A Lesson on Purity

On Thursdays the training on our morning hike is about purity.  That is one of the ideas from 1 Tim. 4:12.  To talk about purity I turn to another one of my favorite stories, Daniel.


Daniel was a young man when he was taken captive and sent off to the king's palace with some of his friends.  There they wanted to change everything about him.  They gave him a new name, new clothes, taught him a different language, and presented him with different foods.  I tell the campers that in some ways it is the same for them.  People who don't believe in God want us to dress like them, talk like them, think like them.  But God calls us to purity.


In order to separate himself and keep himself pure, Daniel asks to be allowed to eat only fruits and vegetables and drink only water.  The guards allow this and in the end Daniel and his friends are noticeably more healthy than the others.  God honors Daniel for his stand.

We take our hike to Sundown Point where I have a table showing different foods.  When I finish talking about Daniel, I ask the campers how Olympic athletes keep themselves pure for their sport.  I end with asking them how a Christian can be an example of purity physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  They always have lots of good ideas.

We've had several campers make decisions to follow Christ this week and in the earlier weeks too.  It is a blessing to watch God open the hearts and minds of these campers to His truth.

You Gotta Have Faith

We just finished Junior Week 1.  We were close to being completely full and had sufficient staff to have a great week.  I continued to tell the stories on the morning hikes.  Last week I explained how we told the story of David and Goliath and connected it to how we use words to show what’s in our heart.  The next idea in 1 Timothy 4:12 is faith.  To illustrate faith I decided to tell the story of Gideon.  (I had to make it clear to the campers this week that I was not talking about Gilligan or Gulliver.)

I tell about how Gideon could not believe that God would use him to rescue Israel from oppression.  I have a “fleece” and talk about how Gideon put it out to be sure that God is really speaking to him.

After I tell that part of the story we go down to the lake.  Here I tell the kids about how God weeded the army down to 300 men.  I show them how the men had to drink from the lake and they were chosen by the way they drank. 

Then we head off to the Three Hills trail.  It is my favorite hike with some very steep rocks to climb, lots of beautiful moss covering the hills, lots of shade, and interesting things to look at along the way.  When we get to the top of the third hill we stop to rest and I tell the end of the story.  I tell how Gideon and his men surrounded the enemy in the hills.  The kids are always amazed at their weapons—a trumpet, a pitcher, and a torch.  For my telling I use large tin cans for the pitchers and a whistle for the trumpets.  I don’t have a torch or light because it’s in the middle of the day and you can’t see the light much.

In the end what I wanted them to get from the story is that faith is believing in God so that you are willing to take a risk when God calls you to do something.  Gideon took a big risk in facing the enemy with 300 men and no real weapons, but his faith brought great glory to God because there was no way they should have won the battle.  We go back and talk about how David took a risk in believing he could defeat Goliath.

For game time I wanted to play something that would tie into our story; I wanted a game where the campers would have to take a risk, but where there would be no danger.  I came up with my own version of “Let’s Make a Deal.”  (For you younger folks, I’m not talking about “Deal or No Deal.”)  In our game have several challenges that come down to one overall winner.  That winner is presented with a choice:  they may have a free snack item, or they may risk trading that item for what is behind door 1, 2, or 3.  This week some of the campers played it safe and kept their snack item, but others took the risk.  Some got some good prizes; others not so good.

Eric won dinner with me.  I thought it was a dud of a prize
but everyone who has won it so far has been really pumped about it.

One of the guys from the Bears cabin won supper with Goliath.

It’s been a lot of fun for the kids and for us to watch the whole thing play out.  They’ve been good sports about it all, and I hope our lesson on faith has had an impact.  We top it off by singing the song we sing in Kids’ Club back home:  “You Gotta Have F-A-I-T-H.” 

David and Goliath

When we decided to use the Olympics for our theme this summer, we decided to use 1 Timothy 4:12 as a key verse.  It says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”  Every day we focus on one of the areas mentioned in this verse for our “training.”

On Tuesday mornings we take a hike to the gravel pit where I get to tell the story of David and Goliath.  I constructed a big puppet that we use for Goliath.  He comes out to the cliff where they dig out the gravel.  I have the kids line up facing each other to represent the Israelites and the Philistines.  One of the staff guys plays Goliath and another plays David.  One of Adam’s boys plays Goliath’s shield bearer.

Butterscotch has to be right in on the action.   One of the campers called out to Goliath,  "What's your dog's name?"
"Ralph," was his reply.

In the end David slays Goliath and cuts off his head.

Both Teen Weeks I told this story the campers seemed to really enjoy it.  They participated in the parts of the story where I asked for some interaction with great enthusiasm.

At the end I talk about how our words are important because they reveal what’s in our heart.  David’s words showed his confidence in the Lord and gave Him the glory for what David was able to accomplish.  I ask the campers to think about what their words reveal about their heart.  This is a lesson we all need to be reminded of.  What do your words reveal about your heart?

An Open Letter to My Brother

Dear Ray,

We’ve been doing camp together for a long time.  We started out with you taking Kathryn to camp, and then the next year others from our group joined you too.  Later the tables turned and you started bringing your kids to camp with our group.  We did camp with Penny in Ukraine.  And now here we are again, doing camp together.

You made such an impression on those who got to be with you here last week.  When we had the closing ceremonies we had a slide show.  Every time there was a picture of you, the campers all cheered and shouted your name.  It was awesome.  They got it, Ray.  They knew how much you cared about them.  And those of us on staff were pleased with the challenges you gave them to go and do good to those around them, and to love them as they were loved here at Camp of the Woods.  It couldn’t  have ended up any better.

We were both under great stress, me with the busyness of the camp program; you with some nervousness and struggles back at home.  I am in awe of how God took broken plans, chaos, and rusty vessels and made it into an awesome gift of love for those here at COTW.  To God I say, “Your works are marvelous and that I know right well.”

I know that you are struggling in many ways.  I’m thankful that you were able to share some this with me.  As I have in the past I’ll ask you again, “Do you listen to your own sermons?”  When you spoke of how God chose David and told Samuel, “Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart,”  I thought of you.  God sees your heart, Ray, and His measure of success looks totally different from anything we see in this world.  He knows your love for others, He sees your total devotion to doing what He wants you to do, even when you can’t understand, or it just seems really hard.  He looks on you, Ray, and He is pleased…I know He is.  And there is no greater success than that.

I was so proud for you to be here.  I am so pleased that you are my brother.  You are one of the biggest influences in my life, and any success I achieve in my life, you share a part in.  And let me add that I know that I’m not the only one who can say that.

I had a long talk about you with one of the other staff members here.   One of the last things he said to me was, “The world’s a better place because of Ray.”  I couldn’t agree more.  I love you, and I am praying for you.   

COTW Teen Week 1

I know it's been a while... but I've been busy.


Between the bad internet connections, weather that creates havoc online, and just being totally slammed by the first week of campers, I just couldn't make the whole blog thing happen.  But reinforcements have arrived, and my week should be considerably easier than it was last week.


There's much to tell so it's my hope to tell you a little bit now and share more later.  I'll keep my fingers crossed that I can do that.


We had a rough start to the week, so much that by the end of Monday I was in tears.  So much stress.  So much to arrange.  But considering how the week started, I cannot but glorify God for the fantastic ending He brought to the week.  We couldn't have been happier with how it all ended up.

So right now I'll just share with you the speech that I was able to give at the closing ceremonies of our COTW Olympic Games.


"We’ve worked on 1 Timothy 4:12 all week as we’ve been training to be an example of a believer.  We talked about the power of words as David revealed his heart for God when he faced Goliath.  We saw the faith of Gideon as he took the risk of believing that God could defeat the enemy with just 300 men.  We talked about how Daniel kept himself pure in a foreign culture and how we are to do the same.  And today we learned how Daniel kept a consistent walk throughout his life, even when his praying got him thrown to the lions.  And each night Ray challenged us to listen to God’s voice as He calls each of us to a life of adventure as we follow Him.

"But we’ve left out one thing.  Do you know what it is?

"Yes, it’s love.  We didn’t have a Bible story for love.   So here it is.

"Jesus came as a human.  He put on skin and lived in an earthly home.  He is our greatest example of love.  He died on the cross to save us from our sins.  He rose again to give us abundant life now and forever.

 

"When we make the decision to follow Jesus, God sends His Holy Spirit to move into our hearts and inhabit our body.  We become His hands and feet to meet the needs of those around us.

"It’s been our goal this week for all of us here on staff -- the cooks, the people on maintenance, the counselors, the people working in the office, the kids in kids’ club – to let you see the love of God through us.  We have loved serving you, each in our own way, each task important to the success of the whole camp.  Every act of service to you was actually God showing His love in a concrete and tangible way.

"And do you know what God is saying to you right now?

"He’s saying, 'Do you see how much these Christians here have loved you this week?  That’s Me loving you through them.  I told them to love you and they did.'

"We aren’t perfect.  If you haven’t felt loved every minute of every day, forgive us.  We’ve done our best.

"And so now, as Ray challenged you this week, we say to you once again, 'Go out and make a difference in the world by loving those around you.  Make a difference by loving others as you have been loved by us here in this place this week.'

"When the Olympic torch is extinguished in the real Olympic Games, a small torch is lit again to carry the flame to the site of the next Olympics.  Here we will extinguish our Olympic torch and pass the flame to each of the cabins.  It is a symbol of taking the light of God and His love to a dark world.  Take your candle and go light your world. "   

New Disciplines

I've been trying to take up a couple of long held traditions in the Church over histories that have never been a part of my daily walk.  The first one is the practice of fixed-hour prayer.  This discipline was practiced all the way back to the first century church and has its roots in the traditions of Judaism.  We know that Peter received his vision from God of accepting the new Gentile converts into the church during his noonday prayer time.  I thought it is especially appropriate to be practicing this in light of the fact that I am planning on telling the story of Daniel.  Anyone who knows Daniel's story knows that it was his habit of fixed-hour prayer that landed him in the lion's den.

The tool I have been using for this practice is this book.  I have enjoyed the many psalms and songs that are included that are very familiar to me.  The other thing I have liked is the many things I am praying for now that I never would have thought to pray for before.  There are prayers called compline prayers that are prayers to say right before you go to bed.  The first line is always the same, "May the Lord Almighty grant me and those I love a peaceful night and a perfect end. Amen."  I love that!

The other discipline has been harder.  It is the practice of silence.  I have chosen to spend my three daily prayer times out on my lovely new deck, and at the end of the prayers I am trying to sit in silence for several minutes and really see what is around me.  I try to really hear all the birds that are calling and the bugs that are buzzing.  I try to look at the lake and see if it is still (sometimes the reflections are just like glass) or choppy.  I try to listen to the wind rustling the birch leaves (they make a very distinct sound).  If you watch the CBS Sunday Morning show you know that they always end with a moment of nature.  I'm trying to emulate that as I look around.   

One morning I looked around carefully and found one lone pink flower bloomed a short distance away.  I would never have seen it if I had not been really paying attention, and I am certain that I am the only one here who did see it.  It made me think that God had put it there just for me.  

How many things does He put out there every day just for me that I am too busy to notice?

Decision vs. Disciple

Since we’ve chosen the Olympics for the theme of camp this year, I’ve given a lot of thought to the many comparisons between being an Olympic athlete and being a Christian.  It’s not hard to find verses that go along with this thought either.  Check these out:

Philippians 3:12-14

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

One of the things that has really been sticking with me is the difference between making a decision and becoming a disciple.  If I ask the kids here at camp if they think winning a medal at the Olympics would be a cool thing, something they would like to do, most of them would raise their hand to say yes.  But we all know that that’s not how you become a medal winner.  You don’t raise your hand and do nothing else about it (or very little) and then show up at the medal ceremonies expecting to get your medal.

In the same way, I can’t ask kids to raise their hands if they want to be a Christian and let them think that that’s all they have to do.  They can’t lift their hand, pray a prayer, and then do nothing else (or very little), and then show up in heaven expecting their reward.

Continuing this idea, becoming an Olympian and becoming a Christian both do start with a decision.  For the athlete, it might have been a parent or a coach that introduced them to a sport.  After learning the basic skills, they have to continue to practice and develop in their sport.  Being an athlete will cost them – socially, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Becoming a Christian starts with a decision too.  For some of the kids here, they will have parents or teachers who have introduced them to Jesus.  But for many of them, we will be the “coach” who shows them what the Christian life is all about, and teaches them the basic skills they will need for following Jesus.  We will have to see what happens next.   Will they continue to practice and develop their spiritual self?  Will they pay the price of following Jesus?—for it will cost them socially, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Some kids have been coming to camp every summer for years.  Will we see fruit in their lives?  Will we be allowed to take them one more step along the journey of their lives with Christ? 

We shall see.