I met a couple yesterday named Brant and Laura. They are part of a missionary organization called Teach Beyond.

Our vision is to be an instrument of redemptive change through transformational education – an education grounded in Judeo-Christian values that equips students to reach their full potential as human beings. It is a vision for global impact, building bridges between peoples and cultures.

Our Mission

As followers of Jesus we are an international organization providing transformational education to children and adults. We offer teaching and learning services to all regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religion in order to promote holistic personal growth and enduring social benefit.

Teach Beyond

Brandt and Laura are transitioning from being dorm parents over the last four years at a school in Germany. Now they will be doing member care coaching for new academy missionaries. In essence they will be mentors, encouragers and helpers. God bless them in their new ventures!

So seminary is starting up in a few weeks. God has been gracious to me in providing the books I need. I’m anxious to get started, so I’m learning the Hebrew alphabet. Between English and Greek, Hebrew is surely to be confusing.

I was told about a website called Hebrew for Christians. It looks like it is going to be a very helpful resource in getting me acclimated with the language before I really have to hit the books. Pray for me!

After morning devotionals, we were prepared to have an amazing time on the zip line. The camp has an awesome 300 ft zip line, but in order to get to it you have to climb up 25 ft of a pine tree. This is no easy task. There was a little bit of apprehension, but at the end of the day nearly everyone went down the line.

The afternoon held a fun game of The Amazing Race where the teens had to follow clues around the camp and complete challenges. Some of the challenges were simple, like doing a three-legged race across the grass, and others were more difficult, like consuming a gallon of milk between the team, jumping off the high dive and swimming across the pool, or getting the team through the low ropes course and finding a watermelon hidden in the creek that they had to bust open and eat. In any case, it was a great time of fellowship and team building.

That evening, we worshiped around the campfire. Then, Pastor Jim came up and blessed us with a fantastic and convicting message about pretenders. He used an illustration of a minor league ball player getting called up to the major leagues. It’s not enough for that ball player to just wear the major league uniform to be associated with his new status. If that player never actually plays the game and catch a few balls or hit a few runs, they will send him back to the minor leagues. See he was only pretending to be a major league ball player by wearing the uniform. So many Christians are “wearing the uniform” but never actually putting their faith into action as a response to the amazing gift of grace they’ve received. They are pretenders. God gives us grace freely, but we should actually trying to live in a way to honor Him if we’re on His team.

As a result of this message, three teens gave their life to Christ and two more rededicated their lives. Praise God!

Tuesday was tons of fun. The teens enjoyed a cold breakfast and a time with the Lord focused on Psalm 32. After breakfast the fun started. We went rappelling on the camps 35 foot rock wall. I was really proud of how brave they were. Almost everyone was able to go down at least once. It was awesome!

After lunch we had some small group time, followed by a dip in the pool. Then the groups returned to their groups to work on their skits for Wednesday nights. I can’t wait to see them. Stephanie made another delicious dinner. It seemed at this point that the day should  be wrapping up, but the excitement was really only beginning.

The message was, ‘I Don’t Feel Righteous’. Based on Romans 5.18-6.4, this was an explanation for why we don’t feel righteous even when we are made righteous by the blood of Jesus. Many of the teens commented to me or in their small groups that they were moved in some way by this message. I think God really spoke last night to many of our teens.

Following the message was the night hike 29 of us put on glow bands and hit the dear trail for a hike in the dark. We hiked several miles up and enjoyed some star gazing and a time of worship. It never ceases to amaze me how God would create such a vast universe and pick the smallest of creatures to be the focus of His creation.

We were talking about how God holds everything together in the universe in the palm of His hand and I came to a realization. Sin is destroying this creation and God is merciful so he holds it all together. But there will come a day when all will be destroyed and He will make a new heaven and a new earth. When that day comes all God will simply need to do is let go.

After the swim, we changed and hit the pool for a late night swim. The water was about 74 which complimented the mid 60′s air quite nicely. After that we warmed up with showers and hung out by the camp fire. Everyone was in bed about 1:00 to get rested for a new day.

The first day of camp always comes with a few frustrations. We had planned to get in the pool upon arrival, but were having ph issues so we had to nix the swimming for day one. If that’s the biggest problem we have all week, then God has been gracious to us.

The first day was pretty relaxed. We had some free time. The teens got to know the camp area. They got settled into their tipis. They started some work on their skits for the final night.We had a great time of worship and a great dinner thanks to Stephanie.

Last night I taught a lesson entitled, I’m righteous? which was followed by a time of reflection in small groups. This was a time to discuss what it means to be righteous in the eyes of God. We talked about Adam and how he was created righteous, in the image of God, but how we were not. Ephesians 4 tells us that we, as our new selves, are again able to reflect the image of God. The challenge was to do some self-reflection. Am I righteous? Have I truly given myself over to Jesus Christ?

We wrapped up the evening with smores and games. It was lots of fun. Can’t wait for Tuesday rappelling.

Keep praying for us all, especially the students who don’t know the Lord.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Jeremiah 29:11-14

I was recently asked if I had a youth Bible study lesson on this passage. Unfortunately I don’t, as I tend to do exegetical lessons and have not studied through Jeremiah with my teens yet. But, this is a great passage, so I wanted to bring to light some of the key points. Maybe this can be a blessing to someone.

Plans

God has a plan for all of His people. Many people have experienced God’s calling in some circumstance or another. This one is called to be a pastor, this one is called to be a missionary, this one is called to serve in some other way, etc. This is not the sort of plan that Jeremiah is referring to. The plan he is referring to is right in the context. His plan IS for welfare. His plan IS NOT for evil. Welfare means health and happiness or good fortune. In essence it is blessing. God’s desire is that His people find themselves blessed.

The opposing force in the passage is evil. Blessing is a result of obedience—goodness. Curse is the result of evil. Curse and blessing are opposing forces, as are goodness and evil. This reminds me of 1 Samuel 15:22, “to obey is better than sacrifice.” God’s plan is that His people obey Him and as a result, they are blessed, rather than perform evil and experience curse.

Future and Hope

OK, so why does God want obedience which results in goodness? He wants us to have a future and to have hope. Think about it. Does the person who is disobedient to God have a future or will he experience eternal death? True, salvation is by faith, not by obedience. But, Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 12.33). If there is no obedience, then I think Jesus would say there is no faith, because there is no fruit of faith.

Hope and future go hand in hand. Future refers to our eternity in heaven, but hope is a temporal view of our eternity in heaven. If a man lives a life in disobedience, because he has no faith, then he also has no hope. God wants us not only to receive a reward in heaven, but He wants us to hope for heaven while we are yet in this life.

Prayer

Remember Psalms 66.18? It is only while we are in a state of repentance that God is willing to hear us out. If we cherish sin—if we are disobedient and evil—God simply chooses not to hear us out. This is part of the process of discipline. But, when we are repentant, then you can call upon God; then you can hear Him; and then He will hear you!

Seek and Ye Shall Find

“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11.10). Jeremiah says that the one who seeks with all his heart will find God. Jesus gives us that same promise. There is a challenge in the wording Jeremiah uses though. He recognizes that some men will live in obedience in one area or another, but they hold on to sin in others. I can think of times when I struggled for a period of time with sin and how difficult it was to connect with God. It was not until I sought Him with all my heart, which meant repentance, that I was able to find rest.

Who Found Who?

God has yet sought us out in our sin to draw us to repentance and to faith. This is true. But, salvation occurs when you let go of your own ambition and allow God’s drawing to pull you to Him. It’s like if you were out in the lake and I tied a rope around you and pulled it snug. You can fight easily enough against me and swim the other direction, but if you stop fighting, I can pull you easily to safety. So as God has found us in our sin and is drawing us to Himself, we must still find Him.

Restored Fortunes

Jeremiah is referring to the restoration of Israel. But, there is a greater application. Adam had all the blessing in the garden. When he sinned man lost it all. This is the fortune which God desires to restore to us. It is eternal blessing in heaven and on the new earth which we will be restored to. The Israelites have the promise that they will be brought back to the place they were exiled from. When Christ returns and the new heaven and the new earth are established, we will return to the place that Adam was exiled from—a perfect sinless earth.

APPLICATION

1. Obedience—Don’t let your own passion for sin get in the way of your relationship with God. You are simply denying freely given blessings when you sin.
2. Hope—You are not of this world. You are an alien on earth. Your home is in heaven. Don’t forget that! Live as though you have eternal blessing awaiting you, because you do. Run the race, full bore. This life is short, but your calling to serve your Lord and savior is great.
3. Find Him—If you have never sought out God, know this: You are dead in your sins and awaiting eternal condemnation. Give your life over to Christ. Stop fighting and experience the joy that comes from the hope of an eternity with Christ in heaven. The earth will be returned to its sinless state. I want to be here for that. Do you?

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<?php
function life()
{
echo “Eternal life with Jesus Christ”;
}
function death()
{
echo “Eternal condemnation and separation from Jesus Christ”;
}
function salvation()
{
$you==$sinner;//Romans 3.23
$sin==$death; //Romans 6.23
$Christ==$life; //Romans 5.17
}

</HEAD>
<BODY>
<?php

if($good_deeds>$sins || $good_deeds<$sins)
death(); //Good deeds can’t save you Titus 3:5

elseif($sins==0)
echo “Quit lying to yourself!”; //Everyone has sins

elseif($you<$Christ)
salvation(); //Salvation from condemnation is by submission to Christ
life(); // Eternal life is the reward for submission to Christ

else
death(); //Without Christ you will die

?>
</BODY>
</HTML>

Compassion International 2011 Philippines

I have been part of a blogging network called Compassion International for quite some time, but have never taken an active interest in blogging for them. Right now they have a team of Christian bloggers in the Philippines. I’d encourage you to follow their stories. Here are a couple from last night that I really appreciated.

Compassion That Comes From Empty Hands

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Emily Freeman

…Manila is a thick haze of green, yellow, and gray. After a short night sleep and an early morning bus ride, we arrived at the country office for our initial visit with the people who work at Compassion here in Manila. As it turns out, Jesus lives in the Philippines.

From the woman who handles the letters to the man who handles the money, Jesus has hands and feet and sometimes holds a calculator…Read more…

Achy Bones & Beautiful Faces

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Lindsay Edmonds

…I questioned…“why am I here?” It was at this moment that I looked up.

All around me I saw faces. Petite, oval, dark, beautiful faces. Beautiful unique faces. Each one fashioned with such intricateness. Each one filled with such yearning. I am shocked to see the huge smiles and welcomes etched across them. I am filled with such a love for these precious people. God loves each and every one of them. He has a plan for their lives and wants me to love them too…Read more…

You can follow the Philippines trip here.

Or keep up with the team on Twitter.

When we talk about hell, we are usually referring to the place of eternal condemnation. This is a place where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8.12). I take this to be first a place of eternal mourning over the loss of your own soul and the decisions made; and second, a place of bitterness where you gnash your teeth for eternity because you did so many good things and how dare God reject you–and so on and so forth.

Where this is true, there is a tri-dispensational quality to hell. Before Christ came there was a spiritual place called Abraham’s bosom (1). This was a name giving to the holding place of the spirit until judgment. The body went into Sheol or the grave and the spirit went to Abraham’s bosom. There was a great chasm there where the righteous dwell on one side and the unrighteous on the other. See Luke 16.

I believe that when Jesus died and the graves broke open and many of the saints walked freely on the earth, they were the OT saints who were released from Abraham’s bosom. They went to be with the Lord in heaven. See Matthew 27.45-56. The remains of Abraham’s bosom is where you would go if you were to go to hell today. The flesh would go into the earth and the spirit into waiting (2).

When Jesus Christ returns, all everyone will be resurrected and sit in judgment. It is at this point that those who have not chosen Christ will be cast into the lake of fire (3) with Satan and the demons. This is the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth where men will suffer sorrow and bitterness and separation from God for eternity.

A little background here. The Jewish calendar starts on Sunday. In the ten commandments God said, “the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God” (Exodus 20.8-11). If the first day is Sunday, then the seventh day is Saturday. Very basic.

But, there are some questions that need to be answered in light of the new covenant in Jesus Christ which makes us free from the law (Jeremiah 31.31, Luke 22.20, 1 Corinthians 11.25; Romans 8.1-4). Do we still have to observe the Sabbath? What is the Sabbath for? Does it have to be Saturday? How long does it have to be?

DO WE STILL HAVE TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH?

When we look at the OT law as given to Moses, in light of our freedom in Christ, we are looking for principles that reveal things about God, things about man and things about man’s relationship with God. Because God is unchanging (Malachi 3.6), these principles are also unchanging. Where we do not adhere to the law, we still adhere to the principles of the law.

WHAT IS THE SABBATH FOR?

The Sabbath is to be a day of rest (Exodus 31.15). Where it is for physical rest, it is also for spiritual rest. It is a time to get your mind refocused on God. We tend to lose our focus because of the hustle and bustle of life. It takes intentional effort to get our minds back on track. The principle of the Old Testament Sabbath is physical and spiritual rest.

DOES THE SABBATH HAVE TO BE ON SATURDAY? HOW LONG DOES THE SABBATH HAVE TO BE?

Logically, no; nor must it be Sunday or any other day. I like Sunday because it is appropriate since we choose to worship on Sunday. But any day is just fine. In fact it does not have to be a full day. It can be two hours per day. It can be four hours twice a week. I wouldn’t imagine it would be good to go any more than a week (ie. 4 days once a month).

The principle is pretty clear. Spend regular time getting your mind refocused on God and spend time getting your body re-energized for the next weeks work. In our society we get plenty of time for physical rest–most evenings in front of the TV and two days off work each week–but we spend very little time  on prayer and in the word. My recommendation is daily micro Sabbaths. Get some rest each evening after the kids are in bed, but spend some time with your Lord also. I still recommend taking a weekly Sabbath; although many fail regularly at this, keep trying and making it a priority and it will happen.