Number 57: June 21, 2006



We held our annual Youth Advance at a ranch 9100 feet in elevation in the Pike National Forest section of the Rocky Mountains. The goal was to enrich the young adults practical understanding of the Word of God so they could better apply it in their daily lives. The Word of God that was presented was designed to help them learn how to deal more successfully with practical affairs of every day living by utilizing the wisdom of God found in His Word.



The theme section for the Advance was James 1:22-25. Kenneth Wuest’s translation reads:

Moreover, keep on becoming doers of the Word and stop being hearers only, reasoning yourselves into a false premise and thus deceiving yourselves, because if, as is the case, anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, this one is like a man attentively considering in a mirror the face with which he was born. For he took one look at himself and was off, and he immediately forgot what sort of a person he was. But he who with eagerness and concentration has pored over the perfect law, the law of liberty, and has continued in it, not having been a hearer who forgets but a doer who works, this person shall be prospered spiritually in his doing.



God not only asks us to learn His Word, but also to live it. We will prosper spiritually as we, with eagerness and concentration, learn more of God’s Word and the freedoms we have been given through the accomplished work of Christ.



William MacDonald writes:

To go on gaining an intellectual knowledge of the Bible without obeying it, can be a trap instead of a blessing. If we continually learn what we ought to do but do not do it, we become depressed, frustrated, and callous.



There was a series of teachings presented on different aspects of God’s Word that would directly benefit their walk with God. We had 14 different teachers, 6 were 22 years of age or younger. Great trust and camaraderie developed amongst the adventurous types when they went rock climbing and rappelling together.



Some of the practical topics were making time for God’s Word, living the Word of God in daily life at college while living with your parents or in a dorm, why am I different, what are you thinking about, what does God want me to do, handling fear, mental distraction, mental pressure, healing, walking by the spirit, and having an effective prayer life.



Lives were changed for the better as we advanced back into society ready to deal with what God has called us to be a part of in this day and time as doer’s of His Word and not just hearers.