He's able, He's able, I know He's able,
I know my Lord is able to carry me thru.
He's able, He's able, I know He's able,
I know my Lord is able to carry me thru.
He healed the brokenhearted
and set the captive free,
He made the lame to walk again
and caused the blind to see.
He's able, He's able, I know He's able,
I know my Lord is able to carry me thru.
(He's Able by Paul Piano)
The lyrics of the song really say it all. He is able!! He is all powerful and there is nothing that is too hard for Him to do. I was able to see His power in many different situations at camp this summer. Over and over again He proved Himself to be able.
Oh, the God that I serve at camp...yes, He is the same God that I serve at home too, and He is able!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Summer Lesson #2-His strength
"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
What is weakness? Well, it is waking up a little before a cabin full of campers (who are your responsibility) and realizing that you hardly have the strength to get out of bed and get ready for the day much less go through a whole day of camp activities with enthusiasm. It is coming to the end of your own strength. It is when God can begin to work.
The earlier in the week I realized my weakness the better the week went. It was amazing to see how God provided strength and worked when I got to the point of not being able to go any farther. His strength is perfect, and He delights to hear the words "I can't take another step, if you want me to go on you will have to send Your strength." He was always faithful to answer that request in ways far beyond anything I could ask or think and even beyond giving strength He also provided encouragement.
Ephesians 4:7 was a special encouragement to me this summer. It says:
"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ."
Grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ!! I don't know how anything can be in the measure as the gift of God's only Son, but at the same time I really don't understand how God could love mankind enough to give the gift of Christ. His gift is beyond my comprehension; His grace is also beyond my comprehension, but just because I can't understand something doesn't change the fact that it is true. The gift of Christ was enough, and His grace is enough too...for anything that I may face.
What is weakness? Well, it is waking up a little before a cabin full of campers (who are your responsibility) and realizing that you hardly have the strength to get out of bed and get ready for the day much less go through a whole day of camp activities with enthusiasm. It is coming to the end of your own strength. It is when God can begin to work.
The earlier in the week I realized my weakness the better the week went. It was amazing to see how God provided strength and worked when I got to the point of not being able to go any farther. His strength is perfect, and He delights to hear the words "I can't take another step, if you want me to go on you will have to send Your strength." He was always faithful to answer that request in ways far beyond anything I could ask or think and even beyond giving strength He also provided encouragement.
Ephesians 4:7 was a special encouragement to me this summer. It says:
"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ."
Grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ!! I don't know how anything can be in the measure as the gift of God's only Son, but at the same time I really don't understand how God could love mankind enough to give the gift of Christ. His gift is beyond my comprehension; His grace is also beyond my comprehension, but just because I can't understand something doesn't change the fact that it is true. The gift of Christ was enough, and His grace is enough too...for anything that I may face.
Summer Lesson #1-Complete in Thee
Complete in Thee by Aaron Wolfe and James Gray
Complete in Thee! no work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.
Complete in Thee—each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee.
Complete in Thee—no more shall sin,
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,
And I shall stand complete in Thee.
Dear Savior! when before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are,
Among Thy chosen will I be,
At Thy right hand—complete in Thee.
Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!
This was one of the songs that we sang every week as a staff choir. I was very familiar with the song even before this summer, but this summer has brought new meaning to the song. It was a huge blessing to me during staff training week. When I arrived at camp I was very unsure of what I was doing there. I felt totally inadequate to live as a good testimony before my campers much less be able to impact them for eternity. I was out of my comfort zone of what I knew how to handle, and I was terrified. As we began singing Complete in Thee in choir practice the Lord use it to speak peace to my heart. I am complete in Him. It is He that justified, and He that is sanctified; it is no work of mine. If I can't boast in anything eternal and good that has been done in my life, I certainly can't boast in anything that is done in the lives of others. The song made me realize that it was not up to me to work in the lives of the campers; it was God's work, and He had it under control.
Complete in Thee! no work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.
Complete in Thee—each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee.
Complete in Thee—no more shall sin,
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,
And I shall stand complete in Thee.
Dear Savior! when before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are,
Among Thy chosen will I be,
At Thy right hand—complete in Thee.
Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!
This was one of the songs that we sang every week as a staff choir. I was very familiar with the song even before this summer, but this summer has brought new meaning to the song. It was a huge blessing to me during staff training week. When I arrived at camp I was very unsure of what I was doing there. I felt totally inadequate to live as a good testimony before my campers much less be able to impact them for eternity. I was out of my comfort zone of what I knew how to handle, and I was terrified. As we began singing Complete in Thee in choir practice the Lord use it to speak peace to my heart. I am complete in Him. It is He that justified, and He that is sanctified; it is no work of mine. If I can't boast in anything eternal and good that has been done in my life, I certainly can't boast in anything that is done in the lives of others. The song made me realize that it was not up to me to work in the lives of the campers; it was God's work, and He had it under control.
Teen week 2...the last of the campers
The camp director's version of a silly camp song does a good job of describing our last week at camp..."I love to sweat. I love to sweat. I love to sweat at camp...." I didn't have a thermometer at camp to make it feel hotter, but there was high heat and humidity all week. Added to the heat was the pool filter that decided to quit working on Monday night. The week was a good refresher course in flexibility; I can't count how many times the schedule was changed throughout the week. It was neat to see how God worked through all of the challenges. The teens kept great attitudes all week. It was wonderful to see how many of them had hearts to follow God and learn more about Him. God's planning was perfect when He selected which campers would be here which week. The program directors were given the opportunity to show how much they have been learning all summer. They came up with some great activities for the campers to have a blast and stay cool at the same time. Do you know what you get when you mix a couple of huge tarps, some dish soap, and lots of water? Yup, a great big slip 'n' slide that becomes even more fun when placed under a bunch of water games.
God did a lot of work in a number of hearts during the week. We saw at about five campers accept Christ and many others got their vision more closely focused on Christ. I also learned a lot throughout the week, but that story will be in following posts. For now I will just say that God is good; His faithfulness is unending!!
God did a lot of work in a number of hearts during the week. We saw at about five campers accept Christ and many others got their vision more closely focused on Christ. I also learned a lot throughout the week, but that story will be in following posts. For now I will just say that God is good; His faithfulness is unending!!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Drawing to a close....
Where has the time gone? I just finished my second to last week of camp for the summer. It is hard to believe that my time here is almost done. Even though it was our third week of junior camp, there were still a number of new experiences in it. We had a smaller group with about 50 campers. I was very excited to see the seven girls in my cabin ready and willing to be good participants during chapel and our Bible times. Every other week so far I have had at least a couple of girls who I almost had to pull teeth to get them to spend time thinking about what God wanted them to learn.
I really appreciated the evangelist that we had this week. His messages were saturated with scripture. He challenged the campers to seriously consider whether they could give a Bible reason for why they knew they were going to heaven. Four of my campers left with a better understanding of what it meant to be saved. It was wonderful to see the worry lift off their faces when they came to understand that God's love for them would never change, and that they did not have to worry about losing their salvation. There was also a couple of girls who came to realize how important it is to put effort into having a relationship with Christ. Seeing the Lord work in hearts and bring about real desire for a deeper relationship with Him was a huge blessing to me this week.
One thing that has amazed me this summer has been the reaction of different girls when it comes time to leave. Many times I have discovered that the girls who I think I formed really good relationships with leave barely saying good bye, while others who I had to keep after all week to keep them doing what they needed to be act like they do not want to leave. It is a good reminder that only God truly knows the impact and that He is in control of the ones that leave camp without making the decisions that they need to to follow Christ more closely.
Camp is drawing to a close for the counselors. Monday our last campers for the summer will be coming and this time next week I will be headed away from camp. It is a sad realization. It is hard for me to imagine not having children around me all the time who I can point to Christ while being in a Christ centered environment. One of the things that I have been challenged with this summer is that the work that I am doing here at camp is one that I must do at my home, work, and school as well. As a Christian it is my responsibility to openly and aggressively point others to Christ. Love for Christ and others demands it. In the meantime, my responsibility is to a cabin of teens.
I really appreciated the evangelist that we had this week. His messages were saturated with scripture. He challenged the campers to seriously consider whether they could give a Bible reason for why they knew they were going to heaven. Four of my campers left with a better understanding of what it meant to be saved. It was wonderful to see the worry lift off their faces when they came to understand that God's love for them would never change, and that they did not have to worry about losing their salvation. There was also a couple of girls who came to realize how important it is to put effort into having a relationship with Christ. Seeing the Lord work in hearts and bring about real desire for a deeper relationship with Him was a huge blessing to me this week.
One thing that has amazed me this summer has been the reaction of different girls when it comes time to leave. Many times I have discovered that the girls who I think I formed really good relationships with leave barely saying good bye, while others who I had to keep after all week to keep them doing what they needed to be act like they do not want to leave. It is a good reminder that only God truly knows the impact and that He is in control of the ones that leave camp without making the decisions that they need to to follow Christ more closely.
Camp is drawing to a close for the counselors. Monday our last campers for the summer will be coming and this time next week I will be headed away from camp. It is a sad realization. It is hard for me to imagine not having children around me all the time who I can point to Christ while being in a Christ centered environment. One of the things that I have been challenged with this summer is that the work that I am doing here at camp is one that I must do at my home, work, and school as well. As a Christian it is my responsibility to openly and aggressively point others to Christ. Love for Christ and others demands it. In the meantime, my responsibility is to a cabin of teens.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
He giveth more grace....
He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
This song pretty much sums up the past two weeks of camp. The week before last was our second week of junior camp. We were expecting a good sized group of campers and I was overwhelmed on Sunday night when I was told that I would probably have eleven girls in my cabin….and then Monday came and with Monday came thirteen junior campers. His grace and strength were so much beyond anything that I could have imagined. My prayer request after the first two weeks had been that God would allow me to get to know campers quickly and see how to help them with the next spiritual step in their lives. As I went through the week, I was amazed to see how God answered that prayer. The girls opened up and shared right from the beginning. He then provided unique opportunities to talk to each girl on a one on one basis, which was something that was very difficult the week before with less than half that many girls. God answers prayer in wonderful ways! We saw 15 kids accept Christ that week! :o)
This past week was family camp and then primary camp. It was nice to be able to interact with children and adults during family camp without having guardianship over specific campers. During primary camp a wonderful assistant counselor and I had charge over 10 first through third graders. It went quite well but was very tiring. God is so good to provide strength.
Keep praying. We have another week of junior campers. Keep praying that God would give wisdom and grace and that He would work in the lives of the campers. He has been at work. About 35 children have accepted Christ so far this summer! He is so good!!!!
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
This song pretty much sums up the past two weeks of camp. The week before last was our second week of junior camp. We were expecting a good sized group of campers and I was overwhelmed on Sunday night when I was told that I would probably have eleven girls in my cabin….and then Monday came and with Monday came thirteen junior campers. His grace and strength were so much beyond anything that I could have imagined. My prayer request after the first two weeks had been that God would allow me to get to know campers quickly and see how to help them with the next spiritual step in their lives. As I went through the week, I was amazed to see how God answered that prayer. The girls opened up and shared right from the beginning. He then provided unique opportunities to talk to each girl on a one on one basis, which was something that was very difficult the week before with less than half that many girls. God answers prayer in wonderful ways! We saw 15 kids accept Christ that week! :o)
This past week was family camp and then primary camp. It was nice to be able to interact with children and adults during family camp without having guardianship over specific campers. During primary camp a wonderful assistant counselor and I had charge over 10 first through third graders. It went quite well but was very tiring. God is so good to provide strength.
Keep praying. We have another week of junior campers. Keep praying that God would give wisdom and grace and that He would work in the lives of the campers. He has been at work. About 35 children have accepted Christ so far this summer! He is so good!!!!
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