First Word Devotions
Be encouraged in your faith through this series of devotions, written and shared over the years by camp staff past and present.
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Be encouraged in your faith through this series of devotions, written and shared over the years by camp staff past and present.
I want to talk to you about trust. This is an area where God has really been working in my life over the past couple of years, because ministry always requires trust. But it is always a battle. Because we want trust that feels safe. We want trust that lets us still feel in control. But then, of course, it isn’t really trust at all.
Memorial Day is about remembering all the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country — they died so that we could know freedom. Jesus wanted us so badly that he didn’t give up. He came here on a rescue mission so that we could know him and be with him forever, and today – and everyday – we give thanks for that.
Back in the day, I spent two summers as a Camp Luther counselors. Each week, I would be responsible for anywhere from 6-12 girls, and each week, I had to do something I dreaded.
I had to take them on a campout.
This is God’s final word. Whatever we’re scared of, whatever we’re going through, Jesus Christ is enough. His love is enough. And if we stop trying to be strong enough and courageous enough on our own and give up control to him, He can take away our fear.
A people far from home. An orphan girl pulled from obscurity and thrust into prominence and power. An assassination attempt against the king. Palace intrigue. Plots within plots. The orphan girl facing off against insurmountable odds to save her people.
It’s gut check time for the Israelites. Because they’re faced with a choice. God has given them this land. There’s no doubt about that. But there are giants in the land. And so it becomes this battle between fear and faith. Fear of the giants. Faith in the God who has brought them this far.
“Give us today our daily bread” is not a demand to God, but a line of thanks for God giving us not the luxuries we demand, but the necessities which He readily supplies. We have food, fellowship, a place to live, and faith in our Savior, Jesus. There is much we may want, but we have all the “bread” we need.
Here at camp we don’t know exactly what the future will bring. We don’t know exactly where the path leads. But we do know where we are. And where we are is following Jesus, who knows the way and is the Way.
As I rolled down my window to speak to the middle-aged police officer, I noticed fire in his eyes.
"Do you know how fast you were going, young lady?"
You shine like stars in the universe. Why? Because you hold out the word of life. With Jesus in your hearts and on your lips you are all lights in a dark world. You show everyone you interact with the light of the world. You are a star blazing bright in the night sky-shining for all to see! And it is not one star that floods the night sky with light, but the collection of stars that work together to make the sky a twinkling force. Would you marvel at a single star in the sky? No, it is the collective sight that delights.
Ministry is about the brokenness of this world, but it’s also about the longing that draws us to Jesus.
Have you ever done something terrible? Something you are ashamed of and wished never happened? I did...and it nearly destroyed me.
Have you ever walked into a room and felt like no one even knew you were there? Are you the one who everyone forgets to invite? Do you feel invisible?
What happens when you die? Where do you go? Maybe you never thought about dying, after all you’re young, most people don’t die until they are old, right? I used to think that – until I got sick.
Do you know what leprosy is like? Hardly anyone has it anymore, but in my day it was everyone’s fear. If you got leprosy your skin would begin to flake and peel, you lost feeling in your limbs, your own body would begin to decay and fall apart while you were still alive! Men and women would lose hands, feet, ears...it turns you into a walking monster!
I just didn’t want to give it up. I had heard him preaching but I just didn’t want to give it all away. I was amazed by what Jesus said and the things that He did...but I knew that if I followed him I would have to give up too much.
When we say FULL SEND, a lot of the time it is in high risk situations. Crazy activities like cliff diving, rule breaking, viral video making-type stuff right? Well, who is to say that we shouldn’t full send, hold nothing back, give everything, devote our entire minds and hearts into having the same attitude as Christ Jesus had? Let’s dive deeper into what that looks like.
Many years ago, a weary traveler hiked for miles across the desert with the hot sun beating down on him. His water supply was gone and he knew that if he didn’t find water soon to quench his thirst, he would surely die.
Identity is a word we toss around a lot, but I think it’s hugely important. Your identity is where you base your sense of worth. It touches on so many deep parts of who we are, on deep longings that we have. We all have this idea about what we want our identity to be. We want to be accepted, and liked. We want to feel like we fit in and that we’re relevant and valuable and beautiful.
What is something that you regret? Something you would change? A burden you’ve been holding onto?
For a long time, one of my biggest regrets involved the way my running career ended. Running was a huge part of my life - I ran competitively in both high school and college and it formed a huge chunk of my identity. The peak of my career came in my junior year of college, when I ran well enough at the NCAA Division III Cross-Country Nationals to secure All-American honors. But even though I didn’t know it, that was the beginning of the end.
How has camp served as an “Ebenezer stone” for you? How has it served as a marker of the faithfulness of God in your life? This devotion was shared with our summer staff at the end of Summer 2016, encouraging them that what they experienced at camp was not the end—instead it was just the beginning of the journey of following Jesus.
We’ve sang the song “Come Thou Fount” a number of times at camp, and the second verse begins with a phrase that’s really easy to skip past: Here I raise my Ebenezer…
The Chronicles of Narnia is an incredible series of books. But my favorite book in the entire series is The Silver Chair. And it’s because it has one of my all-time favorite characters in any book—Puddleglum the Marshwiggle.
There’s a saying that goes, “Real gold fears no fire.” It means that the challenges and trials we go through reveal the truth of what is there, beneath the surface.
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God wants to break your heart. But he does it to make our hearts more like his. Jesus is the broken heart of God. Jesus is God saying I’m going to enter your pain, even though it’s going to hurt, it’s going to get messy. I’m going to open myself up to all of that because I love you.