Right now I'm in Redding with my family at a family camp put on by an organization called Chinese Family for Christ. Jon Yang used to go to this camp, but the Cantonese version of it (we're at the Mandarin one). They also opened up to college students this year, but I found out there are only a few others...

The youth program is in English and led by a team of people brought in to take care of the kids. During the first meeting my brother and I attended, I found out that the youth program seems to be oriented towards jr high and high school kids.

The youth program is taking a trip up to Mount Lassen early tomorrow morning. I should have some interesting pictures from it to post tomorrow evening.

The camp is on the campus of Simpson University, a small christian college like Anna's. Our family has two dorm rooms that are joined in the middle by sinks and a bathroom.

Ta ta for now.

Devotion notes and thoughts

2 Samuel 8

This chapter details David's military successes, including defeating 22,000 Arameans and making them his subjects. In verse 6 and verse 14, we see that,

The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.

David might have had a mighty army, brilliant generals, the latest and greatest weaponry, and the most loyal of soldiers, but ultimately it's God that determined whether his campaigns were victories or defeats. This is sometimes hard for me to wrap my mind around, especially in a philosophical sense that we study in college.

Among people who subscribe to naturalism and atheism, there is an argument that the future can be determined by the current state of the universe. This logically results in a more specific argument that humans do not possess free will, and will decide exactly what they were meant to decide given the state of chemicals and electrical signals in their brain.

I think it's easy to apply this type of thinking to passages like this and think that outcomes of events are determined by their material inputs (the strength of an army, for instance), but we must remember that God is an intangible and unmeasurable factor that determines the outcome of events.

2 Samuel 9

David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"

When I read this, I thought maybe it was reflecting God's relationship to Israel and his people. The parallel sentence would be:

God asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Adam to whom I can show kindness for Abraham's sake?

Isaiah 27

The deliverance of Israel.

James 3

As Christians, we need to exercise restraint in what we think and say. This chapter teaches how important, yet dangerous, the tongue is.

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

Obviously, the answer is no. Though a person might praise God with their mouths and actions, their praise might not be genuine or acceptable. In its appearance, salt water and fresh water probably look indistinguishable to observers, yet the one who tastes it can immediately tell the difference. This is the same for praise that pours forth from human lips.

James 4

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

I think this clearly refutes the messages of people who preach a prosperity gospel. God doesn't ever grant a person wealth just so the person can be wealthy and "happy", but instead requires that his gifts be used for his purposes and for his glory. There really isn't any "happiness" to be found in worldly things anyway. Our real "treasure" is in heaven.

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?

Where do our thoughts, desires, and loyalties lie? What do we consider our pearl of great price?

James 5

The last part of this chapter describes the importance of prayer, something I definitely still need to work on in my own life.

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Scripture doesn't tell us that any and every prayer is powerful and effective, but those offered up by a godly and upright person.