To be continued 2015...

By: David Jones

As I sit at my desk and think about this past weekend at PEC Summer Conference I am filled with gratitude for what we saw God do in our lives. One of the hardest things for us to do is to continue with the same passion all the year through. It is often known as the “camp high”. We all need to figure out what things we need to do in order for our relationship with God to be sustained and also for personal and continual growth in Him. Reading the Bible and praying to God are obviously the requisites to understanding and knowing the heart of God and what He desires for us.

Firstly, Philippians 2:12-13 says that we are to “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose”. To work out our salvation means to put effort into our belief. To put into practice our daily living what God is doing in us through His Spirit. The outworking is to be done “with fear and trembling” meaning a reverence for God and His holiness. This includes a complete trust in God and not in ourselves.

Secondly, 2 Timothy 3:14-15 Paul is speaking to his friend Timothy giving him instructions. He says “as for you continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus”. The encouragement here is not only to continue in the learning process, but also that when we are convinced of what we believe and trust, we see God working in and through us in such a way that it leaves no doubt in others that God has His hand on our lives.

Thirdly, in 2 Timothy 3:17 states the reason we need to “continue” is so that we will “be thoroughly equipped for every good work”. Acts of kindness and good deeds are something we all can be proud of; but when we have the Spirit of God equipping us through God’s word and instilling the right motivation in us, we truly work out on a daily basis and continue the good work that God began in us the day we trusted Him as our own. The summer camp high is not confined to a few days or a week in the summer but can be an ongoing commitment that we value and build into.