The Day

Joel 1:15 Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.

Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand—  2:2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come. 
Joel 2:11 The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? 

Joel 2:31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 

Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

This morning I was reading Joel, the common theme in Joel is obviously "the day of the LORD".  It's something we as Christians don't talk about alot.  We may think about it occasionally, but to actually talk about it, we rarely do.  John the Baptist preached about it regularly. 
So here is my question:  Are we concerned about it as it relates to non-believers?  Does it bother us that when this day comes, this Day of the Lord, so many will be judged?

The Day of the Lord is a day of celebration for believers, but a day of judgment for those who don't.

THIS DAY WILL COME!!

None of us know when, none of us, but rest assured it will come.

and our message should be this:

Joel 2:32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

Always follow the judgment of the Lord with the hope of the LORD.

have a great day, Chris.

Camp, a retreat, and another Camp

Summertime is a busy time, but also a rewarding time.  I don't get a whole lot accomplished during summer months because of camp, a retreat, and another camp.  But, its ok, cause i LOVE it....

There is so much involved in getting these together, so much behind the scenes to do, and ugh the paperwork!!!  However, what God accomplishes through these camps and retreats is unbelievable.

So why do I love the camps so?  I am reminded of a verse:

Matthew 13:36, "Then He left the crowd and went into the house.  His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable..." (NIV)

Three things:

1. You gotta leave the crowd.  Camps and retreats enable us to step back from the crowd, from everyday life and enable Jesus to teach us something.
2. They went into the house, wasn't their house, was somebody elses.  They where away from home, away from the normal, away from, well, everywhere.
3. It's a chance for my students to dig deeper, just like Jesus' disciples came to Him and wanted the parable explained.

so, my blogs may be few from now till August, but its because of:

camp, a retreat, and another camp.

Have a great summer!!

Chris