home, he must return unrecognized in order to attack them by surprise. He arrives home disguised by Athena as a beggar, and he goes to the hut of Eumaios, the keeper of pigs, in order to plan his attack on the suitors. Not knowing who the beggar is, Eumaios treats him with courtesy and feeds him and gives him a place to sleep. When the disguised master thanks his servant for being kind, Eumaios responds, “…rudeness to a stranger is not decency.”

            During the years that I taught Homer’s great poem, I required my students to memorize such lines as that of Eumaios and those of other characters from the poem.  The students then had to relate the chosen quotation to their lives by demonstrating a basic understanding of the quotation and explaining how it was still relevant in their post 2000 world. However, my students and I not only discussed what Homer had to say about hospitality to the sojourner, but also what other ancient writers such as Paul meant when they told followers to  “practice hospitality.” In the ancient world, sojourners needed safe and clean places to spend the nights because the few available inns were full of bandits, prostitutes, and vermin. So, for safety, a traveler looked for a kind person such as Eumaios to share the long, dark night. I suppose, as my students will attest,  in some ways we are all sojourners at times. At various moments in our lives, we have been that traveler looking for a haven for a night, a day, an hour even. And, oftentimes, we have looked for that friendly face to offer us warmth and kindness and understanding about our travels.

            Homer’s use of the lowly swineherd as one of two servants to help his long absent master is, I think, a choice of genius. As many readers may know, a pig parlor is not the most elegant place there is. Raven’s Rock, the home of Eumaios, was a smelly and rather vile place a long distance from the manor house. The swineherd undoubtedly would have smelled much like his charges. And, because of his position he would have held a low rung in the social order of his time. Yet, this low-ranking citizen, like the widow in the Gospels, gives out of his poverty, not his wealth. This seemingly low citizen is the one of the two servants who had remained loyal to his master and helps him rid the manor of the selfish suitors.

            All of this and more has been on my mind as I watch many concerned citizens try to build support in our country to help those in the caravan.  These last few days of damp, cold wind have, for me, been a reminder of the need to help. However, I worry that too many church attendees will choose to turn away from this need. I know that some church groups have stepped up and offered to help by word or deed or both.  I appreciate that some church groups are helping the hungry and homeless in other ways. What I can’t understand is how some church groups find reasons not to help.

            Practicing hospitality causes inconvenience. It means changing routines. It means inviting strangers who may be downtrodden into our spaces. It means being empathetic. Practicing hospitality means sharing time and talk with people who are in need of a hand up. Practicing hospitality can cause you to, as I heard a pastor say last June, “think of what you can give instead of what you don’t have.” Practicing hospitality is an opportunity for personal growth in a faith walk. Practicing hospitality means that we Christians step up and take care of the less fortunate. To do otherwise means that we are just “pew sitters” who attend service to feel better about ourselves. Are you the Christian more worried about the new floor in the fellowship hall or the one who cares about some homeless child?

            Early in The Odyssey, the sage Mentor speaks to the citizens of Ithaca (Odysseus’ home island) about the suitors taking over the manor of Odysseus and the injustice of their action. Mentor laments

the violent plundering of the great leader’s home, but he then goes on to say, “What sickens me is to see the whole community/sitting still, and never a voice … raised.” 

            There is a need in our community. If you choose, you can find many reasons not to help end that need. However, I offer you one good reason to step up and help. Again, the answer comes from ancient literature written by a tax collector turned disciple: go read Matthew 25:35-40. Then ask why you should not step up and help.

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