Summit Ministries

This morning I awoke to the rushing mountain wind through my bunkside window. Too early to join the outside world, but too alert to drift off to sleep my thoughts turned to prayer. Dear God, what better place to have your truths reconfirmed and solidified in my mind and heart then here in your mountains, so far and different from my home in Iowa. Dear Lord, open my heart and my eyes, guide me and make me teachable. Bless the speakers and the things they say, may they fall on attentive ears and soft hearts. Most of all, thank you Lord for this opportunity. Amen.
Another blast of cold wind and I'm up and going.
A huge blessing of Camp Summit, I've found, are the endless opportunities to take time out to be with God. Open porches, doors, windows, even roofs become your sanctuary as you seek to begin your day with God.
Charging my body with spiritual and physical food, the bell calls one and all to the lecture hall. The starting lecture is a continuation from the previous day, cults. Speaker Kevin Bywater takes center and once again I found myself amazed at how inadequate my previous knowledge had been regarding cults and the whole new age movement. Towards the end of his lecture I was challenged by an illustrations presented to us by Bywater. "What do you picture when you hear of Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses?" Everyone mentioned family oriented, clean cut, intelligent, and friendly. Then we were asked, "what do you picture when I say Christian?" Silence. How is it that we've gotten to the point where a cult beats us in the positive image?
The afternoon sessions were commanded by the powerful speaker Frank Turek. I sat there and tried to digest the outpouring of information on apologetics. Atheism, polytheism and many more religious views were presented to us. Seemingly daunting, loop hole after loop hole was revealed in these false teachings showing them for what they truly were, weak attempts at denying a creator. I was again struck with how little I know and that I need to learn to be more effective.
With my mind still churning even after our dinner and breaks, we rejoined Turek for a discussion on homosexaul marriage. Without even cracking open a bible, fact after fact was presented to us on the harms and dangers of a family and society that gives in to accepting and possibly one day legalizing gay marriage. I felt overwhelmed and honestly, even a little hopeless when I realize the direction that our country is heading and not knowing what to do. Being left with book titles to use in our own continuing research, the second day closed out and I left my desk.
Sitting here now in the lobby, I'm still struggling how to express what this day has done for me. I can't write down word for word what I've heard, but I feel that God has answered my prayers in that my mind and heart are growing, slowly and surely, but none the less growing. What lies ahead for me tomorrow only God knows, but I'm praising him each minute that I'm here and am blessed with His word and the guidance of those around me.