Redeemer

Read This Passage: Revelation 5:8-10
“And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; because You were slaughtered, and You redeemed people for God by Your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.’” —Revelation 5:9

Can you imagine being a fly on the wall in this worship service? John takes us into the throne room of heaven. Christ, through His humiliating death and victorious resurrection, has gone into heaven after redeeming His people from the bondage of sin. He is welcomed by a new song because of His worthiness to be our king, because of what He did on the cross. What words can more fully declare the greatness of Christ than the lyrics of this song? He literally purchased people from every people group in the world, a price tag that cost Him His own life.

It is Christ’s work on the cross that gives us victory. It is the work of the cross that gives life. He has fixed our sin problem, taking what was destroyed by sin and restoring us through His sacrifice.
Picture yourself attending this worship service. (If you are a follower of Christ, you will be there.) Christ is your Redeemer. He gives you freedom to live life to its fullest.

Pray
Be excited that Christ loved you all the way to the cross. Praise Him for the freedom His sacrifice brings to you.

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New Staff Cabin – Apache

Back when I was an Apache we didn’t have the new fancy Apache bathhouse. Our old bathhouse was in the bottom half the two story Apache Cabin…connected to Cabin 3. Well, Marty has spent weeks renovating this old bathhouse. He is turning it into a brand new Staff Cabin. The Apache TL and a few other Central Staffers will be the first to live in the cabin with new walls and a new ceiling. They will be living in perhaps the nicest bedroom in camp. Although it’s still a construction zone, you can see Marty’s project is coming together! We have a few more buildings breaking ground soon. Be sure to check back for those pictures.

I have also posted here a picture showing the progress on the new Shawnee Cabin! They have the pillars finished and they are in the process of filling them with concrete. The floors system will start going in tomorrow! Things are moving along…and should be ready for you this summer! More details and pictures coming soon…

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Worthy

Read This Passage: Revelation 5:1-7
Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has been victorious so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals.” —Revelation 5:5

Today’s passage opens with John watching events unfold in the throne room of heaven. God is seated on His throne, holding a scroll no one seems worthy to open and read.

John’s weeping is evidence of the importance of that scroll. Notice the difference between what is announced (“The Lion from the tribe of Judah”) and what actually appears (“a slaughtered lamb”). The triumphant Lion is the slaughtered Lamb. The supreme King is the crucified Savior. One, and only one, is found worthy. No created being—not an angel, not Billy Graham, not your counselor from camp this summer – no one but Jesus is worthy.

Christ alone, because of His humility on the cross, can unveil the will of God for the world found in the scroll. Envision Jesus as both the Lion and the Lamb. If we want to see the Lion as our Savior rather than our judge, we must first find Him in the Lamb, the very substitute for our sin on the cross. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:18, we can’t know Christ’s saving power without knowing the humility of His crucifixion.

Pray
Read Philippians 2:5-11 as a prayer. Praise Jesus for being both the Lion and the Lamb.

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Snow at Camp…in October!

We woke up to an unexpected white blanket of snow today at Camp Ridgecrest! Well maybe less of a blanket and more of a dusting. Either way, it’s cool to see Camp Ridgecrest with snow on the ground. Thought you may want to take a peek, so here you go!

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Third Day

Read This Passage: Luke 24:1-9
So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. “He is not here, but He has been resurrected!” —Luke 24:5-6a

This familiar text is rich with reminders to us. Do you see the warmth and respect the women displayed to Jesus even after he was dead and buried? Can you imagine their astonishment that day? Honestly, I would have questioned the situation, too. The women went to the grave intending to find Christ in His burial rags and saw angels in shining garments instead.

When the angels spoke, they simply reminded the women of Jesus’ own words. The angels declared that Jesus had risen from the dead just as He had prophesied. The message was clear: this wasn’t news; Jesus had told them He would be resurrected.

Sometimes, we’re a lot like these women. They had been followers of Christ; they proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah. They had seen Him raise the dead—more than once! They had heard Him say that He must die and rise again. But sorrow overtook them when they saw the empty tomb. The angels simply reminded them to remember.

That empty grave is important. Even the grave could not hold the King! Jesus defeated death itself. There are no chains He cannot break. The empty grave means that there is nothing too difficult for the Lord to conquer—wrecked relationships, sinful patterns, broken homes, painful addictions, and yes, even reconciling us to the Father. He alone is able. Jesus rose on the third day, and we can live every day in knowledge of that victory!

Real Choices
Has there ever been a time when a particular Scripture passage jumped off the page at you, so to speak? Think back through the times when you know that the Lord has used His Word to speak directly to you. Make a list of those passages and read through them each day this week in order to “remember” what you’ve been told.

Digging Deeper
Are you living as though you’ve been set free? To learn more about Christ’s victory over death, read 1 Corinthians 15:55-58.

Pray
Spend some time confessing your doubt to the Lord. Ask Him to help you to continually remember what He has said in His Word. Thank Him for His victory in your life.

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The Root

Read This Passage: 1 Timothy 6:6-10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. —1 Timothy 6:10

Tree roots. Dark roots. Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The root of the problem. The point is, we have a lot of uses for the word root. Roots supply nutrients to trees and plants; some women color the roots of their hair to hide its natural shade. Alex Haley made the idea of genealogical roots famous with his 1976 best-seller. But today’s devotion and key verse use the word root in reference to the source of the problem.
In this case, 1 Timothy 6:10 points out that the source of “all kinds of evil” is the love of money. Notice it’s not money, as this verse is often misquoted, but the love of money that Scripture says causes problems. Loving money involves craving it, focusing on it, pursuing more of it at all costs. Money is powerful and necessary in this world, but it’s all too easy to become obsessed by an all-consuming desire for more. What else can you become obsessed with and neglect God? What about popularity or our looks? Anything, even good things we consume ourselves with can pull us away from God.

God knew that money’s power and necessity would make it vital and important in our lives. He also knew that our desires and our love could become more focused on it than on Him. When money reaches that place of importance in our lives, it puts a strain on our relationship with God. Instead of pursuing Him with passion, we’re pursuing more money, and God, our relationship with Him, and His will are somewhere in our rearview mirrors.

So what is in your heart? What do you treasure? Seek to make God your all-consuming focus!

Real Choices
Take a good, hard look at your life. What is your passion? Is it God? Fame? Money? Awards? What’s separating you from His will and point of view? As long as there is air in your lungs, it is never too late to fix your relationship with Him if you feel disconnected from Him.

Digging Deeper
Read over Matthew 6:24. This is another verse that emphasizes that loving or serving money (or anything other than God) separates us from Him. What’s separating you from a closer relationship with God?

Pray
Lord, I want You to be my all-consuming focus. Help me to focus on the things that matter to You and keep money in the right perspective.

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Word of Advice

Read This Passage: Proverbs 23:4-8
Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; stop giving your attention to it. —Proverbs 23:4

I’m not sure if it’s human nature or strictly a guy thing, but I have a strong competitive streak. I know with most guys, there is a tendency to want to be the best at something.

The key verse of this passage reminds me of some of the games we play at camp. I thoroughly enjoy watching people act completely ridiculous while playing with them. It’s all about winning and losing. I’ve seen campers go 100% and dive after balls, and do anything to score. It’s winner-take-all, and every player wants the bragging rights. I’ve watched so many people try so hard and focus so much energy on being the best in that competition. I’ve seen them lose their composure, their -tempers, and even their control. They’re striving to win that competition, wearing themselves out to be named the winner. And in the long run, it’s an achievement that doesn’t even count for that much.

That’s the point of today’s key verse and devotion: we can spend our lives wearing ourselves out to get more—money, things, attention—and devoting ourselves to activities that, in the end, won’t amount to anything of eternal value. Money is a necessary resource in this world. Fame and attention are accolades we all desire on some level, but they’re not eternal. God wants us to spend our time and energy striving for things of eternal significance, things that matter, like telling the gospel message that you learned at camp and loving God and others. These things last. So take this word of advice: devote your life to things of eternal value. You may not be rich or famous, but you’ll bring glory to God.

Real Choices
Do you focus your energy on faith and ministry or on worldly success? Take a good hard look at the way you spend your time and resources today. What do your actions and behaviors say you value: earthly treasures or things of eternal value?

Digging Deeper
Read James 4:14. What does this verse teach us about our lives here on earth? Reflect on what is important in this short time you have to serve God here.

Pray
Father, help me to use my energy to further Your kingdom in heaven rather than to increase my wealth on earth.

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Weigh In

Read This Passage: Proverbs 16:8-11
Honest balances and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are His concern. —Proverbs 16:11

I asked a teenager from my hometown to give me an example of something he did that was dishonest or unpleasing to God. He recalled several instances in which he cheated on homework in one of his classes. It was a subject he had struggled with all year, so he started to copy assignments from his peers.

That particular type of dishonesty is probably more common than most of us would like to admit—or at least a very real temptation in our daily lives. At the time, cheating probably seemed like a good option to the teen I talked with, but it didn’t honor God in any way. And my friend learned the consequences of dishonesty the hard way—a couple of -failing grades on tests because he didn’t actually know the material. It was evident that he had not been doing his own work up to that point. What about honesty while at camp? What if everyone cheated in 4 square – a tiny example I know, but think how it ruins the game. This is true with life. God set it up so that we would receive the best life possible, if we trust him. And he loves it when we are honest!

Honesty is important to God. We serve a God who is in control of all things, who has the right to bestow justice as He sees fit. But our God is also honest and good, and He wants us to embody those characteristics, too. In the simplest terms, God cares about honesty; He craves and desires it in our lives. And He doesn’t just want it every once in awhile or only in certain aspects of our lives; He wants honesty to characterize us, just as it does Him, all the time, every day.

God wants every part of our lives to honor Him, from school to work and especially in finances and when you get a job. In a job setting, you have an opportunity to show people Christ through your life. You can do that by making sure you use your money in godly ways. Strive to live a life—even now—that would make it past God’s honesty weigh-in.

Real Choices
How do you weigh in when it counts? Only you can answer these questions, so ask yourself if you really live with honesty and integrity. Do you honor God with your decisions? Your money? Your attitudes? Why or why not?

Digging Deeper
Cross reference Ephesians 4:28 and 1 Timothy 4:12 as you study this passage. Why is it important that God desires honesty in our lives, even when we’re young?

Pray
Father, help me to be more like You. Help me strive to be honest in every aspect of my life, to operate with integrity, and to set an example for others.

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