 Meet Olivia Miles!
“Hey ya’ll! My name is Olivia Miles and I’m from Murray, Kentucky. My family and I are members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Murray. In the fall I will start my freshman year of college at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky where I plan to major in exercise science and run track & field. I have been to camp every summer since 1st grade as a camper and JC. I am so excited to be a counselor this summer, little Olivia would be so happy! I can’t wait for an awesome summer with all of ya’ll!!”
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 Meet David Moldenhauer!
“Hi my name is David! I am a senior at Missouri University of Science and technology majoring in Mechanical Engineering. This year will be my fourth year working at Camp Cilca. I have been a junior counselor and camper for many years before that. My favorite activities at camp are swimming, fishing, mud volleyball, and archery. I am looking forward to learning more about God and teaching others while having lots of fun at camp!”  First Peter 4:7-14 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ________________________________________________________________________________ Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! “The end of all things is at hand,” Saint Peter reminds us. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has fundamentally changed the world. The finality of death, the ultimate wage of sin, has been broken. The tomb has been split wide open along with the Holy of Holies. It is truly “the end of the world as we know it.” More than this, the Ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father means that the power and mercy of God are ever present with us. We live under the dominion of the True and Good King. The former “ruler” of this world has been deposed. (John 12:31) Because the end is at hand, because the world is fundamentally changed, because Jesus rules over everything for our good, Peter instructs that we should live differently. This knowledge of the fact of Jesus’ resurrection should alter the way we go about our day-to-day business. First, we should be disciplined in body and mind. “Be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” (First Peter 4:7) Prayer takes discipline, especially in a Tik-Tok world where attention spans are cut in half with each passing day. To call upon the name of God “in every trouble, pray, praise, and [thanksgiving]” means having the discipline to sit with your thoughts for an extended period of time both praising the Lord for what He has done and asking Him to continue as He has promised. We practice prayer because we remember that we are speaking to the risen and ascended Christ. We ask of our King, who has promised to hear us. Discipline is another word for “training” or “practice.” This is a helpful way to think about it. We are practicing here for the “eternal weight of glory.” (Second Corinthians 4:17) We won’t get it perfect, and when we fail we should repent and receive the forgiveness of our sin. Practice won’t make us perfect. Only the grace of God in Christ can do that. That does not mean, however, that we give up. We keep going because there will come a day when all this practice will be converted by God’s grace into reality. We can apply this same discipline and practice to brotherly love and hospitality. Hospitable love should not be difficult for the citizens of the Kingdom of God. The love of God brought us into His royal family when we were formerly enemies and outsiders. How much more should we practice bringing others into our homes and churches, showing them the same undeserved mercy? Discipline also applies to being good stewards of God’s gifts of grace. The Lord showers us with buckets full of grace and mercy. All that we need and all that we have is a gift from the divine hand of the One who rules over all. So we are neither wasteful nor stingy with these gifts. We do not cast them away. We do not hoard them for ourselves. Again, this takes practice. It takes training. All of this leads to God’s glory. The Lord is glorified when the sons of God believe in and live like the Son of God, their True and Good King. The world sees your good deeds and gives glory to your Father. (Matthew 5:16) We will rise again at the return of Jesus Christ. Death has lost its power, so we are to live our lives training to live eternally as God’s people, as “little Christs.” This short life is serious practice for the life of the world to come. So let’s get going. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!  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!”  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."  Acts 1:1-11 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” ________________________________________________________________________________ Where has Jesus gone? You would think that the disappearance of their teacher, mentor, and friend so quickly after His torture, death, and resurrection, would leave the disciples in a bit of a funk. They react to His ascension, however, with joy. (Luke 24:52) How can this be? Saint Peter helps us understand in his first sermon recorded in the book of Acts. “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.’” (Acts 2:32-36. Emphasis added.) Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven, not to be distant from His people, but to enter fully into His divine right: all the limitless, unending power of God. The Jesus who died to reconcile sinners to God now rules all things for your good. “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:34-35; 37-39. Emphasis added.) Jesus is not “gone.” He is glorified. And this is good news for you and me. If you are guilty, you may confess to your King and expect forgiveness. If you are hungry, you may beg from your King and He will feed you. If you are lonely, you can trust that your King is with you in that exact moment, for by His divine power He fills all things. My favorite hymn is “Look, Ye Saints, the Sight Is Glorious.” The final verse says, “Hark, those bursts of acclamation! Hark! those loud triumphant chords! Jesus takes the highest station; O what joy the sight affords! Crown Him! Crown Him! King of kings, and Lord of lords!” The One who died for you now rules the universe with you on His mind and for your good. What joy, indeed!  James 1:22-27
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. ________________________________________________________________________________ What good is it if we hear the message of Jesus Christ, but do not believe it? Or if we are taught how to live but fail to actually live? Saint James teaches that we should not only listen to the Word of God, but do it. The way this is accomplished is by looking intently into the Law of Liberty, coming to truly know what we see there, and acting accordingly. Look “into the perfect law, the law of liberty.” (James 1:25) James likens this to gazing at yourself in the mirror. You look into the mirror to get to know what you look like, to see if there is anything in your teeth, to see if you look generally put together. So what are we gazing into when we peer into the perfect law of liberty? We are taking a good close look at nothing less than God’s revelation of Himself to us in His Word. The law of liberty is God’s Word. It is the Bible. Law is simply another word for teaching or instruction. James is talking about the “implanted word” that he told us to receive back in verse 21. In Lutheran terms, as odd as it may seem, this includes both “Law” and “Gospel”. As we peer into the Word of God, we learn, not about the shape of our own face, but about the shape of God and the shape of our own souls. Of first importance, the Bible teaches us who God is. His noble character, love, justice, holiness, and more are shown to us again and again. He is Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. He is Triune. He is unknowable on our own power, yet clearly revealed to us by His grace. Centrally, God is shown to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At the cross, God brings together each of His attributes: wrath, justice, love, forgiveness, and glory. He clearly and finally reveals how He will deal with us in our sin; by sacrificing the life of His beloved Son to redeem us. Through His Word we gain true knowledge of God. That Word also reveals our own soul. So much of our lives as fallen humans is spent trying to cover up our faults, making ourselves look better than we are, and self-medicating so that we do not need to think about the futility of life in a meaningless world. The Bible cuts through all this and reveals that we are the intentional creation of God. (Genesis 1-2) We are sinners fallen far short of God’s glory. (Romans 3:23) We are redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. (Romans 3:24-25) We are now free to walk in the law of liberty. (Ephesians 5:8) In the Word of God, we see who we were, who God is, and who we are redeemed and called to be. This knowledge should then move us to action. When we see the holiness of God and the depravity of our own sin, we should act in repentance: confess our sins and seek to amend our ways. When we see that Jesus has shed His blood to save and forgive us, we should act in faith: holding fast to the promise that our debt is paid and confessing our faith in Jesus loudly and clearly. When we see the new freedom that we have in Christ, to live in line with God’s calling, we act in Christian obedience. The holy Spirit moves us to bridle our tongues, care for the helpless, and flee from sin and worldly passions. (James 1:26-27) Let us not be hearers only, but doers of the Word: hear, repent, believe, and live.  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) |
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