Starry Skies

Hey friends!

It's already week 5 (okay, well, week 6 now), and I can't help but picture what week 5/6 will look like out on the water.. Trainee's, you'll be off the water, and Driver's, we'll only be about halfway through. I've been feeling so inadequate these past two weeks in being motivated on this blog. I've been attempting to grasp my own life away from Jesus as I become increasingly nervous for the summer, and yet exactly as this devo says, I'm quite literally crawling back.

Being challenged these past few weeks with darkness growing in my family and friend's lives, I find my heart breaking as well as panicking for them. But this devo has reminded me that JESUS is the light of the world, not the small lightbulb I turned on for myself-or whoever I care so deeply about. As I follow Jesus, so can the people around me...so can our campers. I don't have to worry about talking to this person or spending time with another; because as long as I am following Jesus, He will make those events happen. With his light Jesus will lead us into ministering to campers and bonding with our Barney's/ Trainee's/ Drivers. There is no opportunity to worry about the past, present, or future when we are igniting ourselves with His Holy Light.

Being an Astro nerd, this also reminds me of the sunset. The sun, our essential source of EVERYTHING sets, and we are set in motion to enter darkness. After a glorious sunset, we watch the sky grow increasingly darker, and there isn't much to see as our eyes begin to adjust...and then WHAM you see your first star! Your first source of light! And soon after another..and another.. And some time later the sky is absolutely covered by hundreds of thousands of stars, all pinpoints bursting with light. Finding constellations and shooting stars become increasingly magical, especially while lying on the roof of a houseboat. This sun setting into night is inevitable-it's nature, therefore it's natural. So isn't it natural for us to turn into the dark, only to find that it is one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL places our God can shine in His light?

Praying for everyone & their families, believe it or not.

Julia :)

falling plates.

Hey everyone!

hope you all had an awesome weekend and i cant wait to see you all memorial day weekend.

i saw this video the other day and it was SUPER RAD and id love to share it with you all.. so here it is!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGlx11BxF24

This Little Light of Mine- Choose to Shine

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine

Growing up as a little girl I sang this song nearly every Sunday and knew all the verses and accompanying hand motions.

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine

I always seemed to take it as a little diddy and never thought much more of it. 

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine

Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is the light of our lives.  Without Him we are lost in the darkness with no sense of direction. He is the source of our salvation.

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine

This light we share, we do not hide it under bushels or let Satan blow it out. This light that Jesus shines for the World is to be shared. We are undeserving of this love and yet He lights our paths and shows us the way and leads us to salvation. We can act as a kind of mirror and reflect this light onto those we encounter and our coming campers. We can help to spread this love and be a reflection of God's love in our daily lives. We can choose to shine. 

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Light of Life

Hi friends! 

This week has been a busy heavy week, and the reminder of the Light of the World was pretty spot on for me. To simply be reminded that "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life" is just such a loaded sentence. We will never walk in darkness, so long that we follow of Christ. I so often call things in my life darkness without seeing the whole picture. God is ALWAYS working in and through our lives. We as followers of Jesus are holders of the light of life! We are given Jesus. And with him we are never left alone. The light of the World makes our lives brighter when we chose to earnestly seek and  follow him. For me, that light may be a dim light right now with stuff going on, but it's there! and leading the way! 

Have a blessed week everyone! Chelsea Goza(:

Everlasting Light

This weekend my church held a woman's conference and the speaker pointed out something that I never thought of before. In Genesis 1:1-2 it says how in the very beginning the earth was void and covered with darkness, "and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." The cool thing she pointed out was that even in the very beginning, before sin entered the world, God was present in the void and the darkness. God's light and presence is so strong that it was able to withstand the sin that had entered the world and it still triumphs over sin and darkness today! That is so encouraging to me and helps me get a bigger glimpse at how powerful the light of God really is. Light that is able to overcome all darkness is pretty powerful, and what's crazy to think about is that God calls us to be that light. That sometimes feels like too big of a responsibility for me to handle, but that's okay because God doesn't want me to do it on my own, it pushes me to trust him to lead me.

Have a great week guys, can't wait to see everyone in about a month!

On Fire

Hey Son Shine People!

It's amazing how incredibly bright Christ's Light really is! Like the text says, His Light shines on the darkness of our hearts, and how painfully hard it is to deal with this truth. The shame and guilt are used against me by Satan. His light is of truth and righteousness, yet I somehow always forget this, letting Satan run away with my relationship with God. I also liked when the text said something about getting so close to His Light that it could cause a burn? His Light, if we accept it, just burns us up and Ignites our hearts! It reminds me of a few friends that I have whose hearts are so on fire for Christ's Light, it causes me to burn up and come closer into His Light. All God needs is a spark and He will throw the gasoline to further ignite the hearts of the campers. Lets be that spark! Hope all is well with you guys.

Later,

Alex Thulemeyer

The Brightest Light

This week’s devotional really helped reinforce the idea of not worrying about the end of the path (the future), but to instead focus on the steps right in front of me (the present). I’m really excited to get out on the water this summer and I’ve had a tendency to just look forward to that, but God has continually reminded me that there’s work that has to be done here first, both in me and through me.

            That being said, I love this idea of Jesus being the light that dispels all darkness in the room. I think we have such an awesome opportunity to have that light of Jesus shine through us this summer to campers who may only get to experience that kind of light during their week at camp. That’s a huge opportunity if you think about it, but if we focus on the steps ahead and trust that God will lead you the way He wants, everything will work out. Shine that light!

-JDK

Fear...

* Caution: ugly, real life moments to follow* 

Hey Everyone! 

So in light of this past weeks reading about fear, and the psalm passage that rocks me every time.. whom then shall I fear, I need to get real with all of you. I have been avoiding posting on the blog lately because I feel afraid to share my real thoughts. I feel that because this is my third summer with Sonshine that I need to have some super spiritual deep insight into everything and how it will play out this summer. Truth is guys, I don't. I feel so lost with God right now. I don't know why He is doing some of the things He is right now, and I am just really frustrated at that. The thing is, I have just been letting this hide because I worry what the rest of you all will think upon hearing that. But if we are going to be a team, serving these kids, then I need to get real with you guys. This is how I am feeling.

I am terrified about this summer. I am also really really excited. I'm scared that God is going to break me of my old ways that I cling to regardless of the abundant life that He is handing to me. I fear so many things right now, and I am just sitting in the dark with a flashlight in my hand not turning it on! How silly of me. God is right there and that light is so easily available... so why am I not taking it ? 

-Haley 

Whom shall I fear?

So this week my heart and thoughts have been clouded by fear and darkness about all things past present and future. and its been driving crazy. However this morning I listened to my pastor preach about fear and he says God calls us to be fearless and put on tbe belt of truth and the armour of God so that we may stand our ground against the schemes of the devil. I find that I can no longer live a life of worry and fear, for I know that my God my Jesus is my light and my salvation and he will shatter any darkness. My dad just told me that he read a quote by Napoleon who said that out of all the rulers and conquerors throught out history who had build their empires upon war and violence, Jesus was the only one would build his empire upon love. " The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whome shall I fear?"

Catching up...

Hey guys! i hope you all are doing well i cant wait to serve with you all this summer and see you memorial day weekend! SO EXCITED. Sorry ive failed with the posting so here i am catching up. love you guys and praying for you and what the summer holds!

Week 3

Who is Jesus.... such a heavy question.  As i read this devotional i found myself describing Jesus through his act.  Once i finished the devotional it was still racking my brain of how can i describe Jesus. who is he to me today right this second and after spending time alone (i dont want to say realized...) but it came to me... Jesus is present... he is her in this room he is filling up every corner.... hes not physically infront of be but hes like this mist that surronds me. Jesus is the one who catches me when i fall and carries me and heals me. He is the one i turn to when im having a hard day and fell depressed. Jesus is THE Son of Man, he is the the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and he is so much more. he is truth he is love he is life....

week 4

God just continues to amaze me in the simplest of ways,   I Am the bread of life. when i think of this I Am statement I immediately think of the Lords Prayer, the Lords Prayer in my opinion is the ultimate prayer.. it covers everything...  And of course it cover the bread of life.... " Give us our daily bread..." we NEED food to nourish our body  but even more import and what this devotional covers and the Lords Prayer WE NEED GOD MORE THAN OUR NEXT MEAL. Christ is our bread he is necessary for our existence without Christ we are nothing with out know who Christ is, reading the word being in fellowship DAILY we wont nourish our body and the craziest thing of all is that Christ offers it to us on the daily and now its up to us to take what is freely given. he is all the substance we need but if we never take the bread we wont survive.

week 5

i love the light the brighter the better.... its one thing that my roommate and i argue about. im the type of person that loves to sleep with the blinds up just so the sun will wake me up... i almost yearn for it. in my opinion its the best way to wake up and not only that its how a room should be... well lit.

i desire light the same as i desire God. we live in such a dark scary world filled with hate, yet God shines his light and we can walk in that and share Gods light with the people we come in to contact with and reveal to them what is longing in their heats, Christ.

its so simple to walk in to darkness and run from the light... which is such a eery thing to think but like this devotional says " we do not flee for long" in every dark corner there is light but its our choice to see the light to walk in the light and imitate the light.

this summer we all have such an awesome opportunity to share Gods light as we love on these kids and put Christ above all. we get to expose this "inner radiance" to the campers, the people on the dock, even the workers at Costco or the other costumer. AHHH this  gets me so excited for summer!

Children at Christmas

When you give a child a gift at Christmas, their faces light up just when you hand them the wrapped gift. they don't know what is under the wrappings, or what the purpose of this gift is, but they want it. They fall to their knees tearing at the paper before they even hit the ground. To them, you are the greatest person in the entire world. When they finally ravage the paper, they lift off the lid of the box, and under it is the new sweat shirt they wanted. They throw it on and refuse to take it off for the next couple of weeks. But after about a month, they start wearing their old sweat shirt again because it is comfortable and familiar. They only throw on the one you gave them when your around, or when its convenient.

This describes some Christians' lives. I definitely guilty of this. I used  to use the gift of Christ, His forgiving of my sins, only when it is convenient. I am working hard to fix this problem in my life.

a little yellow and gray bird

I loved the section that taught about how Jesus is our example of not only who God is but who we were created to be. Jesus' life on Earth is such a beautiful and gracious demonstration of how we are to live. God does not expect us to get it right even nearly all the time but, by Jesus, He has grace for us in that as well. God is so beautiful and has orchestrated His story into the Earth so intentionally.

I am watching a little yellow and gray bird as I am writing this jumping from brach to branch. God watches over this little bird with full attention. He knows where it is about to fly, which other birds it will encounter, where it's next meal will come from, how many baby birds it may raise, and the day it will pass away. This plan that God has for this bird is perfect and aligned with God's will. If this is true for this little yellow and gray bird, so it is for me. =)

Anyways, I look forward for God to reveal to me more of what it means that God is our guiding light. I love learning about Jesus' words and how He speaks with such ground-breaking authority.

-Kev

Craving the Light

Unless I am trying to sleep, I would rather not be in the dark. On nice days in SB,  I come back to my apartment and the lights are off and the blinds are closed and I desire for the sunlight come in through the windows and brighten up the room. I crave the light.

In the same way, we should crave the light of Jesus. The devo says,"Yet we do not flee for long. For one thing, He is inescapable. But for another, we crave what we see in Him." We crave the light that he shines into our lives. We would rather walk with a light guiding us than in the dark, so we should let Jesus be that light in our lives. That light that brightens up our hearts and guides our paths.

Hopefully, others will be able to see the light of Jesus through us. "They will see an inner radiance..." that is nothing more than Jesus, the Light of the World, working in our own hearts and guiding our paths. We can show campers, friends, and family Jesus by letting his light shine through our own lives.

My hope is that all of us will crave the light of Jesus so that our lives can reflect Jesus to everybody around us!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Amanda

Flooding the Darkness

I absolutely love the image of the Light of the World flooding the darkness. There is so much darkness in this world, at my school, and even in times of my life. But when we let him, Jesus, the Light of the World, floods that darkness with his clarity and direction. When I think of this, I picture a dam being broken and the water just completely overtaking everything in its path. Jesus's Light reaches every corner of our hearts, minds, lives..everything! Just like God never left the Israelites, he will never leave us. His guidance will never be out of our reach! The best part about the Light of the world is that it is perfect. We will never be misled when our lives are in alignment with Jesus.

Because of the Light of the World, we are not in the darkness in terms of God, His will, and humanity. He brings clarity to the darkness in our lives and shines the perfect, guiding Light.
Feeling so thankful for the faithfulness of Jesus today. Praying that we will trust the Light to guide our every thought and action.

Counting down the days...28!! Can't wait to see everyone! :)

Times of need

Hey friends!

When God allows us to enter into a time of need, or even a time of utter desperation, it is often because God is giving us the chance to seek Him out in a more intimate and deeper way. This being we are craving the bread of life and do we go for bread that sustains or cake that provides for the moment and waists away. There are plenty of things in my life that act as cake. I have been trying to imagine what cake looks like on houseboats and put myself into week 5 when I seem to "have it figured out" and ask myself if I am being sustained by the bread of life. That phrase, to "have it figured out", is my greatest fear. If I do get there I pray that God is graceful in bringing me back to my knees.

This has been a tough season. God has stretched and challenged me to my limits and provided just what I have needed to see His face and hand in everything. From all of this I have grown daily and I find myself more committed to Him all the while. I hope this encourages you to remember God's loving embrace of us through each and every season. He calls us Sons and Daughters and He is a proud Father.

-Kev

Bread of Life

Hey guys!

Sorry this post is delayed by a solid two days..partly because I was so caught up in awe of how great God was last week. While spending my spring break in San Francisco visiting old friends and dwelling on this passage, I couldn't help but notice how literally every situation kept coming back to this devo. I love how everyone is so on par with how important bread is & how it is a staple to our diets.. And I'm going to jump right on that boat as well. However, I think it's important that we must be willing to take this daily bread... When we start off our day in quiet time with Jesus, we are able to prep for the table of taking. That is, our hearts are set up to take as much or as little bread as needed. And I was so blessed to execute that for a full week in one of the craziest cities... Being able to open up each day with The Lord knowing I have no idea what I'd be doing that day except following him. Just like how we'll be on the water (I think Hope put it most inspiringly). We are able to keep taking our pieces of bread throughout the day, but we must be WILLING. Jesus invites us to sit down & have a meal with him, but we are the ones who decide to stop time and spend it with him.

Sending all of you love & His light!
Julia

I give nothing, He gives everything?

I've noticed recently that I'm much to focused on my life, and attempting to do it on my own.  This past week as we discussed Jesus being the bread of life, I realized that even when I give 10% or less of myself to Him, he still gives 100% of Himself back to me.  When I first read this chapter last Thursday I continued my day stunned at just how much He loves me.  I've noticed that I need to greatly immerse myself into this realization in order to be able to give more and more of my mind, soul, heart, and strength to Him.

I think I'll leave it at that, I have to get to work after all. :)

"light of the world you stepped down into darkness. open my eyes, let me see." is the first thing that popped into my head while going through this. I relate trusting the light to trusting the process.

When the Israelites were leaving egypt, God went before them, leading them by way of a pillar of fire at night. They didnt know what was going to happen or where exactly they were going, but fundamentally, i feel like trust that this pillar was more than enough was necessary.

In similar fashion, i feel that the process of trusting God while not seeing much further ahead is an awesome but trying journey. In that trust i have to give up control or else i will wander off on my own. and during the process of trusting, God shines a light into the dark areas of my life as well. So not only is he leading me on the lit path, but he is illuminating my performance based attitudes. it can lead to me trying to cover it back up or letting it stay exposed and give it up.

He is Always Good to US

Exodus 13:21-22 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

God never rests from being good. He never rests from doing good. He never rests from being good to us. I love these verses. They perfectly describe what is happening right now for this summer. My only light in to this summer is Jesus as to what will happen, what I will go through and learn, who I will become, who I will meet, and what I will say. God is constantly ahead of us and is guiding us in to this summer. I pray we follow so closely and that He is all we cling to. When we're exhausted, hungry, lonely, scared, angry, frustrated, confused I pray we remember that He is already ahead of us and has already suffered what we are about to suffer. Jesus will never leave his place in front of us, and he makes this summer possible.

Life Sustainer

This devotion could not have been at more perfect timing! Last weekend I found myself sick, what I thought was just allergies turned into me sleeping most of Sunday and Monday because my body just shut down on me. All I kept thinking was I don't have time to get sick, I don't have time to be missing things and to just be laying here at home, but I soon realized that was exactly why I was sick. I was struck by what Jesus says in John 6, Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life because to be honest I've spent a lot of this semester, and especially this past month, just working for food that spoils. As much as I did not enjoy being sick and achy this week, I'm kind of grateful I was because that was the first step in just getting me to stop. The devotion then followed that up with showing me that in order for me to really get better, in order for me to stop feeling so drained all the time from my constant jam packed schedule, I so badly need Jesus. He has and still is freely giving me what I need, I just need to spend time with him, actually take time to receive it. Not just when it's getting towards the end of the week and I'm running low on energy, no "We must eat of the Bread of Life... DAILY." I am just so grateful that we serve such an awesome God who when we maybe lose focus or get off track is still right there waiting for us, open arms, ready to guide us back to where we need to go. Hope you guys have a great week!

Fulfilled by Him

           When we try to do things on our own I think that personal burnout is an inevitable outcome, especially when all aspects of our self are pushed to their collective limits. It’s in these hard and trying times that we need only to turn to God and take what is freely given, the Bread of Life!  

            If we eat the Bread of Life daily, we will not only just get by, but we will excel. I want to strive to trust in God and learn to rely solely on Him, knowing that He’s all I really need. It starts now, as we prepare to serve this summer. Since the training weekend I have been praying for opportunities from God that I know will help prepare me for what we will all face in serving this summer and keeping my eyes open for ways that God can start to use me.

            If we do this, He will take us to places we have never been and use us in ways we never thought possible! I can’t wait to see God work in and through all of us this summer!

-JDK

Free Bread

Hey people!

Hope everyone is having a great week. The reading this week was awesome and also a great reminder to all of us and to what Christ has given to all of us. I know for me I often hunger for food and many other things of this world, that are only of this world and nothing more. I can tell you though, the memories of best fulfillment in my life and soul have only ever been when I have accepted the Free Bread that is not of this world; I feel unstoppable because the Spirit of Christ has nourished my every need with this Bread. The journal talked community; imagine a community if nourished by this Bread of Life? I get stoked thinking about it. Anyways hope all is well with everyone!

Later,
Alex Thulemeyer

Always give us this bread!

Many statements stuck out to me in this weeks devotional on Jesus as the Bread of Life.
1.)   “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you”

  a.     I can think of so many applications of this statement. When we are out on the docks do we treat fellow staff in ways that glorify ourselves? Are we working for a certain image or are we working to glorify God alone through humble self-sacrificial service to His kingdom? When we are on the water with campers and youth staff, do we work to impress them with our driving skills, creative games, or amazing snacks? Or do we model as servants of Christ that our focus is Jesus, and our fulfillment is in Jesus?

2.)   “For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

a.     Always give us this bread! Let us be aware of that prayer always.

3.)   When Jesus comes into the picture, He takes in hand what is there, gives thanks, and provides beyond what we can imagine.

a.     Our service this summer is so much bigger than us, its bigger than houseboats, and its bigger than Sonshine. We are here because we want to serve others in Jesus’ name and because He has called us here. We need to be aware of that true purpose and therefore be willing to surrender to Jesus. Our fears, our hopes, our works, our expectations for this summer, because look- “He takes in hand what is there, gives thanks, and provides beyond what we can imagine”

4.)   Now that the hunger is satisfied (for eternity) we have appetite to learn more, to be challenged more, and be embraced by Jesus more.

a.     Yes! Lets encourage and challenge each other in our relationships with Jesus. Let’s model that appetite to campers. Let’s live out this reality that we are in a constant and enduring relationship with Christ, and that the depth of intimacy we can achieve with Him is unimaginable. we can never have too much or know too much when it comes to Jesus.

5.)   Who are we to not partake in what He has so freely given?

a.     Enough said. He is so generous with us, He is our nourishment, and He is constantly working in us and through us. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, children of God. this is the life He intends for us, to partake in this! 

-ADK

PINK EYE!

I just started reading The Power of Humility by R. T. Kendall.  In the first chapter, Kendall discusses pride and our desire to be recognized, acknowledged and praised for our good deeds.  "I can safely promise you that any accolade, humiliation, monument, criticism, put-down, compliment, praise, disappointment, lie, statue, honor, or prize here on earth will mean nothing then.  Nothing.  Except how we handled such things-which will largely determine what God thinks of us" (15).  After reading that statement, I immediately thought of the blogpost.  Why am I signing on each week to blog?  Because I have to?  Because I like it?  Because I want others to see my wise and insightful thoughts?  After I post, I always like to check to see if someone commented on my post or gave me a "svenhard."  Why? Because then I feel like I am being "recognized," "praised," or "honored" because of MY profound reflections.  But, as R. T. Kendall goes on to say, "The way up is down."  The first shall be the last... He who humbles himself will be exalted...  I am so worried about myself and how others perceive me that I completely ignore the purpose of my existence, which is not to be recognized by everyone, awarded, and esteemed, but to humbly serve the one who humbly served.
I shared this with the Admin Team, but teaching has caused me to become one of the most proud, un/non/dishumble (whatever prefix comes before) people I know.  I attribute "MY" students' successes to "MY" hardwork, diligence, skill, and abilities.  Does God get any of the glory?
I so badly desire for the test scores to come back and show that I was able to make 95% of the students I teach pass the state exam.  I want to put things up and outside of the room so that when the principal walks in she is impressed by ME.  I want the recognition because I "deserve" it!  Man, I get so caught up and wrapped up in myself. 
"Jesus made it very clear to the crowd that it wasn't Moses who gave the bread, but it was My Fatherwho gives you the true bread out of heaven.  God gave the manna in the desert, not Moses.  Such confusion regularly happens: God does a new work and some human gets the credit."  Yep, I get the credit!  Because it was ME who did it. 
I remember my first summer driving: it was all about me.  I wanted to be the best driver, pull the best banana boat and wakeboard runs, be the "cool" driver, the funny guy at the Thursday Night program, the laid-back driver, the one who didn't want campers to think he was uncool, etc.  I was so consumed by myself... But, boy did God humble me by the end of the summer.  The houseboat I drove broke down, the ski boat broke down, I got pink eye!, etc. etc.  I was quickly reminded, as I am today, that it is not about me getting the credit, but God.  It's not about the score the camper gives me on the evaluation at the end of the week (that used to be the first thing I would like at every weekend).  It's about God.  And, it's so simple.  I need to take myself less seriously... (heck, I don't want pink eye again!). 
In all seriousness, it is Jesus who gives us the Bread-not the bread they use to make svenhards, not the bread we use to make grilled cheese-but the Bread of Life.  I still don't completely know what that means, but what I do know is that: I am incapable of giving that Bread to anyone.  It can only come from one Place.  No matter how many people I point to MYSELF, no many how many awards/recognitions I get, I will never be satisfied and I will never be able to fully satisfy someone else.  Only Jesus can truly satisfy. Only Jesus can feed me, the students I teach, my administration, my coworkers, my friends, my family, etc... the Bread of Life.  It's time to get over myself.

NOT Moses

The thing that stood out to me from this week's devotional was that throughout it said that it was NOT Moses who gave bred to the people when they were wandering in the desert. This makes me think about how often in life I try to give credit to myself or somebody else, when the credit should go to God. He is the one who provides, and he is the one who deserves all credit. This summer we will be tempted to think, "that was a great banana run I did" or "I had a great conversation with that camper" but in reality, God is the one who gave us the opportunity and ability to pull runs. He is the one who allowed us to have that great conversation with a camper. He is the one that provides all that we need. He is the Bread of Life.

Love you all!
Amanda

Your Next Meal

This devo really hit me where I am. Lately I have started exercising more and now I am always hungry. I am always looking forward to the next meal. Sometimes I get so caught up in life or work that I forget to eat that night and when I wake up the next morning I am so hungry that it is painful. My body is craving nutrients. So many times we go through life living for the things of this world. These are the things that will not sustain us forever. We live searching for the food or the next best thing that will energize or keep us going-whether it is a nice French pressed cup of coffee in the morning or that intense game of Nertz to keep us awake. So often I miss the thing right in front of me that will sustain me for eternity. Jesus!

In John 6:35 Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never thirst again.” Can you imagine telling a homeless person they would never hunger or thirst again? God is telling us the same thing here! Without the food that he gives life can be painful. Darrell Johnson highlights Jesus saying, “I Am the Bread of Life.” Life does not work without Me. You cannot make it without Me. I am absolutely necessary for human existence. Jesus is saying you need Me as much as you need your next meal. INDEED, you need me more than your next meal”. Indeed I need God more than my next meal. God gives us everything we need and more. He is our daily nutrients.

Why would we think to go anywhere or to anyone but the Father who knows us better than we know ourselves? Without him how can we survive? What are you eating for your next meal?

I Am Hungry

Jesus says "I am the bread of life. whoever comes to me will never go hungry and whoever belives in me will never be thirsty." I read this and I thought to my self well im still hungry im still thirsty why hasn't he quenched all my thirsts and satisfyed all my hungers? I kept on reading and found that I had to reevaluate what he means by I am the bread of life. I think what he means at least to me is he is the food for my spirit my soul and my heart. Yeah I just found that interesting hope you are all having a good week.

Son of Man

The Son of Man. That's a phrase that has always kind of stood out to me. Probably because often my assumption is that Jesus and I are completely separated in the sense that he is God and I'm just some human. It seems to me that every time I get to thinking that someone brings up that phrase again, that title of Son of Man. Really it brings me back to the "I am" statement; 'I am' kept in safety wherever I go (Psalm 91:11). God has shown his glory in my life by his protecting of my heart and mind. I doubt and he dunks. Then he sends his son down, THE Son, to experience what I experience, but then to take it farther and make sure I'm always safe. THE Son of Man, as fleeting as that idea sometimes is, it is still 100 percent true and 110 percent more comforting. I love these constant reminders of Who Jesus is.

-RB

Oh how he Loaves us

Bread was such a important staple of the Hebrew diet. Its also a main part of the camps diet. Bread is the most basic substance you can have, yet it is so important to the human body. We need bread every day of our lives to function normally. When we are driving, talking, and praying we use that energy we gain from the bread. Is it any wonder that we need to have bread daily each day on the house boat? Each day we need to fill ourselves up with bread so we can do the work of the kingdom. We cant look to the Egg McBagels of the world to get us through. The bread of life is a bread that keeps us satisfied and is so delicious that we should go back to get more and that is the hard part. 

Each day we must hunger for more of the bread, not that he hasn't satisfied us but that we simply need more bread so we can grow bigger and stronger and continue to do the house boating of the kingdom. There will be days at camp were we might need to take a second helping of that bread and there will be days were we may not want anymore of it. But everyday we must get eat bread. The bread that gives us life. The bread that fills not only our mind and heart, but the very essence of who we are. We need the bread of Jesus. No other type of bread can fill us up. The bread of the world can make us sick and sad. The bread of Jesus takes flushes all that bad stuff our and fills us up right. We just need to eat it everyday. The best part of this is that this bread is free and buffet style! Whenever and where ever, Jesus is there to fill us up. We just need to go to him to get the Bread.

Believe!

Ahh this devo was so good! Jesus has so much to offer us as the one true bread of life. A few little things stuck out to me this week.

In John 6, the people are asking God what are the works that He requires of them. Verse 29 "Jesus answers, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'" We went over this at a bible study I was at a few weeks ago and it really stuck with me. It is so simple: Believe. Jesus says don't work for things of this world, but things that endure and last. He says just believe in me! Because we believe, the good works of God flow from that and everything can fall into place. But before we have a relationship, before we eat of the bread of life, before we serve...we have to BELIEVE. It's so straightforward, but sometimes truly believing and trusting is more difficult than it should be.

Before Jesus performs the miracle with the fishes and loaves, the only food they had was five loaves and two fishes brought by a young boy. When that kid woke up that morning, he had no idea that his lunch would be the foundation for one of Jesus's miracles. It just reminds me that God can use anybody and anything in any circumstance to glorify His name.

"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall NEVER hunger and whoever believes in me shall NEVER thirst." John 6:35
It's there for the taking guys. Jesus will sustain us like nothing else if we let him. Praise the Lord!!

the Bread of Life

This devotion made me realize how much we need to seek God and how we ned to make a real effort in being in his word everyday. It reminded me of the bible verse James 4:8 which says "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." It's so true that if we make a strong effort into having a relationship with God that he will reward us and give us the nourishment that we need for our daily lives. This has also taught me that I need to be much more disciplined in being in Gods word everyday.

enough for me

I so often forget that all things in my life, big and small, all come from God, and not the people around me.

This reading reminded me of a favorite quote of mine:
"If God is all you have, you have all you need".

The passages were such great reminders that every thing is a gift from God, as He alone is the source of all things. I do not have to worry about my next meal like many do, and even something as simple as that is amazing, and a constant provision from God. But even beyond the tangible food that He provides daily, He provides the sustenance for daily life, what a gift...

So on days when I feel that I don't have enough, or when I feel I am not enough, all I need to focus on is the fact that I have God, He is all I need, and He is ENOUGH for me.

THE ONE

Hey guys!

Sorry for the late entry! I really enjoyed the texts chosen in this journal entry and also the perspective that Johnson gives in his Who is Jesus? book. It made me focus on who Jesus really is and what his Kingdom represents in our lives. His Kingdom never will be destroyed, and when the rough days come I often forget that what I am putting my faith in will always forever stand against the evils of this world. He has given us access to this Kingdom for free and we should forever praise Him!

woo!

Hey guys!

I have never thought about the idea that Jesus does not need to bow before God the Father. Very interesting in that it is because He is stainless. He is pure. SO! With that!... we have something very beautiful...
Jesus spends eternity and beyond in communion with His Father and the Spirit, including His life and ministry. Jesus then Faithfully accepts the call for Him to be sent to Earth. When Jesus took our sins to the cross, we see that Jesus cries out, "My God! Why have you forsaken me!" I imagine this to be God the Father, in all of His righteous wrath and justice, turning His back on the sins of the world, this being the once spotless lamb, His Son, Jesus. In the next three days my guess is that Jesus spends in a form of battle against sin, death, and Satan. Ending it victoriously in His resurrection from death itself. Though the victory was there all along and God could have snapped His fingers to defeat sin, Jesus demonstrates beautifully the process of living and dying for the love of our Father God.
SO BEAUTIFUL!!! =)

-Kev

Hunger Pains

Growing up my brother would essentially only eat meat, pasta, and bread all day and every day. My mother would always say to him, "Man cannot live on bread alone" at the dinner table but of course he continues his carbs only diet still to this day.

Bread truly is a staple and a building block of a diet. It is not some addition thrown into a meal as an afterthought or a dessert you indulge in from time to time. It is part of a main course that is relied upon to give you sustenance and strength throughout the day. It is what gives us the power to get through the day and rest in the evening. God's love satisfies our hunger and gives us an appetite for more. We begin to crave and rely upon the nourishment He provides and seek to always consume more.

Also on a completely unrelated note, I got a huge smile on my face when I read "If Jesus was a teacher, He would win teacher of the year... every year." He is the teacher that makes you excited to learn and a feel thirst for knowledge. His bread of life fills satisfies our hunger and his teachings make us thirst for more.

Can't wait to see you all in a few weeks!

Shan <3

Humility

First let me apologize for I haven't been as diligent with this blog as I hoped I would be, mostly because a major essay was due this week, as well as two tests. 

Last weeks chapter was on who Jesus is, and I loved the part where it explained that Jesus called himself "The Son of Man," because he was expressing His humanity to us.  I actually read the word "humanity," as "humility," at first, and I still think that humility would be a better fit for this explanation.  To us it is refreshing for us to see someone be so humble.  It seems that Jesus was helping portray himself as a humble servant even when he was describing himself.

It seems that I keep grabbing onto the tiniest things that relate to humility. I'm pretty sure this summer will be all about humbling myself, as was last summer (which makes sense considering being humble is one of my biggest issues.)

The Bread of Life

I have never thought about the significance of Jesus calling himself the Bread of Life. It was a staple in their everyday lives and the fact that they went through a loaf a day is amazing. Basically, Jesus is saying that we need to feed His word to ourselves all day long and a lot of it. I definitely need to get better at getting into his word everyday.

It's fo freee. KA-CHING!

Wow! What a great devotional this week. Seriously, I love hearing and being reminded time and time again how incredibly and irreversibly and consistently Jesus is everything we need. In one amazing package, we get all our needs met, as well as the desires of our hearts. PRAISE HIM! I feel like I am always slipping up and trying to find my fill in so many other areas of life. It's like going to the grocery store with a list of all the items I need, and I'm running around the store, checking prices, brands, making sure I get it all and get the best. I'm so concerned and preoccupied with saving money, and heaven forbid I buy something I don't like. This is me in life when I forget that Jesus is my all. I freak out, and second guess, and waste time, and ultimately can always find something that went wrong. But Jesus is like walking in to a grocery store and right there is my own personalized cart, filled to the brim and overflowing with everything I could ever want or need and its for free!!!! Pretty cheesy analogy, but grocery shopping is a big deal for me so this metaphor really calmed me down.

Jesus.Right here. Right Now.

I was hit pretty hard by the realization that Jesus is the same regardless of me. WHAT? Jesus doesn't fully rely on me?... It sounds sad and selfish, but this is the truth of what goes on in my head. I feel like when I am having a good day, Jesus and I are having a good day. Jesus is so much more than that. He isn't dependent on me and my feelings. He is JESUS. He is the Son of Man. That doesn't change because my attitude does.

Serve serve serve!!

Okay, there are two verses that really stuck out to me and made me think.

"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it"

  This is a tough one for me.  Thinking about what this really means.. to deny myself.. denying the things that I want for myself.. That is a lot easier said than done.  Relying wholly on Jesus and accepting that what He wants for me is all that matters is so hard for me.  I really like having control in my life.  I like knowing what I am doing every step of the way.  But a realization I have had is that the times that I have denied myself and relied on the Lord have been the most humbling and satisfying times of my life.  I get so worried about every little thing that I forget the bigger picture.  His picture.
  Taking up my cross. Wow.  Not only do I have to deny myself but I must take up this burden of a cross.  Condemned criminals had to carry the crosses they were going to be crucified on.  So as Jesus was condemned to death by our sins, so am I condemned.  The hardest thing to accept and remember is that ultimately this life here on Earth is not what really matters.  This is only the intro to an eternity in Heaven.  So for now, I have to do my best to follow Jesus.  I have to focus MORE on God and LESS on myself.  Everything I do should be for HIS glory, not for mine.  I must deny myself, die to myself, and glorify Him.

THE Son of Man.  "That all the people, nations and those of every language might serve him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away."

  The universality of Jesus is something that I think comforted me when I read this study.  Jesus as THE Son of Man was a %100 flesh and blood human.  We can all relate to him in this way.  He was like us.  Yet he is also a superhuman majesty.  And in this way he is above us.  Someone we can look up to.
  ALL people are meant to serve him.  He is worthy of ALL worship and ALL praise.  When I read this I was thinking about the importance of ministry.  It is our duty as Christians to help spread God's word.  This summer, we will be engaged in acts of worship everyday by serving the campers so that they can ultimately serve and worship Him too.

God is my Shepherd

Jesus is THE Son of God.

This week I have been so overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with life but also overwhelmed with the grace and love of Jesus.

God sent down THE Son of God to serve us, to save us.
I will start off with Daniel.
He sees this human being walk up to God. Not only that, but this human being is given dominion, glory and a kingdom. An everlasting dominion. That "will not be destroyed," Daniel says this so confidently. This is so encouraging to me. Jesus' dominion is strong and everlasting and its becasue of this that we serve Him, and its because of this that he can save us.

I also wanted to mention here that I love what someone said about this passage, that the beast are things we can't handle in life that God has dominion over. "One of the beasts is slain, the rest lose their dominion." This picture just gave me hope that even when life is crazy and I am so broken that God has such a stronghold on my life. I am not supposed to conquer things on my own.

Okay second, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." For the first time, this part of this passage stuck out to me. I don't know why I never noticed it before. I don't know about you guys but I am such a scatterbrain sometimes and especially in this last week I feel like I have been losing my mind! I have been misplacing things everywhere and forgetting things and yeah its been no bueno. Anyways, if we lose our life for Jesus we will find it. I think about the times that I have been completely sold out for God and how fulfilled I felt and then I think about the times that I am straying away and how much I struggle. God doesn't call us to be perfect servants, he doesn't call us to be perfect drivers or trainees, he just calls us to lose our lives and serve him. I still feel like I am learning this everyday.


I have so much love for all of you and your encouraging words on these devos!!
Praying for all of you!
-Micaela

Overwhelming love

I really enjoyed the devotional for chapter 2 and how it describes that Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is continually being poured over us so that we are drenched with the life of God.  That is awesome to recognize.  Something that I continually struggle with is that I surround myself with things that benefit my own life instead of glorifying God.  I try to satisfy my wants because I think they are things I need.  The struggle lies in accepting that God is always there blessing me with everything I need.  I need to be satisfied with the great love he already shows me instead of searching for satisfaction and approval from others.  Through Jesus I am able to be continuously drenched with God's love.  I  accept this generous gift by recognizing the Lord and how he provides for me in every moment of my life.  I am already so blessed but the very life of God will continue to overwhelm me with blessings.

We are FREE!

This past Saturday I was lucky enough to attend the Revolve Tour with my Middle & High School girls, and oh MAN was it incredible (The Revolve Tour is basically a show that has a worship band, a couple of speakers, and a boy-band all put together for an audience of teen girls).

It made me really think twice about this devo, honestly. Approaching it at first, I couldn't get over the fact that The Lord our God, the creater of the universe, sent THE Son of Man down to stoop lower than us and ask us to pick up our crosses and follow him. But now I can't help but look at this ultimate sacrifice as the most humbling. The most LOVING.

Jesus is The Son of Man.
Jesus is FREE.
Man is FREE.
WE ARE ALL FREE.

We are all unbound and have broken from our chains because The Son of Man scrapes his knees and crawls into our darkest hole with us not to say "You're better than this" or "You should choose me instead," He's simply saying "I'm here. No, you don't get it. I'm RIGHT HERE. In your most sinful thoughts and what you deem as disgusting acts, I'm here WITH you and will NEVER leave you." I believe this is one of the biggest reasons why Jesus is The Son of Man...who else would love you in your incompleteness and ultimate weakness?

God is so relentless in loving us; He sent down His only son to pursue us in the FLESH! This truth rings so loud in how Perfect and Holy He is. I am so humbled to call him my Savior, my Father, my King!

Thanks for sticking through my long and rambling post! Campers are coming! ...hehe

Julia

Ps- after the Tour all the Middle School girls & I had a sleepover. Breakfast? SVENHARD'S FOR THE FIRST TIME. I stuck with the Berry Horn. Needless to say..I didn't finish it.

Everlasting Kingdom

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

           

            I can’t hear this message enough. I constantly need to be reminded that all pursuits that aren’t Jesus will not lead to what I’m looking for whether that be comfort, love, happiness, etc. and that the only way I will find true life is if I give up those worldly pursuits in favor of a life following Him.

            This calling to give up our worldly pursuits and lives and follow Jesus is definitely tough, but I’m always encouraged when I read things like Daniel’s vision that the Living God gave to him, where Daniel sees these ferocious, animalistic beasts that represent various kingdoms come before God to be judged.

            Now I had never fully read this chapter so I went and read through it to get a better idea of what Daniel saw in his vision and it did not disappoint! He describes these powerful, terrifying beasts that had authority to rule and seemed like they couldn’t be stopped. But when brought before God for judgment, one was destroyed and the other three stripped of all their power. Instead, the one like a Son of Man (Jesus) “was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him.”

            How cool is that? Jesus, not anyone or anything else was given authority and power over all. These “beasts” can represent the things in our lives that seem too powerful for us to overcome or defeat on our own, but the good news is God can destroy and strip them of all of their power! Jesus’ is the everlasting kingdom, the one that will never be defeated or destroyed, and all we have to do is follow Him!

            Recognizing that God triumphs over all definitely helps me re-focus my gaze on God and His will for my life, instead of my own selfish goals or ambitions. I can take comfort in the fact that as a disciple of Jesus I will be uncomfortable, because a life following Jesus doesn’t mean security and comfort, but instead sacrificial service.

-JDK

Look

Woah, I don't know why this one never posted. Here it is again!

One of the parts of the devotion that really stood out to me was at the bottom of the first page where it stresses the word "Look".  So often I find myself setting my eyes on myself and relying on what I think I know when Jesus and the truth lie right in front of me.  I get so easily distracted by things i want or think that I need.  But I am learning that whatever I need, whatever I am searching for, the answer is always right there in front of me in Christ. Everything around me I owe to him and it is time for me to stop and recognize that.  I need to LOOK to Jesus at all times.

The other part that really hit me was the reminder that "we do not have to be what we have become because of sin".  There are times that I get so disappointed in myself that its as if I think it is too late for me to change; that this is who I am and who I will always be.  I am in the process of accepting that my sin doesn't define me.  There is always hope.  I know that sin will continue to be an uphill battle but it is not one I am fighting alone.

Serve because we have been served

Matthew 16: 24-25 "'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.'"

If I had to summarize what God taught me on the water last summer, it would be this. Deny myself. Pick up my cross. Die to myself. Daily. The Son of Man came to this world to be glorified and our lives need to reflect that. MORE of him and less of me. We need to worship our fully human and fully God Savior for who he is, not for what he can do for us. To lose our life is to humbly set aside our wants and desires knowing that God's plan is the absolute best for us. On the water this can come in many different forms. Less talk about ourselves, more talk about God. Less trying to do things our own way, more stepping aside and allowing God to direct our every move.

Another verse that stuck out to me was Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom to many."

This reminds me of when Jesus washes his disciples feet. Jesus, THE Son of Man, knows exactly who he is. He knows the full extent of his might power and that he, of all people, deserves to be praised and served. BUT, the God who is worthy, chooses to willingly love and serve US - and we are certainly not worthy!! He gets on his hands and knees, and washes the feet of his disciples, an act reserved for the lowest of servants. He does this as an example for us all: we serve because The Son of Man has served us!

Oh Peter

Ok so my favorite part of this study was from Matthew 16:13-28 when Peter is glorified because of God and humbled because he is, well, Peter. When Jesus asks, "Who do you say I am?" Peter gets the answer right and says, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus then says, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven." In other words, "You are blessed not because you came to this answer on your own, but because this truth was revealed to you by God." Literally sentences later, Jesus is looking at Peter and says, "Get behind me, Satan!" WHAT? Where did that come from? One minute Jesus is giving Peter the keys to the kingdom of Heaven, and the next he is calling him Satan. This is me. I find this passage so uncomfortably humbling. I can't tell you how many times I feel like I get the answer right in life, only to mess up so badly to hear Jesus say, "Get behind me Satan." This is life. Thank you Jesus for being so amazingly perfect in ever way. We worship you. I pray Jesus rebukes us and humbles us time and time again over the summer, to see more and more how beautifully wonderful he is with each wrong answer we give. One time I was talking to a friend about the comparison of life to a multiple choice test. There is no arguing with a teacher about what your grade should be. You either get the answer right, or you get it wrong. I said something about how Jesus' death erases our wrong answers. She said instead that he fills in the right answer but keeps our names on the test. He fills in. He steps in. How lost we would be this summer without Him.

looking at the way Jesus refers to himself as THE son of man reminds me also of the way he refers to himself as THE way, truth and life, THE vine, and THE light. There is only one way to eternal life! through Jesus. That is special because the only value that has meaning is the one we find in Jesus and what he's done to make us new. 

The bread of life points me to the Lord's prayer. "Give us today our daily bread." He is so necessary for survival on a daily basis. The great thing is that I know in looking forward to tomorrow, that he will again be the bread of life then as he is now. so there is not much reason to be anxious or stressed, but be mindful of the meal that Jesus has put before me today.

Not Manna, JESUS!

Jesus, the Bread of Life:
This was SUCH a beautiful reminder that ALL WE NEED IS JESUS! Not sleep, food, a great banana run, or a camper coming up to us on Thursday nights..JESUS. I get so distracted by good looking, good sounding things of this world, and Jesus is always wooing me back and saying "Come to the living water, the bread of life. You will never grow hungry, and never be thirsty AGAIN." He met the 5 thousand where they were, and FED them their FILL. He will do the same for us!

THE Son of Man

The thing that really stuck out to me in this week's devotional was that Jesus is THE Son of Man. I mean when you think about it, we are all sons (and daughters) of man. We are all human and imperfect. But Jesus is THE Son of Man. He isn't just an ordinary human, (although he fully was) he is God in human form. Perfect and wonderful because he is God. Like Allie said, I like how Jesus calls himself THE Son of Man. He showed humility by admitting and showing his humanness, but yet he was still perfect, which is just incredible!

Praying for you all!
Amanda

humility confession and service

 I have read the visions before, but have never thought about the importance of why Jesus does not bow or instantly confess His sins to God (Ancient of Days) as Isaiah did when he caught a glimpse of God. Jesus does not have to bow, because He is sinless, and perfect...even as a HUMAN!

It also discusses how Jesus came, in human flesh, to serve, not be served. The SON OF MAN in all his majesty came to serve us. So, why is it that even though I am called to live like God, I am prone to selfishness, and look to be served. This is not how it should be. Jesus is the only one whoever used the title of THE Son of Man, He alone is perfect, He does not need to bow.

When Isaiah was in Gods, presence, HE BOWED, and confessed his sins humbly. I have been struggling with being selfish, forgetting that Jesus is with us TODAY, in every situation, we are always in His presence. Because of this, my days should be lived in humility, in confessing my sins to Him, and in service. in other words, its time to bow

It's so SIMPLE!!!

Jesus is the SON of MAN! Just like Harrison said, it's amazing how simple yet complex Jesus being the Son of Man is.

The Son of the Heavenly Father sent down to earth, to be a HUMAN... HUH? Jesus a 100% flesh and blood human!?! God's Son walked the earth as a HUMAN??? To come down to my level and see what it is like...

JESUS, the flesh and blood, was sent down to this earth to live...          a human life?    THE PERFECT human life... 




Why am I so quick to forget this? To forget He knew what it was to be abandoned, broken, bloody, beaten... to die on a cross.  The Son of Man did this... for me??? WOW!

Just putting it out there

Okay so I'm writing a research paper and that's not the important part of the story, I just want you to get the context. So everyone once and a while Pandora surprises me with a great song, and a song just came on that I just love the lyrics of, you might have heard of it "You are more" by Tenth Avenue North.

The lyrics go:
You are more than the choices that you've made/ You are more than the sum of your past mistakes/ You are more than the problems you create/ You've been remade/ 'Cause this is not about what you've done/ But what's been done for you.

I think this just goes great with the idea of Baptism. It no longer matters what we used to be because we are Dunked in God's love, mercy and grace on a daily basis. Let's go into the world and proclaim this wonderful news so that when we see those campers on the other side of the levee we can immediately start the process of leading them to be Dunked!

-RB

Get on my level

Hey guys, so something Iv always had trouble understanding is who Jesus is because when ever I asked I got answers like he's your king and he's the saviour of all. But I found that its really hard to relate to a king or the saviour of all when your an 18 year old kid. So while I was reading I found it interesting to know that the meaning of The son of man is, simply human. My mind was blown because for some reason I just always thought of it as he is the over lord of all mankind which when I think about it now is kinda ridiculous, even though its partly true. I found today, that God sent his only son to be THE son of man, a mere human, just so he could get only my level and relate to me.

fully human and fully King

I think it’s easier for me to relate to Jesus as the one with all authority and glory, the one Kingdom is never threatened and never destroyed, the one who will never pass away but will always be in reign and control forever. This almighty, omnipotent God who rules over all is something that isn’t difficult for me to believe because He created everything and has control over everything. It’s almost easier to view Him as this distant, yet all-powerful being that we cannot see nor will we ever understand. What really struck me was how Jesus is fully human and that He also recognizes that and reaffirms to his disciples 76 times His real full humanity. It’s like He was saying 76 times “I stepped down from heaven to become human and to humbly serve all of mankind. I am here, with you in the struggle, as your fellow human companion.” As a human, He still is tempted by the same sin and presented with the same struggles, but He, by the will and grace of God is able to overcome all temptations and live a perfect life. The Son of Man stepped down from His throne to be obedient to the Lord’s call of being the sacrifice for mankind and to offer humanity hope again. HE DID NOTHING TO DESERVE THIS: He was obedient to the Lord because of how much He loved us. Shoot dang. What? Jesus, you are TOO GOOD. Thank you for following and accepting the call of becoming fully human so that we can imitate your life on earth and know that our Father understands our burdens and our struggle for sin because He lived on this earth and was tempted just as you and I are today. So now the Lord isn’t just this far-away, almighty being whose Kingdom will never perish, but He is the Son of Man who became fully human so that I can live and have hope today, following the example He set on earth.  

Baptizing with the Holy Spirit & THE Son of Man

Hey y'all, I am sorry I missed last weeks devotion, so I am filling it in this week.

When we are baptized, the water finds every nook and cranny and cleans it. Nothing can hide from the water. In the same way, nothing can hide from the Holy Spirit when you enter into the covenant with the Trinity. Same as the water which washes away all the dirty filth off our bodies, the Holy Spirit forgives all our sins.

I think that it is a very cool thing that Jesus refers to Himself as "THE Son of Man". It is the same as Jesus saying we can be a peer of His if we choose to be. As Christians, how can we elevate ourselves in our own minds above other Christians when Jesus, the God whom we follow, brought Himself down to our level? This is something that I will definitely have to work on and pray about.

the ONE who baptizes

Again we read John's testimony for the second week. This time I noticed something I really hadn't ever before, and that's a lot of times of hearing, reading, and studying these verses. What I found is that when John is asked who he is, he does a great job of humbly admitting that he is not the 'who' to be wondered about. When I read the response of "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness" I read it in my mind as "I'm just some guy who is calling in the wilderness". I find that much like our testimony's should be, John admits that he has the littlest and least significant part in the answer. Immediately he points to Jesus. He states that his actions are nothing in comparison to what Jesus will and has done. It's a struggle to get together the idea that the 'great' works I do and the shameful things I do have no significance in comparison to the ONE who baptizes. Jesus came to baptize, and baptize he did, a baptism that is eternal and unchanging, no longer a baptism of symbolism but a baptism of actual Grace and Forgiveness, a baptism truly of God Himself. This is the unchanging Truth of Jesus, that we try to learn every day.

Until next week.
-RB

Who do you say that I am?

While reading this week's devo, this question kept popping out at me. In the account in Mattew 16, he starts a discussion about all the names and titles that the people give Jesus. I found this really interesting, because his focus was not on how wrong everybody is, but on where their hearts were. When Peter answered "you are the messiah," Jesus re-affirmed his identity as "peter on whom I will build my church." He later goes on to criticize him for being led by satan, and that "you do not have the concerns of God but merely human concerns."  Jesus is after our hearts. Not what they are saying about him, not about how wrong they might be, but he cares about where their heart is-in that very moment.  This reminds me of the story of the thief on the cross. Jesus says "today you will be with me in paradise" to a man who lived his life as a criminal. Why? because in that moment, His grace was larger than that man's sin, and Jesus saw an opportunity to save a lost soul. 

 I feel that the Spirit has been roasting me with the question of "who do you say that I am?" every day. While reading the word, studying for tests, grabbing lunch with friends, even driving in my car, am I aware and filled with Christ? am I living in the truth of "It  finished?" right here, right now?

On a side note, I am typing this at starbucks, and the song "losing my religion" has come on the radio twice.  Its quite ironic, but at the same time, it is an example of Jesus asking every one of us "who do you say that I am?" Is Jesus limited to a religion and a book of rules? or is he the Son of Man, bread of life for us all? (sorry, I may have read ahead to next weeks blog...)

The Word of My Testimony

Reading through chapter two I kept hearing the I am statement " I am an overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony". I am not entirely sure why, but it was probably because of the way John continued to use His life and testimony about Jesus to continually point to Him rather than to himself. I think it was Ms. Chelsea Goza who really challenged me on the blog about the need to keep pointing campers to Jesus rather than to ourselves.

I LOVE that John when asked questions about himself just keeps giving answers that cause people to ask who Jesus is rather than who John is.... what if thats what we did this summer? What if while we answered the questions of "how old are you? where are we going? why would a college student give up a summer to serve? where do you go to school?... the list goes on and on.... but what if we took those questions and rather than giving our life story we showed campers how God fits into that?

I know that doesn't answer those two questions. but I was totally overwhelmed by John on that first page.

61 days to driver week!
-Haley