Encouragement Page
10 July 2005

The Bible camp is over and all of us had a wonderful time in the camp hearing the word of God. Now that we are back home, every thing seems to have gone back to ‘normal’ and  we are back to our old routine once again. The question is: Have the messages in the camp made a difference in our lives? Some of us may have left all the messages back in the camp while others may have brought them home, only to be buried in our backyards. If this is so, we are but hearers and not doers of the Word. All the effort we put in during the camp would be in vain.  

“Man shall not live by bread alone” (Matt 4:4). During the Bible camp, there was abundance of food for the bodily needs. Many of us put on weight during the camp. Good food was certainly one of the attractions of the camp but there must be something else much more important than food. “But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). The main purpose of the Bible camp was for us to hear the word of God delivered to us by the camp speakers who had spent much time preparing those messages. Have we listened to them carefully? If we have, in what way have they enriched or changed our spiritual lives?  

“Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you” (Deut 6:1). The Bible camp is over but the Word of God endureth for ever (1 Peter 1:25). What we heard during the Bible camp must continue to ring in our ears and live in our hearts. The Word of God contains His commandments, statutes and judgments. It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). We must therefore not only hear it, read it but also delight in it and meditate in it day and night. Such a person will be blessed by God who is the Giver of every good and every perfect gift. Since we came back from the camp, have we meditated on those messages? Let us therefore continue our daily Bible reading even after the Bible camp. 

“That ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it” (Deut 6:1). God’s command to His people is not just to hear His commandments but to do them. It was very nice to hear those wonderful messages in the camp. Now that we are back home, do we put them to practice? We must therefore be doers and not hearers only. “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” (Jas 1:23–24). When we were in the camp, we were looking at the Word of God like looking into the mirror and realized how ugly we were and desired to do better. But now, after we came away from the camp, many of us straightaway forget what we saw of ourselves, and went back to our old humdrum life style again. God has a promise for us. If we want to receive His blessing, we ought to do what He commands. 

“If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (Jn 8:31). Our Lord also reminded us that if we want to be His disciples, we must continue to live our lives according to His teaching. The best way to do this is to study the Bible regularly and consistently, not forgetting the prayer meetings and daily personal devotions. The purpose of the Bible camp was to make us true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not be camp goers only but be faithful followers of Christ.

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