Courageous Love

Olivia Shivas

Hey everyone, my name is Olivia and in today’s cabin time devotion I’m going to talk about love. And our camp Bible verse today is 2 Timothy 1:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” It’s one of my favourite verses at the moment. It’s definitely been one of my battle Bible verses this year.

We have such an incredible and generous God who gives us His love. We don’t need to earn it, He just gives it to us in abundance. And a great definition for love in the Bible comes from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

In the New Testament, Jesus talks about being the true vine and we are the branches and the importance of really attaching ourselves to Him and having our foundation of our lives in Him and we are able to produce good fruits. And as we know in Galatians 5, it talks about love being a fruit of the Spirit. If we really want to produce love as a fruit of the Spirit and love others, how can we actually attach ourselves to God in our day-to-day lives.

I know from the outside, I know how to act and look like a Christian but this year I’ve really learnt the importance of having a daily and personal effort to actually become dependent on God. And I’ve learnt that the closer we become to God and act like Jesus as He was on earth, the easier it is to produce these good fruits.

But I know it’s definitely not easy loving others. Maybe there is someone at school or at university or in your workplace that you just clash with all the time. Maybe there is someone who has hurt you that you find difficult to love. Or maybe there is someone in your family or a relationship you really need to reconcile. Trust me, I find it hard myself to love every single person.

One thing that I do to remind myself to be more loving to others, is I’ll read that same verse in 1 Corinthians and I’ll replace the word ‘love’ with my own name. So instead I’ll say, Olivia is patient, Olivia is kind. Olivia does not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud, I do not dishonour others, I am not self-seeking and so on. And it’s a really good, practical reminder on how I can be more like God and loving others.

So let’s make it a daily reminder of God’s perfect love for us and to express that to others, even people that are difficult to love. Because if God can love us, as imperfect as we are, we should also be able to love others in our world.

Courageously share the Gospel

Kim Clark and Manuele Teofilo 

Kim – Good morning campers. I’m Kim

Manu – Good morning everyone. I’m Manu.  And today we will be bringing you the devotion. We’ll start by reading a passage from 2nd Timothy 1:6-11.

Kim – [Read 2 Timothy 1:6-11 NLT] ‘fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. And now He has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Saviour. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.’

Manu –­­When I read this passage I ask myself, why would I be ashamed of exciting news? Like, think about it. When we receive something, finish school or Uni, or win a prize we’ll be quick to tell everyone. We would not be ashamed to tell people that we’ve achieved something or an exciting thing happened. Would we? No. Like when I think about last year when I got my job at Elevate, I was so e­xcited! I told all my friends and family. I put a post on Facebook. I even wrote an article about it, went everywhere.

But I feel we aren’t always as enthusiastic about the Gospel and our relationship with Christ. We may mentio­n that we’re a Christian or go to church. We don’t always go into detail about the power of God that raised Christ from the dead that gave us salvation, and about the powerful transformations that we experience in our lives by the power of Christ. Sharing our testimonies with others is powerful. We invite people to know Christ and start a relationship with Him. We can read Romans 10:13-15 where Paul said how can they believe if they have not heard. We need to tell people about the Gospel in order for them to believe.

Kim – Yeah, what I got from it was that Paul suffered so much and still he’s able to say no don’t be afraid of the Gospel because of what God has done for us. He died for us. So, we shouldn’t be ashamed of the gift that God has given us. And here in New Zealand we don’t suffer for the Gospel as much as someone in another nation. So, we have less excuse to hide away and be fearful because it’s unlikely that we’ll be killed for what we believe here in New Zealand. So at the end of the verse it says God called Paul to be a preacher. And God might not call you to be a preacher, but He calls you to be His hands and His feet. And He will use you no matter your ability.

Manu – Yeah, we shouldn’t be afraid of sharing the Gospel and telling our testimonies. Use our gifts. Take courage we have freedom to share the Gospel.

Lord I just thank you for this passage in second Timothy. You give us the strength. You give us the power to share the Gospel. That’s what you have called us to. And help us to be courageous and enthusiastic about your Word. And tell all our friends and family and everyone we know about you. You are powerful Lord Jesus. Bless everyone that is watching. And to you be all the glory, in Jesus name, amen.

Kim – Amen. Thank you guys, have a great day.

Manu – Bye

A Sound Mind is like Strong Roots

By Aukilani and Teremoana Va’a

People often look at trees for their beauty. However, trees are important in a number of ways. Trees are used to represent life & wisdom. Like us, trees grow and change with every season, grow in resilience and strength. Like there are leaves on a tree, the righteous man shows evidence of being alive. Like the fresh green leaves on a tree that has been nourished. Leaves are like people. They come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and they change colours according to the seasons.

And just like the roots of a tree as well, people cannot see what is going on under the ground, but there are unseen roots that are firmly planted below the soil. Roots serve a very important purpose. They hold water and nutrients and disperse them to all parts of the tree. The righteous man, the righteous person thrives the same way as a tree does because of strong roots.

The tree that you see standing tall above the ground can endure storms and strong winds because of its underground work. In the weather and conditions, trees might bend, but they do not break because of their strong roots. The godly man is strong and stable with roots that grow unseen. When we look at people, we cannot see what is going on underneath. However, that is where the real work takes place.

2nd Timothy 1:7 says that God does not give us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, love, and self-control or a sound mind. I thank God for blessing me with a sound mind. A sound mind is knowing when a storm or problem comes my way I am ready for it. It’s not because of me but my God. The Bible says that if God is before you or before me, who can be against me. So people take that and apply that to your life. Because you know that whatever situation, or problem, or storm that comes your way, you know that God is for you.

So have no fear, don’t fear the world, or fear what’s happening around you, but apply what God has promised you because you know Gods’ promises are ‘Yes and Amen’. So when God says ‘I’ll give you a spirit of power, love and a sound mind’ then, man, glorify and say ‘yes Lord, please I receive that’ because that can be powerful in your life. But to have that you have got to want it. You know it’s like serving God not because you have to but serving God because you want to. So if you really want what God’s applying to your life please just open your heart, open your hand, and say Lord I receive that because that really can play a big part in our life.

God’s promises are ‘Yes and Amen’. So if God says He’s going to give that to you and me, rejoice and praise the Lord. Say amen, thank you God, I receive it. So don’t fear what’s happening around the world, don’t fear because of what’s happening in your situation now but glorify God, praise Him, and say thank you Lord. Thank Father God for the Spirit of power. Thank Father God for the Spirit of love. Thank Father God for a Spirit of a sound mind. Now, I don’t fear anything because I know God is for me and you know God is for you. So have a blessed day and know that God loves you so much. God’s promises are ‘Yes and Amen’. Have a blessed day and remember God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good.