This last week I got to spend a week at my favorite place on Earth, no exaggeration... Winema Christian Camp. It was Christmas Camp led by some close friends and 28 high school students. With everyone there were only about 50 people at camp which is great, especially since the theme for the week was Unity and Community in the Body of Christ. I love being there for the kids to pray with them and answer whatever questions I can, but the coolest part of it all was seeing them taking what they've learned about the Body and ministering to each other. By the last day or two, I wasn't even doing much as far as leading prayers or talks, they did it on their own. By far the most rewarding part of camp this week.
There were quite a few times over that week that I thought, "Oh that's a cool concept! I should blog about that." So I figured I'd combine them all and give you just a taste of each because God was moving so much at that camp and teaching things left and right.
1. REJOICE - You hear a lot to "rejoice in the LORD" but how often do we keep ourselves from doing that? I do. A lot. Lots of times I get too caught up in the downer part of Christianity, the part where you "sit and think about what you've done" in order to repent and receive that grace. But somehow even after I ask for forgiveness, I still dwell on it. God forgives but I don't always forgive myself. And I find that this keeps me from being with God. I've convinced myself that I am not yet worthy to be in the presence of God forgetting that we don't make ourselves worthy, but God does, and He calls us to live a life worthy of the Lord (Ephesians 4). But the truth is that these things that I dwell on simply do not matter anymore, what matters is that Jesus has made it possible for me to sit back and enjoy just being, not doing anything specific, but just simply sitting back and being with the Father. It's easy to forget that sometimes God WANTS us to just stop thinking about things and sit in his lap and be with him, no strings attached. I can tell when I forget this because I find myself missing God. Sometimes I just realize, "I miss God." And I think God misses us too. So maybe sometime, take a moment to purposefully erase your mind of everything and just BE with the Father. God has already literally done everything to get you there, don't hold yourself back anymore.
2. HUMILITY - We get tricked into thinking that being humble means thinking we're crap or don't measure up to what we should be. But it doesn't mean that at all. Humility just means that we realize what is great in ourselves and we point it to God while using them for Him.
3. IDOLIZING - We do not idolize other things or people because we love them more than God. We begin to idolize when we forget how great God is and the things He does.
4. TEACHING - God is always trying to teach you something, but you learn based on how well you listen.
5. GODLY THOUGHTS - We try to figure out God or something God intends for His people, but we cannot muster up these thoughts on our own. Our thoughts are just puny human thoughts. We have to ask for thoughts that are not our own, things we could not possibly think up ourselves.
6. LIKE A CHILD - Most of you know I never want to grow up. I love being a kid. I still love chocolate milk, as well as camp, Transformers, forts, laughing at fart jokes, singing Backstreet Boys, and doing the part in Marvelous Light where you have to lift your hands and spin around. I’ve realized once I’ve grown up (well sort of) that we take life too seriously; and now that we’re grown up we’re supposed to have it all together, and when we don’t, we perceive ourselves to be inadequate and a failure. Adults have to have everything under control. They have to be the strong ones for other weaklings. But Jesus calls us to become like Children. Remember when you first became a Christian and nothing else in the world mattered because it was just you a God and you loved Him and you knew He loved you with everything He had. Sometimes I wish we could be like the Lost Boys in Hook and never grow old. Kids know how to have fun, they know how to trust with everything they've got, they're never hesitant to ask for help, they're not expected to have it all together, they live a simple but fun and extraordinary life, and most of all they don't take life too seriously. Mike Yaconelli, my favorite author, writes a fictional story about Jesus in his book "Dangerous Wonder" (which I highly recommend) that I think hits pretty close to the character of Jesus....
"Jesus and the disciples were all in the river taking baths when the beloved disciple, John, reaches down to the floor of the river and brings up a huge mud pie. Preoccupied with their washing, none of the disciples notices. John takes careful aim at his favorite target, Peter. SPLET! The mud pie strikes Peter in the face. John immediately ducks underwater as though he is scrubbing. Peter reaches for his own mud pie, takes careful aim at Matthew, and lets it fly. WHAM! James wastes no time responding with his own mud pie, and soon bedlam breaks out amongst the disciples. A full-fledged mud fight is under way. Philip and Bartholomew sneak up on Judas, whom they didn't particularly like anyway, and nail him with two mud pies. Simon the Zealot, who has never been particularly close to John because he thinks he's a wimp, lets loose with a huge mud pie. John ducks and the mud missile hits Jesus right in the middle of His forehead. All the disciples freeze. After a long silence Thomas leans over to Simon and says, "You idiot! You just hit the Son of God with a mud pie... He'll turn us into turtles!" Jesus gazes slowly at each of the disciples, each one fearing the worst. With a knowing smile, Jesus stops when He sees Simon, who refuses to look in Jesus' eyes. Jesus reaches down into the mud and comes up with a very large mud pie and - BAM! - Simon is hit squarely on the top of his head, and as the mud slithers down his face, everyone, including Jesus, breaks into laughter."
These things, among others, are what God has been teaching me and I hope you are listening because I promise you He is always wanting to teach you something new.
