Back to the Basics

Last night I was finally able to find some time to open the book I have been looking forward to beginning. "The Evolution of God" by Robert Wright is not at all what I thought it would be like. Wright starts out the introduction of himself by saying he was "denounced from the pulpit of my mother's church." The reason? His book "The Moral Animal," which talks about how human nature and the evolution of human nature complicates marriage.

As Wright talks about how he was found to be "godless" he explains that he thinks gods arose as illusions and that the subsequent history of the idea of god is the evolution of an illusion. This totally doesn't make sense to me. How is it that someone who grew up in the church his whole life, who became a born-again Christian, and who became baptized by the age of nine can honestly believe that God isn't real?

In his first chapter, "The Primordial Faith," Wright recounts the history of the Chukchee peoples of Siberia. The Chukchee had many different "gods," and like a lot of hunter-gatherer societies believed that every bad or good thing was from one god or another. The definition of "god" on dictionary.com is the ONE Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe and the definition of Supreme Being is God.

Sir John Lubbock, a late-nineteenth-century British anthropologist called these hunter-gatherer societies "savage" in their religion and way of life. Lubbock said, "The mental condition of a savage is so different from ours, that it is often very difficult to follow what is passing in his mind, or to understand the motives by which he is influenced." I have news for you Lubbock; we are all from the same species. You are no different from those "savages" except in the respect that you are educated and they are not.

A good observation that Wright made was that the word "religion" would be foreign to the Chukchee, not because they wouldn't understand modern English, but because "religion" simply didn't exist in their culture. Their society, everything that they were, that was their religion. 

I think we could all learn something from the Chukchee peoples. We are what we believe. That being said, shouldn't you know what you say you believe? Do you truly understand the extent of what you say? I hope this book opens my eyes to what I truly believe. And Robert Wright, I look forward to getting to know you through your book. 

Hebrews 11:1, 3 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen." "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible."

A Fallen Soldier

Ten years ago we watched as the World Trade Center fell to its knees like a wounded soldier. Today, let us remember the innocent who were ruthlessly murdered in this act of hatred. Let us know that they will forever live in the hearts of those who loved them.

September 11, 2001 8:46AM

A jet, Flight 11, crashed into the northeast face of the North Tower, creating a hole that went from the 92nd floor to the 98th floor. The force of the impact shifted the upper floors ten feet and fireballs and smoke exploded from the building. The 10,000 gallons of fuel on Flight 11 remained mostly in the building and burned there. 

In one hundred minutes thousands of people were evacuated from the North tower below the crash zone. Everyone above the 91st floor in the North Tower is believed to have perished, whether it was from smoke inhalation, jumping to their deaths from a window, or dying in the final collapse of the building. At least thirty seven people in the floors above the crash zone jumped to escape the smoke.

9:03AM

Another jet, Flight 175, slammed into the southwest side of the South Tower. The impact hole went from the 78th floor up to the 84th floor. Fireballs exploded from all sides of the tower, causing it to sway several feet. The 10,000 gallons of fuel on Flight 175 exploded in fireballs from the southeast and northeast sides of the building. 

After the impact with the North Tower, evacuation started in the South Tower. This evacuation was more efficient than in the North Tower. Unfortunately, when the jet hit, only one stairway was accessible.

9:59AM

The South Tower began to collapse. In six seconds the top of the tower was engulfed in a huge dust cloud. 

10:07AM

When the South Tower collapsed a police helicopter radioed firefighters to evacuate the North Tower. However, the radios did not work inside the towers and 121 firefighters were killed when the North Tower collapsed.

10:28AM

One hour and twenty minutes after the initial impact the North Tower finally collapsed, spewing fire, smoke and dust.

America watched these events unfold, unbelieving. Our nation was thrown into chaos, everyone on edge. In this moment we were clinging to each other. Together we were able to rise above our circumstances and look towards the future. Today, lets remember the fallen soldier that is the twin towers, let's mourn for those who were lost, and let us rejoice in those who were saved.

Psalm 119:116 says: Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my hope.

Research:
 9-11 Attack, North Tower

 9-11 Attack, South Tower

End of Summer Woes

This is the story of a teenager who did not want her summer to end. I am sure that you are well acquainted with this narrative.

Once upon a time there was a girl who did not want her summer to end. She had had a marvelous adventure and couldn't believe that it was over already. She prayed to God that she could go back in time and relive her days in the Black Hills, Yellowstone, California, and Table Rock, Missouri. She prayed that she could go back to no responsibilities and a worry free life.

Fortunately, God doesn't listen to requests like that.

The last few days of her summer went by swiftly and without incident. It was a Saturday night before she realized that she would be starting school the next week.

She cried and pleaded and bargained with God but he refused to listen. "He knows best," she had to remind herself, even though she didn't always believe it.

Sometimes it is hard to see why we have to move on in life. I often wonder why I can't fastforward from one happy moment to the next. However, I realize that the hard moments in life are the ones that make you stronger and enable you to see more clearly. To be quite honest, school stresses me out to the max. I can't sleep and I can't think straight. I want summer to last forever because I don't want to deal with the burden of struggling to get good grades, finish impossible homework assignments, and making friends.

At least that's how I thought before I read that allowing stress into your life is a sin against God. How can being stressed out be a sin? I mean, it isn't my fault I'm stressed out, it's the twenty page reading assignment that I don't begin until eleven o'clock at night.

But as I continued to read about how worry is sinful I began to understand. When we worry, we are calling God a liar. We are saying that our problems are bigger than he is and we don't believe that he has a plan for our lives.

Philippians 4:4-7 says: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

If you feel worried and stressed out about school, work, or a family situation then pray to God. Give him your fears and trust that he knows what he's doing.

Go Light The World

I woke up early the last day of camp to get ready for the bus ride home. We had to have everything out of our cabins by breakfast so I rushed around making sure I wasn't leaving anything behind. The last day of camp is always bitter-sweet; no one wants to go home because Fun in the Son is the best place in the world to be but we are all ready to make the changes at home that we have at camp.

The last service Pastor Rick preached was about the reliability of the Bible. It has been proven through the Bibliographical Test, which is what all documents are tested with to prove their accuracy. Reliability is determined by the number of surviving original manuscripts of a document, the time span between the original and earliest copy, and how much discrepancy there is between copies. The books of the Bible are the only documents that have been prepared with such extreme carefulness. Men called Talmudic and Masoretic Scribes copied the Bible letter by letter. When they were finished every letter was counted to ensure that it was accurate.

When the service was over we all walked to our cabins for the last time and dragged our luggage to the charter buses. We mentally prepared ourselves for the ten hour drive home and loaded onto the buses, making sure that our luggage was stored before we climbed aboard.

I can not believe that the week I have been looking forward to since March is already over. I am so grateful for the opportunity to go to Camp Table Rock every year and I am so grateful to the staff and youth leaders who make it possible. I hope that this school year I can remember what I learned at camp and apply it to my everyday life.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:18-20

Seeing the Face of God

Thursday I decided to sleep in as long as I could. I was totally exhausted, as was everyone else. During the morning message I almost fell asleep. It was about how the Bible is different from any other book. It is unique in its continuity. The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years, over 40 generations, by 40 authors. The authors were kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, etc. and it was written in a variety of places including the wilderness, a dungeon, a palace, while traveling, and during military campaigns. It was written on three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. And in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. There are 24,633 surviving, handwritten manuscripts of the New Testament. How is it possible that it doesn't contradict itself? It is the holy, inspired Word of God.

The rest of the morning was the same as any other. After lunch there is a dunk tank and the people who win the group games the day before get to chose a leader to dunk. It was my team's turn to dunk someone. You have to hit the target from quite a distance and most people aren't accurate enough. I am proud to say that I hit the target and successfully dunked a youth leader.

Our group game was the obstacle course. The obstacle course is a game we do every year, and it is one of the hardest things I do at camp. First you have to hop through tires, then balance on a long, thin pole without falling off. There is a chain link fence that you have to climb; the easy part is getting to the top but once I get up there I can't seem to find an easy way to swing my body to the other side. It was especially hard this year because all of the metal was so hot that it burnt my hands. Once you get off of the fence you do monkey bars and slide through a tunnel. In order to get ten seconds off your time you have to throw a football through a hole. I made the football and ran back to the beginning as fast as I could. Our team didn't win that game.

For boating activities I went cliff jumping. The biggest cliff is around thirty feet (depending on the water level). I decided I would wait until senior year to jump off of that cliff. I jumped off the small one however, which is about as tall as a high dive at a pool. When you get to the top of the cliff you are afraid to jump because it looks like you will hit the rocks. I was scared at first but I flung myself off anyway and soon after climbed the cliff again.

Thursday nights are always the most powerful nights at camp. This year the speaker was a college student from Kentucky Mountain Bible College. He held a revival at my church a few months before and my youth group was especially excited to hear him speak. When he was finished he gave everyone the opportunity to "nail" their sins to the cross. When everyone was seated again we broke up into our small groups and went out onto the field to have communion. The stars shine brighter at Camp Table Rock and when you look at them after a service like that it is as if you are looking up into the face of God.

I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.
Acts 26:17-18

Proving the Truth

Camp has a pattern to it; even though no two days are alike we have the same schedule every day, every year. This is fine with me because I like routine. I like knowing what I will be doing every second of the day. So my Wednesday morning started out a lot like Tuesday. The only difference was I woke up an hour earlier to play some volleyball.

Before I knew it it was already time for service. Pastor Rick talked about how the Bible can be proven as scientific fact using the Legal Historical Method of Proof. He used examples of oral testimony, written testimony, and exhibits and artifacts. Oral testimony can be proven true because millions of people have tried what Jesus said and have found happiness, peace, joy, purpose, and fulfillment in life. Written testimony is also true; there are over sixty prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Jesus and over 270 prophetic ramifications of Christ prophesied. For example: Isaiah 53 was written 700 years before the birth of Jesus. He told us that the scientific chances that 48 out of the 60 prophecies would be fulfilled perfectly was 1 in 10 with 157 zeros behind it. That is amazing! There are also many exhibits and artifacts that prove Christianity to be true. There have been many archeological discoveries that supported the Bible. The Jesus of the Bible is who He says He is!

Our group game that day was four square. I hadn't played that game since at least sixth grade. It was like a blast from the past and it was the only game our group won. We were so proud of ourselves.

That afternoon I went tubing again and again I thought, "Why do people enjoy this so much?" One of the girls on my boat said that tubing should be used as torture. That evening was the Camp Table Rock talent show and my youth group decided to do the Interlude dance with glow sticks. Everyone else was definitely jealous.

The service that night was rethink truth about violence. Pastor Rick showed us clips of different video games that enable you to violently kill people. He also showed us lyrics to hit songs that talked about violently murdering the innocent. I will tell you that after seeing that I am scared for my generation.

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
1 Peter 3:15

Knowing Your Faith

Camp Table Rock is located on Table Rock Lake, the cleanest lake I have ever seen. Every afternoon we pack three hours with boating activities, swimming, and cliff jumping. In order to get on a boat however, you have to wake up earlier than everyone else and push your way through a crowd of sweaty teenagers to sign up for a boat. It is total chaos. My favorite thing to do out on the lake is to ride along with my friends in a tubing boat. It gives you such a sense of freedom with the wind blowing through your hair and water splashing up in your face. 

After we signed up for boat activities we ate breakfast, had our one on one time with God and before we knew it service had started. The morning messages this year were about Knowing Your Faith. "Do you really know what you say you believe? Is this your faith or your momma's faith?" The Christian faith is the most intelligent faith in the world because it has sufficient and reliable evidence. Pastor Rick talked about how faith isn't based on feeling or emotion but on fact. That really hit home for me. It is hard to continue to worship a God that you don't feel close to; however, just because you can't feel Him doesn't mean He isn't there. 

We broke up into our small groups to discuss the sermon before breaking up into groups of two for accountability partner time. I must admit, I used to hate having an accountability partner but this year was awesome. I connected to my accountability partner and shared with her stuff that I haven't shared with anyone before. We both opened up to each other and it made for a great week. 

It was already time for lunch and group games came afterwards. The game we played was a field game. I can't recall what the name of it was but someone thew a ball into the air and if your number was called you had to go after it and hit someone with it to get them out. It would have been fun except it was just so hot outside and I could feel my skin burning beneath the sun. 

After group games it was lake time. To get on the dock you have to say a Bible verse that you memorized that morning. This is hard for me; I am horrible at memorization. With the help of my friends I got onto the dock and we went tubing. I tubed for the second time of my life; it was painful and I am still not sure why people love it so much but it did give you an adrenaline rush. 

We got back to the dock without any incidents and floated around in the water for a while before going back to our cabins to shower and get ready for the evening. After dinner there are volleyball and basket ball tournaments. I don't usually participate and it was so hot that the girls in my cabin stayed inside and talked until evening service. 

Each evening service is about a topic that everyone tries to avoid. That night the topic was on rethink truth about sex. Pastor Rick talked about how the media glorifies sex outside of marriage and how we should save ourselves for our spouse. Again, the alters were full after service and when we had cabin devotions everyone had something to share about their struggle. 

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 

Ephesians 5:3