Quotes from Camp

I had a great time at Camp YES the first week of August where I was a counsellor during the 16-19 year old week.  The weather was amazingly hot!!!!  But I'm definitely not complaining about that.  Okay, maybe I am complaining a little bit.  I'm glad we don't have that kind of humidity in northern Ontario!  So sticky.

My favourite part of camp is the preaching.  You may think that I'm just saying that to sound like super-Christian, but honestly I love the preaching at camp.  And it's a good thing, because we get four sermons a day!  Some of it's long, some of it's hard, some of it's loud, but all of it is Scriptural!    It convicts me, comforts me, and challenges me.  

The theme this year was Godly Life Fitness: working out your own salvation from Philippians 2:12-14.  I have definitely been challenged to work harder at showing my salvation.  We don't work to obtain salvation (that only comes by grace through faith), but we must work at demonstrating our salvation.  I have a lot of quotes that I want to share.  

Quotes from Pastor McClain: 

1.  Salvation is not something added to your life, it is Someone entering in to your life.

2.  Salvation is like muscle: the more you exercise it (work it out), the more it shows.

3.  We exercise our salvation by obeying.

4.  Fear and trembling (Phil 2:12-14): to have such a distrust of your own abilities to fully complete the requirements, but because it's your duty you do it anyways (i.e. We must fully trust the Lord to work in us to help us live our salvation.  In our own strength we fail).

5.  Our fear and trembling (which is humility) comes from our view of God.

6.  Working out is an inside job.

7.  When I obey, God begins to work and do what I cannot do.

8.  When I don't live for God, I stop what He can do for me.

9.  When you surrender, obedience and living for Christ becomes easy because it's Him doing the work and not you!

Quotes from Pastor Hanson:

1.  Sometimes we choose to follow fear instead of faith.

2.  Fear keeps you from moving forward for God.

3.  Love God more than you fear things.

4.  Good works reveal our love for Christ and give a testimony to others.

5.  We are an inside out religion; it starts with the heart and works its way out.

6.  Righteousness is conformity to God's standard found in the Scripture.

7.  Faith links us to Christ.

8.  Serving doesn't make you spiritual; because you are spiritual you will serve.

9.  Our commitment must be based on the conviction that we put Christ in charge.

10.  It's the Spirit working in you that moves you forward for Christ.

11.  People don't serve because they are afraid, angry, or apathetic.

Quotes from Pastor Clark

1.  We don't make Jesus Lord of our life; He is Lord of our life.

2.  God will never control your life if you don't have a right relationship with His Word (I really, really liked this point.  I put about 10 stars beside it in my notes :).

These are just a few of the things that were preached during the week.  I was really encouraged by Pastor McClain's devotions every morning about working out your salvation.  Many of us are afraid to let our salvation show, and we need to get over that.  Working out is a process.  It's little by little every day obeying God.  By obeying Him, I allow Him to have more control in my life.  By allowing HIm to have more control, I become more like Christ.  By becoming more like Christ, my salvation starts to show on the outside more and more.  It's an amazing process, because I don't have to achieve anything on my own.  It's Christ working in me that achieves the result of having a worked out salvation.  I don't want my salvation to be just and inside thing.  I want it to show when people see me.  I love the fact that this is not something I do on my own.  If it were I would fail because I am human.  It's a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in me.  But, it's still my choice whether or not I allow Him to work.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."  Philippians 1:6

On a less spiritual note.  Here's a picture of some of us waiting for supper Friday night. :)