Good Plans vs. God’s Plans

Think about that time you planned to do something extraordinary, only to have it backfire on you. What happened? What did you learn?

Do you ever find that you are motivated to do something good for the wrong reason? Is this ever true in your relationship with God?

Read 2 Samuel 7:1-7, stopping to think about verse 7.

What was good about David’s plan to build God a house (temple)?

How did God respond to David’s plan?

What does God’s response say about David’s plans?

What was God’s problem with David’s plans?

David wanted to do something wonderful for God, but his plans didn’t correspond to God’s plans. When have you seen that scenario play out in your life? What happened?

We shouldn’t read this passage and think that God doesn’t want us to do great things. He does, but He wants us to do great things according to His plan and through His power and strength. Even our greatest efforts and talents are gifts from Him.

David wanted to do something good for God. He wanted to honor God by building a temple, but it was never God’s plan that David would be the king who would build the temple. David’s motives were pure, and he wanted to do a wonderful thing, but his plan didn’t match up with God’s.

The point you need to understand? You may want to do great things for God, but if He hasn’t called you to do those things, you shouldn’t be doing them. Make plans to serve the Lord, but seek His leadership, then go where He leads and do what He asks.

In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked anyone among the tribes of Israel, whom
I commanded to shepherd My people Israel: “Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?” —2 Samuel 7:7

Posted in Devotions | Tagged 2 Samuel 7, Adapted from ec magazine. © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources, Camp Crestridge, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Weekly Devotions | Leave a reply

Let Him Lead

Read Proverbs 16:1-4.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Things aren’t always as they seem?” Sometimes, the things we think are certain may only be a wish—or even worse, a scam. If only we could pull the curtain back and see things as they really are, we could avoid so much sin, confusion, and heartache.

Often, the problem may be our own pride or selfish motives. All too often, we fail to consider God’s will when we make our plans. We may think we have everything planned out, but only God knows the outcome.

Proverbs 16:1-4 is a reminder that we don’t ultimately determine our futures. Our plans don’t necessarily succeed; God’s plans, on the other hand, are sure to succeed. Even terrible circumstances cannot ultimately disrupt God’s purposes for His people, since He gives believers the strength to endure all situations.

It’s easy to come up with our own plans, then take them to God and ask for His blessing. But that isn’t what He’s asked us to do. Instead, as today’s passage says, He invites us to surrender our plans to Him and line them up with His purposes. When we give our plans to God and pursue His purposes, those plans will be achieved because He’s the One who is doing the leading.

Surrendering your plans to God isn’t easy. It doesn’t always feel good. But regardless of what you think or feel, will you trust God with your present and your future? Your Heavenly Father is worthy of trust, and His promises are sure. Don’t foolishly and arrogantly ignore God and live as if you are in control of your life. Depend on God—He’s the path to true freedom and joy.

Commit your activities to the Lord, and your plans will be achieved. —Proverbs 16:3

Posted in Devotions | Tagged Adapted from ec magazine. © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources, Camp Crestridge, proverbs 16, Ridgecrest Summer Camps | Leave a reply

Praise!

What do you spend most of your time thinking about? As you sit in class at school, where do your thoughts go? Is it the game that’s coming up? Are you dreaming of next summer at Camp? The boy/girl you’re trying to get to notice you? The car you want? Whatever consumes your thoughts also consumes your heart.

Read Psalm 95:1-8. Chew on verse 6.

What reasons to praise the Lord does the psalmist give us in verses 3-5?

The psalmist speaks about the “depths of the earth . . . the mountain peaks . . . the sea . . . the dry land.” What does this signify?

What does bowing down to worship the Lord symbolize?

Have you ever hardened your heart to the things of God? Why? When? What happened?

What things of God is your heart hardened toward right now? Why?

This passage describes worshiping God in a variety of ways for many reasons. What are some reasons you can praise God today?

What steps will you take to praise and worship Him right now?

Today’s passage of Scripture is a call to worship. The psalmist reminds his readers that God is the Creator of all things, from the deepest valleys and seas to the highest mountains. The psalmist calls us to recognize God for who He is, the great God above all others who deserves all of our praise.

But God also wants our hearts to be obedient to Him. He wants us to have submissive attitudes and hearts completely surrendered to His will for our lives. Praise Him today. Ask Him to help you completely surrender your heart and your mind as you give Him all that you are out of your love and devotion for your King.

Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. —Psalm 95:6

Posted in Devotions | Tagged Adapted from ec magazine. © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources, Camp Crestridge, Psalm 95, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Weekly Devotions | Leave a reply

Some Give All

He ran. Day after day, he ran. Before school. After school. On weekends. Everywhere he went people would say to him: “Is that all you do? Run?” He was used to the teasing. He was used to being asked why he ran all the time. But in his heart, he didn’t care. He remembered bitterly the pain of last year’s defeat. He’d lost the gold medal in the state cross country meet by just a few seconds, which kept him from his dream of standing on the highest place on the podium. So he ran. He would give it all he had.

Read 2 Samuel 6:12-15 and check out what David was doing in verse 14.

Why did God bless the house of Obed-Edom?

What did this signify to David?

When David went down and brought up the ark of God from Obed-Edom’s house, how did he and his men remove it this time?

After six steps, what did David do?

Verse 14 says David danced with all his might before the Lord. Why did David dance?

What have you given all your might to in the past?

Have you ever worshiped God with everything in you? If not, what is holding you back?

David knew God’s grace and forgiveness. He also knew His holiness. A right relationship with God helps us to recognize who God is, and only when we know that truth can we truly worship Him. He is the Maker of all things. He is the Lover of our souls. He is forgiveness, mercy, and love. He is holy. He deserves our worship and praise. With everything in us, we should worship God.

David was dancing with all his might before the Lord wearing a linen ephod. —2 Samuel 6:14

Posted in Devotions | Tagged 2 Samuel 6, Adapted from ec magazine. © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources, Camp Crestridge, Weekly Devotions | Leave a reply

Enthusiasm ≠ Obedience

Earlier this year, American missionaries tried to take Haitian children out of Haiti and into the Dominican Republic where they were setting up an orphanage. The problem? The missionaries didn’t have the required documents to take the children from the country. No matter how good their intentions, they weren’t properly obeying the laws in Haiti, and it cost them greatly.

Read 2 Samuel 6:6-11. See what happened in verses 6 and 7.

Why did Uzzah reach out and grab the ark?

What happened to Uzzah when he reached out and took hold of the ark of God?

Why does the Bible say the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah?

What does it mean to be irreverent?

What did Uzzah’s disobedience cost him?

Think back to a time in your life when you were disobedient to God. What did it cost you?

The fact is, David didn’t properly follow the instructions found in Exodus about how to move the ark of the covenant. Instead, he followed the Philistine’s example and moved the ark on a cart. David’s reason for moving the ark was understandable; he simply wanted to bring the ark, a revered, holy object, to Jerusalem. He wanted to honor God and the ark by putting it in a place of prominence. But God had very specifically laid out how the ark was to be moved, and David didn’t follow God’s directions. Because of this, a man lost his life.

God is serious about His holiness. He calls us to respect that holiness and to live a certain way because of it. David was enthusiastic about moving the ark and wanted it to be in a place of importance and prominence, but he wasn’t obedient. We can do the same thing when we’re enthusiastic in our worship of God, but we don’t obey Him. Enthusiasm is never a substitute for obedience.

When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen had stumbled. Then the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God. —2 Samuel 6:6-7

Posted in Devotions | Tagged 2 Samuel 6, Adapted from ec magazine. © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources, Camp Crestridgec, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Weekly Devotions | Leave a reply

Handle w/ Care

When I was in fifth grade, my teacher taught us how to fold the American flag. He was a retired, decorated Marine and had spent time in Vietnam. He loved his country, and he treasured the flag, the symbol of freedom for the United States. He took great pride in teaching us how to keep the flag off the ground, how to fold it perfectly, and how to put it in a case. It wasn’t just any old cloth to him; he would have given his life for it.

Read Numbers 4:4-6,15, concentrating on verse 15b.

What was “the work” of the Kohathites”?

What were they to care for?

What were the curtains and skins of manatees to be used for?

What would happen to the Kohathites if they touched the holy things?

What do these verses teach you about the value God placed on the ark?

What do these verses teach you about the character of God?

God placed high value on the ark of the covenant. Certain people had been instructed by God to handle the ark in a very specific way. God didn’t just tell them to pack it up and go. He was very specific in His instructions. God doesn’t do things haphazardly. He always has an order and a purpose. His ways work to bring honor to Himself and to teach us to value and respect the things of God. The question is, do you?

The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.

—Numbers 4:15b

Posted in Devotions | Tagged Adapted from ec magazine. © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources, Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, Numbers 4:4-6; 15, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Weekly Devotions | Leave a reply

When you know God, you really worship

It used to be rusty. Very rusty, with torn seats and cracked windows. (Almost like an old Camp truck.) But even then, it looked like a million bucks to him. As he stared at the 1967 pickup truck, he remembered back to his childhood when he spent hours riding in it with his grandpa. Those images brought a tear to his eye. He’d spent 10 years restoring that truck to what it looked like the day his grandpa drove it off the car lot, and now, he was proudly driving it to his first car show.

Focus on verse 2 as you read 2 Samuel 6:1-5.

How many men did David gather together out of Israel?

What was the task David gave his men?

What was the name of the ark?

What was the great significance of the ark?

On what did they place the ark?

What does verse 5 say David and his men were doing?

Why was the ark of the covenant considered holy?

What did showing respect to the ark have to do with showing respect to God?

How do you show respect and honor to God with your life?

David recognized the great value of the ark of the covenant. It was the earthly throne of Israel’s God. It wasn’t valuable because it was made of exotic wood or priceless gold, but rather because of the Name attached to it. Think about the man with the truck at the beginning of today’s devotion. That truck was valuable to him because he knew the original owner. It wouldn’t have had such value if it were just any old truck. The ark was valuable to David and his men because the Name of God was attached to it. To respect the ark was to respect God. The point? True worship means knowing the One we worship. It only comes from a relationship with our Holy God.

He and all his troops set out to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah. The ark is called by the Name, the name of Yahweh of Hosts who dwells between the cherubim.
—2 Samuel 6:2

Posted in Devotions | Tagged 2 Samuel 6, Adapted from ec magazine. © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources, Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, Weekly Devotions | Leave a reply

Seeing God For Who He Is

Read Revelation 4:1-11.

A friend of mine recently returned from Haiti. The devastation from the January earthquake was incredible. Buildings, homes, and families were destroyed. No words exist to accurately express how incredibly sad it was to see.

When he returned, people asked me on a daily basis to describe that devastation. With all the words he could muster, he would explain the sadness and doom he had witnessed. He had been there, and still he struggled for the right words to convey all that he had experienced firsthand.

Similarly, it’s hard to understand heaven. Everyone has an idea in mind about what it will be like, but none of us have ever actually been there, so heaven is difficult for us to describe. The Bible gives us a picture of heaven in today’s passage. But even with John’s description, it’s still difficult to grasp exactly what heaven is like.

One thing is very clear, though: the creatures in heaven recognize God for who He is, and their response is to worship Him.

There’s an important lesson in that for us: when we see God for who He is—holy, righteous, powerful, the only One worthy to receive praise—we should respond with worship. When you get even just a tiny glimpse of who God is, it inspires worship. After all, He is “worthy to receive glory and honor and power” because He created all things (Rev. 4:11).

Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created. —Revelation 4:11

Posted in Devotions | Tagged Adapted from ec magazine. © 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources, Camp Crestridge, Camp Ridgecrest, Weekly Devotions | Leave a reply