Following lunch and a couple other activities, myself and a similar bunch hiked the mountain neighboring camp. It was the first time I had led any group up that mountain, but between the two summer camp alumni we made it up. We trail-blazed a couple times but still ended up on the trail. And, oh the reward to see their faces when the first walked out onto Lookout Rock! Priceless. Unfortunately, my senses have dulled to the view after so many trips up, but their joy brought me joy. 

Later that evening - I have to mention - we had a square dance. Honestly, I didn't know what to think going into it, but in short, we had an absolute blast.  And, when all else failed, we started up a Congo line. Such a neat memory, I'm certain I will never forget it.

Now a certain question may have you puzzled as I have titled this post "Entry One." Allow me to explain that this was a youth group retreat through some area churches. It just so happened to take place at the Camp I grew up at and will be working at this summer. Hence the "Entry One." I am over the moon about counseling and plan to relate to you many of my adventures.

In closing, the song based off of Isaiah 40 that spoke to me this past weekend.

Who has held the oceans in His hands?

Who has numbered every grain of sand?

Kings and nations tremble at His voice

All creation rises to rejoice

Behold our God seated on His throne

Come let us adore Him

Behold our King nothing can compare

Come let us adore Him!

Who has given counsel to the Lord?

Who can question any of His Words?

Who can teach the One who knows all things?

Who can fathom all His wondrous deeds?

Who has felt the nails upon His hands

Bearing all the guilt of sinful man?

God eternal humbled to the grave

Jesus, Savior risen now to reign!

Do we really mean it when we sing with gusto of the love that demands our 'soul, our life, our all"?

The times I have sang this hymn without contemplating this deep lyric outnumbers the stars. I remember the first time this thought pierced me - it wasn't when I sang it. In retrospect, I believe I have touched on this very article before, but the SheReadsTruth devotion app has a series of reading plans entitied Hymns, and one of those they chose was "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross."

It was in the reading of this hymn that I was convicted. Read it again - or for your first time - with me:

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small. 

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all. 

Wow. I am so unworthy. 

In this sermon, my pastor spoke of all the distractions we have in our everyday lives. How much time we spend - we make to spend - on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Netflix (yes that one cuts deep) -  and we don't give a second thought to spending that "made time" in his presence. The church was silent. I know for a fact that every attentive person present that morning was instantly convicted. 

The hymnwriter is saying that even if I had the entire realm of nature to give as payment for my sins alone, it would be far too small. But, Christ's amazing and divine love washes away our sins leaving us as white as snow. We deserve nothing except the fires of hell. Can we not repay even the slightest fragment of the debt by devoting our soul, our life, our all to him?

Naturally the question comes: what is our all? 

And it is a tough one to answer. So I'm going to refer back to the wisdom of my pastor. 

We have been studying the book of Nehemiah on Sunday mornings. Nestled in the middle of the book is the celebration and the prayer of the people upon the miraculous completion of the wall around Jerusalem in 52 days. What struck me was the behavior of the Israelites during this service of sorts that lasted over six hours.

1. They were hungry for the Word.

My dad used to teach fifth grade English. Naturally, every English teacher has a favorite read-aloud, and his is Caddie Woodlawn. I remember him coming home from school one day describing the eager students meeting him with the book in hand as he entered the classroom begging him to pick up on Caddie's next adventure.

When was the last time our hunger for the Word was this ravenous?

2. They were attentive to the Word.

I'm not going to lie; I know without the Lord sustaining me that I could not remain attentive to a six hour sermon. A ninety-minute sermon would be a stretch. But, Nehemiah states in chapter 8 that "the ears of ALL were attentive..." My pastor also stressed that this attentiveness was part of their worship and is part of ours today. Their hunger drove their attention. And if they grew weary, they called upon the Lord and He sustained them.

3.They were sensitive to the Word.

In their hunger-driven attentiveness, they absorbed what they were hearing and applied it to themselves. The Bible says they wept at their shortcomings before the Lord. They sensed their unworthiness for the miraculous act He had just performed through them in the building of the wall. But, short were their tears!

4. They were joyful in the Word.

This ceremony of sorts where we find the Israelites was in celebration of this work. The passage says they lifted their hands shouting "Amen! Amen!" Full of Joy.


All this to say, I believe our all has to do with these four things. Our increased hunger, attention, sensitivity, and joy for the Lord and his Word will grow our fullness of love to him. Understand again that this goal of giving Him our all is unattainable; the whole realm of nature  as a gift would not even scratch the surface of what He deserves. But, rather than discourage, this should drive us to give him everything we have.

How he loves us. Oh, how he loves!

</a>

Amidst all the craziness, I have been observing. Observing the way people think about themselves, about other people, and about the religious realm. When I say people, tonight I am considering the non-Christians among my acquaintance. My observations are as follows, and I write them in hopes of deriving application to myself and do not count myself guiltless in any of these areas:

\\

1. Selfishness 

This one has struck me in a unique way and has perhaps been the most obvious to me in my observation. When I write of selfishness, I am speaking more of the self-focused mindset that threads itself into everything they think, say, or do. Never does a thought directed toward the customer's perspective cross their mind. 

"It was so rude of them to not leave a tip on such an expensive order."

"Perhaps they didn't leave a tip because of how painfully expensive the order was. Or maybe they had a rough work day. Maybe their cat died this morning. Maybe today they found out their spouse has cancer."

You just don't know. 

Their selfish attitudes towards others has reminded me to put others first. To be understanding. To put myself in their shoes. To treat them as I would want myself to be treated. To serve them and expect nothing from them. And to love them. 

Their selfishness has revealed to me another dimension of Christ's humility. True humility is not merely the absence of pride. It is a complete denial of self. It penetrates us to the core. And, it is hard. I struggle with it every day in so many different areas of my life.

May our pride be in Christ as our only source of salvation.

2. Language 

My observation here is simple: it is called a "dirty mouth" for a reason. Outward beauty is shattered with foul language and degrading criticism of others. The Bible speaks so clearly on this topic - both in judgement and praise. I will let the inspired Word of the Lord speak on this issue.

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29

"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

"It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person." Matthew 15:11

James reminds us in chapter 3 and verse 8 that "no human being can tame the tongue." Here lies the root of problem  - their hopelessness without Christ.

Let our words be gracious like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healthy to the body. (Proverbs 16:24) Through them our Christ's beauty can shine through us.

3. Hypocrisy

In the sense of speaking behind someone's back, hypocrisy can be friendship's greatest combatant. This observation is practically a subdivision of my previous point, but its significance in our world today demands our undivided attention. As certainly most of you have, I have watched one person speak to another about a shortcoming of a third party, and then watched the first speak to the third negatively about the second. What sort of twisted approach to relationships is this?

Unfortunately, an all too common one.

Tying my first two points together, I would also translate hypocrisy to one who treats you as a friend and then berates you to feed their own pride.  These people are hard to love. Hard to not lash out at with snide remarks or even raw rage.

"But I tell you, 'Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.'" Matthew 5:44

Lord, help me when I am provoked.

//

Now by and large, those I speak of are very nice people. But, my heart aches that they would open their hearts to receive truth. I feel that all too often we categorize unbelievers as unreachable especially if they have proved themselves on the heavier end of fallen human nature. Strive to channel Christ's light to them. Show them who he really is. His character as loving and faithful speaks volumes; let Him do the talking.

Pray for them. Live for Christ.