Meet Adam Homann!
“Hi, my name is Adam Homann, and this will be my third year on staff, but my 9th year going to camp. My favorite thing about camp is Chapel and UC. In the summer, I will have completed my freshman year at Concordia University Wisconsin in the Director of Church Ministries program. After college I hope to be serving in a church or camp. I am super excited for camp and can't wait to see you there!”
3 Comments
Meet Ethan Theilen!
"My name is Ethan Theilen. I currently attend Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. I am a member at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Sherman, Illinois. This summer will be my third year as a counselor and my sixth year on staff. Before becoming a counselor, I was a camper for four years and a junior counselor for a year. My favorite parts of camp are getting to meet and interact with the campers, as well as underground church." Meet Matthew Moldenhauer!
“Hello! My name is Matt. I am excited to be a second year counselor at Camp Cilca for the summer of 2024! I look forward to enjoying time doing activities and being immersed in God's word. A little about me, I enjoy being outdoors during my free time doing my favorite hobbies, fishing and golf. I am from Auburn Illinois, and my home church is Trinity Lutheran Church in Auburn. I am currently a student at Missouri University of Science & Technology pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I hope to see you at Camp this summer and have the opportunity to share my faith with everyone!” Meet Kelsie Gerhardt!
“My name is Kelsie Gerhardt. This will be my third summer as a counselor at Camp CILCA. I love many different camp activities especially swimming, creek walking, mud volleyball, chapel, and UC. In the fall, I will attend Concordia, Wisconsin, to become a Director of Church Ministries. I am from Decatur, Illinois, and am a member of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Decatur.” James 1:16-21 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ In chapter one of his letter, James warns his readers against the desire of evil. “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:15) It is not only committing actual sin that can harm our souls, but even wanting to. It is fairly common for people to struggle with this concept today. We tend to think that if we have a desire, it must be for something good. After all, why would God make me with a desire for something bad. Not so, James counters. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” (James 1:13-14) God is not the author of our temptation. We can conjure that up all on our own. Rather than blaming God for our desires and temptations, we should repent of them. We should turn away from the desire for evil before evil gets its claws in too deep. It is not, however, that all desires are evil. Desire is an emotion, and emotions can be good or bad. They can be directed by God and His Spirit, or they can be driven by the spirit of the age. “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:16-17) James is encouraging his readers to desire the good things that God gives. How, though, can we know the difference? We learn the difference between good and evil desires, the difference between the righteous and wicked ends of any emotion, by calibrating our hearts with God’s Word. “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:19-21) Often, James 1:19-20 is quoted out of context as relationship advice. Indeed, we should be quick to listen and slow to respond when another person speaks to us, especially if they are confronting us with an accusation or calling us to repentance. But that misses James’ point here. We are not simply supposed to be quick to listen to other people generally. We are to be quick to hear the implanted Word of God. (v.21) God’s Law, His commands, teach us how to act, and even how to feel at times. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls out the wickedness of all sorts of desires and emotions: lust, anger, anxiety, and envy, to name a few. As we read these commands and others we are shown what is appropriate and what is not. The Gospel, too, shapes our emotions, albeit in a more direct and indirect way. When the Holy Spirit brings the good news that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has reconciled me to God, I am filled with trust in this news, and that trust opens the door for a flood of other emotions, beginning with the love of God. The Gospel actually changes my heart, makes it new, and leads me to love and desire good things. More indirectly, the Gospel also gives me confidence that my standing with God is not based on my own good deeds. I stand on firm ground in the presence of my heavenly Father because of the good deeds of Jesus Christ. So when emotions come my way, I need not merely react badly to them. I can step back, analyze them, and act appropriately. There is a wonderful prayer in the front of Lutheran Service Book that reflects this idea of the Word of God directing our hearts toward God-pleasing ends. “Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it.” (LSB, front inside cover) Meet Laura Kaufmann!
“Hi! My name is Laura Kaufmann. I am a freshman at Baylor University with a major in social work. In my free time, I love playing sports, hiking, cycling, and hammocking. My home church is Trinity Lutheran in Auburn, IL. I can’t wait to spend the summer growing with God, his people, and his creation!” Meet Joely Dolen!
“Hi, my name is Joely!!! I have been working at camps since I was 15, but this is my 1st year working at Camp CILCA. I am excited to be back at CILCA as I went here as a camper and to bring all my prior summer camp knowledge and experience with me. I will be working in the kitchen and as a counselor! The camp activities I am most excited for are Counselor safari and devos.” First Peter 2:11-20 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. ________________________________________ Saint Peter refers to Christians as “sojourners and exiles” in this world. Sojourners are those who are traveling through a place, but do not really belong there. They are visitors. And an exile is one who has been removed from his true home, who cannot get to the place that he should be. So, how do these labels apply to Christians? In one sense, we do belong to this world. We are created beings, and we belong in the world that God created for us. We have physical bodies that are at home in the physical world that God fashioned with them in mind. Our “at home-ness” in this world stays true, even after the fall of Adam and Eve into sin. We are all sinners, and sinners belong in a sinful world. That is where the story begins to change. Sinners are at home in the sinful world. They follow their leader, the devil, who exerts influence over them. (John 8:44) Yet, Christians have been redeemed by the death of Jesus. They have been purchased by the precious blood of Christ and, therefore, no longer belong to the devil and his kingdom. You, Christian, are a child of God. You belong to Jesus, not to the devil. You are under the authority of the new and divine heavenly reign of God, not the satanic ruler of this fallen and sinful world. Jesus is our King. God is our Father. We are motivated, not by the spirit of the age, but by the Spirit of Christ. So we are sojourners, traveling through a world that lives under the devil’s banner. We are exiles, unable to live in the new creation that will be brought into existence when Jesus returns and raises the dead. Peter’s warning and exhortation is for Christians to live as citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom. (Philippians 3:20) We do not live under the authority of the devil or according to his rules and laws. So how should we live? First, with conduct that honors God, not the devil. The passions of the flesh (greed, lust, anger, etc.) “wage war against your soul” that belongs to God. If we follow these passions, we are marching to the tune of Satan’s band. Rather, we should live in such a way that the people of this world see our conduct and praise God for it. Some will see these acts of loyalty to the Kingdom of Christ as “wicked”. They may even deride you as “evil”. Think of what people outside the church would tell you if you said that two men should not be allowed to be married. But speaking clearly about God’s design for marriage and living joyfully in it honors our Lord and confounds the devil. Second, we should subject ourselves to the human institutions that govern this world. Civil government and societal structures give order to a chaotic world. Good government is to punish evil and praise good. (1 Peter 2:14) God did not call us to stir up chaos and disorder, but to sow peace, justice, and love. Because these institutions (the U.S. Constitution, elected leaders, etc.) serve an honorable purpose, we should uphold them and willingly submit to them. Notice, however, that this is a voluntary subjection. “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution.” (1 Peter 2:13) “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” One of the ways that we honor these human institutions is by recognizing that they are not eternal. They are not without flaws and sins. They have limits and boundaries. We honor the emperor, not because he is without sin, but because God would have it be thus. That means when they cross the line, we can call them on it. “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) In the end, we are free from these institutions. Yet, we use that freedom to make these institutions better, stronger, more aligned with God’s will and less in line with the dictatorial mandates of hell. As you live in exile here in the fallen world, live as a loyal citizen of Christ’s Kingdom. Meet Grace Drews! Howdy Hi! My name is Grace Drews, I am a freshman at Concordia University Nebraska, in the DCE Program with a double major of Christian Education Leadership and Theology. I ring Handbells in the Concordia Ringers choir, and am active in Concordia Youth Ministry. When I’m home I attend my church which is Bethel Lutheran Ministries in Morton, IL. I have attended different summer camps for a while, but this will be my first summer as a counselor. I love all of the things associated with summer camp: hiking, swimming, creek walking, morning/evening chapel… and I can’t wait to do all of those as a counselor at CILCA this summer! First Peter 2:21-25
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. ________________________________________________________________________________ The suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is our salvation. It brings us back to our Shepherd and Bishop. Jesus’ work results in “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” (Nicene Creed) He wins our freedom on the cross. Freedom, however, is not what we typically think it is. In the common usage today, freedom means being able to come and go as I please. It means having the right to do what I want when I want. It means being free from obligation and necessity. This is not the kind of freedom that Jesus wins for us, however. Jesus is, of all people, truly free. He has no sin. He is the Son of God, rightful ruler of the universe. If anyone should be without obligation it would be Him. Yet, Saint Peter teaches us, He left us an example of humble obedience to and perfect faith in God His Father. Jesus was truly free as He obeyed God. He was perfectly free in His suffering as He trusted God to save Him and judge His enemies. This is the kind of freedom that has been lavished upon us. You are not free to do as you please. Rather, the freedom that God gives is the freedom to be what God created you to be. It is the freedom to live as a son of God, to do good and not evil, to speak the truth instead of lies, to trust God to save rather than taking matters into our own hands. Living in any other way would not be freedom, but slavery to sin and death. Ours is the freedom to follow Jesus through death to sin and into real life. We have been brought back from our wandering, slavish ways to follow our Shepherd through suffering and into righteousness, doing good even to those who hate and revile us. The implication here is that the Christian will be different from the surrounding world. You will stand out like a straight line in a crooked world. Let the world bury their noses in smartphones, wallow in pornography, and puff away their worries in marijuana smoke. You will look straight at your Savior, bask in the glory of His salvation, and live unburdened of worries because He cares for you. Standing out is not easy. It makes us easy targets. Some people enjoy watching the straight line go awry. Others just hate what is truly good. When those moments of trial come, we can simply follow the example of Jesus who has been there and done that, not deceiving, hating, or attacking, but trusting. We can trust that we have died to sin and have been raised to righteousness. We rest in the unfailing care of our Shepherd and Bishop. |
Details
Camp CILCA StaffWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2024
ACt Like Men
|