Life. Breath. Everything.

Camp 4

I was revisiting an idea from a book called 1,000 gifts by Ann Voskamp. It is a great book about being thankful and recognizing blessings from the Lord in all circumstances and situations.

The idea that stuck with me most is "wherever thankfulness is possible, joy is possible."

Because thankfulness is always possible, joy is always possible.

Always! Isn't that good news??

I have found that true thankfulness comes in its greatest form when I am humbled. When I realize and understand how small I am and how little I can do... in such a good way! Because it means that I am understanding how great HE is.

Acts 17:24-25 says, "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man nor is he served by human hands..." That is how big he is. He made everything, he is not confined to our temples, and he does not need us. "...as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." Did you catch that? The things that God gives us?

Life. Breath. Everything.

And he gives this to all of mankind, even to those who reject his name. But he still gives.

Everything you have. Every time you breathe. Every moment of your life.

HE has given to you. How lucky are we? I can't help but wonder why...

Acts 17:27 "That they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him." He gives so abundantly to us so that we may recognize the blessings and seek their source... Him!

He gives so that we may know him.

That we may know the source of true life, of true love, of true joy.

Oh how beautifully humbling. How thankful. How joyful.

Praise the Lord.

"In his hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of all mankind."

Job 12:10

Hold Fast

Camp 3
About midway through the summer, I fell into a funk.
It got to the point that I started apologizing to people on behalf of my shortcomings and disappointing attitude. After apologizing to a friend for "making his life harder" he simply stopped me and said, "Who told you that?"
At first it seemed like a ridiculous question... no one told me... no one had to tell me. It was so obvious.
"You're not making my life harder" he said. That helped a little, but not a lot.
As I laid in bed, I just kept hearing "Who told you..." I opened my bible to Genesis 3: the fall of man. After Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent, they discovered that they were naked and hid from God. Genesis 3:11 says, "And [God] said, 'Who told you that you were naked...?'" They had been deceived. by the devil himself. God didn't tell them they were naked.
After reading this, I got out of bed and started digging into scripture. I had been deceived by the devil too. I had believed lies. lies about myself, my relationships, my work, and even my God.

There is a reason why God tells us to hold fast so many times in the Bible:
Deuteronomy 30:20 ...listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.
Joshua 23:8 ...you are to hold fast to the LORD your God
1 Corinthians 5:2 ...hold fast to the word
Phil 2:16 ...hold fast to the word of life
1 Thessalonians 5:21 ...hold fast to what is good
2 Thessalonians 2:15 ...stand firm and hold fast to the teachings
...and there are many more

Get it??? Hold fast to HIM and His word.
All else will lead you astray and leave you deceived. If the things you believe are not from God, who are they from? Do not hold on to anything other than the truth of God.
In this world where the enemy is real, we can't afford to believe lies.
Hold fast to Him.

Psalm 73

Camp 2
It can be pretty easy to go about our lives and our days without spending time in the presence of the Lord. Even when we live and work in a ministry, read our Bibles, and say our prayers, we can fail to rest in His presence and truth.
Psalm 73 was written from frustration and confusion. The writer was jealous and envious of the wicked because it seemed as though they were prospering. He struggled to understand and struggled to hold fast to God's promises... then he says in verse 16, "But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end." Once the psalmist entered the sanctuary of God, He understood that the wicked will meet their end.

Now I am not saying that his struggles are the same as yours or mine... but whatever you're questioning, whatever the struggle is, understanding it is indeed a wearisome task. impossible even. without entering the presence of the Lord.
Spending time in the presence of God (especially when circumstances are confusing or hard to understand) reminds us of His sovereignty.
This does not mean that we will (or are even meant to) understand everything that goes on around us, but when we spend time with the Lord, we understand enough to rest and trust in His power and truth.
The psalm goes on to say: "But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works." It is good to be near God. And when we are near to God, we can live the truth of who He is and what He has done.
Just draw near to Him. Let Him be your refuge.

Sovereignty:

All things are under God's rule and control, and nothing happens without His direction or permission. God works not just some things but all things according to the counsel of His own will... nothing takes Him by surprise.

Love is...

Well summer camp at RVR has come and gone!Whew... what a whirlwind of excitement, energy, the gospel, and growth. Now that this marathon race of adventure is over for the summer, I would love to catch you up on things I have been learning. I have no idea what week any of this took place, but I definitely know that God has been working in my life and in my heart... as always :).

Camp 1...Every day this summer, the six of us program directors got together with our wonderful boss (Dan) and studied the word of God. What a sweet time that half hour was each day... just trying to understand God's love a little bit more.

1 John 3:16 says, "this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." Love is sacrifice.In this passage where it says ought, it does not mean should. It means to be bound by.
So this sacrificial love we read about is not an option. We are bound by Christ's sacrificial love to lay down our lives for others. Love is sacrifice.

As we have heard so many times, 1 Corinthians 13 says, "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." When all of this is viewed in the light of Christ's sacrifice, we see better what we are called to.
We are called to love truly, deeply, and when it is inconvenient.We are called to sacrifice our rights, our pride, our selfishness for love.
We are called to all of this and more. But how?
1 John 4:7-8 tells us, "let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
There it is. Love comes from God because God is love.
And we can only love through Him with Christ as our example.
Rather we can allow Him to love through us.

Once upon a time, I had the pleasure of being a paintball referee! Neat.