From teaching time to game time, day 4 of Base Camp 2015: Joshua was just filled with choices!
Those are some unusual choices, but I think my favorite choice was seeing all those listening ears during teaching times! Thank you for paying attention as well as answering and asking questions. I hope you know that there is never a silly question!
Do you remember the first choice we learned about tonight? It had to do with our IIA agents. Which agent chose to do his own thing rather than follow his assignment? Yep, it was Agent Nigel Hawkes, and now Katia Badguyinov has the code book! I hope we find out tomorrow if they get it back. It seems like a serious consequence for our agents.
During teaching time, I stopped by Mr. Dilly’s class to see what was up. I actually stumbled across them talking about a choice Joshua made. It seems that although Joshua was a good leader, he had a tendency to not always stop and listen to God. He actually forgot to even consult God! Do you remember the result? Joshua and the Israelites ended up being tricked by the people already in the land. Not very cool at all! What do you think God thought about that choice? Why is it important to talk to God and follow His leading?
Speaking of having a choice, do you ever think about what kind of choices God has? Can you think of the biggest choice He made for us? Mr. Dilly pointed us back to the first Passover in Egypt. The Egyptians had made quite a series of bad choices, and God told the Israelites to take the blood of a lamb and mark their doors. If your door was marked, the first born of the household would not die. If you didn’t mark your door, like the Egyptians, they would die. Ultimately, this leads us later to Jesus Christ. What kind of choice did Jesus make? What kind of choice do we have to make? I’m sure many of you know the answers. First, Jesus paid the price for our sins by choosing to come to earth and die on the cross. He really could have not come, and even once He was here, Satan tried to get Jesus to test God. It is really a pretty amazing choice to come and die for us, and now we have the opportunity to choose to accept His payment for our sins and follow Him.
Some of you may know or have guessed (I did have a few) from earlier posts that my oldest daughter, CJ, has been in Alaska this summer. As I was thinking about the choice that Jesus made, I remembered the story behind the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. It is the story of sled dog teams that raced against time to get live saving medicine to the town of Gnome. The teams that participated faced harsh conditions with subzero arctic conditions over the course of almost 700 miles. One article referred to it as “The Great Race of Mercy.” I can only imagine that it was a tough decision to be part of the trek, facing horrible conditions that could lead to frostbite and death. I’m sure that people participated out of love. What strikes me is that Jesus Christ also came to save us out of love, but with His choice Jesus knew before He even came that He had to die. He knew how hard it would be and how badly some of the very people He came to save would treat Him. Could you make a choice like that for someone who maybe already treats you badly? While not a race, the choice Jesus made, and the choices God made all the way back through Bible with Israelites, begin “The Great Story of Grace.” Grace is what gives us the choice to be children of God.
While not talking about the Iditarod, I am pretty sure that we will talk some more about grace on our last night together. Remember that it is a family fun night, so families will be staying to enjoy the activities! The night begins on Thursday, August 6, 2015, at 6:15PM. We’ll meet together, eat dinner, and enjoy games. One of the events is even a watery slide. If you plan to participate in that, don’t forget to bring a swim suit (or extra clothes) as well as a towel.
A few pictures until our family fun!
