After our second day at the castle seeking the Lord with our teen group we engaged in another full day of Worship, Bible Study, and games. Through out the day we were reminded via study that “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.” Psalm 119:1 Reminded of how the way of blessing and the way of cleansing go hand in hand. In between studies, we had launched our annual Olympic-style games consisting of much gut wrenching laughter as the students give a tremendous effort and make themselves vulnerable in accomplishing great feats consisting of team relays, food sports, and human bobsledding. Amazing what fun a roll of plastic, dish soap, a garden hose, and willing bodies can have as the hurl themselves down the grassy slope. There have already been some many wonderful spiritual highlights. It is truly incredible to see our teens standing with outstretched arms worshipping our Lord. This year, like years in the past, we have a time of student led devotions, where we split into girl/guy groups. I was moved to tears to hear about the devotion that was shared by one of our young ladies as she handled the Word with intimacy and had explained that four years ago, she had such hard, rebellious heart, desiring nothing to do with the Lord, knowing that she needed to get right with Him, but wanted the things of this world, but now, her testimony is so sweet and her exhortations to follow our Lord are impacting us in a great way.
What a faithful God!

On arrival of our first night at our Summer Teen Castle Retreat, we so blessed by the students and their eagerness to get away for fellowship and we trust and pray to develop intimacy with our Lord Jesus. After giving to Jesus a fantastic hour of Worship, we began to look at Psalm 119. This will be the text that we will be looking at thought the course of the week. It is the longest chapter of the Bible and deservedly so, since it speaks of the awesomeness and beauty of God’s Word. We began our study by looking at the first eight versus which speak of the blessing of seeking our Lord through His Word with an undefiled whole heart. After a bit more worship at the close of our study, students on their feet, standing and singing their heart out to our Lord, we then unveiled our retreat tee shirt. It has our CORE logo, Christ Owned Ready Ensamples on the front, but on the back, reads the phrase, “Give Me Heart Burn.” This is our theme for this week with the verse from Luke 24:32 “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” Please pray that as our teens seek the Lord this week on the mountain, that our hearts would burn for Jesus and His Word as we open the scriptures.

“And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.”  Exodus 17:1

As the Lord led Moses and potentially two million or so Hebrews through the desert, they came to a place called Rephidim. During a time of unmistakable navigation via a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, Our perfect Lord brought them to a place of need. There was no water. Like always, in time, the Lord had provided. F.B. Meyer writes in his book on Moses:

“If you essay to lead men, you will sooner or later come to a Rephidim. We are distinctly told that it was according to the commandment of the Lord that the children of Israel journey “by stages” from the wilderness of Sin, and pitched in Rephidim. The character of the worker is as dear to God as the work he is doing; and no pains must be spared by the Divine Artificer to complete the design to which He has set his hand. Do not be surprised then, Christian worker, if you find yourself landed in Rephidim. There are lessons to be learned there of incalculable worth.”

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and deservedly so. It speaks of the beauty of God’s Word. The unknown vessel that penned the psalm had written it in an acrostic form. This gives us twenty-two sections with eight verses each. Each section begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. I believe the purpose for the Lord to use this format is for memorization.  I have always struggled with memorizing things for school and certainly have displayed a weakness in my own walk in regards to memorizing scripture. Back in the day, after this psalm was penned, the school children would memorize this psalm. This challenges me! After just completing our Vacation Bible School week, reminded of the power and potential victory over sin in regards to being able to recite scripture. We took one verse and recited it over and over through the week. Placing hand and body signs to it. I now have it in my head and I now own it in my heart. This verse has already been used much for the fight we have against our spiritual oppressor. So many benefits by God’s Word in my mind, in my heart, and on my lips.  I see the benefits via the very structure of the psalm and how it is written, The Lord’s heart toward us memorizing scripture. God has a  plan.

Psalm 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

Always blessed when the Lord speaks through his people…Here is a note from one of our student friends, Julia…

Blind and Dry

Those moments when God feels distant and silent are often the most thought provoking. They leave me considering all the various thoughts and teachings I’ve heard…some say, you’re just in the valley, be still; others say that your only responsibility is to worship, and God will fill you; some say that you need a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit; and common thought and actions all point towards just “acting” the life out, and the feelings will come later. While all of these may be true, there is ultimately only one thing that separates us from God and His presence.

In Ezekiel 9, the children of Israel had fallen into sin, and God instructed “the man clothed in linen” to go through out the city, and mark the forehead of all those that groaned over the sin done “in the mist thereof.” All others who did not receive the mark were to be killed- men, women, and children alike. This reminds me of the seriousness of sin. Am I aware of my sin, and it’s consequences of death and destruction? Am I moved enough to groan when I see it?

Ultimately, God will never leave nor forsake His own. (Hebrews 13:5,6) ”But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8  His silence is not His absence, but merely the separation that I inflict due to my sin.  When leading a large group of children in games, etc, and I know I do not have their attention, I often stop talking till they notice my silence. It’s not that I’ve left them, nor changed my mind about instructing them, I am just simply waiting for their attention.

Silence isn’t absence, it’s patience.

Every man must have a battle plan. Either by negligence or rebellious to knowing God’s standard on purity, when we mix it with our own standard, it can lead us into slavery. Mixtures can destroy people. The Israelites left Egypt for the Promised Land. They were instructed to destroy everything in their new homeland across the Jordan River. The Lord warned them that if they did not, they would adopt the unbeliever’s sinful practices. The Israelites did not take heed. God’s children found it easier to stop short and the very things they left undone became their trap. The Israelites became adulterous in their relationship with God.

Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
KJV

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
NIV

Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.
NLT

Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart

God’s standard is clear. We need to avoid every hint of sexual immorality in our lives. Every man must have a battle plan!

I must pray. Look at the importance of prayer stressed in Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Will you join me in my repentant cry that I must pray! I must pray more. I must place all my heart and energy into prayer. Prayer at all times, with all perseverance, and for all saints. Prayer was prominent for Jesus during His earthly ministry. After long days of teaching and serving, being spent for the people, He would devote Himself to prayer. Even after serving the multitudes, He would seize early mornings for prayer and surrender sleep at night for our behalf. Our risen Lord, Jesus, still prays for us today. He maketh intercession for us. Romans 8:34 “Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

As Jesus answers His disciplines, He identifies another mark of being spiritually great, a heart attitude of grace towards men. Perhaps you received some skill at building things, or skilled at executing a play in a sport. Then a new co-worker or teammate joins the team. His efforts prove wasteful or ineffective by your standards, but they are still on the team and still getting the job done. Will we get bound up by this alleged inefficiency or troubled by their process? Where is our heart really at? We can respond with a heart attitude of grace and kindness or we will rip them apart. They are on the team and their efforts will be rewarded. Expressions of grace, unmerited favor and kindness, is a distinguished mark of greatness in the kingdom of God.

Mark 8:3-4 “And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
For he that is not against us is on our part. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.”

The spirit of man is so frequently driven by a goal of personal gain. It is advantageous to respond to the needs of an individual when we can also obtain some type of advancement from the pursuit. The disciples were talking about spiritual greatness when our Lord interrupts, “ What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.” Mark 9:33-34.
I am impressed by our Lord’s gentle nature. He does not rebuke His disciples; He just begins to reveal to them how they can be great in the kingdom of God.
“And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36: And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.” Mark 9:35-37.
We see Jesus holding a child. Children are a special blessing. They can be demanding, requiring our time, yet a very effective tool to re-arranging our own self-serving plans. Serving your siblings, and keeping an eye on Johnny will displace time with friends and even cut into that often desired ‘me’ time. We won’t be able to gain or advance our own agendas by ministering to children. That’s real good because The Lords agenda, the big picture is so much better. To our flesh, they may seem to slow us down. Jesus explains that to be great in the Kingdom of God, we are to treat all equally, even those who don’t offer us some type of notable benefit. In our social circles, we may be quick to respond to people who may help us along in our own pursuit. God is no respecter of persons. Treating all as If we were to care for a child. This may offer nothing to advance our own cause, but spiritually we shall acquire great rewards. This heart attitude can break down cliques, emotional barriers, and abandon lonely hearts even among a packed room.

A. W. Tozer had preached a sermon called, “Rote, Rut, & Rot.” You may comprehend what a rut and rot is, but the old term rote may be a bit unfamiliar. Rote is defined as routine; a fixed, habitual, or mechanical course of procedure. Look what the Lord had told the Isrealites. Deu 1:6 “The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount.” The Lord had told them that they had dwelled there long enough. He then told them it was time to move on and go to the land that was promised. Deu 1:8 “Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.” What was Israel’s greatest enemy in the desert? You may think of the hardships and challenges, but it was the routine, the rote. The rote can turn into a rut. When we get stuck in a rut, then we rot. Spiritually, we need to be careful of the routine. Although routine can be excellent if it leads growth, if routine does not produce growth than we can get into a rut. We are designed and meant to spiritually grow. The wild thing is that even though the Israelites were pressed in hardships, they still had the ability to respond through habit and routine. By God’s grace let us stay fresh.