It’s been two weeks since i enjoyed my first ARPC church camp
TG for the many blessings …
It’s very memorable,
One, as some of u know, due to nastiness of some in my company..
The last-minute problem and solution was one of the memorable happenings
Two, there’re two agendas to be met during the camp, and by God’s grace
they’re accomplished.
There’re the third, fourth, fifth, …reasons that make the whole camp memorable,
like i broke my precious semi hard lens the nite before the camp,
i was given a super nice roommate exactly or even more than i asked God
our room was broken into on the last nite of the camp, and nothing was lost
In terms of the teachings, there’re several points that stand out
1. I learn a good way of handling pride. That’s to say that
“all the good things that i say or do, i learnt from somebody, and all the dumb things i say or do, it’s from myself”
Whenever pride goes to my head….these words will remind me to cool down
2. Church is not a club or organization where people can choose to come and go as they feel they like it. Church is a family. When the family go, you go. There’re several times where i didn’t treat this church as my family, rather as a social gathering, just come when i like it and leave when i don’t like it. Family stays together, whether you like it or you don’t like it.
3. Spiritual gifts are God’s given for the purpose to build His body, that’s the Church. Hence, hiding my gifts is not a proper way. Some were gifted for public ministry, while others more privates. I can’t choose and once given, i must use them. There’s no excuse saying i want the private ministries and not the public ones. Hence use the gifts as God meant them to be used, not whether i prefer this than that. Using gifts therefore as exercising stewardship.
4. It’s a remainder that all these things are merely because of His mercy. Nothing are actually ours. All are gifts and by His mercy. Our attitude then, should be humble and focus on the Giver and not to the gifts. Holding on something back is being not grateful on what He’s done. “This much i’ve done for thee, how much thou have done for me”.
A similar poems that stuch clear in my mind title “i will wish i’d have given Him more”
5. Few other things from personal encounters with people, i learnt “do not compare”. Victor is Victor, and musashi is musashi.
In terms of experience,
i thank God for the privilege to be part of this church, and for that weekend, He answered our prayers. I got the taste of heaven. It’s not easy to love one another, but for that weekend, about 700 of us, from the old to the kids, i got time to interact with each one of them.
It’s surely a unforgetable weekends and hopefully a beginning of new chapter in my life. Having tasted heaven, and now back to my regular life on earth with difficult people to deal with and to love. And all the impossible teachings are only possible by His grace and His Spirit. Humanly speaking, it’s impossible to do all that’re preached.
Let me regard myself with sober judgement according to grace given me. Next year, i’ll leave to His hands to decide. I’m learning to put off my old self and putting on new clothes.
In His mercy
vic