I found a picture of the old chapel barn on my computer a few nights ago and it got me thinking about how wonderful camp is and how many great things God has done there.
Camp for me is a bit of a heritage. My grandparents have been a part of camp since almost day one. My mom and dad met there and so you could almost say that without camp I wouldn't even be here.
But the best thing about camp is that when I was 4 years old we went to family camp and there for the first time that I can remember (probably more because I was just then old enough to really remember, not because it was actually the first time) I heard that old, old story of Jesus and His love. I remember sitting in the tepee and learning this chorus:
"My heart was black with sin, until the Savior came in.
His precious blood I know has washed me white as snow,
and in God's word I'm told, I'll walk the streets of gold.
What a wonderful, wonderful day, He washed my sins away!"
I remember going home from that week and not long after walking into the kitchen and asking my mom how I could be saved. I may have been little, but I knew full well that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. I praise the Lord for the work of camp in my life--first and foremost to point me to salvation, and secondly for all the years of discipleship and service that the Lord has given me there. And so when people ask why I love camp--that is why, because it was there that I met Jesus!
I was reading Genesis 15 today and something struck me that I had never seen before (by the way, isn't that wonderful! The Living Word of communicates to us in new ways every time we read it by the power of the Holy Spirit in us!)
Genesis 15:1-2 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
The Lord God of the universe, the creator and sustainer of all things, tells Abram that He is his reward, his treasure and Abram says, "what will you give me?"
Isn't that like us though? We accept the grace of God, the free and glorious gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus and then we say to God, "what will you give me?"
Perhaps the better question would be, "What can I give Him?"
The words of this chorus by Barry McGuire sum it up well:
1 Peter 5:6-11 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 Resist him,firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
I was reading this passage the other day as I was sitting at work, barely able to breathe because of the anxieties that were crushing me. It has been a long time since I have had a full-blown panic attack but this week has certainly tested those limits. And as I sat and tried to breathe, and tried to pray, as the Lord often does, He brought a song to my mind that perfectly fit the situation. It was the Psalty the Singing Songbook children's chorus "I cast all my cares upon You."
I pulled up 1 Peter 5 on biblegateway.com because I knew that verse was somewhere in there but as I read down through the verses I was struck with how isolated from each other verses 6, 7 and 8 often are in our thinking.
As I meditated on this passage I felt like the Lord opened my eyes to see a few things.
1. Humility is necessary for casting our cares on Him. You see, anxiety is really just me fighting for control and realizing that I don't have it.
2. Casting our cares requires that we bend our knees, because like the song says "I lay all of my burdens down at Your feet."
3. Fear is consequence of every lie.--This is actually at thought that Mike Donehey from Tenth Ave North unpacks here:
But what I liked about this as I watched this video again is that he points out that Satan is the father of lies and I think that ties verse 7 & 8 together for me. See, we cast all out cares on Him, and then immediately after Peter tells us to be sober and watchful because our adversary, the devil is seeking whom he may devour. And the first time I read that the other day I was confused---thinking, "Peter, your thought train just jumped the track and I fell off." But because fear/anxiety, whatever you want to call it, is the product of believing a lie and Satan is the father of lies, if we want to escape fear we need to be on our guard against lies.
4. One final thought, and perhaps the most important.
Humbling yourself is key because it puts you back where you belong and remind you of Who it is that sits on the throne. And then there is no fear because He has promised: "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because He trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3
Look to Him. Cast your cares on Him--believing that He is more than able. And don't believe the lies!
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