Doug Creamer: Competition and battles

Published 12:00 am Saturday, March 18, 2017

Last weekend I took my DECA students to the state competition. We decided to save some money and commute back and forth to the competition. I got very little sleep last weekend because we stayed there each night until after eleven and we were back up there in the morning about nine o’clock. While I still love to go the conference each year, I find that I am having more difficulty recovering from it.

My students behaved well. It builds my faith in the future when I see these teens acting like young adults. They are required to dress up in order to compete. It is a student run organization so they run the big sessions like professionals. I work with the election of state officers and these young people would make you proud. They are nervous but the potential locked up in them is limitless.

My students participated in a variety of events. The events put the students in real life situations where they have to come up with solutions. They work with judges who roleplay the problems with the students and then evaluate their performance. The students also take a 100 question test on career-specific knowledge. The scores are combined to determine the winners. All of my students scored proficiency in all their events, which is a set standard for performance. I am proud of their accomplishment.

One of my students also earned some scholarship money which I am sure his mom appreciates. My colleagues voted that I should receive a professional division award which was a high honor for me to receive. My plaque will sit here next to my computer with some other very special things that I keep which encourage and inspire me.

It was a full and rewarding weekend, which ended with a couple inches of snow on Sunday morning. We had dinner both nights while we were there sharing lots of laughs and taking the opportunity to learn more about each other. While I proud of our accomplishments, I am always glad when the students come home from the competition telling stories of all the fun they had.

In our Christian faith it is not competition but a battle that each of us must engage in if we hope to live a victorious Christian life. My students competed to win a prize and our faith battle also comes with a prize. I hope at the end of my life, when I meet the Lord Jesus, that I will rewarded for my faith. The Bible teaches that there will be a reward for us if we overcome and live by faith.

There are a few things we need to get straight. Our battle is not with each other, although the evidence appears otherwise when you look at many churches. Our battle is with the spiritual forces of evil in this dark world. It is the spiritual world that blinds people to faith in Christ. It is the evil spirits that lead innocent young people down the road of sin and shame and then loads them up with guilt. Once trapped, they feel it is impossible to be free and loved by God.

Our battle is to fight with the enemy who blinds them and convinces them that they can’t be set free. Our battle is to pray that their eyes be opened, their ears be healed, and their hearts set free. We need to share our testimony and give them the hope they desperately need. Imagine the rejoicing in heaven when one lost soul is set free.

Our battle goes beyond winning souls. We need to fight for spiritual, emotional, and physical healings. The enemy wants to keep people trapped, but I believe in a miracle-working Savior who can do exceedingly greater things than I can imagine. It takes someone who will believe God’s word and fight the battle of faith and bring a piece of heaven to earth. You see, in heaven there is no sickness of any kind and it is our job to fight the spiritual forces of wickedness so we can win the healing for those in need.

I want to encourage you to consider the battle you are in to maintain your faith in a miracle-working Savior. God is still saving lost souls. God is still healing the broken-hearted. God is still setting people free from addiction. God is still opening the prison doors and setting the captives free. He uses people like you and me as we pray. If we will pray with faith I believe we will overcome and see great victories.

Contact Doug Creamer at doug@dougcreamer.com