How the Squad Speaks

...there’s something that can happen when you’re always reading and hearing about what kind of person I need to be, and how I need to act, & what I should and shouldn’t do...

I mean, we’re talking about it now, right? The theme of this camp is how the “squad” should behave toward one another from the Bible’s perspective—

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How many of you read your bible…okay, thou shall not steal …Check! I’m good? Obey your father and mother…uh oh.

And so often we read the bible with these behaviour glasses on:

They shouldn’t be gossiping because the bible says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up.”

I shouldn’t lie. The bible says, “Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Eph 4:25)

I shouldn’t joke like that. The bible says “Let there be no foolish talk or crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”

And even today’s focus,

We should be

“Speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15)

to one another...after all, words have the power of life and death.

So if these are all true and good things the squad must practice, then what exactly is it that can happen when we’re so surrounded and so familiar with the bible’s teaching on our behavior?

Rhetorical question....I’m just gonna tell you...

Two things:

1) “we can make the bible’s teaching all & only about us & our behaviour…

2) “we can make the gospel about what we do for God rather than what He does for us”

To get a little serious.....This cannot be more opposite to speaking the truth in love. These are not truth and, believe me, it is not coming to you in love! It means to trip you up, and bad too. Actually they can be like a poison in your spiritual life because what they try to do is attack the very heart of the gospel in your understanding, while you are left totally unaware because, after all, you know these things, man you grew up on this...you’re so familiar with Jesus and the gospel....that you fall for the trick that you’re good, man, nothing can trip you up. You know all the right answers, you always did.

Pause

But let me ask you, if all your parents, your friends here want from you was good behavior but have no interest in knowing you or being your friend, how would you feel? Now....Can you imagine God being like that? The God who bound himself to Israel in an everlasting love covenant, choosing Her as his treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth?”

Above all, the God of Israel longs for a truth-in-love relationship with you.

And right behavior doesn’t come out of nowhere. And certainly not from yourself.

Beware of seeing the bible as a book just giving commandments to make you to look within yourself to obey and conform.

....Real fruit naturally flows from your truth-in-love relationship with God.

Let me ask you:

Where do you get the power to speak truth in love to someone? Or to be humble, putting others first, to be like Jesus?

Not just from God, but from

God’s speaking truth in love into your own heart.

Listen up---You gotta have the truth and the love...spoken and received into your own heart....before you can have the discernment and wisdom to know what truth to tell someone else in their time of need or how to go about showing love to someone.

I mean, you can always say something nice, try to be loving...

....but speaking truth in love…so that it powerfully sticks and doesn’t end up meaningless cliche....that’s a hard win. Don’t just talk without thinking....

Give people what God has given you. Speak to them what God has spoken to you.

Listen to this:

“Watch what God does: and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Messiah loved us! His love was not cautious bu t extravagant. *He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” (Eph 5:1-2 The Message)

Did you notice that what you do comes second—only after truly receiving what God does? And what is the greatest thing God has done for us? Yeshua.

....Yeshua is the Word of God, His spoken Truth come down in great Love.

Look, God doesn’t want you to be consumed and so focused on behavior standards; he’s not out just to get some results out of you. That’s backward thinking.

He wants to speak his truth in love to your heart...so that your cup spills over in joy, and then,

....in that joy, you will naturally, without even thinking about it, spill out truth in love to others.

The more time we spend receiving Yeshua’s person/character, the more we will reflect it to others...like second nature.

The key to good behavior is not behavior at all. It is relationship with YESHUA.

Take the time to hear him speaking, and take even more time to receive his truth in love.

pause

Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn this life of love.

Camp Challenge!

I want you to think about—take time--What truth-in-love has God spoken to you...that you can, with joy, share with someone else here today?

I’d recommend pray and maybe journal it.

Then pick someone in your cabin and speak that truth in love to him/her. Everyone in the cabin should have one person—counselors, can you make sure of this? Tell your counselor who you picked.

If God brings someone specific to you mind not in your cabin, you should definitely say something to them. In fact, feel free to speak to as many people as you want!

It can be a truth that is deep and meaningful and you both end up in happy tears.

Or it can be something not so deep and just a simple kindness or a kind word of encouragement.