“Game Face”
3:59 P.M. Benton TN, everyone is in their seats, ready to go. Enthusiastic rejoicing breaks out as Pastor Brad leads everyone in worship of our Lord God. Camp Areté is off to a powerful and prepared start.
Colossians 1:28, “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” NASB 1995
Every camper comes to Camp Areté for their own reasons—some for the fun, some for the fellowship, and some seeking meaningful, lifelong relationships centered on God and His values. At the heart of Camp Areté is the desire that everyone who makes the journey would come to know God’s Word intimately and personally, rooting their transition into adulthood in the life-changing, transforming power of His truth.
Pastor Brad charged us this week to get our game faces on. We will have fun, but what we are studying in the Word of God is what matters. We don’t want to go home the same as when we came here, this is important, this is for real, this is for eternity.
This week in particular, our focus is the book of Colossians. One of Paul’s letters to the early church. It is a small book, and if you are curious about what is in it, you could read through it in less than 15 minutes.
Like many of Paul’s letters, it is meant for spiritual growth. For all believers, that starts at one place, spiritual birth. Unless one is saved, reading the Bible and obeying its commands will do no good. All people are born spiritually dead. A righteous and perfect God demands perfection Himself, and we have all fallen short. It takes only one little lie, a careless word, a tiny selfish act, and we are separated from the Being in whom goodness is perfected. God cannot quietly suffer sin and evil either, although He is patient, His justice demands satisfaction and the destruction of Sin. We believers were once destined to be caught up in His fury, but God is also good and loving, and made a way by which we can be saved. Only believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sin. His sacrifice covered the penalty once and for all that we were meant to pay, and which we can never satisfy. We are not saved by good works—they cannot satisfy the righteous demands of God. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone, securing our eternal position through God’s act of justification accomplished at the cross. That justification is not temporary or conditional—it is permanent, unchanging, and eternally secure in the finished work of Christ on the cross!
We will spend all eternity in the presence of God’s perfect love. Yet even now, while we live as those already justified, God has prepared good works for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). These works do not earn salvation; they flow from it. Colossians reminds us that Christ is not only sufficient for our salvation, but also for our daily walk. He is enough for life now and forever
This week is more than a fun week to talk to one another. Being a Christian is not meant to be a lukewarm experience. Taking a deep dive into the Word is one of our distinctives at Camp Areté since, as Pastor Brad would say, how many camps have you been to where you study the Word of God for 3-5 hours a day? At Areté, it is our desire that every camper is prepared in the Word, and powerful in the Holy Spirit.
Praises:
- We started on time for the first time in over 16 years.
- We have 56 campers ready and willing to dive into the Word.
Petitions:
- That the teachers would be well prepared and in fellowship this week, that the Holy Spirit would work through them.
- That the campers would bring listening ears.
- For family members of staff and campers who are in the hospital.
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