Lurecrest Stories

We just returned from our Annual men’s “Lake Escape” and these thoughts are in my mind and heart for you all today:

All “disciples are believers; not all believers are disciples.”

A true disciple of Christ is first of all teachable, then dependant and trusting in God alone, then he/she is diligent...about what? About Jesus Christ Who is His/Her life.

The “battle” begins between our recreated spirit (Paul calls us a “New Creation”) and our flesh (our Old Man/Earthly Nature/Sin Nature) the very moment we come to faith in Christ. Oswald Chambers calls this an “altered disposition”...indeed!

Before God redeemed and saved us, we faced “moral choices” that were all on the carnal, self-centered, selfish side of the ledger. After salvation, we face “moral choices” and the conflict widens...it’s now between our “old man” and our “new man.”

“...turning our natural life into a spiritual life.....is done only by a series of moral choices.” (Chambers)

These “moral choices” serve to build spiritual character. We do not go after “character”...character is the fruit of our moral choices. These choices come only from the Holy Spirit revealing God’s will, God’s direction, God’s character if you will, through the Word of God...not our singular opinion of what’s right or wrong.

We have only one outside, objective, and perfect “plum-line”...”standard”...it’s God’s precious Word!

The careful and diligent study, interpretation, and application of God’s wonderful Word is the basis and framework of these critical, daily “moral choices.”

(A short “rabbit trail” on discipleship:)
A maturing “disciple of Christ Jesus” is hungry for this truth and not resistant/not arrogant, not self-trusting, and not slothful or apathetic! Jesus told his “disciples”, just before he ascended to His Father, to go and preach the Gospel (Jesus saves them). This will make disciples! It’s God’s will that we come to know Him and trust Him and become His disciple!!! What a privilege!

A “learner” comes and goes; a "disciple" comes and follows and never leaves!! See what Paul said to Timothy for some good stuff on “discipleship.”

Let’s return to our “moral choices” topic:
These good and moral and Biblical choices are in direct opposition to our once known, comfortable, and WRONG natural, fleshly life. Paul says to “walk in the Spirit”...to walk under the control and influence of the Holy Spirit will flow out naturally into good “moral choices” each day...

Everything is “mental” first; if you don’t’ buy that, take out the brain and see what happens. This is why the Word speaks so much about “transforming the mind” and not “conforming the mind” to the worldly “choices.”

Set your mind and your affections on things above: Jesus!

May the love of God in the great work of the Gospel of Jesus capture your heart today!

Col 1:18b “...that in all things, Christ might have the supremacy.”

Be “salt & light” in your world today,

Jerry

Being Salt & Light...

John Howard Yoder makes the striking observation that after the Constantinian shift the meaning of the word “Christian” changes. Prior to Constantine it took exceptional conviction to BE a Christian. After Constantine it takes exceptional courage NOT TO BE counted as a Christian. This change in status of what it meant to be Christian, according to Yoder, called forth a new theological development; “namely the doctrine of the invisibility of the church.” Constantine's messing with Christianity got so goofy that, “... to be a Christian is to be transmuted to inwardness”. It was all about what was “in their heart” and to examine the outward behavior would be to judge. Jesus taught us to “judge by the fruit.” If there is some eternal life thing going on in my heart, you’ll see the fruit, case closed!

Bottom line:
“...the followers of Jesus are no longer faced with a decision. The only decision possible for us has already been made. Now we have to be what we are, or we are not following Jesus. We “followers” are the visible community of faith; our discipleship is a visible act which separates Us from the world...or it is not discipleship. And Discipleship is as visible as light in the night, as a mountain in the flatland. To flee into invisibility is to deny the call. Any community of Jesus which wants to be invisible is no longer a community that follows him” (Bonhoeffer 2001, 113)

Fruit is produced without effort via connection with the vine. Do we serve,.. do we follow just to be seen (My flesh certainly does!)? Are we called to be different just to be different? (Again, my flesh likes the attention of being different) NO! In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches that our “righteousness” is invisible even to us. This fruit which is visibility & difference is the result of us being pulled into the way of life made possible by Jesus. To be “in Christ” produces “unconscious holiness.”

There is something that is visible and different about those who are pulled into the way of the world, wouldn’t you agree? It isn't hard to see arrogance,... boasting,... my options,... my rights,... it’s not fair; all of these rooted in being focused on self.

To show you just how delicate this language is, one definition of worldly that I particularly like is “outward show.” Worldliness is all about being seen! Jesus warned the disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the Sadducees saying that “everything they do is for the outward appearance.” The TV option has simply been too much of a test for many preachers.

Now, give me my “Gospel Glasses” and we’ll wrap this one up:

My friends, it's not about who we are! To be brought from death to life... to be washed whiter than snow... to have our sins forgiven IS to be made different, to be visible “salt & light” for others. If we have all our “needs” met, we can then BE for others. The time we would spend focusing on our mess and trying to become acceptable to God can now be used living in loving response because we ARE accepted by God. The people around us will notice when we quit using them and begin serving them!

Be salt & light for our Great Champion!!

Jerry

Camp Lurecrest is the most beautiful place that I have ever witnessed on earth. I have seen quite beautiful places around the globe and yet the beauty of Camp Lurecrest is more profound. You can walk around and see that it is old and sooner or later things need to be repaired. It is dusty, quiet, some pretty views of mountain ridges, and to any first time visitor it may seem like an ordinary camp ground but there is still more beauty at Camp Lurecrest than anywhere I have ever been.

This is because of Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ encompasses camp like a warm blanket. His message of grace and love soaks the hearts of the people who walk the grounds. Christ died so that we may be set free. My freedom from sin has nothing to do with what I can or cannot do, what I have or have not done, or what I should or should not do. It has everything to do with what Christ has done and now I will live my life with love and gratitude because He first loved me. This is the truth of the gospel and is what makes Camp Lurecrest so beautiful because it is the center source of everything that takes place there.

Some people may think a child is too young to understand what kind of commitment they are making when they come to know Jesus Christ as their savior at a summer camp but I can personally testify that they can. I grew up in a Christian home and when I was ten years old I went to Lurecrest as a camper. I remember the moment I let Christ reign in my heart for the first time. I was standing down at the chapel one night and it brought tears to my eyes because something happened inside me and I could tell. I went back every summer after that where I continually grew more and more in love with Jesus every time. I eventually went on staff which only made my foundation more solid in Christ not only because we get to share the love of God to the kids that come up for a week of camp but also because we live in an environment where the gospel of grace is breathed into our lives at every moment of the day.

We live in such a selfish society in today’s world where everything is about individuals and community does not exist anymore. Camp brings a breath of peaceful fresh air to the soul because community exists there more than any place I know. As the body of Christ, we are called to be in communion with one another which is the essence of true church. I consider Camp Lurecrest to be more of my home church than any other church I have been a part of because we are a community of believers that together grow more in love with Christ Jesus which is so beautiful yet so hard to find in today’s society.

To Him be the glory forever and ever AMEN!

Caroline Belk

-To the Romans, there was nothing more useful than sun and salt.-

Jesus' statement that his followers were the “light of the world and the salt of the earth” was a jolt to them as well as to the unbelievers. These two characteristics refer to the enriching and the preserving influence of Christ’s children. They speak also to the “witness” we have as believers in the world. There are three things that salt speaks of:
Purity – meat spoils without salt
Preservation – meat is preserved with salt
Flavor – the taste of meat, etc, is enhanced by salt

The Romans used the Sun and sea water to get salt. The Soldiers were often paid in salt…thus, the basis of the word salary. This tells us something of the value of salt and just how shocking Jesus’ words were in his reference to his people. Jesus declares our value. We are to purify this world, preserve this world, and enhance this world.

FOR us, IN us, THROUGH us!
Salt is “fruit”, not “root.” There is something “outside” that produces salt! There is something IN salt and there is something that happens WITH & THROUGH salt.
Salt loses itself in its only purpose: service!

Now, let’s put on our “Gospel Glasses.”

As salt has a root, so we as disciples of Christ have a root, a beginning. Christ is our beginning. We are “produced” by faith in His work FOR us. Our roots are firmly in Christ’s work FOR us. The bible says that Jesus sprang up as a root out of dry ground. Nothing on this earth made a contribution to Christ, the true root! This root produces fruit; this fruit is in our inward response of heart gratitude and our outward response in service for and to others. We are salt to others because we’ve been made salty. Our ONLY purpose is to live lives in loving response unto our Father and bring Him honor and glory. Others are to see our salty lives and give glory to God.

Can you connect the dots? If this world is rotting then it needs salt. If we are salty then we can serve. If not, we will not and can not fulfill our purpose: loving service, loving response.

Christ’s work FOR us and AS us, produces something IN and THROUGH us by the power of the Holy Spirit, that brings glory to God!

Never think that through our service we become salt!! Backwards!!

Until next week,

BE salt and light,
Jerry

Grace. A word so sweet to the tongue. A word that has changed mankind for all eternity. A word that reminds us each day of our salvation. A word that has the power to bring the unworthy soul to its knees and glorify its creator in Heaven. A word so simple, yet it contains so much depth and so much strength. A word, so pure, that represents “33 years of perfection.” It is, by far, the most beautiful word I know.

I remember so vividly the night I truly came to understand this precious word. I was four years into my faith journey and in the midst of a raging battle against my desire to be perfect. I was afraid to fall and afraid to fail…afraid to disappoint our Lord and Savior. I yearned for his approval, for the “gold star,” for the “blue ribbon.” I wanted to be the “model Christian” who appeared unaffected by the immoral temptations of the world… I wanted something that was impossible to achieve.

On this particular night, I would be found at Camp Lurecrest, a place of familiarity, a place I often refer to as my second home. It was my first summer on staff and I was working as a cross-trainer. It had been a humbling and eye-opening experience to say the least. I had spent the last three weeks serving and attempting to invest in the lives of an abundance of precious children. I had formed friendships that are so dear to me to this day, as each person uniquely encouraged me in my faith journey.

I had also spent the last three weeks listening to devotions led by our beloved Jerry Martin. How insightful his words, all from God and all rich in the Gospel. I was particularly overwhelmed each time he would talk about grace (which was always), and I remember having the sensation of a barrier slowly breaking down inside of me. Specifically, I was being reminded of the truth that as humans, we are naturally sinners. I was reminded that there was nothing I could do to deserve salvation…to deserve to spend eternity in Heaven. I was reminded that my “perfect” would never really be “perfect…” that I would never be good enough. Being reminded of hard truths such as these crushed me. As a perfectionist, it pained me to hear that I could do nothing…NOTHING! I felt helpless and confused. If my good would never be good enough, how was I supposed to live my life for God? How was I supposed to guarantee my salvation? I was speechless.

But then there was more. There was a second part to these hard truths…and this next part was breath-taking. It was the reminder of a wooden cross and a man who hung upon it over 2,000 years ago. It was the reminder of a sacrifice, so magnificent and so full of love that there are no right words to accurately describe its greatness. It was the reminder that we are free in our sweet, sweet Jesus Christ…that he has bridged the gap between us and our Father in Heaven. It was the reminder that in Him, we are blameless and spotless before God…that we are loved and bound to Him for all eternity. It was the reminder that instead of living our lives to seek the approval of God, that we should instead live them in loving response to all He has done…to all He has given us.

So on this night, as the rest of the camp appeared to be sleeping peacefully, everything I had was being taught, all that God was trying to get across to me, drove right into my heart and broke down every misconception I had been holding onto. It came so fast that I was caught off guard, and while the initial hit was sharp, the settling of it all was one of the greatest feelings I have ever felt. It was peace… it was love…it was clarity…it was GRACE.

That night, my life was drastically shaken. I cried, I prayed, I glorified…I was changed forever. It never ceases to amaze me, the ability God has to completely rock our world. Just when we think we have it all figured out, that we don’t need his help, He is there to put things back into perspective. No matter which way you look at it, when you are one with Christ everything goes back to the cross. Everything is centered around the precious truth that Christ “lived the life we could not live and died the death we should have died…” and through Him, we are saved. Thanks be to God and thanks be to Grace!

Kelly Russell

Former Camper, Cross-Trainer, and Lifeguard

Reading God’s precious Word through “Gospel Glasses”!

Matt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth.”
Matt 5: 14 “You are the light of the world”

When God rescued me in the mid ‘70’s by the blazing truth of the Gospel it became immediately clear to me that I had to re-interpret the scriptures according to the truth of the gospel and not from a “subjective” nature. My “pre-gospel” life was totally “performance based”, “subjectively oriented”, “man-centered”, and immersed in “spiritual attainment" instead of in Jesus Christ. I was totally “self-centered” rather than “Christ-centered”.

Let’s put on the "gospel glasses" and look at Jesus’ statement on us being salt and sight in Mt. 5:13,14.

Jesus declared us “salt” and “light”. This is a fact. Just how salty or bright we are is yet another thing. Jesus talks about that as well! The fact that we belong to Him makes us salt and light!

Now, with “gospel glasses” on here is the truth from Christ’s teaching: If you and I do not know that we are in fact His, that we are in fact salt and light, then we’ll interpret this incorrectly and go about establishing just how to become salt and light!!

When we were brought to Christ and believed in Him, we became salt and light to those around us. To become more salty and a brighter light we simply need to know more of our Savior. The better we know Him the more we love Him. The more we love Him the more obvious it is that we are not of this world. Our hearts are captured by Christ and not by the world. Our lifestyle is opposite of those whose hearts are in love with this world.

Don’t worry about how to become salt and light. The more we allow the Holy Spirit to focus us on the great and mighty work of Christ FOR us, the more intense we are about His work IN us and THROUGH us. This work IN us and THROUGH us intensifies the salt and light aspect. If I’m a Carolina basketball fan everyone will know it by my words, my dress, my actions, and my heart. My devotion to the Blue would never allow me to wear red, orange, black, or any other colors. Oh, that my heart was so devoted to my Lord Jesus that I’d never be seen wearing other colors of this world!

We became light and salt by God’s sweet purpose and grace in Jesus Christ and our relation to Him; others know it by our life of “salt-devotion” and our “light of loving response” in the things we do and say. Jesus, please continue to teach us who we are and whose we are,

We offer these words in your wonderful Name…Amen!
(our next few devos will be on this topic of Salt & Light)

Where do I even begin? Jesus has done SO much in my life that it is hard for me to narrow it down. Basically, I asked Him into my heart when I was about 5 years old and from then on He has been working through my life. For the most part, I have to say that the Lord gives me confidence in myself and that putting my faith in Him is the best thing I can ever do.

What a delight to share about what God has taught me recently! For the past several years, God has been prodding me to raise my eyes from my narrow-minded view of life to look at his expansive, beautiful world. Though my family has lovingly taught me about God’s kingdom, only in the past few years have I grown in my desire to know how Jesus is applicable to all classes, races, and tongues. Most recently, God used my travels to India to show me the beauty of his creation. While spending my Christmas in Delhi, I contemplated the meaning of “a people walking in great darkness,” and was overjoyed to realize Jesus came to be a light to the very situations I encountered. In the midst of striking poverty, I was given the incredible gift of relationship with local women who continually astounded me with their struggles and perseverance. Jesus taught me that he cares deeply about their dignity. I learned that if God created the whole world, which he did, then he calls me to rejoice in his creativity and in all people who bear his image. Psalm 113 says that the Lord “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children.” Some may interpret this only figuratively, but I see it also as a promise of Gods faithfulness in specific situations. I have seen the poor who live in the dust and quite literally on the ash heap. I’ve met women who are scorned because of their barrenness or lack of a son. These are the people whom Christ came to shower with dignity and worth. The good news is that Christ came to give dignity to me as well! I don’t have to be living in a third world country to be burdened by shame and fear. Here is the West, too often it’s our spirits that are malnourished, our hearts that are ragged and bare. But guess what! Christ was born as Jesus of Nazareth so that he could preach good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, and bring freedom to those who are imprisoned. He promises that he will rebuild the places in our lives that have been ruined (see Isaiah 61). Jesus came to get his hands dirty working in the broken world of India, the mountain of Camp Lurecrest, and the barren places in our relationships and hearts.

It would be awfully nice to say, “Camp Lurecrest changed my life.” But it didn’t. Jesus changed me (and continues to change me). Thankfully, he taught me many things during the summers that I worked at camp, but he has used other places and people as well to speak the Truth to me. But whether I’m on the mountain or sitting at home on my couch, the freedom Jesus proclaims is relevant!

Rachael Adams

Counselor for the Summers of 2003 & 2004

Volunteer Nurse for the Summers of 2005 & 2006

When we [walk in obedience], we are truly living...we are truly willing to trust what God says about us, others, and this world.

Just look at the command: "Love your enemies". This is saying that God is enough for us...He who was forsaken understands...He knows we have been sinned against; that is how we can let it go and forgive. We hold on and want to punish because we feel that it is all up to us to make sure justice is served. But to forgive is to put our well-being, our very eternal lives, in God's hands…trusting that He notices everything in our lives...that all will be addressed. But also that those 'wicked ones' who have sinned against us are also made in the image of God...that "all have sinned", even myself. It esteems the reason why Christ had to come for us ALL. It truly holds God as sovereign AND caring in my life.

When we obey we are fully living and therefore are open to experience the presence of God. We enter into "the Dance", as Lewis puts it. Obedience is how WE enter the dance. Most of us sit around and talk about the dance, convincing ourselves that we are dancing. Should we be surprised that the dance is unappealing to us? It shouldn't...we've only been dancing with our selves...our 'broken' selves, I might add. But to obey is to follow Christ and enter a new life...to finally enter into the "Dance" with Him Who gave Himself for us. He Who knows us the best, and loves us the most....He who died that we might begin to live as we were truly meant to be.