I LOVE JANUARY

It is the wonderful time of a new year for new beginnings. I have to laugh because as I have made a dozen or so new resolutions, one of them having to do with running, and we get 8 inches of snow and I can barely walk out of my driveway, much less take a run on the mountain. Oh well, I am seeing the benefits of shoveling snow for exercise.

Snow, sleet, rain, etc. is not going to slow down the Camp Ozark recruiters as they hit campuses starting next week. Patrick and Sarah will be back at Mississippi State and Kyle and April will be visiting Auburn and Alabama for a 2nd round of recruiting. We are looking forward to seeing all of you and meeting your friends on the various campuses we will visit.

If you have already been hired to work for Summer 2011, you should have your contract. (Unless you have not submitted your online application) Please email Meagan with any questions at meagan@campozark.com. She is happy to help you.

I will plan to blog every week from now until the beginning of summmer to give you all tidbits on how you can prepare for summer. We will also have devotionals from Patrick every 2 weeks throughout this semester. So....check out our blog everytime you get a chance. I hope to keep it fresh with information. In the meantime enjoy January and I will pray for a new semester full of God, hope, prayer, good grades, safety, good choices, strong relationships, etc. etc. etc.

Weekly Devotional- "The Why Series" by Carson Schultz

This Month’s Topic: Why Worship?

 This Week’s Devo: From Him, Through Him, To Him

 By Carson

Question 1 of The Westminster Larger Catechism asks, “What is the chief and highest end of man?” The answer: “…to glorify God, and fully enjoy Him forever.”

Our current focus for this devotional is to ask the question, “Why Worship?”  A common Christian answer is, “We are created to worship God, to bring glory to God.”

One question my mind asks immediately is, “Why does God want…or why does he NEED our worship?”  The obvious answer to that selfish question is that He doesn’t NEED anything from us.  However, He did create us for the purpose of worshipping Him, so somewhere inside that question is a telling detail about us, and if we are willing to look for it, a better understanding for us (of God).  Hopefully we can explore that and get to know Him better.

Romans 11:36 tells us that “from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”

 From Him all things.  Through Him all things.  To Him all things.

To first understand “why worship,” we must come to believe that it is right that God seeks His own honor.  Belief that He is worthy (and that we are not).  If we can’t get to that point, then our worship isn’t true before God.  As I mentioned earlier, I often ask what kind of a God is so vain that He created people just to worship Him?  Inherent to that question is the argument that “I shouldn’t have to worship God?”  That question puts me on a pedestal on which I don’t belong.  He IS worthy of our honor and worship.  When we feel the absolute rightness of this fact, deep inside, then we have the appropriate heart attitude for genuine worship.

I have always found it interesting that no matter what you believe about God, you can’t “work up” yourself to worship, just like you can’t “work up” yourself to salvation.  What I mean by that is you can’t make yourself get to a place of true worship, with no help from God.  In the same way you can’t make your sins go away with no help from God.  Worship in its purest form is simply a response to what is in our hearts about God.  Hebrews 12:29 refers to our God as “a consuming fire”.  It tells us in v.28 to worship God acceptably with reverence and awe based on who He is (as described in v. 18-28).  That means that you can only worship as purely as what is in your heart about God.  A consuming fire isn’t something that you can (or should) ignore.  It’s a tough challenge to us, especially to those of us who don’t worship very freely, those of us who don’t fall on our knees in awe of Him (though we should), and those who consciously keep our emotions and awe out of our worship. 

Working your way into worship is like the group that “spices up” worship with some sort of created list of perfect circumstances so that God can move people to worship Him.  This kind of earthly focus really asks the question, “Do we really understand our God?”  I suppose if we did, we probably wouldn’t need any extra spice (ie: very specific songs, a different djembe player) to truly worship.

The second part of “why worship” is figuring out how to give God what He is worth.  Psalm 9:1-2 says, “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.  I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”   

Do you ever worship something that is not the Lord?  If you do (which I’m sure you do), think about what it’s like to worship something other than God.  Here’s how it typically goes… you look at it, you think about how great it would be to own it, you talk about how great it is, then…usually…you end up going out and buying it.  If you’re asking the question, “how do I worship God,” then take these same principles that we use to worship our stuff…and then quit worshipping your stuff. 

We all worship.  We worship relationships, achievement, work, positions.  As Jonathan Edwards says about true worship, it is pulling affections off our idols and putting them on God.  This is when we take what our lives are oriented to (worship of something/someone), and truly live our purpose.  We treasure God.  We think about His worth and then do something about it.  We respond.

Keep in mind that worship does not simply pertain to the singing and praising that happens inside a church service or a praise and worship venue.  Worship is a response to the truth about God, about what you know about God to be true.  In John 4:23-24 Jesus is addressing the Samaritan woman and he tells her that “…a time is coming when true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth…” and “…those are the worshippers the Father seeks.”   So it is very likely that worship could happen in a specific setting each week but true worship could also be your prayer for a specific situation in your life.  Worship may be handing over your sin to God, or handing over your money to God’s work, or handing over your time to God’s purposes. 

When you engage in true worship of God it becomes evangelistic in nature, which means that it does not only flow vertically (from you to God).  Psalm 105 tells us to “make known among the nations what He has done.”  And 1 Peter 2:9 says, “…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Why worship?  Worship because of your certainty of belief that “from Him all things, through Him all things, and to Him all things” (Romans 11:36).  That is genuine worship. 



Weekly Devotional- "The Why Series" by Patrick Hoercher

Current Why Question: Why Worship?

This Week’s Devo: Let’s Be Real

Let’s be real: we want stuff from God.  We want to be blessed.  We want to be happy.  We want to be rich.  We want to be successful.  We want to be healthy.  We want what we want.

Now let’s be even more real: God doesn’t give us what we want.  Now before we object by citing such verses as John 16:24 or Matthew 17:20, let’s actually pause and think about this proposed reality.  God doesn’t give us what we want.  In fairness, this statement is both true and false depending on one important thing: perspective.  In reality, God gives us not what we want but what HE wants.  So if we actually want what HE wants……then in that case God DOES give us what we want.  But if we’re being real with ourselves, then isn’t it true that we don’t always focus on aligning what we want with what God wants?  Isn’t it true that we more often seek God for something we want that is initiated from us, rather than something that is initiated from our devotion to Him?  Isn’t it true that we often just ask God for something we want without first asking whether or not it’s something He wants?

If we are to correct this disjointed disposition, if we are to align our will for us with God’s will for us, then we must first know God’s will for us.  So……what is it that God wants for us?  It’s simple: He wants the best for us (Matthew 7:9-11)!

Unfortunately, our perspective on what’s best for us is often dissimilar from God’s perspective on what’s best for us.  We often think that what’s best for us is more money, or better grades, or better health, or an easier life.  But is that what He gave Jesus?  Not only did God neglect granting Jesus a long life full of many worldly successes….God didn’t even grant Jesus a long life at all.  But despite knowing this, what did Jesus say?

Luke 22:42 – “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Now, there are of course subtleties here regarding the interactions among Jesus’ “desires” since He was fully human, fully God, and fully without sin.  However, even though we don’t share an identical psychological dynamic as our Messiah, we can still certainly learn from His worshipful prayer to God in the garden.  Indeed, try to picture yourself in Jesus’ position here—try to step inside His mentality.  Even though Jesus acknowledged that He wanted something different, He still sought (and lived) God’s will.  Even though He had His own desire, Jesus wanted what God wanted more.  And He sought what God wanted rather than what He wanted.  And in so doing, what God wanted became what Jesus wanted……and through this want, it became what Jesus did. 

So let’s be real.  With all that mentioned, what’s your own honest perspective of what’s best for you?  And with that perspective in mind, what’s God’s perspective of what’s best for you? Well let’s see:

Revelation 21:6 – …I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

So what does God give us?  He gives “from the spring of the water of life.”  And what does that mean He gives?  It means He gives us His Son, His Spirit, Himself.

John 14:6 – “**I** am the life…”

Indeed, God gives us the one thing that truly is best for us: “the life.”  And “the life” IS God’s Son, God’s Spirit, God’s Self.  God IS what’s best for us.  And He IS enough.  According to three different references in Revelation (the above verse included), God is “the Alpha and the Omega,” “the beginning and the end.”  This is speaking not just cosmologically, but also theologically.  God is the alpha and omega of EVERYTHING that is good for us.  And in-so-being, God IS good.

 Psalm 136:1a – Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.

Therefore, if we truly want what is good for us, then we want God.  Period.  And God gave us Himself through Jesus **AND** presently gives us Himself through His Spirit.  So for what do you ask God?  Do you ask Him for the impact (or fruit) of His Spirit?  Or do you ask Him for the things that only you want?

James 4:2b-3 – You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

So what’s the bottom line?  You can get what you want if you want what God wants.

And how do we go about wanting what God wants?  We align our hearts with His.

And how do we do that?  We worship.

Romans 12:2 – Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

And how do we renew our minds?  We worship.

Deuteronomy 4:28 –There [where you live] you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

What are the man-made gods you worship?  Do you worship your popularity, your image, your achievements, your ambition, yourself? 

Deuteronomy 4:29 – ²⁹ But **if** from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him **if** you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

And how do we seek with all our heart and with all our soul?  We worship.

Indeed, this is the context in which such aforementioned verses as John 16:24 and Matthew 17:20 (from the very beginning of this devotional) are true.  When our hearts are aligned with God’s, when His will IS our will, then God honors such faith, trust, and desire.  And how does such alignment occur?  We worship.

So let’s return to this month’s question: why worship?  Well, if we want what God wants, if we trust what God wants, then THAT is why we should worship.  So let’s be real with ourselves as we’re left with one final question: with all this in mind, do you want what God wants?  Whether you do or don’t the solution is the same: we should worship.  As always, please feel free to contact me (patrick@campozark.com) with feedback or questions.  Thanks for reading our online devotional.



Thankful....Thanksgiving....Thanks

I am thankful for so many things. However, when I really think about what I am grateful for here on this earth, it all boils down to relationships. It starts with God, my family and all of the people in between that cause my heart to be thankful.

I have the benefit of working with some of the finest people I know and some of my best friends in the world. From the moment I started working at Camp Ozark the relationships began. Of course Sam Torn and Gene Monk were the first two people I met and then it snowballed from there. Eventually I met my wonderful husband and both of us would count our camp friends among our best friends. Camp relationships are unique and special!

THANK YOU....for investing in relationships at Camp Ozark with each other and most importantly with our campers. There are kids having a better year because of YOU and the investment you have made. There are kids that have hope because of you. There are kids that felt unconditional love because of you.

I guarantee you I WILL enter His gates with Thanksgiving in my heart. I hope you recognize that phrase from a little song we sing at the cross. (You know the one....we gonna get down and get funky too....) This IS the day that the Lord hath made. I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!

Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Your Summer 2011

Thank you so much for all of your energy and enthusiasm as we recruit staff for Summer 2011. It has been a great start to our recruiting season. The recruiters and I have enjoyed hanging out with you and your friends.

I wanted to remind you returners to send in your "Intent to Commit" as soon as possible so we make sure we save you a spot on our 2011 staff. Our spots are filling more quickly than normal, so do not miss out. We want our returners on board for Summer 2011. If you have lost your Intent to Commit form, simply send me an email to debbie@campozark.com and I will make sure to get you into the system.

Keep your eyes wide open for a neat little surprise launching very soon. I do not want to give the surprise away, but I have mentioned this to some of you in my travels. Just get ready....it's coming!

http://yoursummer2011.com/