To Know Him More

The Snapplemiffin trees of Fruitinshire-An illustration of the difference between justification and sanctification

2011-12-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

              Far away in the land ofFruitinshire there lives an orchard owner and his beautiful orchard ofSnapplemiffin trees. These trees produce more perfect, deliciously scrumptiousfruit than can be imagined by the human mind, and the orchard owner himself isfamous for his orchard of magnificent Snapplemiffin trees. This honor is notill-deserved, for the orchard owner has undergone great personal sacrifice tosecure the orchard of Snapplemiffin trees-the journey to create the seeds ofthese trees then the years of pruning ended in the death of his only son,but that is a tale for another day.
             Snapplemiffin trees, unlike treesin our world, produce their best fruit at the time of pruning, and every yearat that time, people throughout the entire land of Fruitinshire travel far andwide to visit the Snapplemiffin orchard to catch a glimpse of the famous treesand taste their fruit. Not a single person, after seeing the trees’ fruit, canleave the orchard without giving praise to their creator and keeper, and wellthey should, for that was what the trees and their fruit were created for-tobring glory to their Creator.
            One year, a random acorn fell intothe well-fertilized soil of the Snapplemiffin orchard and began to grow. With thenear magical soil of the orchard, the oak tree grew at a miraculous pace, andby the time of pruning, had grown into the height and size of a Snapplemiffintree. The only difference in appearance between it and a Snapplemiffin tree isthat its branches were not laden with Snapplemiffin fruit-only acorns, whichwere despised by and offensive to the orchard owner.
                Naturally, all theSnapplemiffin trees noticed this, and pointed it out to the oak tree. “You mustnot be a Snapplemiffin tree. If you were a Snapplemiffin tree, you would have Snapplemiffinfruit. Every true Snapplemiffin tree has Snapplemiffin fruit to prove it. Askthe orchard owner to change you into a true Snapplemiffin tree.”
               But although the other trees warnedthe oak tree daily that it was not a true Snapplemiffin tree and would be cutdown at the time of pruning, the oak tree did not consider that to be aproblem.
                “I’m as good as any dumb ‘olSnapplemiffin tree. Why should I not be allowed to stay in this orchard and beadmired by the people of the land?” he reasoned. “I don’t need the orchardowner to change who I am. I can remain an oak tree. I love my acorns. Whyshould I have to give them up? I just need to put Snapplemiffin fruit on mybranches. Then everyone will like me, and I’ll look good and be admired by allthose who come to the orchard.” This of course was not the purpose or heart ofthe Snapplemiffin trees-to be admired themselves- and though they often toldhim they bore fruit and existed only in gratitude for and to please and glorifytheir creator, the oak tree never quite seemed to get it.
               As the growing season progressedand other trees continued bearing fruit, the oak tree set to work. Every nightwhile the other trees slept, the oak tree would gather Snapplemiffin trees withits branches and set them on the branches of his own tree overtop the acornsthat were already in place. As the days passed, many of the other trees beganto forget he was not a true Snapplemiffin tree. They saw the Snapplemiffin fruiton his branches, and they all knew that the true sign of a Snapplemiffin treewas Snapplemiffin fruit.
             By the time pruning seasonbegan, all the Snapplemiffin trees had accepted the oak tree as one of theirown, and the oak tree, elated with the success of his plan, was certain that hecould fool the orchard owner as well. “All I had to do to make them believe Iwas one of them was just put on some of their fruit. I look just like them now.No one will know the difference, and I will receive glory and praise for mybeautiful fruit when the people of the kingdom arrive, and love and acceptancefrom the orchard owner as well! I didn’t need the orchard owner’s sacrifice. Idon’t need his pruning. I can have my acorns and be a Snapplemiffin tree, too.”
           But things did NOT go asplanned when the orchard owner arrived. He walked right over to the oak treeand began preparations to cut him down.
            “What are you doing?” the oaktree screamed in protest. “I’m one of yours; I’m a Snapplemiffin tree! You can’tcut me down! Look at my fruit!”
                 The orchard owner shookhis head. “You were never one of my trees. You may have tacked on the fruit ofthe Snapplemiffin trees, but your identity never changed. Your goal in puttingon fruit was not to glorify me, but to make yourself look good and makeyourself acceptable to me. The only way to become acceptable to me is to let mechange you into a Snapplemiffin tree. I know my trees and you are not one ofthem.” To prove his point, the orchard owner reached out his hand, and shookthe tree. Snapplemiffin fruit fell to the ground, and the acorns were suddenlyclearly visible. Everyone gasped as the oak tree hung its branches in shame.
                There was silence forseveral moments and everyone held their breaths to see what the orchard ownerwould do. “Would you like me to make you into a true Snapplemiffin tree?” hefinally asked.
                The oak tree lifted itsbranches in surprise. “Why would you do that? I don’t deserve to become a realSnapplemiffin tree. I tried to become one and please you and others by puttingon fruit. I’ve lied to everyone. I didn’t want to give up my acorns. Why wouldyou make me one of your trees?”
                The orchard owner smiled. “Noneof these trees deserved that. They all were once ordinary oak trees, enjoyingtheir acorns and seeking the praise of others. But my son gave his life toacquire the formula for changing oak trees into Snapplemiffin trees to glorifyme, and all of these trees have recognized this and asked me to change who theyare from their roots up to the tips of their branches to make themSnapplemiffin trees. They have surrendered their acorns and given them up, forthey know they are offensive to me.”
                “Please, if you will,” theoak tree began, “I would like-I want-Will you make me into a Snapplemiffintree? I will give up my acorns. I desire now only to be one of your trees andbear fruit for you.”
              The orchard owner smiled. “Iwill change your roots now and prune your branches of acorns, but you will not change into a perfectSnapplemiffin tree overnight,” he warned. “Every year I will come and find acorns hiddenin your branches, and every year I will prune them if you let me. As time wearson, you will find you will produce more and more Snapplemiffin fruit and lessand less acorns.”
                “I still don’t understandsomething, though,” the oak tree admitted. “I had fruit before. Why were notyou pleased by it? Why was I not accepted because of it?”
              “The Snapplemiffin fruitpleases me and glorifies me, but it is not what makes you acceptable to me. Whatmakes you acceptable to me is not a work you do, but the work my son did tomake a way for you to become a Snapplemiffin tree. If you trust his work to beenough to change you and truly let me do this work, you will be acceptable tome. Before, you put on fruit becauseyour roots desired to please and be accepted by others. Your roots’ desiresrevealed what kind of tree you were-an unchanged oak tree that still loved itsacorns. Now that you are accepting my son’s sacrifice to make you into aSnapplemiffin tree, I am accepting you for that. No fruit you try to put on byyourself will please me, for that is only fake fruit. I must first change youand accepted you as my tree. Only then will you begin to produce real fruitthat pleases and glorifies me. Every trueSnapplemiffin tree has fruit. But tacking on Snapplemiffin fruit does not makea tree a Snapplemiffin tree. Any tree can tack on fruit. Only I, the orchardowner can change an oak tree into a true Snapplemiffin tree. Will you let mechange your roots now?”

Bridge May Be Icy- A Picture of God's Faithfulness

2011-12-02T06:58:00.001-08:00

The sign at left makes me smile every time I see it. When I was younger, it amused me to see this sign over bridges in the heat of summer. I remember asking why they didn't take those silly signs down in summer, and I remember answering myself that it would be a lot of work to take down the signs just for the summer months, and that, after all, it did make me smile to see those signs when it was 90 degrees outside!

But that's not why I smile when I see that sign now. I smile now, because that sign reminds me of the faithfulness of God.

November 16, 2008 I passed over an icy bridge, and the car I was in spun out of control. I had just seen pictures from a friend of a car some of her friends had been driving which had also recently spun out of control, crashing the car, and leaving them both dead. I remember screaming out a prayer for help. I remember safely making it off the bridge. I remember stepping outside the car with the driver to look at the damage to the car. I think I was really just relieved and grateful at that point. I think I would've been ok. But then another car came up over that same bridge, spun out of control, and flipped upside down on the guardrail. It spun several times, before safely returning to the bridge. I'll never forget the sound of screeching metal mixed with the screams from my own voice as the car and its passengers teetered for several seconds between life and death.

And that unfortunately was not the end of the night. Several other cars came flipping and crashing over the bridge on front of me that night. I was terrified the whole time, afraid I might see the deaths of several helpless individuals, who were driving down the road, completely unaware of the dangers that faced them at the top of the hill where the bridge had turned to slick ice. I remember I was so scared, it became hard to breathe, and I remember gluing my hands to my ears to keep from hearing the screeching metal.

Miraculously, no one was severely injured that night. Several cars were flipped and crashed, but God kept all the passengers safe. I wish I could say that was reassuring to me. I wish I could say that the horrors of that night stayed in that night, but they didn't. The next time I went to cross that bridge, I felt all the same fears and panic rise up in me again. I found myself paralyzed with memories of that night, and it was all I could do to keep from crying. I felt sick to my stomach, and I wasn't sure what was happening to me.

That bridge was on my way to church, and I had to cross it four times a week to get to and from church every week for the rest of the winter. And every week for several months, no matter how hard I tried to reassure myself that God was in control, and I had no fear of death, for then I would finally get to be away from the troubles of this world and be with him in my true home, I felt the same way.

I tried several things to keep the panic from rising. I tried hiding my face in my lap the whole ride there and back so I wouldn't know when we were approaching the bridge so my body wouldn't know to bring back all the images, sounds and horrors of the night, but somehow, my body knew every time. I tried burying myself in conversation with those around me, trying to distract myself from the fact that I had to cross that bridge, but somehow, I couldn't push it from my mind. Most of all, though, every time I crossed the bridge, I prayed and begged God to take away the images and sounds in my mind, but every week, I continued to feel them resurface. I had recently gotten my driving permit, but I had no desire to drive, especially over that bridge.

But God is faithful. ^"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:22-24.

He did not leave me in the state I was in forever. He allowed Satan to assault me for a while so I could gain a greater closeness with him and learn complete dependence on him, and then one day, the feelings and images and fears I felt as I crossed the bridge just disappeared.

Every time I see that sign and cross that bridge today, I smile, remembering God's faithfulness. He DOES answer prayer. Not always in my timing, but always perfectly in His, which is FAR better than my own. And sometimes, it's in the waiting for my prayers to be answered that I learn what it means to hope in Him, and just how merciful and faithful He is in withholding what I want to give me what is best.

And when I see that sign and remember his faithfulness to heal me from the effects of that night, I'm also reminded of the other ways He is faithful for which I am so grateful:

I'm grateful that He is faithful and never changes. I never have to worry that one day I'll wake up, and He'll no longer be a good God and He'll hate me. I'm grateful I never have to worry about Him changing His mind and making me earn His love, for I would never be able to do that on my own. I can only trust in what Jesus has earned for me.

I'm grateful that because He is faithful and never changes I can read the Bible which was written thousands of years ago, and I can know what my God is like today.

I'm grateful that through His faithfulness, the promises he made will never change and that he will never fail me or leave me.

But most of all, I'm grateful he didn't give me my way when I was a rebel, a sinner, needing his mercy and the substitute sacrifice of Jesus. I'm grateful for His faithfulness to continue to convict me of sin, and show me that true forgiveness is easily found in the cross: easy for me, but it was not for Jesus.

"God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." 1 Corinthians 1:9

Saved from what?

2011-09-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

I think the most memorable sermon I heard all summer was on Sunday morning at the end of week eight. The speaker was Jamey Nichols, and he delivered the clearest presentation of the gospel that I heard all summer. I unfortunately did not have a notebook to take notes that morning, but I still very clearly remember the message.

He started his sermon by asking the campers what they thought of when they thought of God. Was he an angry German Shepherd or a rescue St. Bernard? Was he kind and gentle and loving or angry and to be feared? Of course, all the campers had different ideas. I remember how he allowed campers to speculate about what God was really like and then he gave verses to prove both.

He then showed a clip from The Chronicles of Narnia-the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe where Aslan (a symbol of Jesus) is fierce and the white witch (a symbol of Satan) bows to him.

Jamey then posed a question. When people tell you they're "saved", what do they really mean? What are they saved from? He worked up to reading Romans 5:9- "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." What is Salvation? What do we need to be saved from? God's wrath! God is rightly full of wrath against sin.

Jamey switched to an example to help us understand the cross more fully. He asked us whether Jesus was a coward. Paul said in Phillipians that to die was gain to him and he would much rather die and be with God than be here on earth. 11 of the 12 original apostles felt the same way. Stephen went gladly to his death, and we have many other countless reports of martyrs in the first century who boldly and fearlessly died for their faith in Christ. So why do we find Jesus on the eve of his death sweating drops of blood in the garden and praying that this "cup" of death would pass from Him if there was any other way? Was Jesus more of a coward and a lesser man than so many of His followers? Was Jesus so afraid of physical pain?

We find the answer by looking to the cross and all Jesus did for us there. It wasn't the physical pain Jesus felt that saved us. It was not that pain that He dreaded and feared-it was actually the pain of the separation he knew he would feel on the cross from His Father. For the first time in his life, He felt the weight of sin, for on the cross, He took our sins on Himself. "For He made Him who knew no sin [Jesus] to be made sin for us..." (2 Cor. 5:21)

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus cried, as he felt the weight of my sin on his shoulders, and "God who is of purer eyes than to look on evil" (Hab. 1:13) turned His face away.

"I once was lost in darkest night, yet thought I knew the way. The sin that promised joy and life had led me to the grave. I had no hope that you would own a rebel to your will, and if you had not loved me first, I would refuse you still. But as I ran my hellbound race, indifferent to the cost, you looked upon my helpless state and led me to the cross. And I beheld God's love displayed, you suffered in my place. You bore the wrath reserved for me, now all I know is grace." (All I Have is Christ)

"But God demonstrates His love towards us in this- while we were still sinners..."

While I was a rebel, deserving God's fierce wrath...

While I was a traitor, like Edmund and the law and God's wrath demanded my blood...

While I was like a stubborn child walking down slippery steps yanking her hand away from her father and screaming she can do it herself...

"...Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

When I was far away, running from God, not knowing or caring the cost, and yanking my hand away from His protective guidance, He flew to me, grabbed me by the hand and led me to the cross-the cross where He absorbed all the Father's wrath that I deserved.

Jamey used an illustration to show this. He had three glasses of Gatorade and asked for three volunteers to allow the Gatorade to be poured out on their heads. But instead of pouring the Gatorade directly on their heads, each time, he placed a buffer in between the Gatorade and the campers to absorb the Gatorade that would otherwise be poured out completely on the camper. The sponge completely absorbed the Gatorade. So did the diaper and the towel. The campers never had to experience the Gatorade being poured out on them because something else absorbed it for them.

Jesus absorbed the Father's wrath for me! God's law demanded blood. "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin." Like Aslan stepped in and was killed in the traitor Edmund's place, so Jesus also stepped in and was killed for the traitor I was for defying God's law. God's wrath and punishment that should've been mine was completely poured out on Jesus!

There have been several times in this last year that I saw those around me who did not understand or accept the gospel, and I wondered, "Why me? Why did I care and understand the gospel? Why did I see the weight of my sin and understand the wrath I deserved, then turn to the cross, see Jesus' sacrifice, and fully trust in Him for my Salvation? Why do I understand the gospel and love Jesus and want to please Him?" I wondered if it was because of the home I grew up in. I was homeschooled, and grew up in a fairly conservative home where I was taught the Bible. Was my parents' work why I responded to the gospel? No! I see so many who were raised exactly as I was who have completely turned their back on God, and want nothing to do with the gospel. Was it because of my personality and the way I always questioned everything that I finally was able to understand the truth? No! I know so many other questioners like me who have asked the same questions and come to toally different conclusions about Jesus and Salvation. Was it because I knew the Bible so well and spent so much time memorizing it from a young age? No! I've known people that did the same and have now walked away from Christ completely.

What was it then? Consider Romans 9:16 in several translations:

"It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy." NIV

"So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it." NLT

"So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy." ESV

There was no loveliness in me that God would choose me. It was not dependent on my work or my parents' work. Those questions in my mind were completely invalid! God showed me all those things. He unblinded my eyes. (2 Cor. 4:3-4) He did all the work. It was all His mercy!

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:24-25

If God was not holy...

2011-09-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

God's holiness is a big deal...but just HOW big a deal is it really? I was looking through a Bible study curriculum this last week that had the entire first lesson devoted to teaching God's holiness. The curriculum was supposed to take students on a chronological study of the Bible, giving them the foundations, and only had 52 lessons. My first thought was that there is so much of the Bible to cover, and it's all so good and important, how could you waste a whole week just teaching about God's holiness? Wouldn't it be better on the first week to teach about how good and important and absolutely necessary the Bible was?

That's when it started to hit me, though-God's holiness is the foundation to all of Christianity. It was God's holiness that caused creation. He wanted and deserved creatures to glorify and enjoy Him! He didn't need them, for His holiness needs or lacks nothing. It was His holiness that caused Him to create everything perfectly good and beautiful and wonderful.

It was God's holiness that caused Him to give Adam and Eve the rule not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was His holiness that killed a lamb to provide coverings for them when they disobeyed that rule, and it was that same holiness that broke Adam and Eve's perfect fellowship with God and kicked them out of the Garden of Eden into a now rough, sin-tainted world filled with pain and difficult work. It was God's holiness that in the midst of punishing Adam and Eve for their sin, mercifully promised a day when a Savior would come and deliver them finally from God's wrath.

It was God's holiness that worked all through the Old Testament, calling Abraham, choosing the Israelites, giving them the Promised Land, giving the Israelites victory in battle, providing mercifully for them, giving the law to further show the need for a Savior, sending judges and prophets, and ultimately His own Son.

All God's other attributes stem from His holiness-

Because God is holy, He is merciful and poured out the wrath reserved for me on Jesus.

Because God is holy, He is also all-powerful and raised Jesus to life again and gives me new life when I trust Him for Salvation.

Because God is holy He is faithful to keep every promise He has made in His Word, and I can know that when He promised to forgive my sin when I confess and forsake it, He meant it, and really will.

Because God is holy, he is omnipresent-he sees, hears and knows all, and I can have hope that He knows what is going on in my life and is working all things for His glory and my good.

Because God is holy, he cannot lie, and I can know that when He says He is preparing a place for me in Heaven, I know I can place my full hope and assurance on that promise.

If I doubt God's holiness, I must doubt His honesty and goodness, and when I doubt that, I begin to doubt whether I can believe the Bible at all. Doubting that leads me to further question whether God really has my best interest in mind, or if He's just some cruel God playing some nasty trick on me to get me to live a life of service to someone who hates me and will condemn me to hell at my death.

If God was not holy, I could not hope in the fact that no matter what happens in this life, when I die, because of Jesus' sacrifice, I get God! It is God's very holiness that compels me to live a holy life, for from his perfect holiness stemmed His perfect love, and from that perfect love stemmed the gift of His Son and the righteousness of Christ is now offered to me.

As I reflect on God's holiness, I am filled with gratitude, and I long to bring glory to God by sharing with others who He is-holy!-and all that means for me! I guess now my question has kinda turned into 'what Bible course wanting to truly give a firm foundation to any Bible student would not begin with the holiness of God'?

"Let them praise your great and awesome name! He is holy!" Psalm 99:3

"You learn a lot during the third week of workshop." -Paul Gardner~ A look back on summer and God's amazing goodness and power!

2011-09-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

Summer is over. On August 20th, I hugged goodbyes to the final group of techs, and less than 48 hours later, I hugged my fellow summer staff goodbye as well. It's strange thinking back on all the anticipation I felt before the summer and thinking that all those stories and memories and friendships I looked forward to are now in my past. It's also strange trying to put an answer into words for everyone who continually asks, "So how was your summer?" I always feel like that's a terrible trick question. So much happened this summer, and I feel like I've just lived in a different world and become a different person in the last twelve weeks. I can tell stories for hours of that process, but how do I even attempt to explain all that in thirty seconds? No one's really looking for a two hour answer, are they?

My expectations going into the summer were not met. In many cases, they were far, far exceeded. God had so many surprises and lessons for me this summer that I couldn't have even dreamed when I was packing this spring. So in this blog post, I'm going to attempt to, without going into too many details and making this a book, explain what God did this summer in terms of my expectations.

My first expectation was that I would hate four weeks of my summer. Why? Because those would be the weeks I was to counsel the technicians-the volunteer high school girl workers. I didn't want to counsel high school girls, especially not in a work program. I expected to be bored out of my mind, tired, and the most boring, joyless tech counselor ever. I didn't expect to get to see God work in the techs at all. Then I expected to switch to camper counseling, get the junior highers I loved so dearly, and have an amazing rest of the summer enjoying them, and seeing God do really cool things in their lives. God shattered that expectation into a million pieces!

The first week of workshop was really overwhelming. I realized all I had really signed up for by agreeing to tech counsel four weeks, and I kept thinking that I'd just made the dumbest decision of my life. All my expectations before summer of what tech counseling would be like were further cemented deeper into my mind as I read through manuals, surveyed pages of checklists, looked over work schedules, and started hours of on-the-job training. A couple days into the first week, I had my first emotional breakdown. I left the dining hall one night after dinner clean up fighting back tears. One phrase kept running through my mind: "I can't do this!" I felt so ill-prepared to counsel high school girls, so impossibly lost when it came to knowing how to run a kitchen (which I still hadn't realized by that point that I didn't really need to know how to do!), and I just missed my sisters terribly, and felt like I wasn't getting to know any of the girl counselors at all (more on both of those points later!). I decided it was time to call home.

Well, I called Sarah, but she unfortunately was at youth group, and couldn't really talk. That's when I really lost it and just started crying and praying. "God, I can't do this!" I cried. "I'm not energetic enough, cool enough, or smart enough to tech counsel. I'm so insufficient for this job, and nobody else even realizes it yet. What am I supposed to do?" But then, I felt like God was telling me, "You're right, you can't do this." At the same moment, a verse popped into my mind: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I knew that verse before, but that night, God really helped me to "know" it with more than just my head; it spoke right to my heart. I couldn't do all those things I was so concerned about, and that was good! Otherwise I could rely on and boast in myself. I didn't have to remember everything perfectly. I didn't have to counsel perfectly or have perfect energy or joy or enthusiasm. Christ was sufficient in every area that I was insufficient, and He would give me all strength right when I needed it!

There were other tough moments in workshop, but none of them really stemmed from feeling a lack of insufficiency, cuz any time those feelings started to creep in, I fought them with the Scripture God had given me...or sometimes, I just grabbed the nearest vacuum and sang "Joy is the Flag" really loudly as I vacuumed!

The first week of techs God worked in some really incredible ways. I got sick, so I shouldn't have had any energy or joy or strength, but God's grace was SO sufficient for me! I felt like I was on a lemonade high all week and just had extra joy and energy exuding out of me! The one-on-ones I was so nervous about ended up becoming my very favorite part of the week as I got to really listen and talk through some serious life issues with my girls! And even though I was so worried God wouldn't show up and work in the techs lives like he had in my campers' the year before, He did! He did some really, really cool things that week that were totally from Him, and not from me or the other tech counselors at all. God blew me away by his amazing awesomeness and power that week and the ones that followed!

The second part of my first expectation, was that I expected to be desperate to switch back to camper counseling, and end up having a bunch of junior high tribes that I just had a blast with and got to see God really work in their lives. Yeah. I was supposed to switch back to camper counseling week three, but by the end of week two, I started feeling like I COULDN'T switch. I was having SO much fun with the techs and having SO many good one-on-ones and God was working in so many cool ways, that I began to dread camper counseling. But camp wouldn't let us have three tech counselors, so the following Monday, I moved out of Railside, the building I had become so attached to, and moved into Pine, the cabin I counseled three weeks in last summer, and had been wanting (before the summer) to counsel in all summer again.

I'm not proud of my attitude that day. I don't think too many people really noticed it or even got to see it, since I kinda just withdrew to try and handle things myself, but obviously, that never works. I couldn't believe the feelings I felt-that those techs belonged to me, and that I didn't want junior highers anymore at all. I felt so ill-prepared suddenly for camper counseling. I didn't have tribe talks prepared, and I felt like I didn't have my heart prepared, either-I felt like it was still with the techs in the STEP program. I got my campers, and the first several days, I just felt distracted. I wanted to be on the other side of the serving line. I wanted to be the one packing crates rather than the one receiving one on my overnight. I wanted to stand in the kitchen and be able to step out during meals and give the other girl counselors hugs and encourage them, or take a minute and write them an encouraging note, but now, I was that camper counselor, and I didn't like it. But then I had my one-on-one with another staff member, and she called me out on my behavior. I sat shocked that someone else had noticed, cuz I thought I'd been doing an ok job hiding my feelings from everyone else.

But that's when God really started working in my heart and showing me areas of pride that were there that needed to be torn down, and barriers I had placed up in my heart that were not allowing God to work. I guess God showed me that week that I didn't deserve to see him work at all. I had surrendered myself to him as His vessel to work through, and now I was complaining about what He was using me for, and that He wasn't really using me at all. I didn't see him working in my girls, and I never did much at the end of the week, either, but that wasn't my job to really worry about; it was His. My job was to be faithful to be "all there" wherever He placed me, even when I couldn't see Him working and seemingly had a tribe of mostly unchurched, disinterested girls.

I think I learned more that week than my campers, and God really brought me to a breaking point where I realized I needed Him camper counseling just as much as I needed Him tech counseling. I somehow had this false sense of superiority-thinking I was a good camper counselor and knew more than anyone else, and didn't really need God's help. God showed me just how wrong I was that week. I won't say that the next several weeks weren't a challenge as a camper counselor, and that I didn't struggle again with missing the techs, but God definitely did bring me to a place where by His grace, I was able to open my heart to love my campers and be there with them, more than just in body, but in heart, too. And I DID get to see Him work in their lives. In less subtle ways than I hoped, but I could see Him working in and softening their hearts, and making them question their own beliefs, actions and motives.

Another expectation I had for the summer, was that it would be like last summer, and I would get to know all the other girl counselors super well, and have a blast with them. That was one of the hardest parts of workshop for me-I didn't see the other girl counselors much, yet I knew I would spend five weeks camper counseling with them, and that was hard for me to accept. I knew they would all know each other well by the time I entered their world, and I probably would never become as close with them as I had with last year's counselors. But God taught me so much through that experience as well. HE was enough for me, and He had given me friendships with the other tech counselors, which I was so grateful for! I did end up having fun with and getting to know some of the other girl counselors, but I'll admit it wasn't until around week 6. But God's planning and timing in it were perfect, and He taught me to trust Him in it!

A third expectation I had for the summer was that I wouldn't miss Alisha as much as everyone was saying I would. Like, I knew I would miss her, but I didn't think it would be a huge deal. The "girl" sessions in workshop were tough for me, cuz Alisha had done them the previous two years, and they were done differently this year. Not wrong or bad, just differently, and that made me miss Alisha. Vespers made me miss her too, cuz she would always lead music. I never realized how much I took having a sister around for ganted until I spent a summer without sisters. Now I know what it's like, and have grown in my gratitude to God for such incredible sisters!

I think those are all the shattered expectations I had, but there were still several surprising things God taught me. The first was that prayer is so powerful! I prayed more this summer than I ever have, and I prayed more with other people than I definitely ever was used to, and you know what? Prayer doesn't always change circumstances (although I DEFINITELY saw it happen SO many times this summer, praise God!), but it does change us. God changed me through prayer. He taught me how completely dependent I am on Him for everything, and He deepened my relationships with Him and those I prayed with when I prayed. There's just something about coming to God and admitting that you and the person you're praying with can't do anything to change circumstances, but that HE can, then seeing Him do cool things in others' and your own life that deepens your trust in God!

Another cool thing God taught me that I already knew (I think I already 'knew' all of this with my head before, but my heart grew to really 'know' all this this summer) was that I really can do nothing, but God is the only one who can really work and change things. There were so many times when I sat recounting a story to someone of something that had just happened, and we both had to just stare at each other and go, "Whoa, that was TOTALLY God! I did not do that!" Like, I can present truth-I can share the gospel, I can pray, I can be faithful to point to Christ-but unless God shows up and does a MIRACLE (which is really what happens when God changes a heart, cuz I've tried, and I can't change my own or others' hearts), we're hopeless to see any change.

Before this last summer I had never really sat and thought through how completely ridiculous and foolish and confusing Christianity must seem to unbelievers. "For the message of the cross is folishness to those who are perishing, but to thos who are being ssved, it is the power of God...we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews, a stumbling block and to the Greeks, foolishness, but to those who are called...the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18,23-24)

I attended a Catholic mass this last Sunday, and I began to understand what people must think and feel when they attend our church for the first time. I felt awkward walking in. Was I dressed right? Was I supposed to seat myself, or was that guy in a robe at the door supposed to seat me? Was there supposed to be a bulletin I picked up to tell me how to act or what to say or do in service? Then the service began and I noticed two books in front of me. I tried to figure out how to use them and figure out what was going on in the service. Then there were all the random times we sat, stood, or kneeled when I just had to follow what people around me were doing, and feel dumb for not knowing what was going on. The congregation said certain things back to the priest, and I obviously didn't know what or when to say anything. Then there was the "showing a sign of peace" to others thing. Was I supposed to shake people's hands? Was there a rule about whose hands to shake and whose not to? Was I supposed to say something special?I hoped they didn't expect me to kiss anyone! Did they all notice I was new, and were they staring at me cuz I didn't know what I was doing? And of course, when they started singing, I didn't know the songs. Oh, and communion, or whatever they call it...that was just weird and gross, and I wasn't even gonna try to participate in that.

Afterwards, the priest asked our group what questions we had. I had so many, but I didn't know how to word them without sounding dumb, cuz I didn't even know what terms to use to ask about things, so I just remained silent most of the time. It was all seemingly just a bunch of rules and words that seemed impossible to memorize, and what was the point anyways?

That really opened my eyes to what people must feel when hearing the gospel. It sounds foolish! "What's the catch?" I heard so many times this summer. "That's [the gospel] too easy! If my sin really is so deathly serious that God will separate me from Him for eternity over it, and there really is nothing good I can do to get rid of my sin, and Jesus really did die for my sins, and the gift of eternal life really is free, why wouldn't everybody just take it? There's gotta be a catch somewhere. It can't just be free." And it isn't! The catch is that somebody has to pay for the sin. Praise God that Jesus paid it all! Salvation is free for us! All those "rules" that seem so confusing and foolishness to those who are perishing are, in all reality, the joyful and grateful response of a heart that has been changed by the Holy Spirit! He and He alone can produce that change and provide that understanding, and apart from Him crashing in on someone's heart and life, they'll stay lost. That's what makes Salvation such a miracle-only God can do it!

One final cool thing God did was change my heart in relation to working with teens. As I already mentioned, I didn't want anything to do with high schoolers at the beginning of summer. I was content at my church working with the Preschool-Kindergarten Sunday School class, and being a Sparks leader. I didn't wanna work with teens. But by the end of week two, I started feeling this change in my heart, and I began asking myself, "How can I go home and NOT work with teens in the youth group?" By the end of summer, it became a burning passion of mine. I NEEDED to work with teens. God was burdening my heart for them.

I realized so many things about teens this summer, and was repeatedly shocked that the majority of parents were not involved or interested in their teens' spiritual lives, nor were their churches teaching truth to teens, but only providing entertainment. I was saddened by the number of teens that weren't really "connected" to a local church. They either didn't attend at all, or (the majority) they did, but church to them was kinda just something they did on Sunday mornings. Their 'faith' was not their own, but their parents', and there was no real connection between them and their church. It was kinda like going and watching a sports game to them. So many more than I expected didn't have that knowledge of and love for God and His Word.

Most of my Jr./Sr. Highers this summer completely "got" all the moralistic teaching in chapel and tribe talks, but it was so sad to see that when I got them one-on-one and tried to get them to explain the gospel to me and their relationship with God, they had no clue what I was talking about, or their version of the gospel was boiled down to either works-based Salvation or simple belief in God's existence.

My eyes were also opened to the struggles teens in this generation really are facing, particularly at home where so many of them don't live with both parents, or where there is a constant battleground where the teen feels the parents don't understand the struggles they're going through and can't relate to them at all. There are also so many pressures that accompany school life and their peers. The pressure to perform well academically as well as in sports is so intense, some of them just cave under the weight then turn to things other than God to fill the hurt and cover up the pressure they feel, while others push themselves, taking whatever shortcuts they can find to get what they want.

I listened to and talked through so many issues this summer with teens. Boys, physical appearance, boys, why God would allow a parent to abuse them, boys, how to relate to a parent who never wanted them and still lets them know they don't, boys, what it really means to live as a follower of Jesus, boys, and so many other things. (Yes, boys was repeated on that list for a reason.) At first I wanted to 'fix' the surface issues, but then I realized those stemmed from their parents' being unfaithful to teach God's Word to their children and show them the way to live as true Christians, but of course, that all started with a sin problem in both every teen and parent's heart, and I could do nothing to 'fix' any of that. I wanted most to reconcile all the parent/child relationships. I wanted to write letters to every parents letting them know what a great influence they have on their teens, and that it is THEIR duty to know and love God and to model and teach their teens how to know and love God as well-their duty-not the church's. The hardest thing to see was that so many of these girls just wanted someone to talk to and unload all their hurts and fears and frustrations and questions, and there really was no adult involved enough in their life that they trusted to talk to.

That turned my thoughts towards my own youth group. My church and the teens in it look pretty good on surface level, but I don't really 'know' many of them. How many of them are going through painful, tough times in their life, and I just don't know it? How many of them are tempted to give in to peer pressure at school and make choices they'll later regret? And the scariest, how many teens in my church totally 'get' all the moralistic teaching, but when it comes to their relationship with God and understanding of the gospel, how many of them are completely lost and don't even realize it? How many of them are under the false assumption that they can slap the label "Christian" on themselves, go to church on Sundays, then live life the rest of the week however they want? How many of them are falsely trusting in a prayer they said when they were three (and can't remember saying now) while living a life completely not in line with the gospel? My only problem with all these thoughts and the new burden I felt for teens in my church was that I didn't think my church's youth group had a need for girl leaders. I kept praying about it, though, and felt I at least had to ask.

So the night I got home, I headed off to church and told my youth pastor and his wife that I felt God was calling me to work with teens and I didn't know if I could just walk away from the summer and NOT work with teens. Long story short, they were shocked and excited because apparently, the morning before, they'd had a youth group leader meeting where my youth pastor anounced to the leaders that two of the girl leaders were stepping down from their positions as leaders and one other was only going to be able to have limited involvement due to health reasons. They needed girl leaders and sat down right then and prayed that God would begin working in someone's heart and make it impossible for them NOT to be a leader this fall. The same words they were praying are what God had already begun in my heart! God started working this all out in May when camp was looking for a tech counselor for four weeks, knowing they would need more leaders in my church's youth group this fall. Is God cool or what?

This summer was way different than I expected. It was way more challenging in way different ways than I expected, but I learned a lot. I didn't form as many friendships or have as much fun with campers as I expected. But I grew so much in my relationship with God through it all, and I can look back at the summer now with a smile on my face, thinking of so many amazing things God did and all the fun memories made in the process. I went into the summer looking for fun and friendships and watching God work in girls' lives like last year. But this wasn't last year. God possibly did more work in my life than in my girls'. My view of God is so much bigger as a result of this summer, and I now see the world in a totally new way. I probably didn't have as much fun, but the growth I experienced in its place I would not trade for anything in the world!

Workshop is supposed to be the two week training for summer where I thought you were supposed to learn eveyrthing, then go through the summer, living out that training. But Paul Gardner was right when he said that we'd learn a lot during the third week of workshop...and fourth and ninth and twelfth. The lessons God taught me didn't end after the official training ended, and I'm so grateful that I know that the work God began in my heart this summer will not leave merely because I'm home.

"Not to Him who is able to do EXCEEDINGLY abundantly above ALL that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

So it’s official: I’m counseling at Barakel again!

2011-05-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

For those of you haven't heard yet, I will be spending 11 weeks of my summer three hours north of here at Camp Barakel in Fairview, MI.

Here's what Barakel counselors get to look forward to....

Lyrics:
Lookin’ towards summer: can’t find work,
Found a Barakel flier in the back of the church.
It said, “You can come be a counselor for a summer job.”
I thought, “I like the sound of this:
Play some games; live with kids.
Go from a hard-working college kid to being 'Dad' or 'Mom'"

Well! Clothes disapear in a Barakel dryer
Inspection scores gotta go one point higher
Romans 12 for the eighth time
Breakfast 8:30, tribe talks nine
There's a homesick camper who won’t calm down
And another one throwing up all over the ground
Been crazy all week long, and we’ve only hit Wednesday in this song!

Ok, totally joking...well, kinda. :p Most of that's true for counselors, but counseling is so much fun, (along with being challenging and a real 'faith growth' opportunity) it's impossible to describe. I think my feelings toward counseling can actually better be explained in the following song I wrote after I came home last fall and was really missing camp:

Lyrics:
Tribe talks in morning and chapels in evening,
Overnights, one-on-ones, talks in the lobby,
Wecandoits, Couns'lor Hunt, and singing--
These are a few of my favorite camp things!

Missionary stories and campers with questions,
Missing flip flops, head counts, and charcoal faces.
Action huddles and thumb circles to pray-
These are a few of my favorite camp things!

Paddleboats, slushies, and fun in Lake Linsley;
Sister counselors, laundry day, and riflery;
Barakel's Got Talent, Firebowl, Musicale,--
These are my favorite parts of Camp Barakel!

Homesick camper, nosebleeds everywhere, fire won't start AGAIN!
Just circle up, pray, and smile as you say,
“We've got beef stew; it's ok!”.

I've served on Barakel summer staff for two summers as both a YAP and counselor, so I can definitely give a ton of reasons why I want to serve on summer staff again. Being on summer staff means great fellowship and amazing friendships formed with other college-age Christians, daily encouraging chapel messages and chances to hear and teach the Bible, getting a chance to serve God in a very hands on and practical way, and SO MANY laughs and funny inside jokes.

But I also must admit (as you saw in those songs) that serving on summer staff isn’t always easy or fun. Being on summer staff provides many opportunities for me to be stretched and grown as a Christian and learn what it means to really depend on God to give me strength as I’m used by Him in the lives of so many girls.

One of my favorite camp stories from this last summer illustrates this so well. Every week, junior highers have the opportunity to spend a night in the woods, sleeping under the stars. I never could sleep well at ALL on overnights, and my first week counseling a junior high tribe this last summer, I especially couldn't because one of my girls was cold because her sleeping bag was too thin, so she had to wake me up and tell me....every half hour. Then she was deathly afraid of sleeping in the dark, wild animals, and bugs crawling into her mouth while sleeping, so she woke me up three times to tell me each of those. Then she decided she needed to go to the bathroom twice in the middle of the night (and once, we got lost trying to find our campsite…loooong story!) and wouldn't go ANYWHERE without me by her side. Then she needed Kleenexes, and after that just wanted to talk because she was bored and not tired. I got hardly any sleep that night, but I learned a lot about patience!

The next night I was exhausted. I made it through our tribe talk, though, and prayed with each of the girls in their bunks, then stepped out into the lobby to look over my devotional for the next morning. I was so exhausted and I remember thinking, "I have nothing left in me to give my campers. Watch and see. Tonight will be the night one of my campers wants to talk more about what we learned in chapel." I think maybe God had a little sense of humor, and when I said that, he decided this was a really good time to teach me that His grace is sufficient and that his power is made perfect in weakness, because as soon as I opened the door to step back into the room and into my nice, warm, comfortable bunk, I heard, "Hannah?" I almost didn't answer. I started screaming at God, "NO! I have no energy! I can't even think straight! Didn't you hear me? NOT TONIGHT!" But instead I found myself walking over to her bunk, and eventually stepping out into the lobby to sit with her as she sobbed then explained all the doubts and questions she'd had about God, the Bible, and who Jesus was and what he'd done for her. I had nothing left in my own strength to give her, and I couldn't even think straight, but I found myself answering her questions with answers I didn't remember I knew, and explaining the gospel to her and what Christ had done for her on the cross.

After camp, I received a letter from her in the mail. In it she said, "The first thing I did when I got home was write down all the things I felt that night-how I felt joy and peace just wash over me. That night changed my life forever!"

I’m so excited to get to serve God this summer and make a difference in the lives of girls again at camp! Please pray for me as I seek to serve God in this way. I definitely have seen the difference prayer can make on the week, and I CANNOT make it through the summer on my own strength. The hours are too long, the activities are too physically draining, the sleep is too short, the girls are too challenging, and the emotional journey is too long for me to take on my own. But I know that God’s grace is sufficient for me for His power IS made perfect in weakness.

I leave for Barakel the end of May, and I would really appreciate your prayers! Here are a few ways you can pray for me each week:

1- That God would fill me with His love for all of my campers.
2- That God would give me wisdom of speech and action-not only in tribe talks (devotions) or discipline, but also in the way I act as a Christian role model for my girls all week.
3- That God would give me a deep love and enthusiasm for His Word that my campers would see and want.
4- That God would fill me with energy, enthusiasm, creativity, health, and strength to keep up with my girls.
5- That my girls and I would have open hearts to hear God’s Word and allow ourselves to be changed by it.

I would also really appreciate mail. It's always so great to hear from home when you're gone so long! You can send me an email through camp's website www.campbarakel.org or through the mail by sending it to:

Camp Barakel
Hannah Banura
PO Box 159
Fairview, MI 48621

Thank you so much!

Questions Campers Ask Part 14- How does God have no beginning?

2011-05-02T06:10:00.000-07:00

Q: How does God have no beginning?
A: Have you ever wondered how a flower has no legs? Probably not! Does every living thing NEED to have legs? No, people, birds, bugs and animals have legs, but not plants or fish! Imagine a box with a label on it saying people, birds, bugs, and animals. Plants and fish are outside that box, so they don’t have legs.

How does God have no beginning? Does every living thing have a beginning? No, actually! Only created things have beginnings, and since God does not fit into that ‘box’, He does not have a beginning.

It’s hard to imagine anything that was not created and does not have a beginning, but the Bible says God exists outside the box of time-He has always been and always will be. That’s impossible for us to wrap our minds around now, but someday in heaven, we will be able to.

Psalm 90:2 is my favorite verse about God not having a beginning: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” The reason this is such a struggle for our brains to understand is because we are all born with the knowledge that everything had a cause. If a ball rolls into your bedroom, something or someone caused it to roll there. Someone caused the cookies in your kitchen to appear there, someone caused the mess in your bedroom, and Someone caused the world into existence. So what about God? What caused His existence? If you think about it, you’ll realize that there must be an uncaused cause that started all the causes. Something uncaused had to cause the first cause. That ‘something’ is actually a ‘Someone’-God.

“’I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,’ says the Lord who was, and who is, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)

Questions Campers Ask Part 13-How much can I get away with and still be saved?

2011-04-21T05:03:00.000-07:00

Q: Can’t I still be a Christian and _________________? How much can I get away with and still be saved?

A: If the question “Can’t I live however I want (listen to whatever I want, hang out with whomever I want, watch whatever I want, treat people however I want, do whatever I want with my boyfriend, etc.) and still be a Christian?” is still crossing your mind, the answer is no. Remember, to be a Christian, or Christ follower, means that you repent of (turn away from) your sin-you hate it, and want to be rid of it. You are no longer your own master-Jesus has paid for your Salvation, and your life is now His to serve and please Him as 1Corinthians 6:19-20 says: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and your spirit which are God’s.”

Don’t be fooled into thinking you can just ask God to forgive you later; this shows what’s truly in your heart-the desire to sin and enjoy it rather than to please God. If you told a store owner you were sorry for shoplifting in his store, then turned around and shoplifted again the next day, were you really sorry that you did it, or only sorry that you got caught? Obviously, the store owner will know that you never really repented of your wrong deed. In the same way, God is not fooled if your tell him you are repenting of your sin and you are sorry for living in rebellion against him, then immediately sin in the same way again (justifying yourself by saying God will forgive you) and tell Him you’re sorry again.

In Romans 6, Paul asks, “What then? Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound [so God can keep forgiving us]? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

Yes, as Christians we are free from living in obedience the law, but using that freedom as a license to sin shows a complete lack of understanding in what it means to be a Christian and a devaluing of what Jesus suffered to pay for your sins. To be a Christian is not to follow the law perfectly and please God by doing that; it is to trust that Jesus has followed the law and pleased God perfectly in your place, then to bring yourself under the Lordship of Christ and say, “Jesus, you have control over my music, my movies, my friends, etc.” The question then becomes how you can best glorify God with your life, not how much can you get away with and still be a Christian.

Listen to how Romans 10:9 says we are saved: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It is not simply by believing God raised Jesus from the dead, but also accepting him as Lord over your body (the things you do) and your spirit (the thoughts you think: the influences-people and media-you bring yourself under) which are now His.

If your focus is constantly on living however you want and asking God to forgive you later (or not at all), I think you have serious cause to doubt whether you really are a Christian. Yes, all Christians will make mistakes, but this is more of where your desires lie-sinning and enjoying it, or seeking to please God.

Romans chapter six gives a more complete understanding of the Christian’s relationship with sin. Go ahead and put this down and read it!

Questions Campers Ask Part 12- Why doesn't God always answer my prayers?

2011-04-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

Q: Why doesn’t God always answer my prayers?

A: There are two verses most people have in mind when they ask this question: “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:22) “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14) So we see in these verses that God promises to answer prayer, but we also see that there are three parameters within which God answers prayer:

Requests…
-Must be asked in faith
-Must be asked by a repentant heart
-Must be according to God’s will and timing

So then, there are three reasons why God may not be answering your prayers:

One- God doesn’t hear your prayers. God will not hear your prayers if you have not turned from your rebellion against God to trusting Jesus for Salvation, or if you are a follower of Jesus and you have sin in your life that you will not confess or turn from. We see this in the following three verses: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psalm 66:18) “The Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2) There is one thing you must remember, though. “But on this one will I [God] look: On him who is poor and of a contrite [repentant] spirit, and who trembles at My Word.” You do not have to clean your act up before you come to God, admitting you are a sinner in need of His Son Jesus’ sacrifice to pay for your sin. If you are truly repentant (sorry for disobeying God), God will hear you and answer you, forgiving your sin, and giving you eternal life.

Two-You are not asking in faith. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:6-7) If you continue to pray, doubting that God can change anything, He may answer once to show you His power and make His glory known, but don’t expect him continue to answer your prayers. He won’t.

Three-God IS answering but not with the answer you want to hear-‘no’ or ‘wait’. Three biblical stories come to mind that illustrate each of these answers. When David’s son became ill, David begged God to save his life, but God had other plans and said no. When the Israelite slaves cried out to God in Egypt, he heard them, but answered, ‘wait’; the timing wasn’t yet right to where God would receive incredible glory. When Peter was in prison facing death, God answered the apostle’s prayers with a ‘yes’ and miraculously freed Peter. God will do whatever will bring Himself the most glory and us the most good, even when we don’t understand at the time.

Once we are sure we are praying within those three parameters, we can pray with confidence, as I John 5:14 says, knowing that God will do what is best!

Questions Campers Ask Part 11- How do I know the Bible is true?

2011-04-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Q: Where did the Bible come from, and why is it so important? How do I know it’s really true?

A: Those are really three questions, and all three are very important! If the Bible is just another book full of stories, how can we know who God is and what He’s like? So let me answer those questions!

1-Where did the Bible come from? The Bible is a combination of 66 books written down by over 40 authors over a time period of about 1500 years. However, the Bible wasn’t written by men; the Bible was written by God. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” (2 Timothy 3:16) God didn’t physically write the Bible with His fingers, but He did write it in another sense. Peter describes this process when he said, “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit (God) told men what to write, and they wrote it down. The Bible claims over 3,000 times that its words are from God. No other holy book even claims to be written by their god, but only by one of their gods’ followers.

The earliest manuscripts we have today with parts of the Old Testament date all the way back to the Second Century B.C. The Bible was finished being written in the first Century A.D. after Jesus died and the apostles and a few others finished writing up historical accounts of what happened while Jesus was on earth and how the churches were to act and live now in light of how their life had been changed because of Jesus. After the Bible was written, it was translated into many different languages, and within those languages, the language of the Bible has been updated in different “versions”. For example, in the English language we speak, one of the earliest translations (but not the very first) was the King James Version. Watch how the wording changes in the following verse (James 4:3) from the 1611 King James Version to the 2001 English Standard Version:

“Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.”

“Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.”

2-Why is the Bible important? The Bible is important because without it, we cannot know God or grow to be more like Him. The Bible tells us how we can know God-through His Son, Jesus. Through every verse of the Bible-in every historical account, song, etc.-God shows us just a little more of Himself, who He is and what He likes and dislikes. And when we see His character, we see who He wants us to become-more like Himself.

3- How do I know the things written in the Bible actually happened and are God’s words? Excellent question! The Bible is made up of history, poetry, songs, wisdom literature, prophecy, and instructions for how followers of Jesus are to live. But how are we to know someone didn’t just make up the stories? There are three ways I’ll discuss:

1: The historical events described in the Bible actually happened. Every secular history account and archeological record we have found has completely backed up rather than refute the historical people, places, and events recorded in the Bible. For instance, the rise and fall of Greece and Rome recorded in the book of Daniel is read in school history books to this day. Additionally, Tyre and Sidon’s destruction was mentioned in Isaiah, and those ruined cities have been found by archeologists.

2: Science backs up the Bible. The Bible is not a science book. However, whenever it makes a scientific statement, that statement proves to be true. For example, many years ago scientists believed they could disprove the Bible because it said the stars could not be numbered, and they believed they had numbered and charted all the stars. However, when more powerful telescopes were invented, they realized the Bible had indeed been correct. There was no way man could have known that the stars were innumerable before that point, but God knew how many stars there were because he had created them.

3: The prophecies made in the Bible actually happened. The Bible was not all written at one time, as I explained earlier. From as far back as the first book of the Bible, God told men future events that would happen, and all those events (except those in Revelation which will happen at the end of the world) have occurred. For example, there were 48 prophecies concerning the Messiah, Jesus, prophesied hundreds of years before He was born. A few are that he would be born in Bethlehem, be betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver, have his hands and feet pierced, be silent before his accusers, enter Jerusalem on a donkey, and have his garments divided and cast lots for. Every single prophecy in Scripture concerning the Messiah was fulfilled in Jesus. A mathematician calculated that the odds of all those prophecies being fulfilled in one man are 1 to the 157th power. In other words, it is impossible. Yet Jesus fulfilled them all! Truly, God must have inspired those prophecies!

Despite all these proofs, the Bible is questioned more than any historical book. When you read Plato’s speeches, do you doubt that Plato was a real person? Do you doubt that he actually wrote the things he said he did? What about Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg address? Obviously not! It’s history! It’s substantiated by other history and archeology! There were eyewitnesses! So why do we look at the Bible, God’s Word, and question whether God is real or whether He really wrote all the things He said He did? The fact that the Bible is God’s Word and Jesus was a real person who was fully God and fully man and died on a cross, then rose from the dead, are historical facts. There were over 17 historical eyewitness accounts (outside the Bible) that have been found recording the crucifixion of Jesus, and over 500 people saw Him alive after His resurrection. So why is there so much doubt?

Ultimately, you must decide whether you will have faith and trust that the Bible is real and God is who He says He is and has done for you what He says He has done, or that the Bible is just a fairy tale, and God is not knowable.

Questions Campers Ask Part 10- How can God be good when He lets so many bad things happen?

2011-04-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Q: How can God be good when He lets so many bad things happen? Where is God when I’m hurting? Why doesn’t God just destroy Satan and evil?

A: I think all of us wonder at one time or another why God allows certain pain or hard things into our lives. I’ve had girls ask me, “If God loves me, why does he let my dad hurt me?” or “If God is good, why did he let __________ die?” or “If God really wants the best for my life, why did he let ______________ happen?” or “How could a good God let so many innocent people die in that earthquake?” Sadly, I don’t know the perfect answers to all those questions. I wish I did. I wish I could end your suffering and pain. When we’re hurting, it’s hard to see anything but the pain we feel so deeply. And the thing that makes what we’re going through even harder, is that God doesn’t have to tell us all the reasons He does things, and He rarely does.
However, there are three things the Bible tells us we can know and hold onto in the midst of pain:

1: Evil, pain, and suffering are the result of sin, and one day God will destroy Satan and rid the world of evil. When Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and they disobeyed God, sin entered the world, and with it, the consequence God had promised-death. If any of us get something other than death and pain in life, it’s because of God’s great mercy. So why do people hurt you? Because they have chosen to rebel against God and not love you as they should. God’s laws are set up for our good. Breaking them messes up everything.

Don’t give up hope, though. The book of Revelation describes a day when Jesus will come back to earth and take His followers with Him to the home He has prepared for them in heaven. Satan and his followers will be cast into the lake of fire, and Jesus will rule His followers in a place where there will be no more “sadness, death, crying, or pain.” (Revelation 21:4) Why won’t Jesus come back now and destroy Satan and all evil? It is actually God’s mercy that allows suffering to continue and Satan to destroy for the moment. How? Because God wants to give more people time to turn from their sin and turn to Him.

2: God uses evil for His own glory and our own good. When Moses tried to free the children of Israel from slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart and not only would not let them go, he gave the Israelite slaves more work to do and beat the slaves when they could not finish the work. What sort of a plan would God have in letting Pharaoh do that?

“For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.’ What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory?” (Romans 9:17,22-23)

God wanted to show his glory and power to the Israelites through signs and wonders so they and all the nations of the world would know for sure that He was the one and only true God. When they went to fight the people of the lands God gave them to dwell in, the people were terrified of them because they had heard of their God’s power and the ways He had worked for them in Egypt. God raised Pharaoh up and hardened His heart for that very purpose.

A lot of people want to ask why bad things happen to good people. But the truth is that none of us is good. Each of us- the terrorists who crashed the planes into buildings on 9/11 and the five-year-old who disobeys his parents -deserves to be struck down immediately for rebelling against God. But God is patient with us as He was with Pharaoh. He did not immediately strike him down so He could use Him to accomplish His purpose.

3: God’s in control and knows what He’s doing, and His plans for us are so much better than we could even dream possible. “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘Neither are your ways My ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts, and My ways than your ways.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9) Sometimes, we think we know what is best for our life. So when God does things in our life that are hard or takes things or people from us, we ask, “why?” But God knows more than we do. He has a “bird’s eye” view of our lives because He sees the end of our story and knows the best way to make that ending good. There are three stories that instantly come to mind as I write this. Two of them are biblical, and one is personal. I think they’ll do a better job explaining this than I can.

Joseph was a young man who had everything going for him. Life was good and easy, and as an added plus, out of all his siblings, he was his dad’s favorite. But then things started to spiral out of control. Joseph’s brother grew jealous of him and sold him as a slave. If that wasn’t bad enough, as a slave, his master’s wife lied about him, and Joseph ended up in prison. In prison, Joseph interpreted another man’s dream correctly, but when the man was released, he forgot to pass on the message to his boss, Pharaoh, that there was an innocent man in his prison. Joseph might have been tempted at this point to wonder how God could possibly use all that hurt in his life for a good purpose. But God was still in control, and knew exactly what He was doing. Pharaoh had a dream a few years later, and when no one could interpret it, Pharaoh’s servant suddenly remembered Joseph. Joseph was still in prison, so they were able to easily find him, and he was able to interpret his dream and warn him that God was sending a famine that they needed to prepare for or else they all would die. God brought Joseph far from his home and family, into slavery, into prison, and then left him forgotten and betrayed in prison all to save the world from starving. Joseph obviously couldn’t see that when it was happening and he was suffering, but God did!

Hezekiah was an Old Testament king. When God came to him and told him he was about to die, Hezekiah begged for more time. God allowed him to live an extra 15 years, but in that time, he bore a son-Manasseh. Manasseh was the evilest king to ever rule Israel. Hezekiah thought the best thing for himself would be to live longer. But the result of God allowing him to live longer was more suffering and pain for the people. God knows what he’s doing when he chooses the time of someone’s death.

That leads into my third story; Daniel was a young man my family knew who sincerely loved God with all that was in him. He lived every day of His life working hard at knowing God well and making him well-known. His money was spent sacrificially giving to those in need and buying 1,000 Bibles to hand out to everyone in his city. When Daniel felt distant from God, he quit his job to have more time to study the Bible. Daniel was an incredible young man. I say ‘was’ because last May, Daniel was in a bike accident that cost him his life. Daniel is now with Jesus. When he died, I wondered why God would take him. He was doing so much good for God. I knew Daniel was now experiencing complete joy with Jesus as he walked and talked with Him face-to-face, but I was upset that God would take someone who was doing so much good on earth. Daniel was bringing so much glory to God. What sort of plan could God have in taking him? But God did. Through Daniel’s funeral and the incredible story of his life, many people have come to follow Jesus deeper, and the newspaper article printed about his death lead to requests from unbelievers in the city to ask for one of those Bibles Daniel had bought and only begun to distribute. God had a plan in the timing of Daniel’s death, even when it did not match my own plan and timing!

Let me try to answer those top three questions more directly now: How can God be good when He lets so many bad things happen? By “bad things” if you mean people hurting people, that is the result of living in a world of sinners. But don’t worry-God will one day judge all sin and avenge those wrongfully treated. If you mean natural disasters, that is only what we deserve for breaking God’s law. No innocent people die in natural disasters-only guilty ones, because we all are guilty. If a judge let someone who was guilty of breaking the law go free without punishment, he wouldn’t be a good judge. We have all broken God’s law, and the punishment for breaking that law is death. If God just lets us off the hook, he is not a good judge. This is where we see God’s great mercy in not destroying all of us in natural disasters, but instead, in coming to earth as a man, living a perfect life, and dying, taking the punishment for our sin Himself. Where is God when I’m hurting? Right there by your side, working everything out for your good and His glory. Why doesn’t God just destroy Satan and evil? He will as soon as the time is right and those who are going to be saved have accepted Jesus as Savior.

So how should you respond to evil and suffering?

1- Look to heaven! God uses suffering and death to help us focus on heaven. In heaven, we will not have to experience any sadness, death or pain. Instead we will live in perfect fellowship with God. Living with God for eternity, we will experience complete joy.

2- Trust God! He is working for our good and His glory even when we can’t see it. Don’t be afraid; Satan can do nothing without God’s permission. God is never surprised by tragedy or suffering in your life. It is all a part of His perfect plan.

“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you: plans to give you a future and a hope.’” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Questions Campers Ask Part 9- What about those who have never heard?

2011-04-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

Q: What happens to people who haven’t heard about Jesus when they die?

A: This one’s tough. It bothered me a lot when I was in junior high and high school. I wanted a clear heaven or hell answer, but I’ve since realized that isn’t possible. To be able to say that all people in remote parts of the world who have never heard of Jesus go to hell or heaven, I would have to be able to see every individual heart. Obviously, I can’t. Here’s what I know, though:

1-“For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes have been clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20) In other words, God doesn’t let people off the hook for merely not hearing of Him. They “have no excuse” because of God’s attributes that are clearly visible in creation.

2-“For when Gentiles who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves. Who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves, their thoughts accusing or else excusing them on the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” (Romans 2:14-15) Those who have not heard of Jesus have broken God’s law, and they know this because God has given them a conscience-the ability to know right and wrong. Their own thoughts will accuse them on judgment day.

3-“Nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) If God wants (and I have heard stories of this happening) He can appear in a vision to anyone and make himself known to them. Remote regions of the world do not stop God from saving whomever He wishes to save. “Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.” (Romans 9:18)

4-“What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” (Romans 9:14-16) God is not unjust or “unfair” in sending those who have never heard of Him to hell. God is, however, unfair in mercifully not sending some of us to hell. We all deserve hell. That’s what is fair for any of us because we all sin, and that is the fair punishment for our sin. We haven’t done anything to deserve heaven, and no desire or effort on our part can save us. It’s crazy to think that God would be unfair to some of us and grant us eternal life with Him. But He does.

5-“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? (Romans 9:17-23) God is crazy about one thing-His own glory. He will use each of us in the best way possible to ensure His own glory. For some, this will include further hardening their hearts which they have already hardened. For others, this will mean crazy, undeservable mercy. God used Pharaoh’s already hardened heart by further hardening it to show His great power and make His great glory known to the children of Israel and every other nation on earth so all people knew that He was truly God. God made us, so He has the right to do with any of us as He pleases. Who are we to question what He does?

So how should we respond to all this? Jesus tells us: “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send our laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38) All sinners are guilty, deserving hell. Simply not hearing of Jesus does not change this fact. This should bother you. It bothers me. What are you going to do about it? There are three things you can do. 1- Pray for people to go tell them. 2- Give, providing for others to go tell them. 3- Go yourself and tell those who have never heard the good news of Jesus.

Questions Campers Ask Part 8- How can I reach out to my "cool" friends without looking like a "loser"?

2011-04-08T06:22:00.000-07:00

Q: How can I reach out to my “cool” friends without looking like a “loser”?

A: That is an incredibly good question! When you hear a good joke or funny story or watch a good movie, you want to tell or show someone else. It’s natural! It’s the same way when you come to know Jesus. After Jesus becomes our Savior, one of the natural first steps we should take is to tell our family and friends what has happened and how they can come to know Jesus, too! This is the best news ever! We are all sinners, condemned to spend eternity separated from God, but Jesus came to earth and died in our place, taking our punishment. That’s way better than any joke, story, or movie!

There are at least three reasons to share your faith or “reach out” to friends:

1.)For your friends! Revelation 20:15 says, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Why tell your friends? To save them from an eternity separated from God in the lake of fire, hell. Would you really be a good friend if you didn’t warn your friend about what happens when we die? If you knew your friend was sleeping in a burning building, would you try to warn her? I hope so! I hope you’ll do the same with your friends’ eternal destiny!

2.)For yourself! God has commanded that Christians “go into all the world and preach the gospel [the good news of Jesus] to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) That includes your friends-all of them! Jesus said that sharing Him with the world was not optional: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33) Will you deny Jesus in your friendships? If so, you don’t really know Him, and He will one day deny you before His Father.

3.)For God! When the Lord appeared to Isaiah in Isaiah 6, He asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” And Isaiah replied, “Here am I, Lord, send me!” For whom was Isaiah going to the people? For the people, to save them from hell? No! For God-to declare His glory to the people so the “earth may be filled with the glory of the Lord”! Our love for people will run dry and not always motivate us. We have to share for the glory of God-to make Him known and share how amazing He is!

That question was good and very important; however, it is not a valid question. What would you tell me if I asked: “How can I learn to breathe without using my lungs?” I’m pretty sure you would tell me that yes, knowing how to breathe is important, but I can’t breathe if I’m not willing to use my lungs. In the same way, learning to reach out to our friends is important, but we can’t share our faith with our “cool” friends if we’re not willing to look like a “loser”. “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But He who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22) Following and obeying Jesus is hard and may cost you friends! Jesus never said it would be easy.

I think a more valid question then would be “How can I reach out to my cool friends?” My answer? The same way you would reach out to your “uncool” friends! Tell them what Jesus did for you, invite them to church or a youth group activity, then share Jesus with them. Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort have an acrostic to help you remember how to share Jesus: WDJD.

W-Would you consider yourself to be a good person? Most people will say yes. The Bible disagrees, so keep going!

D-Do you think you’ve kept the 10 commandments? You’ll probably be told that they have… mostly, or that they think so. Ask if you can walk through a few. Ask if they’ve ever lied. When they say yes, ask them what that makes them (a liar). Ask if they’ve ever stolen something and what that makes them (a thief). It doesn’t matter how big the thing they stole was. Ask if they’ve ever disobeyed their parents. When they admit they have, tell them those are just three of the ten commandments (you can walk through more if you want to) and the Bible says the only thing we have to do to be guilty on judgment day is break one (James 2:10).

J-If God judged you using the 10 commandments on judgment day, would you be innocent or guilty? If they say innocent, take them back to the 10 commandments and show them again that they have broken God’s law and are therefore guilty. When they admit they are guilty, ask, “Would you go to heaven or hell?” They should say hell. If not, remind them that the Bible says the punishment for sin is death-separation from God forever in hell.

D- Does that concern you? At this point, if they say no, they are obviously not ready to hear the good news of Jesus and what he has done for them. Tell them you care about them and will pray for them. If they say yes, you can tell them all that Jesus has done for them and how if they turn from their sin (repent) and trust that what Jesus did for them on the cross was enough to pay for their sin, God will forgive their sin and give them the free gift of eternal life along with the Holy Spirit who gives us the desire and strength to live for God.

Your friend will most likely not respond the first time you talk to them. That’s ok! Keep sharing Jesus not only with your words, but also by the way you live your life. If they see you are a hypocrite, they won’t want anything to do with ‘your Jesus’. Pray for them no matter what, and be patient, not pushy.

I had a friend a few years ago who was not a follower of Jesus. Her name was Jen, and as much as I valued our friendship, I knew she needed Jesus. So I told her about Jesus and how He had died to pay the penalty for our sin. She had a really hard time believing that, and kept pushing all my talk about God away. I never gave up on her, though. I continued to be her friend and show her Jesus by the way I lived and shared Him with her every chance I got. This went on for several years, and then one day, I found out that she had died. She was only 16 years old. It was hard for me to hear that, because I don’t know if she ever trusted in Jesus for Salvation. But I know it would be so much harder for me if I had never shared Jesus with her.

So be bold for Jesus! Don’t be afraid of what your friends will think of you. You wouldn’t worry about that if they were in a burning building, would you? “And do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)What’s the worst that can happen? You may be made fun of or laughed at. You may be called a “loser”. But Jesus tells us that whoever “loses” his life for the gospel, will find true life, and that those who are persecuted, or made fun of for their faith, will have great reward in heaven. (Matthew 5:12)

Matthew 10:19-20 tells us not to even be afraid that we don’t know what to say- “Do not worry how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” God will give you words!

After reading this, by still refusing to reach out to your friends, you’re saying two things about what’s really true in your heart:

1: You don’t think your friend is worth the risk of being laughed at.

2: You don’t think God is worth the risk of being laughed at.

1 Corinthians 15:33 warns us, “Do not be deceived: evil company corrupts good morals.” If your friendship with your “cool” friend is more important to you than your friendship with God, maybe your morals have already been corrupted. Maybe it’s time to stop being such close friends with that friend. Yes, I realize that is radical, but Matthew 5 tells us we should go so far as cutting off parts of our bodies if they are keeping us from God. “It is better that one of your members [or friendships!] should perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” (Matthew 5:25)

Jesus took your friends’ eternal destiny so seriously that He died for them. I pray you will get serious, too.

Questions Campers Ask Part 7- What about other religions?

2011-04-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

Q: What about other religions? What makes Christianity the real and only one? Can’t all religions be true?

A: There are thousands of religions in the world. The one thing they all have in common is that they are all created by men. But what kind of a god is a god that man makes? If we make our god, doesn't it show that we are stronger than our god? I'm so grateful my God, the true God of the Bible, is powerful and created me and all things. I did not create my God; He created me! I love what Psalms 135 and Psalm 96 say about all other gods and religions that are man-made:

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens."

Believing in a religion that is made by man isn't just silly because creators are stronger than the things they create, and man would then have to be stronger than God, and what is a god but a Being who is all-powerful? It is also silly because:

All other religions:

-Were founded by a man who died

-Teach you must improve yourself and be good enough to earn their god's favor, when we all continually mess up, no matter how hard we try. None of us can be perfect! That's why the message of Jesus Christ is such good news; Jesus was good enough for us. He lived a perfect life, then died, taking the punishment we should've had to take.

-Have holy books written by men, rather than God. Men lie and cannot be fully trusted. God can never lie.

Wanna see? Let’s take a look at the three main religions of the world and their problems, followed by an explanation of Christianity.

Hinduism:
-Worship thousands of gods

-The Hindu's life goal is to be reunited with the "World Soul"- All people, all of nature and even their gods are part of this World Soul. They believe that they are born from the World Soul into a body and go through continual stages of death and reincarnation until they finally live a perfect life, good enough to be reunited with the World Soul.

-One of the earliest known official religions (founded by Persians in Arya in about 1300 B.C. ) outside of Christianity which was founded at the creation of the world when God made all things, including man.

Problems:
-There cannot be multiple gods. A God must be infinite, and there cannot be more than one infinite Being, because an infinite Being can lack nothing. For there to be different gods, they must be different from each other in some way, and for a god to be different than another, he would have to lack something the other god had, and thus no longer be infinite.

-Cannot be true, because no one can ever live a perfect life. The only One to ever do so was Jesus, who was God, who lived, then died and rose again to pay the price for our sins.

Buddhism:
-Started by a man who didn't like the fact that Hinduism meant for him that he couldn't be reunited with his World Soul at death because he hadn't been born into the right family, meaning he wasn't good enough.

-The man changed his name to Buddha, meaning "enlightened one", claiming he had become enlightened about the meaning of life through meditation.

-Buddhism is founded on the principle that by doing good works, man can overcome his desires which cause evil, and stop his suffering, which is all he believed life was about.

-Buddha taught that if you were always kind to people, behaved well, and meditated on good things, you would be happy and would not have to be reincarnated at death. You would just cease to exist.

Problem:
-Too bad for followers of Buddhism that none of us is always kind, meaning none of us can escape "continual reincarnation". Also doing the right thing doesn't always make us happy; sometimes it can be really hard to stand up for what's right, as Jesus taught (Luke 6:14-33).

Islam:
-Founded in 610 AD (after the death and resurrection of Jesus) by a man named Muhammad who claimed to have seen an angel in a dream who told him that Allah, one of the Arab gods, wanted him to start a new religion, with him as Allah's prophet.

-Muslims (followers of Islam) follow the teachings found in the Koran, a book Mohammed wrote from the messages he claimed the angel in his dreams gave him.

-The Koran teaches that a person goes to heaven or hell based on whether they are a good person or not.

Problem:
-Mohammad claimed that Allah and the true God of the Bible were the same. He claimed Allah/God had sent many prophets to the world: Abraham, Noah, Adam, Moses, Jesus, and finally him: Mohammad. This could not be true, because then, God would be a God who changes or lies, since the Bible says that a person is not saved through doing good or being good enough but by trusting that Jesus lived a perfect life and was good enough to pay for their sin (Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8). The Bible also says that Jesus was God, but Mohammad said he was just another prophet. The Bible teaches God cannot lie or change (Numbers 23:19), so obviously, Mohammad's dreams of an angel were just that-dreams.

Christianity:
-Founded by God at the creation of the world. God, who is perfectly holy, has always existed and exists in three persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created man in his own image to glorify Him and enjoy fellowship with Him.

Problem:
-God gave Adam and Eve one rule, with the punishment being death and separation from fellowship with God, and Adam and Eve broke that rule. The Bible calls disobeying God sin, and says we all are sinners. The punishment for sin is death.

Solution:
-Unless a perfect person paid the price for our sin (death) for us, we would be separated from God forever. Jesus, who was God, came to earth. Being God, He lived a perfect life, then was killed to pay the price for our sin and take the punishment we deserved.

-The Bible teaches that all who trust what Jesus did as being enough to pay for their sin and get them to heaven, then choose to turn from their sin to follow Jesus will receive the free gift of eternal life.

Problem?
Does this mean the founder of Christianity died, too, just like all other religions? Yes and no. Yes, Jesus died, but no, He is not dead. He is the God who CREATED death, so He is stronger than it. He rose from the dead and was seen by over 500 people. The truth of Jesus' resurrection is not just found in the Bible, there are numerous historical records (at least 17) of people who saw Jesus alive after His resurrection.

Some people, after hearing all this will say, “It doesn’t matter what you believe or who you believe in as long as you’re sincere. You can believe what you want to believe, and I’ll believe what I want to believe. We each can take our own path to get to God.” Can all those religions be true? Can there be more than one way to get to God?

Logically, that doesn’t make sense. If I sincerely believe that 2+2=5 and you sincerely believe that 2+2=4, we can’t both be right, can we? No! There is only one correct answer to 2+2 and only one way to get that answer.

Jesus claimed to be the only way to God: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.” (John 14:6) Others also claimed he was the only way to God: “Nor is there Salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Mark Cahill tells a story of how he was talking to a couple people from other religions who told him there are many ways to get to God. They compared getting to God like climbing a mountain. At the top of the mountain, they pictured God. All around this mountain are many different paths that people choose to get to the top of the mountain to get to God. They believed that it didn’t matter which path someone took to get to “the top of the mountain”, or God, as long as they worked hard and got there.

Mark turned the illustration around, though, and asked them, “What if I told you that instead of us trying to work our way up to the top of the mountain to God, God came down from the mountain to where we are?” “That would be incredible!” the other men replied. But that’s exactly what God has done for us: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

We could never be good enough to get back to God, so God came to us in the form of a man-Jesus. Jesus can take us up the mountain and get us back to God because he has already done the work of living a perfect life, and he has already paid for our Salvation.

After reading all this, you can see that Christianity makes sense and Jesus is the only way to get to God. But that’s not enough; you must decide what you really believe. You can read more about this in “How can I become a Christian?”

Questions Campers Ask Part 6- Who is Jesus?

2011-04-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

Q: I’m confused about Jesus. Who was He really? A good man? God? God's Son? The Messiah?

A: Jesus is God and Jesus is the Son of God who is the Messiah or Christ who God promised from Old Testament times would come and save the people from their sins, providing the only way back to God.

All right, let’s break that sentence apart and explain that answer.

“Jesus is God”-Jesus is way more than a good man-Jesus is God in the flesh. There are many verses that tell us that Jesus is God. Here are a few: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Who was this “Word” who has existed with God throughout eternity past and IS God? “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) Jesus is God!

“[Jesus said] I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) Jesus and God are one and the same. Jesus is God!

One more passage of verses (my favorite!) teach this all important truth that Jesus is God: Revelation 4-5. I won’t type the whole passage here as it is rather long. The scene in those chapters takes place in the throne room of God-in heaven, where there can be no sin. God has commanded that no one is to bow down and worship any but Him (Exodus 20), yet we see the angels in heaven turning from worshipping God, to worship Jesus. Truly, Jesus is God!

“Jesus is the Son of God”- There are many verses in the Bible that teach that Jesus is God’s Son, and since God wrote the Bible and God cannot lie, we know the Bible is true. Here are some of the verses that talk about Jesus being the Son of God:

[The book of Mark tells about Jesus' life on earth. This is how it begins.] Mark 1:1 "The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God."

[Before Jesus was born, the angel Gabriel came to Mary, who would be Jesus' mother, and spoke the following to her about how Jesus would be born.] Luke 1:35 "The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born [Jesus] will be called the Son of God.'"

[The reason the Jews killed Jesus was because he claimed to be the Son of God. In these verses Jesus talks about His claim to be the Son of God, and the Jewish leaders accuse Him of the same thing to Pilate, the man who orders Jesus' death.]
John 10:36 [Jesus said,] "'Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?'"John 19:27 The Jewish leaders insisted, 'We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he [Jesus] claimed to be the Son of God.'"

[The Jews did not like that Jesus said He was God's Son and had come to save them from their sins, because they thought they were pretty good people and could be good enough to save themselves. But nothing we do can be good enough to earn our way to heaven. That's why God sent Jesus as He says in my favorite verses about Jesus being God's Son.] John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus], that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son [Jesus].

Jesus is most definitely God’s Son!

“Who is the Messiah or Christ who God promised from Old Testament times”- Many people see Christ after Jesus' name in the New Testament and wonder if Christ is Jesus’ last name. It's not! Christ is a description of who Jesus is. Christ is the Greek word for the Jewish word Messiah. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, God punished them, then promised a future day when He would send a deliverer to save them from the punishment of their sin.

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ” (Matthew 16:16) In some versions of this verse, Messiah reads Christ. When Peter calls Jesus Messiah and Son of God, Jesus agrees and tells him that God has shown Peter this. Since we have already shown that Jesus is God, and we know from Numbers 23:19 that God cannot lie, we know that Jesus must be the Messiah promised form Old Testament times.

So, what does all this have to do with us? Why is it so important to know who Jesus is? The last part of our description will help.

“Would come and save the people from their sins, providing the only way back to God”- Isaiah 59:2 tells us that our sins have separated us from God and hidden His face from us so He will not hear us. We have all sinned, and are all thus separated from God. This means that when we die, we cannot spend eternity in heaven in the presence of God who created everything beautiful and perfect. We are condemned to an eternity separated from God in hell.

We all sin, so none of us can get back to God and get in right terms with Him by anything we do. “Therefore, by the deeds of the law, [obeying God’s commands: doing good] no flesh will be justified [declared righteous, good enough for heaven] in His sight.” (Romans 3:20) We need someone who has never sinned to be willing to come and die in our place. The only problem is, all people sin.

So God came to earth in the form of a man. Since He was God, although He was tempted, He never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). But Jesus was also the Son of God, fully human, and fully capable of dying. He died and was able to pay for our sins, because He had none of His own to pay for. But the great thing is that Jesus didn’t stay dead; He was God, so He was stronger than death. Three days later, he rose from the dead, signifying that He truly was God and the son of God, the Messiah or Christ promised from Old Testament times who would come and save the people from their sins, providing the only way back to God to those who repent or turn from sin and look to Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for their sin.

You can read more about this in "How can I know I'm truly a Christian" or "How can I become a Christian".

Questions Campers Ask Part 5- How do I know for sure that God is real?

2011-04-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

Q: How do I know for sure that God is real?

A: There is no way to perfectly prove there is a God just as there is no way to perfectly prove there is no God. To be able to say for certain that there is no God, you must have all of the knowledge in the Universe stored in your brain. Believing in the existence of God and trusting that He truly did send His Son Jesus to come to earth, live a perfect life, die in our place, then rise from the dead three days later, perfectly defeating death, must ultimately depend on faith. However, there are significant, convincing proofs that point to the existence of God. Here are two of them:

Look at our cabin here at Barakel. What would you say if I told you that no one made it?

A. I am very intelligent.
B. I am very dumb.

That would be silly to think that something as beautiful as our cabin could just build itself. Every building has to have a builder! Or what would you say if one day for cabin inspections, the inspector came in to inspect our cabin, and thought, "Wow, this cabin cleaned itself pretty well!"

A. The inspector is very intelligent.
B. The inspector is very dumb.

Of course the inspector wouldn't think that the cabin cleaned itself! They would know for something to be so organized, someone must have organized it.

It's the same way with the world! Look around you and see the beautiful way it is made and organized. Every single animal and person was carefully designed and planned to be able to live and survive in the world. What would you say if someone told you no one designed and created the world?

A. They are very intelligent.
B. They are very dumb.

For everything created, there must be a creator. For everything organized, there must be an organizer. If someone tells you that there is no God, then there must be no Creator of the world. That'd be just as silly as thinking no one made or cleaned our cabin!

The Bible puts it this way: “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible attributes have been clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.” (Romans 1:20) In other words, it’s obvious to see that there is a God just by looking at creation! Psalm 19:1 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God. All the beauty and order of creation point to the fact that there is a God. That's one way we can know God is real!

Another way we can know God is real is by looking at the moral law. Every law must have a law giver. Since there is a moral law (right and wrong written in all of our hearts: we know when we’re born that lying, stealing, and killing are wrong), there must be a moral Law Giver. Who is the creator of this moral law then who decides what is right or wrong? This points directly to God as well! If there is no God, than right or wrong is only a matter of opinion, and it would not be wrong for me to kill you! I’m glad there is a God who set up right and wrong!

Questions Campers Ask Part 4- How can I know if I'm truly a Christian?

2011-04-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

(Note: this is taken almost entirely from an earlier blog post: N.T. reflections-Matthew 7)

Q: How can I know if I’m truly a Christian?

A: The whole book of I John was written to answer this question, as John says in 5:13: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."

First John has three tests for those who want to know whether they're saved: The doctrine test, the moral test, and the love test. Let’s take a look at each.

First test: The doctrine test. Do I believe Jesus is God and also the Messiah, the Son of God sent to die for my sin? "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." (I John 5:1) "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah]? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. If what you heard from the begining abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father, And this is the promise he has promised us-eternal life." (I John 2:22,24-25) "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." (I John 4:15) What's so significant about believing Jesus is God and also the Messiah? If Jesus was not fully God, He would not have been perfect. If He had not been perfect, His death would mean nothing to us: it would have no saving power. The only reason Jesus could pay for our sins, is because he had none of his own to pay for. Had he not been God and been a sinner, his death would have been what He deserved, and He would not have been able to be the substitute sacrifice for our sins. But what's this about a Messiah? Why do we have to believe that? The Messiah or Christ was the one God had promised since Adam who would come and die in the people's place, ending the animal sacrifices which were only a symbol of Jesus. If we don't believe Jesus was truly the Messiah, the one whose death paid for our sin so we don't have to, then we end up trying to pay our own way to heaven by being good enough, and that won't work. If I do not believe Jesus is God and Jesus is the Messiah who paid the punishment I deserved for my sins, I am not a Christian.

Second test: The Moral Test. Do I see a change in my desires and the way I live my life that has come as a result of what I believe about who Jesus is? "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar...But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk as He walked." (I John 2:3-6) "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God." (I John 3:9-10) The key word in those last two verses is 'practice'. If you are practicing volleyball and try to serve the ball, and it hits the volleyball net and doesn't go over, it would be a dumb thing for me to say, "Oh, you must be playing basketball!" I can tell what you're practicing no matter how many times you mess up. In the same way, it should be clear in your life what you are practicing: sin or righteousness, no matter how many times you mess up. Check your desires. What is your deeper desire: to sin and enjoy the fun in it, or to please God and enjoy the lasting joy we will have in heaven? Does sin bother you or make you happy? One speaker last summer used the anology of what pigs and kittens do after you clean them. A pig jumps right back into the mud. He loves mud! But a kitten tries to stay clean, and even if she does get dirty, she cleans herself as quickly as possible. Same with a Christian and someone who is not a Christian. Someone who has not trusted Jesus for Salvation loves sin and has no desire to follow God and "stay clean", while those who HAVE trusted Jesus are those who John talks about in 3:3 "Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He [Jesus] is pure." If I do not see a change in my desires and the way I live my life that has come as a result of who I believe Jesus is, I am not a Christian.

Third Test: The Love Test. Does the way I live my life show that I have real, sacrificial love for others? "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." (I John 4:20) "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death." (I John 3:14) "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (I John 4:7-8) "My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in action and in truth." (I John 3:18) These verses aren't just talking about saying we love people, according to this last verse; they're asking us to show and PROVE we love them by our actions. Love is loving people even when it hurts us or even when they're different from us. But what does that really mean? How can we do that? God gave us all these commands we're supposed to follow AND on top of that He wants us to love people? Actually, the reason God gives commands in the Bible is just to explain what it means to love Him and love others. The first four of the 10 commandments teach us how to love God, and the last six teach us how to love others. Jesus taught this in Matthew 22:36-40 when he said that the greatest commandment is to love God, and the second greatest is to love others, then He said that all the laws in the Old Testament and things the prophets said are summed up by those two laws. John agrees-"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." (I John 5:2-3) If I do not see new love for others and love for God in my life as a result of what I believe about Jesus, I am not a Christian.

When testing ourselves by the love and moral tests, we have to make sure to look at our desires (does sin make us happy or bother us?) and what we're 'practicing', since no one can follow God perfectly. How can we even follow God at all? I certainly don't have the strength to obey Him and love others. I John has the answer again! (If you couldn't tell before now, I love this book!) "We love Him because He first loved us. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."" (I John 4:9-11, 16, 19) God's requirement for anyone to get to heaven is that they must live a perfect life. Unfortunately for us, we all mess up. But God loved us so much, He provided a way out of that mess- He sent Jesus! Jesus lived the perfect life we should've lived, then died a painful death, taking the punishment we deserved. Now if we trust His payment for our sin to be enough to get us to heaven, then turn from sin to follow Him, He will give us eternal life AND the desire and strength to follow and obey Him.

This may cause you to wonder, so how can I grow as a Christian? I trusted Jesus for Salvation this week, how can I change when I go home?

Great question! Keep reading!

Questions Campers Ask Part 3- How can I live and grow as a Christian?

2011-04-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Q: I made the decision to follow Jesus this week, but what do I do when I go home? No one in my family is a Christian and I have no Christian friends. I don’t know how to even live for God. How can I live and grow as a Christian?

A: Wow. That’s tough. First of all, let me tell you that you are not alone. Jesus will follow you home, even though I can’t. “I [Jesus] am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) I can and will, however, pray for you and give you some tools to help.

So where do you start now in following Christ? If you’ve read the answer to “How can I be a Christian?” and “How can I know I’m really saved?”, you’ve read that your life will change when you trust Jesus for Salvation.

So how does it change? How do we know what to change? “Be imitators of God as dear children.” (Ephesians 5:1) According to this, we are to act like God and live as He would. How can we know what God is like and how to live like Him? By reading the Bible and obeying what we read! In learning to live for God, we can look to Jesus who is our ultimate example. He was God in the flesh and lived a perfect life of obedience to the Father. Hebrews 4:15 says “He was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus knows what it’s like to live on earth and be tempted to sin. He knows what it’s like to feel alone in following God. He’s gone through every pain and rejection and betrayal we go through, so He can perfectly sympathize with our weaknesses. Turn to Him for the strength, desire, and knowledge to live for Him!

Just like a baby needs milk to grow, Christians need the Bible. “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word that you may grow thereby.” (2 Peter 2:1) When we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin and show us how we can please God with our lives. He will teach us how to put our music, movies, TV, friends, etc. under God’s control. A great way to study the Bible is by reading a chapter or two every day and writing down one thing God teaches you through what you read and how you can live that out.

Another important step to growing as a Christian is by talking to God in prayer. “Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3) God listens and answers when we pray to Him! You don’t have to worry about having the right words when you pray to God. Just talk to Him as you would a friend. He wants to hear from you!

A third final step for growth is finding a good church and making good Christian friends. “And let us not forsake meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. But let us encourage each other...” (Hebrews 10:24-25) God knew we would need encouragement to keep living for Him, so He created the church. Church is a place where we can learn more about God as we hear His Word taught; make Christian friends who will encourage us to live for Him; serve God; praise and worship God; and pray for others and be prayed for ourselves. I know it will not always be possible to get to a church if your parents won’t take you, but try to find someone who will.

Is this how we are saved? By reading our Bible and trying to obey it, praying, and going to church? No! It’s only by trusting Jesus. “For by grace [God’s kindness] you have been saved through faith [trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin], and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God [we don’t save ourselves; He has already done all the work necessary for Salvation]-not of works lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) But then look what happens AFTER you trust Jesus- “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works…” (Ephesians 2:10)

Once we trust Jesus for Salvation, we begin to walk like him. Have you ever seen a baby learn to walk? This last year, I got the chance to nanny for a baby who learned to walk. When he took his first step, I didn’t scream and cheer, then tell him to stop trying to walk and go back to crawling. I encouraged him to keep trying to walk! He needed to be encouraged to keep learning how to walk, not how to go back to crawling. That’s what I encourage you to do!

So many people will try to tell you that the Christian walk or life is just one step-trusting Jesus for Salvation. They’ll try to tell you that you just need to pray a prayer and then you keep living your life however you were living before. But just like a baby learning to walk doesn’t just take one step and then go back to crawling, we have to keep taking steps to become more and more like Jesus. And just like a baby, we’ll fall sometimes, but should we stay down? No! Like a baby, we have to get back up! We can’t be perfect! That’s why we need Jesus to be perfect for us. But once we’ve trusted Jesus for Salvation, He gives us the strength to become more holy like Him.

How does He do this? Through the power of the Holy Spirit! When we trust Jesus for Salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. I John 4:13 says, "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." The Holy Spirit gives us the power and desire to obey God. He's the one who does the work in us, making us more like Jesus. When we realize just how great His love is for us and how it drove Him to make the ultimate sacrifice for us, loving Him becomes easier. Loving Him in action looks like loving the people He made, and loving the people He made looks like obeying His commands. But it all starts with what God does for us. We don't love God and others and obey Him to become a Christian and get to heaven; we love Him because He has saved us already. We are saved by trusting that Jesus' death on the cross was enough to get us to heaven, THEN we are driven to love God and live to please Him.

Questions Campers Ask Part 2- How do I get to heaven?

2011-03-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

Q: I believe in God and prayed a prayer asking Jesus to come into my heart. Isn’t that how I get to heaven? How do I become a Christian? What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?

A: There are many ways people think they can get to heaven, but just like only one key on your key ring can get you into your house, the Bible describes only one way to get to heaven. Let’s look at a couple ways people think they can go to heaven and the problems with them, then at what the Bible says is the only way to heaven.

Way#1- “Well, I believe God is real.”

Problem#1- Even Satan and demons (Satan’s followers who work evil in the world) believe in God and fear Him. “You believe there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and tremble!” (James 2:19) So if you’re trusting your belief in God to get you to heaven, sorry, that isn’t going to work!

Way#2- “I try to live a good life the way I’m sure Jesus did.”

Problem#2- That’s great that you try to live right, but even if you sin just one time, you are a sinner! “For whoever keeps the whole law and stumbles at just one point, he is guilty of breaking all of them.” (James 2:10) None of us is completely perfect. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned. That’s a huge problem, because the Bible says that God’s eyes are so holy, he cannot even look on sin. (Habakkuk 1:13) That means no one who sins can ever be allowed into heaven.

Way#3- “God is good! He will overlook my wrong things when he sees how many good things I’ve done. I really am a pretty good person!”

Problem#3- If a judge let a murderer go free because he was normally a pretty good person and was involved in all sorts of community service projects and loved his wife and kids and treated people with respect most of the time, would the judge really be a good judge? Absolutely not! In the same way, God cannot and will not overlook our wrong because of the good we have done. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)

Way#4- “I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I tell God so every night. Can’t he let me off the hook?”

Problem#4- Imagine if that same murderer stood before the judge and said he was sorry. Would the judge let him go? No! Justice has to be served! There must be punishment for wrongdoing. Maybe you’ve never murdered someone, but the Bible says hatred is as bad as murder. Lying, stealing, and dishonoring your parents is also just as bad. We all sin, and God’s goodness demands that justice must be done. Punishment must be given. What is the punishment that God’s law demands? “The soul that sins, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4) “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)

So what now? Is there no way to heaven? Must we all die and be separated from life with God for eternity? What does the Bible say IS the only way to heaven?

The only true way- “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6) God’s justice and goodness demand that punishment must be given. I deserve death. You deserve death. The only way to avoid that would be if someone perfect could die, taking our punishment. He’d have to be perfect, because if he wasn’t, he would only be dying to pay for his own sins. Enter Jesus. He lived the perfect life we should’ve lived, then died, taking the punishment we deserved. That would be like if the judge was about to give that murderer the death penalty, but another innocent man stepped in and offered to die in his place. That’s crazy! But Jesus did that for us.

So then, does this mean we’re all going to heaven and we don’t have to worry about any of this after all? No! When we are born, we are born sinners, on our way to hell. Imagine a long line. At one end is heaven and at the other is hell. We are born walking straight towards hell. Unless we change directions, we will die and wake up in an eternity separated from God.

Let me repeat that to make sure you got it: Unless you have turned from living for yourself in sinful rebellion against God to becoming a follower of Jesus, you will die and wake up separated from God forever.

So is Salvation something we do, then? No! Please don’t misunderstand. Salvation is all about what Jesus has already done for us. He lovingly laid down his life for us so He could offer us the FREE gift of eternal life. “For by grace [God’s kindness] you have been saved through faith [trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin], and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God [we don’t save ourselves; He has already done all the work necessary for Salvation]-not of works lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) Salvation is free, but we must accept the gift, and when we do, everything changes. We are no longer our own. We have a new master: God.

Listen to how David Platt explains this: “To be a follower of Christ means to come to an awareness of your sinful rebellion against God, and to see in Jesus the only substitute for your sins, and by His grace to turn from you rebellion against God and trust in him as the Lord and sovereign king over your life. And when that happens, then what Jesus says determines how you live. If you are a follower of Christ, living indifferent to the words of Christ is not an option. Some of you were told to pray a prayer and then you could live your life however you wanted and that’s what it means to be a Christian. If you came to Christ under that illusion, then biblically, you are not a Christian. You have not come to Christ at all. This is not what it means to be a follower of Christ. It is not possible to be a follower of Christ and be indifferent to what he says, because to be a follower of Christ, what he says determines how you live.”

Acknowledging Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life is not something to be entered lightly. Following Jesus is tough! “Jesus said to the crowds following Him, ‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." Luke 14:25-33

Jesus told the crowds to count the cost BEFORE coming to him, because following him includes way more than praying a prayer and showing up at church on Sundays. True Christians obey the commands in Scripture which call us to live radical lives, pouring ourselves out to serve the poor and hurting and reaching out to the entire world with the amazing news of the gospel regardless of how difficult, uncomfortable, or dangerous that may be.

This naturally leads to a couple more questions: How can I know if I’m truly a Christian? and How can I live and grow as a Christian?

Questions Campers Ask

2011-03-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking for a while about doing a series a blog posts on the good questions campers asked me this last summer and the great answers the Bible supplies, and I think I’m going to do it. No one (but me and the random people who get the ‘privilege’ of being told about my latest post that I think might actually pertain to them or who have the “luck” of clicking through the link I post on facebook) faithfully read this blog, so I think the real reason I need to do this is to keep myself accountable to keep writing and working on these questions.

I applied to counsel again this summer, and I have this crazy idea to make these into a booklet of questions and answers for reference, or to give campers. I want to somehow set it up so that, depending on your question, you jump in on a certain page. I want it to all run together and build on each other, but also have it separated by questions so you can read as little as you want. I still have to figure out the logical order for these questions. I think I want to end each question with options. Like, “the next questions this leads to are ________ and _________. Turn here to read _______ and here to read _____________. But each question would need at least one other question leading to it, and they’d still have to be in a logical order for those reading straight through. So yeah. I dunno. We shall see how it works out!

So for question number 1 (for now!):

Q: Once I’m a born again Christian, if I sin, will I still be a Christian, or should I pray to become a Christian again?

A: Once I’m born a human being, if I bark, will I become a dog and no longer a human being? No! That’s extremely silly!

If we look at what the Bible says about this question, we’ll find the same. I’ll type a few passages and a short explanation in brackets within the passage: “And I [Jesus] give them [believers] eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. [They are my followers whom I have given eternal life, and no one can take that from them.] My Father [God] who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. [God will keep true believers’ Salvation safe and secure because he is more powerful than anyone.]” (John 10:28-29)

“All that the Father [God] gives Me [Jesus] will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out. [Every person who God wants to trust Jesus, will obtain Salvation. Jesus will not send away anyone who wants to trust Him for Salvation.] For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. This is the will of the Father who sent me: that of all he has given me, [true believers] I should lose nothing, [none of them will be lost from trusting Jesus for Salvation] but should raise it up at the last day [I will raise them up to spend eternity with Me]. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise Him up at the last day. [This is why Jesus was on earth: to show himself to the world so they could trust in Him so he could raise them up at the end of the world, and give them eternal life.]” (John 6:37-40)

Bottom line: if you are truly trusting Jesus for Salvation and you sin, your Salvation is not permanently lost. Your joy and fellowship with Jesus will be lost for the moment until you repent, but you do not lose the gift of eternal life which Jesus has promised to you.

The Bible does, however, speak of those who fall away from the faith. These people never were truly Christians, but only pretended to be. Check out these verses: “They [fake Christians] went out from us [left the church of true believers; no longer claimed to be Christians], but they were not of us [they never really were Christians]; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us [if they had really ever been followers of Jesus, they would not/could not have left]; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. [God let them leave to show us they were not truly followers of Him]” I John 2:19 “But he who endures to the end will be saved [True Christians will endure to the end-death].” (Matthew 10:22)

If you are truly trusting Jesus for Salvation, don’t worry! God isn’t just gonna snap one day and say, “That’s it! She messed up one more time. No eternal life with Me for her. I’m cutting off her Salvation!” You don’t have to keep living in fear and praying every night for God to save you, or walking forward every year at camp to “accept Jesus” once again.

However, maybe you still need to be asking whether or not you’re truly a Christian, especially if you don’t see a change in your life from the time you “became a Christian” until now. The Bible NEVER describes becoming a follower of Jesus (a Christian) as praying a prayer, then living however you want because you can’t lose your Salvation. If you’re not a true Christian, you have a totally different problem to deal with.

This leads to two questions: How can I know if I’m truly a Christian? I believe in God and prayed a prayer asking Jesus comes into my heart. Isn’t that how I get and to heaven? How do I become a Christian? What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?

(Stay tuned for more!)

Radical or Rational? A lesson from Asa

2011-03-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

In the book of 2 Chronicles, amongst a long chronology of the kings of Judah and Israel and their accomplishments and/or defeats, we find an unusual story of a king named Asa with a challenging lesson for you and me-the church in America today. The first verse that introduces us to Asa states that “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord His God.” [2 Chronicles 14:2] The passage goes on to list his accomplishments: Removing the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, breaking down the sacred pillars and wooden images, commanding Judah to seek the Lord and obey His commandments, building fortified cities, enjoying long rest from war, remaining loyal to God all his days, bringing gold and silver into the temple, and removing his mother from being queen mother because of the obscene image of the false god Asherah she had made. By all accounts, he begins to appear to be a perfect king. But the Bible has confined all under sin, so we read on in Asa’s story to see what it was that brought his downfall.

In 2 Chronicles 14:9 we read that Zerah the Ethiopian came out against Judah with an army including one million men, 300 on chariots. Unfortunately for Asa, his own army was only 580,000 strong and there is no mention in Scripture of his army having any chariots at all. The fact that his army was only slightly bigger than half the Ethiopians’ did not cause Asa’s faith to waiver at all. Instead we find the following incredible prayer as Asa’s response to the formidable odds before him.
“And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “LORD, it is nothing for you to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on you, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; do not let this multitude prevail against You!” 2 Chronicles 14:11

Asa acknowledged his insufficiencies and God’s incredible sufficiency. “This is nothing for you, God!” he declared. “We have no power, but you do, and we trust You to prevail against this army for your own glory and fame!” Asa’s trust was not misplaced, and God pulled through, performing a miracle. “The Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled…So the Ethiopians were overthrown and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord.” [2 Chronicles 14:12-13]

The temptation could’ve arisen at this point to take the glory for the victory himself and forget that it was God who brought about this turn of events, but we read the opposite. At the prophet Azariah’s urging, Asa brought the people together for a sacrifice including seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they received from the battle. Then Asa and all Judah made a covenant with God to seek him with all their desire. 2 Chronicles 15:15 tells us that, “all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them.” Incredible. The king and all the people wholeheartedly seeking God. What an amazing point in history!

Unfortunately, Asa’s story does not end there. “In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha, king of Israel, came up against Judah.” No biggie, right? Asa’s dealt with war before. He’s seen God pull through for him against staggering odds. Yet rather than another incredible prayer, we read that Asa removes silver and gold from the treasury of the house of the Lord and hires the king of Syria (Judah’s enemies who worshipped false gods and whom Asa should’ve wanted to destroy) to turn against Baasha. Wait, what? Yeah. As we read on, the plan actually works, and Baasha leaves Judah alone. But God is not pleased with the way Asa has handled this. “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro across the face of the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore, from now on, you shall have wars.”

Rather than repenting from his wrong deed, Asa lashed out in anger and threw the prophet who had delivered this message to him into prison. Does Asa ever change his mind and turn back to seeking the Lord? 2 Chronicles includes one more short instance that may provide insight into this. “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.” If Asa’s heart changed, the Bible does not mention it. It does, however, mention that he died two years later. “They buried him in his own tomb, which he had made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him on the bed filled with spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made a very great burning for him.”

Funerals in O.T. times were very different from those today, but imagine with me for a moment that Asa had the equivalent of a modern day funeral. Imagine that someone stood up to give the eulogy. I’m sure they would’ve listed all his accomplishments achieved in his early years as king. But then what would they do? Would they pause and admit that Asa’s heart turned from fully trusting God in the twenty-one years of peace God gave him? Would they admit that it was because of Asa’s trust in man rather than God that their country was now plagued by wars? Or would all sitting in attendance simply think all these things while they voiced praise for his accomplishments?

As I think these thoughts, my heart is forced to wonder what will be said at my own funeral? I've been thinking a lot lately about death and eternity. I'm not really sure when it started. I guess maybe it's been longer than lately. My high school campers dubbed "and then you die" as my phrase of the week. But it's true, I guess. We live and do a few petty things, mostly for ourselves, and then we die.
I guess death just normally pops up in my conversations because, well because, life IS short. I WILL die and have a funeral someday. And at my funeral everything will be said in past tense. Past tense. My last chance to make a difference on earth will be gone. Forever.

What will people say at my funeral? What do I want them to say? How do I wanna be remembered? What do I hope to accomplish by then? "What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time, then vanishes away."

It's strange to think that I'm only one tiny heartbeat away from eternity- one heartbeat away from leaving my life work of service to my Savior to finally meet Him face-to-face. I’m going to be dead so much longer than I’m going to be alive, so why do I so often find myself acting like this life is all there is? Like this life is all that counts? What am I doing now that will matter when I’m dead?

Did Asa ask himself these questions? Was this what spurred him on to put his full trust in God and step out in faith under crazy circumstances where he would certainly fail if God did not show up? Maybe. But what happened? What turned Asa from wholeheartedly seeking and trusting in the Lord, to turning to his enemies and doctors for help? Did his heart grow cold from apathy in the twenty-one long years of peace where he had no need to jump out in radical, crazy faith, trusting God? Was it the good times of comfort and peace that turned Asa’s heart from the Lord?

I see a similar pattern in my own way I relate to God. When things were comfortable and safe, Asa wandered from the Lord. I myself am tempted to step away from God like I don’t need him when things feel “safe” and “easy”. (Should a Christian’s life be characterized by those words? More on that in a minute.) Almost like, “It’s ok, God; I’ve got this. Step back and watch.” I might not say the words, but I live them when I’m not fully relying on His strength and grace every second of every day. That’s so foolish. Without him supplying every breath I breathe, I would not be here.

We all have a propensity for doing the same, so it’s easy to sympathize with Asa. When things got tough, he turned to people. I can almost imagine him rationalizing, “Sure, I’ve seen God work in crazy amazing ways before. But that was a while ago. What if he doesn’t show up this time? What would my people think of God and me if God didn’t decide to help us this time? They would lose faith in God, and they would lose faith in me. God, I don’t want to test you like this. I have to get help where I know I can get it, and I have to do whatever needs to be done (even if it means stealing from you, God, and enlisting your enemies to help me) to ensure that I keep the people you have entrusted to me safe.”

So which was crazier: Stepping out in faith when the Ethiopians attacked, or not stepping out in faith when Israel did? In our minds, seeing the end of the story, we say that not stepping out was the stupider choice. But how many times every day do we do the same? How many times do we rationalize (form rational lies) staying in our comfort zones, doing what is safe and easy when God has called us to far more?

“God, I don’t want to test you. This isn’t easy! I can’t do this! What if I really tried to do this and trusted you and told other people I was trusting you for this, and you didn’t show up? That would be a terrible representation of you to the world!”

“God, what if this isn’t REALLY your will, and so you won’t help me? This is crazy impossible! I would be cleaning up this mess for the rest of my life! Everyone would see and think I was crazy, and no one would ever view me as a responsible Christian adult again.”

“God you have entrusted my children to me for safe-keeping. I have to keep them safe at all costs! If I send them to this school or this country, they MIGHT be able to share you with the world, but they could lose their faith or be killed! I’m responsible for them God. I know I can’t protect them from everything, but you tell us to do our part, and my part is keeping them safe at home, isn’t it?”

“God, I could die if I went to that foreign country for you. Wouldn’t you rather I be alive and live for you here in my church? I have so many ministries here that I can’t jeopardize losing. I send money to support missionaries. Can’t they just share you to the world? You don’t really want me to give up my career and risk my life there when I’m doing so much good here, do you?”

“God, I can barely support myself and my family, and you want me to support the poor and the orphans and widows? Isn’t that a foolish financial choice? I’m already giving you 10%. Isn’t that enough?”

“God, don’t you want me to be happy? If I give this up to follow you, I won’t be happy. You must not want me to give THIS up, right?”

“God, when you said we are to leave our family, give up everything , feed the poor, care for orphans, spread the gospel to the whole world, and be hated by all to follow you, you couldn’t have been talking to EVERY Christian, just those special ones you call to do those things. I just don’t feel called, God! Show me a sign!”

Do you recognize these 'rational lies'? Do you believe them? They all include moving away from what is dangerous, difficult and uncomfortable. But does the Bible describe the life of a follower of Jesus as safe, easy and comfortable? I’ve recently been challenged by what it means to live as a follower of Christ. So often sharing the gospel comes down to, “We all sin. Sin keeps us from God. God can’t have sin in heaven. Jesus died to pay the price for our sin, then rose three days later, defeating death. If we trust what Jesus did to be enough to pay for our sins and get us to heaven, God will forgive our sin and take us to heaven when we die. So pray and tell God all this if you want to go to heaven.” Yes, that’s the gospel, but one important ingredient is left out: the radical repentance and change that occurs in the life of true believers as a result of a real encounter with Jesus. Here’s what Jesus said to the crowds following Him:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." Luke 14:25-33

Jesus told the crowds to count the cost BEFORE coming to him, because following him includes way more than praying a prayer and showing up at church on Sundays. True Christians obey the commands in Scripture which call us to live radical lives, pouring ourselves out to serve the poor and hurting and reaching out to the entire world with the amazing news of the gospel regardless of how difficult, uncomfortable, or dangerous that may be. Listen to how David Platt explains these verses:

“If you are a follower of Christ, living indifferent to the words of Christ is not an option. Some of you were told to pray a prayer and then you could live your life however you wanted and that’s what it means to be a Christian. If you came to Christ under that illusion, then biblically, you are not a Christian. You have not come to Christ at all. This is not what it means to be a follower of Christ. To be a follower of Christ means to come to an awareness of your sinful rebellion against God, and to see in Jesus the only substitute for your sins, and by His grace to turn from you rebellion against God and trust in him as the Lord and sovereign king over your life. And when that happens, then what Jesus says determines how you live. Therefore, it is not possible to be a follower of Christ and be indifferent to what he says, because to be a follower of Christ, what he says determines how you live.

“If you want to avoid a hard life, danger, persecution, and being hated and betrayed, avoid following Christ. If we continue to feed ourselves comfort, safety and pleasures, we will miss following Christ. Following Christ will cost you everything. “And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 10:22

“As you seek to follow Christ with everything, fear will tempt you, but remember: God will take care of you. Look to Christ and death where we will get God. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”(Matthew 10:28) What’s the worst thing that can happen to us? They kill us? The only way that comforts us is if we have already died to ourselves. The apostles feared men so little because they feared God so much. Take the ultimate risk and you will receive the ultimate reward. This is not a call to gloom-it’s a call to being smart.”

Asa’s original choice to trust God and step out in radical faith was smart. After all, what was the worst that could happen? He could be killed. But even if he was killed, he would get God! Asa feared and trusted the One who could destroy the body and soul in hell rather than those who could only kill his body. But after years of comfort and safety, reaping the fruit of that smart choice, Asa made an unwise choice, one I’m afraid most of the church in America is making-a choice to fear and trust people rather than God.

Jesus’ last command before ascending to heaven was for us to go into all the world, sharing the gospel. There are 6.7 billion people in the world. Of those, only 1/3
claim to be Christians. This means there are at least 4.5 billion people in the world who do not claim to know Christ and are on their way to eternal hell where the cry of their torment never ends. The Bible describes hell as a lake of fire, away from the presence of God and anything good. If we truly believe hell is a real place and there are millions who have never even heard the name of Christ, something has to change. Jesus told his followers to go where there was great need and great danger. He warned them that they would be hated, betrayed and persecuted. They would suffer and be persecuted. But in the end, they would get God. They would hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord!”

So I guess this all comes down to a choice we have to make for ourselves every day. Do we really believe what God says it means to follow Him? Will we learn a lesson from Asa and step out in reckless faith-crazy faith that needs God to step in and save the day or all will be lost; or will we stick with what is comfortable, easy, and safe and lose the nearness to God that is the result of throwing ourselves completely at his feet, trusting in his mercy?

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope.” Romans 15:4

Unexpected blessing=yet another God story

2011-02-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

Do you ever get really upset cuz things seem to be going the exact opposite of the way you wanted them to go, and you look for the good in the situation and can't find any, cuz the thing that's going wrong should be something God wants to go right? So you resign yourself to the fact that He's trying to teach you patience and that things won't always go the way you planned and that's why heaven will be so grand. Well, that's what I was doing Friday afternoon. I ordered some guitar strings that I was going to use to replace mine because they were LITERALLY falling apart. Literally. No big deal, right? Well, I was going to order them from Amazon, cuz that's what I normally do (ok, I've actually only replaced them once in four years, and that was three years ago), but then I decided to get some picks at the same time, and Amazon didn't have the ones I wanted. Soooo, Google helped me find this amazing website that did which ALSO ended up having free shipping and a 2-7 day delivery guarantee. This made me quite happy because I wanted to replace those strings before they broke on me (plus, their quality was really poor by this point), and I was playing at a retreat at Barakel a week and a half later and needed to be sure to have them.

Obviously, you can see where this story is going. Wednesday was the latest delivery date for them, but Wednesday also happened to be the day we got dumped on with the blizzard of the decade. So I held my breath for Thursday aaaand...nope, no strings. The really frustrating thing was that I was supposed to have a tracking number for the package which my confirmation email said was shipped through UPS, but when I tried to click on the confirmation number link to track it, it took me to the USPS website, and neither website had any record of my package.

Friday came and I NEEDED those strings. All day I kept checking the front porch for a package, but sadly, opening the front door every five minutes didn't make the package appear. All day long I kept telling God that I was leaving at three and needed those strings so I could serve Him with BEAUTIFUL music, and all day, I also began preparing myself for the moment I knew I would have to leave and accept that God was teaching me patience, and the undependability of man's word, but the faithfulness of His and how great it will be in heaven some day to not have to wait for new instrument strings to be delivered so I can best praise Him.

I THOUGHT the best ending to the story would be getting all our luggage loaded into the car and beginning to pull down the driveway, but being stopped by a delivery truck at the end of our driveway, but God actually had a better ending for me. Not only did I learn patience and get a reason to look more towards heaven, I also got a bit more. Sunday after I returned from the retreat (and still no strings), I called the company who found a DIFFERENT tracking number and told me the strings had been in Lansing an entire week before. Hmmm. The lady I spoke to told me they must've gotten lost in the mail, and that she'd send me some new ones free of charge with overnight shipping for my inconvenience, although it hadn't been their fault. That was really, really cool! BUT that's not the end of the story.

Today, my dad brought me in a package from the mail from that company-the first package that was in Lansing almost two weeks ago. Sooo, I called the company letting them know that I now have two packages of strings and two packets of picks. Here's the cool part-I get to keep them for free! Thank you, God! He worked out a better ending than I could've imagined. Now I have an extra set on hand in case something happens to these, and I don't even have to pay for them! God is so good!

This morning when I went to replace the strings, two of my bridge pins snapped, so I have to replace them. (I was pretty upset at first cuz I didn't know if I could get replacement parts, and I didn't know how to get the rest of the pins that had snapped off halfway inside the guitar out, but my dad was able to get them out with a SPOON, and I found some higher quality ones for a cheap price.) I chose to use the same wonderful company. They said the pins are backordered one day, but they should arrive and be able to be sent out within two days. It's ok if they don't though, cuz if God has another lesson to teach me in patience, I think I'm even more ready to learn!

N.T. Reflections- Matthew 7

2011-01-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

“'Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

'Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" Matthew 7:15-23

Reading these verses reminded me of a story a speaker from Barakel told this last summer. (I'm not sure if this story is true. I just know it was effective, and a very good illustration.) There was a couple with a small baby that they loved very dearly. They had been told for many years that they could not have children, so it was with great surprise and joy that they discovered they were pregnant. When the baby was born, they never wanted to leave her with anyone else. They bought her all the best things, and surrounded her with every type of toy imaginable. As time wore on, people advised them to get out and leave their baby with someone else. Finally one day, they decided it was time to leave their child in the care of another, so they interviewed dozens of prospective babysitters, finally chose one, and made plans to spend a few hours together on a Friday night. The night arrived, and the couple lathered their baby in kisses and left. The whole time they were gone, they couldn't enjoy themselves, worrying about what could be happening with their baby. Finally after an hour, they headed home. As they entered their neighborhood, they heard sirens and saw smoke rising from their block. As they drew closer, they realized that it was THEIR home that was on fire. Frantically, they raced to their home and up to the group of firefighters. One was just stumbling out of the building, and they saw with relief that he was holding a baby-sized bundle wrapped in a blanket. As the firefighter emerged from the house, the entire building collapsed in flames behind him. The parents rushed over to the firefighter. "It's ok," he reassured them. "The babysitter told me about the baby, and I have your little girl." With tears of relief and sobs of thank you, the parents took the precious little bundle from the firefighter and unwrapped it...only to find a lifesize doll wrapped in their baby's blanket.

The firefighter got something that looked like the real thing, but wasn't really truly what he thought he had. In the judgment day many people will say to Jesus, "I am your child because I did good things for you!" But Jesus will only say, "You got something that looked like me, not me. Eternal life is knowing me."

Paul exhorts us in Second Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—" So how can we know whether we really 'have Christ' or just have somehing that looks like him? I John is an excellent book to look in for the answer to this question, since it claims that it is written to those who believe, so they may KNOW for certain that they have eternal life. "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." (I John 5:13) 'Know' is a key word in this book and is used 42 times.

First John has three tests for those who want to know whether they're saved: The doctrine test, the moral test, and the love test. We'll take a quick look at what John said about each test, then I have a link to a short video of a pastor explaining all this way better than I ever could.

First test: The doctrine test. Do I believe Jesus is God and also the Messiah, the Son of God sent to die for my sin? "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." I John 5:1 "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah]? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. If what you heard from the begining abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father, And this is the promise he has promised us-eternal life." (I John 2:22,24-25) "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." (I John 4:15) What's so significant about believing Jesus is God and also the Messiah? If Jesus was not fully God, He would not have been perfect. If He had not been perfect, His death would mean nothing to us: it would have no saving power. The only reason Jesus could pay for our sins, is because he had none of his own to pay for. Had he not been God and been a sinner, his death would have been what He deserved, and He would not have been able to be the substitute sacrifice for our sins. But what's this about a Messiah? Why do we have to believe that? The Messiah or Christ was the one God had promised since Adam who would come and die in the people's place, ending the animal sacrifices which were only a symbol of Jesus. If we don't believe Jesus was truly the Messiah, the one whose death paid for our sin so we don't have to, then we end up trying to pay our own way to heaven by being good enough, and that won't work. If I do not believe Jesus is God and Jesus is the Messiah who paid the punishment I deserved for my sins, I am not a Christian.

Second test: The Moral Test. Do I see a change in my desires and the way I live my life that has come as a result of what I believe about who Jesus is? "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar...But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk as He walked." (I John 2:3-6) "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God." (I John 3:9-10) I taught these verses every Saturday morning at camp this last summer. I always said that the key word in these last two verses was 'practice'. If you are practicing volleyball and try to serve the ball, and it hits the volleyball net and doesn't go over, it would be a dumb thing for me to say, "Oh, you must be playing basketball!" I can tell what you're practicing no matter how many times you mess up. In the same way, it should be clear in your life what you are practicing: sin or righteousness, no matter how many times you mess up. Check your desires. What is your deeper desire: to sin and enjoy the fun in it, or to please God and enjoy the lasting joy we will have in heaven? Does sin bother you or make you happy? One speaker this summer used the anology of what pigs and kittens do after you clean them. A pig jumps right back into the mud. He loves mud! But a kitten tries to stay clean, and even if she does get dirty, she cleans herself as quickly as possible. Same with a Christian and someone who is not a Christian. Someone who has not trusted Jesus for Salvation loves sin and has no desire to follow God and "stay clean", while those who HAVE trusted Jesus are those who John talks about in 3:3 "Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He [Jesus] is pure." If I do not see a change in my desires and the way I live my life that has come as a result of who I believe Jesus is, I am not a Christian.

Third Test: The Love Test. Does the way I live my life show that I have real, sacrificial love for others? "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." (I John 4:20) "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death." (I John 3:14) "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (I John 4:7-8) "My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in action and in truth." (I John 3:18) These verses aren't just talking about saying we love people according to this last verse; they're asking us to show and PROVE we love them by our actions. Love is loving people even when it hurts us or even when they're different from us. But what does that really mean? How can we do that? God gave us all these commands we're supposed to follow AND on top of that He wants us to love people? Actually, the reason God gives commands in the Bible is just to explain what it means to love Him and love others. The first four of the 10 commandments teach us how to love God, and the last six teach us how to love others. Jesus taught this is Matthew 22:36-40 when he said that the greatest commandment is to love God, and the second greatest is to love others, then He said that all the laws in the Old Testament and things the prophets said are summed up by those two laws. John agrees-"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." (I John 5:2-3) If I do not see new love for others and love for God in my life as a result of what I believe about Jesus, I am not a Christian.

When testing ourselves by the love and moral tests, we have to make sure to look at our desires (does sin make us happy or bother us?) and what we're 'practicing', since no once can follow God perfectly. How can we even follow God at all? I certainly don't have the strength to obey Him and love others. I John has the answer again! (If you couldn't tell before now, I love this book!) "We love Him because He first loved us. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." (I John 4:9-11, 16, 19)

God's requirement for anyone to get to heaven is that they must live a perfect life. Unfortunately for us, we all mess up. But God loved us so much, He provided a way out of that mess- He sent Jesus! Jesus lived the perfect live we should've lived, then died a painful death, taking the punishment we deserved. Now if we trust His payment for our sin to be enough to get us to heaven, then turn from sin to follow Him, He will give us eternal life AND the desire and strength to follow and obey Him.

How does He do this? Through the power of the Holy Spirit! When we trust Jesus for Salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. I John 4:13 says, "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." The Holy Spirit gives us the power and desire to obey God. He's the one who does the work in us, making us more like Jesus. When we realize just how great His love is for us and how it drove Him to make the ultimate sacrifice for us, loving Him becomes easier. Loving Him in action looks like loving the people He made, and loving the people He made looks like obeying His commands. But it all starts with what God does for us. We don't love God and others and obey Him to become a Christian and get to heaven, we love Him because He has saved us already. We are saved by trusting that Jesus' death on the cross was enough to get us to heaven, THEN we are driven to love God and live to please Him.

The word Christian means "little Christ." Christians are followers of God who look like little Christs. Here's what Jesus said about following Him:

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." Luke 14:25-33

Following Christ (being a Christian) is difficult. It requires sacrifice. But it is SO worth it, and it will be even more worth it when we finally reach heaven.

N.T. Reflectons- Matthew 1

2011-01-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

"Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah." Matthew 1:5-6

Every time I read the names in this section of the geneaology of Jesus, I am just amazed by the people and events God included in the ancestral line of Jesus. Rahab was a harlot. Ruth was not born a Jew, but grew up worshipping false gods. David committed adultery with Bathsheba (Solomon's mother) and killed her husband to cover his sin. Yet God used them all to bring His Son into the world. Why? Ultimately the answer lies in God's great grace, and the power of God's forgiveness based on their repentance.

Rahab's redemption began with fear of the God of the Israelites. She heard stories of the mighty wonders He had done for His children, and decided she'd rather be on this God's side and risk punishment or death from her government than be against this all-powerful God and be crushed anyways. Her fear led to faith, and her faith led to action- hiding the Israelite spies and sending them safely away. So great was her faith in the power of this God, that she risked everything to serve Him, and consequently her life was saved, she became part of the line of Jesus, and she is even mentioned in Hebrews 11- the hall of faith heroes.

Ruth's story of change begins with unusual circumstances. Elimilech and his family left their home in Bethlehem to travel to Moab, a city outside of God's promise land. Jewish law stated that this was not allowed unless buying and selling food became impossible. Nevertheless, Elimilech disobeyed God and moved there, taking his wife Naomi and two sons Mahlon and Chilion. While there, his two sons married Moabities (Ruth and Orpah), which was also against Hebrew law. Yet when Elimilech, Mahlon, and Chilion all died in Moab and Naomi left to return to Bethlehem, Ruth (although no longer bound by law to Naomi, and having received Naomi's blessing to remarry and stay in Moab) chose to go with Naomi so she could provide for her. "Your people will be my people," she declared, "and your God my God." We all know the rest of the story of how, in providing for Naomi, she meets Boaz, a relative in line to marry her and buy the family land. Ruth's choice of loyalty to Naomi and decision to leave her people and gods to serve Naomi and follow the God of Israel, although seeming to mean sacrifice for her, resulted in great blessing, and the placement of her into the line of Jesus.

David was called a man after God's own heart. But this certainly doesn't mean he never messed up. The most embarrassing sin that he wished to cover up was the one God chose to expose and use to bring Himself glory. David fell in love with a woman named Bathsheba while watching her bathe from his rooftop. Although he was warned that she was married, he sent and had her brought to his home where he lay with her. After discvering she was pregnant by him, he devised a plan to get rid of her husband so he could marry her and cover up the fact that he had gotten her pregnant when they weren't married. But God wasn't fooled. He sent the prophet Nathan to David to confront him of his sin in front of a whole courtyard of people. But rather than wallow in guilt, David was repentant and had godly sorrow over his sin, and thus we now have Psalm 51, the most beautiful prayer of repentance recorded in the Bible. The child Bathsheba bore did not live, but God sent her another child through David- Solomon, who became a part of the line of Jesus.

With all three of these people we see a life of sin, running away from God, but then we see a change- a turn towards following Him and away from sin. We see God's grace and powerful forgiveness in these lives as he redeems stories that would be hopeless without Him, and turns them into masterpieces from which he can showcase His glory.

But what if Rahab had feared the people of her city more than she feared God? What if Ruth had stayed inside her comfort zone with people and gods she knew? What if David had denied his sin or not taken it seriously that he had offended the God of the universe? Would God have been able to use their story for his glory?

Am I doing the same? Am I hindering God's work through my life by living in fear of others, staying inside my comfort zone, or not taking sin seriously? If so, what am I going to do about it? By God's grace, may MY response be the same as Rahab, Ruth and David- repentance and surrender to the God who can give any story true meaning and purpose, and a beautiful ending!

I miss...

2010-09-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

I miss camp.

I miss green apple slushies (without the lid) on paddle boat one-on-ones when junior highers apathetically claimed they “didn't care” what we did on our one-on-one so I get my way and we ended up in the middle of the lake where I could best concentrate on what they were saying.

I miss praying for God to give me love for my campers, then being (stupidly) shocked when He provided love every time.

I miss rubbing the back of a sobbing, homesick camper as I prayed with them or read them to sleep. I miss the hugs and tears and prayers and victory God gave.

I miss late night talks in the lobby of the cabin with the few brave campers who dared to venture out of bed with all other campers watching to come to me with questions about God and how to know Him.

I miss questions. “Is Jesus' last name Christ?” “How can I know if I'm truly a Christian?” “How can I follow God and live for Him?” “What must I do to be saved?” “How do we know God didn't create aliens on a far off planet?” “How do you know God is real?” “How can I trust God when my dad yells at me when He's drunk? Doesn't God see and care?” “If God loves everyone, does He love Satan, too?” “What does it look like to be a Christian?” “What if nothing changes when I go home and I can't live like a Christian even though I've trusted Jesus as my Savior this week?” “I have all these worries and fears...what do I do with them?”

I miss praying with campers in “prayer thumb” circles-at our meeting spot before meals and chapels, in the woods with a terrible bloody nose, at their bunks at night, in the lobby late at night, at two in the morning when they couldn't sleep, again at four in the morning when they still couldn't sleep, in the middle of the lake on a boat, in a circle before a game, in a circle with another tribe after winning the merit race, with a sister counselor before new campers arrived, in counselor circle...

I miss my campers who truly, truly loved God and desired to know Him more, and “sneakily” read their Bibles during cabin time.

I miss my campers who were searching for truth and asked all the right questions, yet never chose to make a decision in my presence.

I miss my first week tribe who patiently bore with me when I didn't know how to start a fire and ended up eating cold hot dogs.

I miss the way campers looked up to me as if I was some huge, spiritual giant that they wanted to emulate. I miss the way it humbled me and made me point them to Jesus who is the only perfect example of obedience to the Father.

I miss being the obnoxiously loud tribe.

I miss singing (and hearing!) 1 John 1:3-6 EVERYWHERE and at ALL times.

I miss not knowing how to be a good counselor, and feeling completely helpless, and being forced to completely rely on God, then see Him work miraculously and answer pray every time.

I miss junior campers who said the most HILARIOUS things! “What kind of pine tree do you think this is?” “A porcupine tree?”

I miss my tribe that begged to be read missionary stories.

I miss the tribe that utterly FAILED at anything even remotely close to being sports related, then made up cheers about being losers, complete with pyramids and other cheer maneuvers.

I miss the tribe that loved toasters...

I miss going to chapel every night and hearing God's Word be opened and taught.

I miss camp songs.

I miss my first week of counseling when I got a fish hook in my finger, had to leave camp to get a tetanus shot, had a clingy, homesick camper, got sick, and couldn't get the fire started on the cook out.

I miss campers' incessant questions and sneakily deceiving me into trying to tell them my age before Monday morning.

I miss teaching 1 John 1:3-6 in tribe talks every morning.

I miss smearing ketchup on some poor, unsuspecting campers' face every week on our action huddle.

I miss firebowl- the part of the week when I suddenly realized that all of my prayers and talks actually came to fruition, and God DID work, even though I couldn't always see it.

I miss asking my campers to pray for the overnight fires every week by name.

I miss sharing the gospel in every tribe talk, on every one-on-one and throughout every day, especially when someone shouted, “That's not fair!” The gospel is NOT fair, praise God!

I miss sitting in the lobby at night, talking to my sister counselor about our tribes and the gospel, and being angry at Satan and saddened for the eyes of campers whom he has blinded, then going to bed BEGGING God to unblind their eyes and let them see and understand their need for the glorious gospel and our wonderful Savior.

I miss the schedule and the routine and the “beautifully choreographed dance” that is the Camp Barakel system.

I miss the East Side.

I miss the feeling I always got right before I got a new tribe of campers-the sick nervousness that wore off into excitement as the summer went on.

I miss the MUD PIT!

I miss the “thrill” of acting on Barakel's Got Talent.

I miss the tech who could always memorize my campers' names before I could.

I miss sending campers out on TAWG during high school week.

I miss dramatically maneuvering my way through the Wonderful Wacky Wild World of the Barakel Wecandoits, and hearing my campers squeal in fear after a “sighting” of the Wecandoit creatures who like to pull you deep into their holes when you least expect it!

I miss painting my face with charcoal.

I miss the good conversations that happened around the fires on Thursday night.

I miss the fellowship with other counselors who loved God and loved their campers.

I miss being soaked in the Tug-o-matic EVERY week I was on E.S., and the campers who would apologize before they started pulling since they already knew I would get wet.

I miss being able to be as loud and fun and crazy and dramatic as I wanted, cuz campers loved it, and that was part of my job description.

I miss singing campers to sleep at night, then singing them awake again in the morning.

I miss losing my flip flops in the mud pit every week on East Side.

I miss over-obsessively head counting my campers.

I miss regularly scheduled meals.

I miss scaring my campers with the prospect of any love note they wrote being turned in to Jeremy Linsley and being read aloud to the counselors the following week, then seeing the thought process unfold in their heads as they chose to wisely avoid boys for the week.

I miss the “long” walks out to our cookout or campout and feeding campers “power pellets” to keep them moving.

Washington, D.C.

2009-11-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

I thought I should write up a little summary (as if any summary can be little with me) of my trip to D.C. so I could share it with you all, so here it is-Enjoy!

First of all, before I start, I should say this: I've had three dreams for as long as I can remember. First- To participate in a major Bible memorization competition. Second- To visit Washington D.C. Third- (This dream not for as long) To meet one of my online friends I met through the forums on the CBH Ministries website four years ago.

K, so anyways, that out of the way. Wednesday morning, November 4, my family woke up at 3:30 AM to leave our house at four. We all piled into our van (my friend Susanna got to come with us. I was SO excited!) which had luggage packed to the ceiling, under the seats, and on our laps. We’d had the brilliant idea of borrowing my sister's GPS for the trip, and after we'd traveled for a half hour (yes, we DO live in the middle of nowhere) the satellites finally started picking up reception.

So far so good...

Well, not really...my brother James came down with a bad cold (fever, headache, etc.) the day before we left, and my brother Matthew woke up that morning with it. But life must go on, and we still headed off to D.C.

As the day wore on, I began to start developing a headache. I had slept literally an hour or two the night before at best, so I felt exhausted, too, but I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to just study, study, study so I didn't do terribly in testing the next day! My headache kept getting worse, but I kept studying. I was almost to the end of the second category passages, and had just begun quoting I Peter 3:9-12 when things started getting crazy.

We were about 20 minutes from the J.W. Marriott hotel when we found another van headed to The National Bible Bee. When the highway split, they went one way, and we the other. Ahhh, the GPS found a shortcut for us, right?

Ummm…

Yeaaa….

We found ourselves in some woods. Interesting for just outside our nation's capital. Theeeeennnn we started nearing the city (somehow I doubt we took a "shortcut") and the GPS lost satellite completely.

IN D.C.

IT LOST SATELLITE!

Apparently it doesn't do too well around tall buildings. So now we're lost, and when it finally DOES get signal, it says, "Recalculating!" over and over again as it tries to get us back to where we need to be. When we finally DID get back on track, there was this whole roundabout thing where we kept getting off at the wrong exit and of course the GPS could be heard "Recalculating" again!

Finally, we arrived at our destination...or so the GPS told us. There was just one slight problem- there was NO hotel, especially not the J.W. Marriott, where we were. That’s when we figured out we were really lost. My dad was getting REALLY annoyed by the constant "recalculating" at this point, AND the heavy traffic was NOT helping things, especially all the crazy D.C. drivers!

So as we're stopped at a traffic light, my mom rolls down the window and tries to get directions from this random security guard which D.C. seems to have PLENTY of. He told her to call information and ask for the hotel number.
Meanwhile, two things are happening. One: My sister Alisha has called my sister-in-law Laura who happens to be at home near a computer that can easily access maps. Two- my brother Matthew starts shouting, I guess a little louder than he's been the last few hours, that he needs a bathroom NOW!

So taxis are honking their horns, the GPS is recalculating, Mom's on the phone with the hotel, Alisha's on the phone with Laura, Matthew's shouting that he NEEDS a bathroom, and I'm STILL trying to get through I Peter 3:9-12.

Dad decided to stop in the MIDDLE of the street to let Matthew out (and just decides to stay there as traffic maneuvers around us), Mom got a NEW address from the hotel (apparently, we somehow had the zip code where the address number was supposed to be?) and Laura finds a D.C. map.

Yay! Happy ending, right?

Uh, yea...sure...NOT!!!

NOW the GPS is saying, "Turn right here," and Laura with a map is saying, "Turn left here."

AHHHHH!

An hour and a half later (I'll spare u the rest of the details) we arrived at the hotel. Dad dropped my mom and I off so we could register, cuz if I wasn't registered by a certain time, I was automatically eliminated from the competition. We walk inside and, lol, I don’t know if I can describe the scene I met...The lobby was immaculate-the chandeliers were the size of our van. BUT it's not the chandeliers I noticed first. It was the HOMESCHOOLERS! How do I know they were all homeschooled?

Well, clue number one was the fact that all the girls were wearing floor-length dresses.

Clue number two was that their hair fell past their waist...

Clue number three...well, they were all knitting.

Clue four…they all had ten kids. Ok not all, but it seemed like it! I felt like it was attack of the homeschool conservatives on this ritzy upscale hotel! And now I was suddenly feeling intimidated by the fact that I’d had dreams about such homeschoolers putting me to terrible shame at the Bible Bee!

I will have to say, though, that while the atmosphere was entirely conservative, and while I was afraid most of the contestants would be forced into this by their parents, the group was amazing. Every contestant I talked to was entirely THRILLED to be there and infatuated with the Bible.

We registered then left to go back to the van cuz my dad and brothers were staying across the Potomac River in Virginia cuz of the price difference. We got them settled in, then they drove us back.

Remember the GPS?

We relied on it for directions again...

Bad, bad, bad idea...

Next thing we knew, we were lost AGAIN! Funny thing...poor Matthew needed the bathroom AGAIN! So after a thousand "recalculating"s and random stopping on street corners to try to find a bathroom we FINALLY made it to the hotel.

Now I need to explain something else. My mom HATES the thought of eating out, so whenever we go anywhere, we bring our own food. We had two LARGE coolers, and about 5? 6? totes full of food. PLUS all our suitcases. We overflowed two bellhop carts AND all our arms were full. We eventually managed to get our luggage upstairs.

Remember my headache? It never left, but steadily got worse. After seeing all those homeschoolers, I was now studying with urgency, but after a little while, I couldn't even think, my head hurt so badly. At eight I went to bed, setting my alarm for 5:15 AM, and praying for God to take away my headache, allow me to sleep, and give me peace.

I woke up at 5:15 the next morning and my headache was completely gone! Praise God! I studied for the next hour and half then got ready for our first session that began (or was supposed to) at 7:45 PROMPTLY (with risk of elimination for late people).

The session was really cool, and included many of the sponsors of the National Bible Bee including the president of HSLDA, Patrick Henry College, founder of World Magazine, etc. Then they showed an awesome movie about the Bible Bee which u can actually watch...http://www.biblebee.org/nationals2009/videos.php

After that, during final instructions, they told us to be sure we wore our huge placard (picture the signs hung around National Spelling Bee competitors' necks) all day.

Ok...that was NEVER mentioned at registration. I knew there was NO way I was getting back up that elevator. There were a couple thousand people in the hotel. ALL of them LOVED the elevators. Sooo, wonderful Susanna came to the rescue and braved the looooooong lines to bring me my placard.

K...this is where the homeschoolers' traits started coming out. Soooo...there are 300 contestants, right? Now each of those 300 contestants had a registered parent who was to sign them in and out of testing rooms, then leave.

LEAVE!!

Did u get that? LEAVE!

300 contestants...2 parents and 10 siblings each...

I looked at the line waiting to get into the room and thought; "You know, we're never gonna make it into this room." I happened to find a way to squeeze into the room (they actually opened another door so two contestants at a time, not one, could sign in.) The room was full after fifteen minutes, and the crowd outside looked like no one had even entered. It was insane.

The Bible Bee staff kept calling out on their microphones, "Parents, please leave your children and exit the room. Say your goodbyes, and leave! Please! We CANNOT fit you all in this room!" SOME parents (and their ten children minus the one contestant) left.

Then the Bible Bee people realized the groups they had assigned us to for testing rooms were all screwed up. They had Seniors testing with Primaries and vice versa. We were NOT given the same study material, so that wouldn't have worked so well! They tried to rearrange the groups. Did I mention testing was SUPPOSED to have begun an hour and a half before this point?

Yea...then there was the whole problem of having all thee age groups scattered across this room. They finally got us semi-divided into groups, and began randomly taking people into testing rooms.

Theeeen...someone realized, "Oh, silly us, we have kids testing just above this room where these 300 contestants (and the random parents now disguised as contestants) are waiting, and naturally, they’re all talking."

OH! side note- The groups of people talking? Boy groups and girl groups. They were COMPLETELY separated. There was ONE group of a mixture of guys and girls, and they didn't even LOOK homeschooled! *gasp*

Anyways, for the next three hours, over and over and over again we heard "SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" randomly repeated over the loudspeakers.
BUT... Bright side-I met two cool girls who BOTH memorized from NKJV and it was amazing to be able to quote chapters in unison with them. ABSOLUTELY amazing! I can't explain how it felt to know we'd all worked hard at those verses and they'd encouraged all of us so now we could speak them to others.

I waited awhile, avoiding the eyes of the runners taking us to testing rooms and enjoying my time meeting the contestants and quoting with them, then realized God was giving me HIS perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3-4) and I needed to just go and get tested and not put it off. As I volunteered to be taken up for testing, I felt like I was signing my life over to meet my final fate, but oddly I wasn't really that nervous. I made it up to the testing room and the FIRST passage I was asked to quote, I HONESTLY thought the lady asked me to recite "2 Timothy 3:15-17" I was soooo excited cuz I knew that passage sooo well! I jumped right into it and finished with a loud, "2 Timothy 3:15-17".

The judges looked at each other with sick looks and I knew something was wrong. "I think u misheard her," one judge told me. All I could think was "What? No...that's what she said!" The judge repeated the reference for me.

"1 Timothy 1:15-17."

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I couldn't believe it, but they let me redo the passage. I was so grateful cuz a guy came in after me and did the same thing (although he repeated the 1 Timothy reference) and they didn't let him repeat it. I knew all four passages they asked me, and I also knew all four Bible knowledge questions. I felt great!

That afternoon the Bible Bee staff improved things from the chaos that had ensued all morning. After it had taken an hour and a half to get contestants into the testing room that morning, they decided to move us to the downstairs ballroom and tape off the sections so we were easily divided. OH! And parents were asked not to enter the room.

The first part of the afternoon was a written test. I felt confident cuz the one at locals was soooo easy. This is the part where God decided to teach me who to place my confidence in. The test was the hardest thing I'd ever encountered. I knew hardly ANYthing. I mean, seriously, who knows who drilled an underground well or something in the old Testament that was named after him and what other name Solomon was called by?

I made it through the test, thoroughly reminded that it is GOD who arms me with strength (Psalm 18:30). After the written test we went back to the ballroom and found a seat. I sat in the back row next to one of the girls I had quoted with that morning. I found out that the chair I was sitting in meant I would be the 300th contestant tested... Yay me! It was actually a fun afternoon. I'll admit. I even met a girl who knew my youth pastor's wife's cousin...weird...

Finally, after four hours of waiting, I was led up to the testing room and I sat in a chair outside the room, waiting to be called. A middle-aged African American man came to the door with a HUGE grin on his face and called me into the room. "What's your name?" He asked me. "Hannah? Hannah is a beautiful name. Hannah, do you know what your name means? Hannah means grace of God and comes from the Hebrew word _____. The origin of the word ____________. It was interesting that Hannah named her son Samuel which derived from the word ________ meaning__________. But anyways, Hannah, what is your favorite Bible passage?" He made me feel so comfortable and “at home”.

I named Philippians 3:7-10 in which Paul pleads to know God more.
Then the man said, "Well, Hannah, may I pray for u before we begin?" He began his prayer, and I have never heard a prayer so filled with Scripture. The first Bible passage he prayed for me was Philippians 3:7-10. I jerked my head up, astonished that he'd known those verses word perfect, but then, he proceeded to pray a dozen or so more various verses for me. It was amazing.

That oral round didn't go so well, and I had to pass two of my passages cuz I didn't know them at all. But that judge...wow...I'll never forget him. Especially after what happened next. After I had finished, the others in the room told me he had done the same thing for every one of them. He knew every passage they had named and prayed over 100 verses throughout the afternoon for different contestants.

When he talked, it was Scripture. He knew His Bible, and literally everything he said was the Bible. Someone asked him how he knew so much and he asked us to quote Malachi something or other that talks about giving God a tithe of everything we have. He told us that included our time, he believed, and since he became a Christian at age 18, he had spent at least 2 hours and 40 minutes every day reading the Bible. He reads the ENTIRE Bible through every 17 days.

EVERY 17 DAYS!

He has never sat down and tried to memorize, yet he knows most of the Bible by heart. I got his autograph! I'll never forget him and his challenge to us to do the same.

After dinner, we had "evening entertainment" which consisted of two VERY GOOD sermons by Alex and Brett Harris first about "Learning It!" then "Speaking it"! and "Living it!" which is the Bible Bee's motto (“it”, obviously being the Bible.) Brett's sermon was an incredible challenge to not just know what we know in our head, but know it in our hearts. It is possible to win the National Bible Bee and still go straight to hell. It is so possible. And sooo scary. Brett was crying by the time he finished his messgae and so was I, for that is what I've been so afraid of about this Bible Bee and AWANA at our chuch; that we fill kids' heads with knowledge about God and all the right answers, but in their hearts, they would never know the Savior.

Brett told us, "In fifteen minutes from now, you will know who is advancing to compete tomorrow. In fifteen hours from now, you will know who won the Bible Bee. In fifteen days from now, you will just be recovering from this event, and in fifteen years from now, no one will remember you were here." It scares me and makes my heart ache when I realize how much knowledge I am feeding my little kids at Awana every week, but how easy it is to skip right over to what it means to their heart.

After Alex and Brett’s messages, Joel Belz stood up to anounce the finalists, but instead of reading a list of names, he told us that like so many elections, there was a “precint in the left wing of the hotel” that had not sent in their test results. Apparently their scan tron machines were down for awhile, slowing down the grading process. To fill the time, Mr. Belz put Alex and Brett on the spot, allowing anyone in the room to ask them any question to which they must give an answer. That was pretty exciting!

I didn’t make it into the semi finals, but I felt like I’d won. Only 20 people advanced. The ones who advanced knew every passage mostly word perfect, which is saying a lot when nearly 2000 verses are involved. They were under intense pressure. I slept sooooo well that night! Friday, I listened to the Bible be recited from 8 AM to 6 PM.

The little kids reciting were ADORABLE! They spoke with such passion and knew their verses so well. I definitely recommend watching the video!
http://www.biblebee.org/nationals2009/webcast.php

K, so another little side note; I read one of the boy's (Truman Falkner) favorite Bible verse and why he loved the Bible Bee before going to D.C. and I was immediately amazed by what I could tell was an intense love for and devotion to God. I really wanted him to win.

Thursday, I tried to find him and eventually did. He was sitting in a chair with a Bible on his lap. A group of guys sat around him as he instructed them from the Bible. Then I really, really wanted him to win.

THEN I ended up in his testing group for the first oral round. He recited all the verses word perfect and answered all the knowledge questions correctly, so he was given a bonus question, which he also answered correctly. Then I really, really, really wanted him to win. Then I noticed that as we sat in the testing room as others were tested, instead of aimlessly looking around the room, his head was bowed (nearly hidden behind another chair) and his lips were moving in silent prayer the entire time.

He advanced to the second day! Then to the final round! His voice was completely gone, and all he could do was whisper. He didn’t win first place, but he took second.

The guy who took first place was the guy I dreamed about 6 months before the Bible Bee-the conservative homeschooler…Yes, I literally DID have a dream about him and my entire family recognized him from my dream description as he kept advancing throughout the competition.

The banquet was delayed for two hours, because tiebreaker rounds had to keep being held cuz the contestants knew all the verses word perfect!

Each contestant was given a certificate and "The Word of Promise" Audio dramatized Bible on CD at the banquet, which is proving to be a pretty amazing help! I got to meet the AWANA president and the former president of HSLDA at the banquet. However, I doubt they knew as much of the Bible as Truman did. Those winners are my new heroes, especially the little kids.

I stayed up until past 12:30 meeting other contestants and talking with them.
It was truly amazing. I met MANY godly young men and women who are already doing amazing things for God. One boy I met preaches every week at a church in Africa! He said they didn’t have a teacher and new converts were trying to teach the Bible which they did not know. Although he may be young, he knew the Bible, so he was asked to preach. I could see his passions for Africa as he told us of the beliefs they had and how mighty Jesus is to save them. He explained their entire belief system and how to combat it with the Bible.

Then my mom made me go to bed. I doubt I'll ever see any of the contestants again, but this has definitely had a big impact on my life.

The next three days as we toured the city and visited places I’d only dreamed of seeing like Ford’s Theater, the Washington Monument, the White House, The Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson’s Memorial, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Arlington Cemetery, and many Smithsonian museums, I couldn’t help but think how useless the touring was. Compared to learning, speaking, and living the Bible, touring seemed tasteless now.

We were looking at dead people’s statues, dead people’s tombstones, and hearing dead people’s stories. All those were huge reminders to me that the other tourists we came into contact with would soon be dead. I would soon be dead. What am I doing here on earth that will last? Am I building on the true foundation, Jesus Christ, and what am I building on it? Gold, silver and precious stones or wood, hay and straw? When my works are tested by fire in the day of judgment, will they stand? God really challenged me with those thoughts.

There were actually two more neat things that happened in D.C. One- I was interviewed by someone from the Washington D.C. Public Library about the National Bible Bee and Martin Luther King Jr. (pretty sure those have hardly any connection), and I got to share the gospel on a DVD that will be played in that library!

Two-Remember my third dream? Randomly, a week before we left, Hosanna, one of my good online friends, mentioned that I'd only be two hours from her. I randomly (jokingly) mentioned that it'd be nice to meet. She randomly (seriously) replied back that her mom thought she should. Ok...so background info; we actually haven't talked much in the last year, but before that we talked a LOT. Anyways, the people she had plans with that day which hindered her from immediately jumping at it, cancelled on her, and she ended up making the drive and spending the afternoon with my family! It wasn't even awkward as I'd imagined!

So, yea...one week...three dreams...one AMAZING God! Isn’t it cool that of all the vastness of the universe and the intricacies of creation God would take time to write in my story an amazing week including the fulfilling of my three dreams? God is so amazing and good!

Now how’s that for a short summary?

Right or wrong?

2009-04-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

I’ve recently found my mind dwelling on a topic. It has dominated my conversations in the past week and kept me up (one night) to 3:30 the following morning in my pursuit to the answer to my question. I think, in some obscure ways, the question has been on my mind for years, but recently, it’s been staring me in the face in a way it never has. It has become more personal, and as a result, I’ve been on edge about anything remotely close to the topic surrounding my question.

The question jumped in front of me about a week ago, and I jumped up with an answer before truly thinking about what I was saying. After I’d contemplated what I’d just said, I realized the implications of what I’d just said were far deeper than I’d originally imagined.

But now I suppose I’m getting ahead of myself. “What’s the question?” you scream. Ok, ok; calm down! My question is this; where do you draw the line between what is right and wrong when it comes to media, and do the same standards apply to everyone? How far can we actually go in listening to and watching media that only glorifies Christ? All movies are created by sinful people and therefore tend to include sinful practices. Even in the most family-friendly movies we see the characters sinning, and their sin brushed off as good because of the outcome it brings in the end. How is that avoiding ‘every appearance of evil’ as we are encouraged to do in Scripture?

One afternoon last week, I began discussing with a friend the topic of a certain popular movie that has been recently released. Many of my friends had fallen in love with the film and its characters, while I’d also heard others rail against the film and condemn it as a wrong, sinful movie, unfit for Christians to see. I was curious why my friend had enjoyed the film, so I was glad when she began to elaborate. She told me of the many biblical parallels she found throughout the movie, and how encouraging the movie had been to her commitment to save herself completely for her future husband. I was amused and a bit shocked since I’d heard the exact opposite from other Christians. I was confused as to how one Christian could uphold the movie as good and another denounce it as sinful. Was someone lying to me or unjustly prejudiced about the film?

A few days later, I happened upon the topic of that same recently released movie with another friend. She had not seen the movie, but was certain she would hate it since her boyfriend had told her it was not a pure movie. She then directed all my comments to her boyfriend, and we began discussing the movie. He told me right off the bat that the movie was inappropriate for Christians to see as it represented the embodiment of sin and included other inappropriate behavior by the characters. We didn’t end up talking to much about the film after his initial comments because we were derailed onto a subject that was only a subtopic of the movie.

However, we were then quickly pulled into another discussion about music genres in which he said, “People portray using rock music as being okay if it's about God and spiritual things. But labeling something like rap as "Christian" doesn't make rap any better.” Interesting. I immediately disagreed, arguing that the style of the music doesn’t make it bad, but the words and message behind the songs. I don’t listen to secular music; only Christian music with God-honoring lyrics. But he was arguing that even some supposedly “Christian songs” were bad because of the style of music. The second part of the question I had been pondering crossed my mind. Can something truly be right for one person and wrong for another? Why did grey areas like this create so much confusion?

I sat down the next day and tried to come to a conclusion on the matter. Does all this mean we should only watch Christian moves and listen to Christian hymns? Is that the only way to avoid the pitfalls of watching and inadvertently buying into the unbiblical message the writer is ‘preaching’?

Hmmm…maybe we should start by defining Christian media. I was listening to a sermon by Matt Chandler as I did the dishes and vacuumed the house this morning, and found something he said to be particularly helpful. “I find the idea of Christian music to be humorous. Music can not be Christian; it does not have a soul. It can’t get saved. Music is music…the very serious matter of following Christ looks like this: Find the things that stir your affections for Christ and saturate your life in them. And find the things that rob you of that affection and walk away from them. That’s the Christian life as easy as I can make it for you.” Movies are amoral. Music is amoral. Hmmm, then maybe something CAN be right for one person and wrong for another. That movie brought one friend closer to God and drew another away from Him. Certain styles of music draw me closer to God while drawing others away from Him. How that is possible, I don’t distinctly understand; however, the apostle Paul tries to explain this for us in Romans chapter 14.

1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
2 One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.

Ok let’s (as Matt Chandler so commonly says) unpack this. The foods discussed here are the unclean animals discussed in the Old Testament, correct? Some Christians were still living under the requirement of the law that said they should abstain from certain unclean animals, and Paul said that was ok. Other Christians were living apart from the law and eating those animals, and Paul said that this too was ok. Both were ok as long as they were done in faith. Why was it ok for one to eat a certain food and another to abstain from it? Because eating or abstaining from eating that food stirred their passion for Christ:

5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

I think Paul’s key point here is that we should do all things with thanksgiving to God. If attending church on one day over another creates in us more vibrant worship of Jesus, we should chase after that. If eating certain foods cause us to take our focus off Jesus, we should avoid that. The same thing goes for the kind of music and movies we allow ourselves to come under the influence. If something stirs our affections for Jesus, we should follow that and enjoy it. If it distracts us from Him, it has to be removed from our lives. We need to be fully convinced in our own minds that what we are doing is bringing us into closer communion with Christ.

14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

God created all food. Food is not unclean; however, if you’re struggling because you’re unsure whether the food will create worship and thanksgiving for Christ in you, by all means, abstain from the food. Once again, we see the same application for media. For one, a movie does not stir in them affections for Jesus but directs them to focus on themselves or the world, but to another, that same movie is vibrant with biblical parallels that encourage and strengthen their relationship with Christ. Each one must watch or abstain from that movie in faith, knowing the reaction of their own heart.

3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.
13a Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.

Paul knew the sinful tendency we all have to compare our lives to others. “My walk with Christ is stronger than theirs because I don’t listen to a certain type of music,” we may be tempted to say. Or maybe, “They’re walking in legalism! Never in the Bible does it say that we should avoid certain types of music!” But Paul warns us to examine our own lives and not to judge what others are doing. God will judge each in the end; He doesn’t need our help. I like how Paul finishes verses 13 and transitions into his next main topic.

13b Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.

No food (or type of music) is inherently sinful by itself; however, if because we are eating it, listening to it, etc, we are causing a fellow Christian to desire it even though they know it will rob them of their affections for Jesus, then we should abstain from doing that or speaking of that while we are around them.

17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

This is the final guideline Paul places on Christians concerning this matter; if it causes division or fighting, just stay away from it. Our focus should not be on the activity itself, but on the joy and intimacy with Christ it produces within us.

Paul said, “I count everything loss compared to knowing Christ.” Matt Chandler paraphrases this: “The question’s not ‘Is it right or is it wrong?’” But rather, ‘Does it get me more of Christ, or does it rob my awareness of Him?’ That’s how Paul lived his life. He’d say, ‘I count that as loss. I’m not interested in that. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s ok to do it. When I do it, it robs me, so I’ll have nothing to do with it.’”

What if we viewed all of life with that kind of attitude? What if instead of searching Scripture to find what is right and wrong (and end up stumped on all the ‘grey issues’ not clearly outlined in the Bible) we simply asked ourselves whether something would bring us closer to God or draw us away from Him? What if we stopped judging other Christians by what they did or didn’t do on controversial issues, but instead followed what we know Christ wants for us and sought peace in our relationships with others? Just a little something to chew on and ponder...

The Future...

2009-03-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

I listened to a humorous children's audio story the other day at sign language class about a nine-year-old boy who couldn't ride his bike. All his friends could ride their bikes. Even his five-year-old sister could ride her bike. But every time he started picking up speed, he got scared, wobbled, and fell. Then he would say to himself, "If I can't ride a bike now, what's going to heappen when I get older?" The music would then switch to a techno, 'futuristic' music as a low radio anouncer called out, "The future." The little boy would dream of the terrible things that would happen in the future all because he hadn't learned to ride his bike.

Random? Uh, I guess? Not really...I'm a senior this year. Lately, evereryone's been asking me about (you guessed it) *insert techno, futuristic music* "the future". Now that I've hit the magic age of 18, everyone naturally assumes that God has walked up and handed me an envelope with the words "What you are to do with your life" clearly etched on the outside. Yea. It's getting annoying, not to mention, I'm suddenly having all these fearful thoughts. Everyone else knows what they're doing when they graduate. Even people who are younger than me know what they're doing. But I don't. What's going to happen when I graduate? And then the future becomes some sort of scary thing and I start to panic. I can really identify with that little boy.

I was thinking (translation: panicking) today about what I'm going to tell everyone this summer at camp who ask me what I'm doing with my life. Some very overused (yet painfully true) verses popped into my mind. "Trust in the LORD with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." My own understanding tells me that I need a plan for my life, but that's not what God says. God says, "Trust me and I will give you direction." That's so hard to do right now because everyone is watching and waiting for my next step. I want to acknowledge God in every area of my life. I want Him to give me absolute assurance and guidance on what my next step should be.

I really don't think it's college at this point, because I don't have one definite career I'd like to pursue. A college degree would be useless if I don't plan on using it. I don't have thousands of dollars to invest in something I'm not sure I wanna do with my life. I also definitely don't think it's God's will for me to get married any time soon. I feel God calling me towards doing something with missions, but I'm not sure yet to what extent.

So I'm trying to stop leaning on my preconceived notions of what my future will be like and ideas for what to do this fall and keep an open mind, trusting that God knows what He's doing and will reveal it to me when He's ready, opening the right doors at the right times. While I wait, I will continue to worship and serve Him as John Waller's song "While I'm waiting" says. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3b2jw1rjBc I tried to embed it here, but it wasn't cooperating. :D

Beginning explanations...

2009-03-16T04:28:00.000-07:00

When the thought of starting a blog first crossed my mind, I had this brilliantly brilliant idea that I decided wasn't so brilliant upon further contemplation. Funny how that always seems to happen with me... My idea was to set myself apart from all other blogs by NOT having my first post say basically the same thing as every other first post by every other blogger: "I'm starting a blog for such and such a reason [normally not really a reason at all]. Here's an explanation of my name." End of first post. Guess what? I'm about to do the same boringly predictable thing. So if you expected something randomly different (just because I am the definition of randomly different), you can quit reading now, k?

(Here comes the boring part.)I know I won't be able to fully explain why I chose the blog name that I did, but I'm going to attempt to at least try. I was listening to a sermon the other day (Saturday, if you happen to be a stalker and are taking notes) by Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village in Highland Village, Texas (and no, I don't have an address for you stalkers). The sermon was about how passionately in love with God Old Testament heroes and early church leaders were, and Chandler questioned why we are not so passionate about Him as they were.

David's soul yearned for God like a deer in the middle of a desert during a drought. The deer desired water and knew he would die without it, and David desired to know God in the same way. David yearned to know God more (O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water"). This wasn't just a want like, "Oh I want that iPod sooooo bad!" It was a deep inner longing that had to be filled. It kept David awake at night, contemplating how he could know God more ("On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night"). David was grieved when he found his soul no longer wholeheartdly pursuing God and prayed, "Return to me the joy of my Salvation!"

David says other radical things in the Psalms like "Your steadfast love is better than life" and "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere" and "One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life" and many, many others. David was chasing after one thing with his entire life-knowing God more.

David recognized what so many of us miss; we are all gonna die some day. "Well, duh," you think. No, think about it. When we die, everything we've worked for on this earth is going to be worthless. Solomon, David's son, was the wisest and one of the richest men who ever lived. He had everything anyone could have ever asked for. He had money, fame, women (yes, that's plural), wisdom, etc. He had EVERYTHING, and yet he wrote an entire book (Ecclesiastes) about how worthless everything is because we can't take anything with us when we die. (No U-Hauls will follow your hearse.) When we stand before God someday, He's not gonna care whether we drove a fancy car, lived in a nice house, had the highest college degree possible, or were popular. All that's going to matter in that day is whether we truly know Him or not.

The apostle Paul in Philippians three lists ways he could take pride in Himself: "circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless." He is basically the epitome of the godly man of his time. Yet in the very next verse he says, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ...I want to know Christ." Compared to knowing God, all those things were like filthy trash. Paul recognized the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, and we see just how much he longed to know God fully by what he says in Philippians 1:21 and then 3:8: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings." Paul wasn't just interested in following God when things were easy. His pursuit of knowing God wasn't about to stop in the face of suffering or even death. Paul knew he would never fully know God until his death, so he longed for death. No matter what it took to know God more, Paul was willing to do it.

Habakkuk expressed this same unconditional pursuit of God in Habakkuk three. "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior." This is such an unusual attitude-'Who cares how everything else goes if I get God?' is what he says.

Chandler ended the sermon with a question: Do we know God? Are we passionately pursuing the only thing in life that truly matters? Knowing Him? "The question about an activity should never be, 'Is this right or wrong?'" Chandler admonished. "The question should be, 'Will I get more of God by pursuing this activity?'"

With this blog, I hope to know God more and make Him known. By the power of the Holy Spirit working in my life, I hope to be able to catch a small glimpse of just who my Savior is and think through some of His amazing attributes by writing. My life is a novel God has written. As I live out every chapter, I hope to grow to know Him and long for Him more.