Day 3
Can you ask for a better addition to your quiet times, for a better after-breakfast pick-me-up, than to listen to Bible-teaching from John MacArthur? John opened up our day with a message during our morning session. He challenged us that if our thinking about Jesus is wrong, we don’t know God. He told us that our doctrine is essential to our Christian life. He focused on the fact that true regeneration results in deliverance from truth to error. If someone is truly saved, they will grow to love, obey, consent to, understand, believe, and embrace the truth. And we fleshed out what that means in small groups. Too often churches neglect this concept of one-on-one discipleship, so we are all overwhelmingly thankful for and careful not to take small groups for granted. It is almost unheard of to have such easy access to people who are willing and able to answer questions and discuss important issues that campers are thinking through. Small group times are most certainly mutually encouraging and challenging.
During game time, the rain clouds burst open again. But today we didn’t have to cancel the games. No! We played right through. No one left the slippery game field without becoming a muddy mess. And the spontaneous after game mudball fights didn’t hurt either! No matter what team wins tomorrow, everyone had a blast getting dirty in the Glorieta rain and grunge. And we still have one last exciting day of games to finish up tomorrow.
John rounded out the day—his last time to speak to us. He spent the time by continuing to help us understand what a true believer looks like. A true believer is set free from the search for the truth because we have found the truth. Believers are changed from being a slave of sin to being a slave of righteousness. And we’ve been delivered from this dying world to the eternal kingdom. The Christian life is a battle of sanctification. We are constant confessors and our longing and impulses are in the direction of righteousness. We’re so thankful pastor John joined us and we’re thankful for the challenge and encouragement he delivered.
Tonight we will participate in one last night game which promises to be epic. And we’ll see who comes out victorious. As a side note, our free times are filled with options—paintball, laser tag, ropes course, horseback riding, mountain biking, and much more.
Today I went horseback riding. As I sat on the back of my horse, Garry, and lead him up the muddy, rocky path, I looked at the crystal-blue sky splattered with cushy, white clouds. I’m in denial that we leave here tomorrow. But I know we have a full day of camp to go and I trust it will be just as memorable and spiritually edifying as the others. I’m praying earnestly for our big God to do big things in the lives of everyone here at Regeneration.
