Sunday, June 23rd - Camp Service

LET'S GO TO CAMP!
 
I hope everyone is having a great week so far! If you missed last Sunday, let me tell you, you missed a blessing! We had a great worship experience, heard an excellent challenge presented by Pastor Scott, witnessed a baptism and TWO SALVATIONS (all three from our MLBC Kidz ministry), and we got a small taste of the great week of summer camp last week through our youth ministry...WOW! God is moving at Marsh Lane Baptist Church and it is exciting to be a part of!
 
I wanted to take some time to revisit the challenge that Scott presented us with to ensure everyone is prepared to participate this coming Sunday...let's dig in.

Pastor Scott shared some excellent insight as to why church camp seems to always have such a profound impact on all who attend, and it really boils down to 2 major elements:
 
1. Distractions are removed.
2. The focus is on God and His presence.
 
As Scott said Sunday, this sounds very simple...but it is difficult to achieve. It's like losing weight - it comes down to "eat less, move more": simple, but difficult. We are constantly surrounded by an abundance of food, ways to relax, convenience, snacks, etc... All of which counteract our effort to "eat less, move more". The same is true with striving to grow closer to God - we are bombarded with distractions and temptations. Not to mention, the society we live in is increasingly secular and draws us away from God's presence. You start your day, battle distractions and do your best not to stumble into temptation and next thing you know, the day is over...and when did you have an experience with your Savior?!
 
So how can we take this impactful "camp experience" and incorporate it into our everyday life, without driving for hours and isolating ourselves in the mountains of Oklahoma with little-to-no cell reception? Simple - intentionally remove distractions from your life, and intentionally spend time with God! (I said simple, not easy)
 
Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
 
If you read that and think, "is God really exalted to that level in my daily life?", then read the first part again - he says "be still"...we can't "be still" when we are distracted with other things!
 
So, part one of this challenge is to do exactly that - remove distractions. What is distracting you? Obviously we have daily responsibilities and tasks that are going to consume our time and energy, like work, family and even our "down time" when we seek to unwind at the end of a long day. However, we can easily become so consumed with these things that they begin to take God's place as number 1 priority in our daily life. Ask yourself, "what is distracting me from my relationship with God the most?" And if you don't know the answer, like Scott suggested, ask your spouse or a close family member what your biggest distraction is...odds are, they will know the answer pretty quick!
 
Next on the list: focus on God and His presence. Some of us find ourselves doing this once or twice a week, maybe on Sunday or during a discipleship group meeting. This should be a daily occurrence! Not trying to impose any guilt or shame here, as we are all guilty of neglecting our relationship with God to some degree - I just aim to emphasize the importance of having a daily encounter with God and seeking His presence in our day to day life.
 
Know that this can take different forms: spending time in prayer and fasting, in the Word of God, or in praise and worship...and we should practice all of these! For the purpose of this "camp" challenge, think about which of these three you resonate with the least. Maybe you find yourself blaring worship radio 24/7 and love to lift up God's name in praise: that's great! But how is your prayer life? Are you reading His Word and growing in your understanding of Scripture? Whatever this looks like for you, identify your weakest area of spending time in God's presence and intentionally increase that.
 
So what exactly is this challenge? On Sunday, everyone who is willing to commit will fill out a brief form that looks something like this:
1. What distraction am I going to remove?
2. What am I going to increase?
 
Then, as a church, we will spend the next month doing exactly that! That may seem like a long time to give up something that you enjoy, or to actively do something that you maybe don't enjoy...but it will be worth it. When the result is growing closer to God, it's hard to argue the process!
 
I hope and pray that we have a card turned in for everyone in attendance this Sunday. Spend the next few days in prayer, determine what your response should be (not what you want them to be!) to these 2 questions and join the camp challenge this Sunday.
 
I'm looking forward to another amazing Sunday at MLBC, and I hope to see you all there!
 
Cade Ogletree