"And I will be a father to you, And
you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty. 2
Corinthians 6:18
The week before last I went to
Intensity Youth Camp. I have been
waiting to go for many years. I have
four kids and my youngest is now old enough to go so it was finally my turn
this year to be a counselor.
As I suspected, I was blessed
beyond words. The camp pastor was great,
the music amazing and the group of girls I worked with were a very special
group of girls. They are strong, rock
solid, Christian girls who love the Lord and want to live their lives for His
glory.
The theme of camp was unity in the
body of Christ. The camp pastor spoke of
how we are all called by name. God calls
us all by name – each person specifically – to have a relationship with
Him. He seeks us, He wants us. That is unfathomable. The God who created this universe seeks a relationship with me? He does.
He seeks me and you too. He wants
our devotion and love. He wants our
praise and adoration. He wants a
conversation, to know the desires of your heart. He cares about me. He cares about you. We also learned that we are sons and
daughters of the King, heirs to His kingdom.
So, not only does God want a relationship with me, He loves me like a
daughter? The King of Kings, highest of
all royalty calls me daughter.
One thing that the girls in my
group really picked up on this week was that in God’s eyes they do not have to be
perfect. They all feel a lot of pressure
to be perfect to everyone around them – family and friends. They embraced the fact that they don’t have
to do anything at all for God to see them as absolutely perfect. His perception is the only one that really
matters! We can never measure up to our
own expectations and we are harder on ourselves than anyone else ever is. Often
we feel like we don’t measure up but that is not how others see us. Others may see us as having it all together
when we don’t feel like we do. God loves
us where we are. He picks us up out of
the miry clay, filthy with sin, and accepts us without judgment. He does not expect us to be perfect, knows
that we cannot be perfect, when the world does.
Another point that really stuck
from the messages was the simple fact that we just plain forget sometimes – Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus rose from the grave, Jesus rose
from the grave! He rose from the grave,
from death, so what can He not do?
Nothing! There is no problem too
big for Him to solve, no pain too great for Him to soothe, no failure so great
He can’t forgive. He can handle
everything and anything!
This year I hope I can help my kids
keep some of that passion alive. Maybe
since I experienced it too I can remind them of some of the things we
learned. Even though you may not have
gone to camp this past week or had a mountain top experience in a long time, I
challenge you to answer the call of the King.
He requests your presence. He
requests your investment in Him and a relationship that will change your life –
not just for a week, for an eternity.
Scripture to Claim:
But you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may
proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9
Submitted By Lara Cook
