A Guest Post From An Anonymous Area Director
I was leaving the office on Monday and one of those subtle thoughts from Satan crept into my head.
“You guys are really great! You have all those kids signed up for camp. You must really be doing awesome, I mean 6 schools filling all of fall camp, plus taking your own Work Crew and filling up the Adult Guest Lodge- wow 500 people from one city…I bet other areas look at you as the standard … be proud …take the glory…boast a little … think of yourself instead of reflecting all the Glory back to God -yadee yadee yadee.” Then I was reminded of this account from 1 Chronicles 21: 1-30. I am thankful that the truth of God’s word combats the lies of Satan. King David, when he wasn’t supposed to, took a census to “count” all the fighting men who were under his rule. The sin of pride crept in. He had taken his eyes of God and put them on his own talents abilities and what he had built- as if anything he had was his own doing and had not been given to him from the Lord. The total came back over one million men who could handle a sword. Wow can you imagine an army like that? God was not pleased, and as a result, 70,00 Israelites perished in a plague. David repented and God showed mercy on Jerusalem. This made an impression on me about what it means to trust in God and not man. I asked the Lord to forgive me for any pride that had slipped into my heart. Satan is a crafty liar who hates us and attacks from any and every angle! “Sanctify them by truth, your word is truth”. John 17:17 Then I remembered where we all started this year…the theme of the year the Lord had given me: 1 Corinthians 3:6-7. “I planted, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants or he who waters is anything, but only God who makes it grow.” And1 Corinthians 2:4-5, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might rest on men’s wisdom, but on Gods power. “ I am thankful for the truth of theses verses and that in His mercy He uses us to help build his kingdom. Praise be to God for the way he is using you in our area. Will you do me a favor? Will you take a few minutes today to thank him and praise him for that? Praise him for the kids going to camp. Give him all the praise for the work being done with kids. If pride or fear has slipped into your heart in any form will you take that to the throne of grace with confidence so that you may receive mercy and find grace to help you in your time of need? (Hebrews 4:16)
