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Oasis Youth...Your section of the site is now OPEN!!

Oasis Youth...it's taken some time but the Oasis Youth section of the site is now open.  There isn't much there at the moment but the site will flesh out in the near future.  Click on the link on the left hand side of this page that says "Oasis Youth" to see the opening announcement. 

Feeling Small…essential feelings for the Christ exalting Christian

I detest new age nuttiness. I say that because some of what I’m about to say might make mature Christians say, “Um…is he going to talk about how God is the wind…next he’s going to tell me that God is my wristwatch…what a new age fruit!” That’s a pantheistic view of God. Pantheism is, by the way, an aberrant view of the gospel. It essentially denies that God is who the Bible says that God is…there are more scholarly definitions out there but when you get right down to it that’s basically what pantheism is all about. So anyway…that’s my little disclaimer…AND NOW….(dramatic drum roll)…ON WITH THE POST!!

My wife (Jamitha for those of you who don’t know) and I spent a lot of time over the spring and early summer asking the question that many people ask when summer begins to bear down, “Where we do we want to go for vacation this year?” Suffice it to say that we toiled with many ideas that fell by the wayside for one reason or another. Then, a short while ago, Jamitha said, “Hey…what do you think about going up to Old Man’s Cave and renting a cabin for a few days?” When she asked this question I felt like that one character on the Guinness commercials as everything inside of me screamed, “BRILLIANT!” If there are any non-southeastern Ohio folk reading this you might not know what Old Man’s Cave is…and no it’s not a cave with a creepy old dude living inside of it. About 30 minutes north of Athens, OH (home of the OU Bobcats), nestled in the Hocking Hills State Park is Old Man’s Cave. It’s an outdoor tourist attraction that boasts waterfalls, swirling pools, deep gorges, and all kinds of really cool (not to mention massive) rock formations. It could easily take you hours to walk the entire length of currently marked trails. It’s a big draw for families. However, Old Man’s Cave isn’t the only popular tourist locale in this part of the Hocking Hills State Park. There are plenty of things to do within a very short drive of Old Man’s Cave. If you want to check out more about what there is to do in the Hocking Hills State Park then go to www.1800hocking.com This website will show you all the various outdoor activities and attractions there are to see. Now that I’ve finished my commercial I’ll continue…

So Jamitha and I began planning a trip up to the Hocking Hills area. We didn’t get a cabin but we did manage to get a very nice “Country Suite” (i.e. very nice room) near many cabins. Our room was high in the Hocking Hills and was fully equipped with a kitchen, dining area, bathroom, sitting area, big feather top bed, hot tub, charcoal grill out in the back yard, picnic table, and one killer view of the night sky. It was beautiful. Jamitha and I would lay in the hot tub at night and watch shooting stars fire away above us. It was all very picturesque.

Now at this point you’re probably saying, “Does this post really have a point?” Yes it does and I’m coming to it right now.

Last night Jamitha and I were finishing up some of our sight seeing. The last locale we visited was a place called Ash Cave. Ash Cave is very close to Old Man’s Cave. As Jamitha and I slowly made our way back to Ash Cave, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. Jamitha sat down for a rest near a plaque that had some information about this Ash Cave. Turns out that Ash Cave is the largest recess cave in the state of Ohio. Check these figures out: Ash cave is 700 feet from end to end. The caves recess is 100 feet deep at its deepest point. The upper rim of the cave is 90 feet from ground level. The cave was used by Indians for a variety of things. Early settlers not only used the cave for shelter but for a church. There is a large rock at the cave’s entrance that is called “Pulpit Rock”. It was here that preachers would stand and deliver the morning message until the construction of a local church could be completed. The excellent acoustics in the cave made it an ideal location for church services as well as other public meetings. Standing inside this mammoth cave is a humbling experience. You can see from the picture that I’ve attached with this post that people look so tiny next to this gargantuan formation of terra firma. Naturally, we took a lot of pictures (we didn’t take the one in this post) but pictures just don’t capture the sheer sense of awe you get as you stand inside this colossal wonder of God’s creation. As Jamitha and I left the cave I felt my whole heart life in worship. In fact, the first thing I did when I got back to the car was listen to “Our God Reigns” from the Passion ’06 cd. As this chorus rang out through the speakers in the car I had this thought…just a short thought….

It’s so important for a Christian to be able to feel small. I say this because it’s difficult for people who are puffed up with pride and self-importance to appreciate the vast greatness of God’s creation. It’s even more difficult for such individuals to worship God as God and not as merely a gift giver. Being inside of a 700 foot recessed cave and realizing that it is the way it is by God’s design, was one of those necessary moments in life where I had to stop and say, “God is really big and I’m really small.” It wasn’t merely a feely good Kodak moment. It was a moment of vital understanding. It’s moments like those that I hope I never quit having….moments where I’m awed by God. I’ll take that even a step further, and this might sound crazy to some of you but I think it’s really how we should be. I want to live my life in constant of awe of God. I shouldn’t have to be standing in one of God’s great creations to be awed by him (it helps but it shouldn’t be the sole thing that makes me have a sense of awe before God). I should wake up everyday in awe of our King. I should drive to work everyday in awe of the creator. I shouldn’t need a rocket up my rear to inspire an explosion of worship within me. It should merely be a natural part of my life, not something I schedule in during my free time. So remember, realize that you are small, be humbled, come before God in prayer and song. Rejoice in God because He is God. You need no more reason to celebrate Him or call Him glorious.