Dear Friend,

When you create something, it belongs to you. We were created by God, so we belong to God. But Satan "stole" us away from God. Because God loves us, He cannot bear to lose us forever, so He made a way to get us back.

The Lord Jesus redeemed us.

To "redeem" something means that it belonged to you once and you lost it, but you got it back by paying a price for it.

What was the price the Lord Jesus paid to get us back? The price was His life. He poured out His precious blood to redeem us. The Bible says that we were redeemed with "the precious blood of Christ…" (1 Peter 1:19).

Jesus gave His life for us that we might belong to Him. All who have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus belong to Him.

The Lord Jesus wants me to KNOW that I belong to Him.

It is sad but many of God's dear children live their entire lives, not knowing for sure that they are saved. This grieves the heart of the Lord Jesus. Let us think about some ways by which we can know that we belong to Him.

Jesus calls believers "His sheep." He said,

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall NEVER PERISH [never be lost], neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:27-28).

As believers, we are in the mighty hands of God and no one can take us out of His hands. Jesus said, "My Father, who gave them [the believers to] Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck [take] them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one" (John 10:29-30).

The moment we take the Lord Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. Every child of God has the Holy Spirit living in him.

The Holy Spirit helps us to know, deep down in our heart, that we belong to the Lord Jesus. The Bible says, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16).

One of the very first things the Holy Spirit does when He comes to live in us is to pour God's love into our heart. God so wants us to know how much He loves us that He sends the Holy Spirit to flood our heart with His love. The Bible says, "…the love of God is shed abroad [poured out] in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).

In the Bible, believers are referred to as those who love God. We love God and we love His Son, the Lord Jesus. Only those who belong to Jesus really love Him. The unsaved people of the world do not love Jesus. To them Jesus is just another man, but to us He is the most wonderful Person in the universe.

God loves every person, but He has a special love for those who love His Son. The Lord Jesus said, "For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God" (John 16:27).

Do you love the Lord Jesus? Is He precious to you? If so, you are a believer. You are specially loved by God the Father. The Bible says, "Unto you therefore which believe He [Jesus] is precious…" (1 Peter 2:7).

Before I trusted Jesus as my Savior, I said and did wrong things and it did not bother me. But now things are different; I love the Lord Jesus, and I want to obey Him. The Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation [a new person]…" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Because I am a child of God, I love the people of God. All believers are my brothers and sisters in Christ. The Bible says,

"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14).

Because I am a child of God, I forgive others. The Bible says, "Be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).

Because I am a child of God, Jesus is truly my special Best Friend. I really love Him, and He loves me even more.

Have you trusted the Lord Jesus as your Savior? If so, God wants you to know that you have eternal life. The Bible says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may KNOW that you have eternal life…" (1 John 5:13).

The story so far…

The camp director, Mr. Douglas, encourages the campers to help each other and to live out the camp verse. At the end of camp, two Bibles will be awarded as prizes, one to a girl, and the other to a boy.

Chapter 7
Camp Mysteries Continue

Mr. Douglas continued to talk to the campers in the assembly hall. "Now I want to also tell you about the fun activities you will be able to participate in while at Camp Good Hope.

"Craft time begins this morning. In the afternoon you will have free time to hike, swim, or play ball. You may want to use this time to practice for the end of the week when we will play games with other cabins and buddy groups.

"We want you to work together as well as play together. Everything we do will give us opportunity to do things that will please the Lord. Every day we will learn more about Jesus. When we leave our meetings, we will practice what we learn. This is how we grow. We must obey God's Word and God's voice in our hearts. And we must obey those God puts over us."

The girls had fun choosing a craft project for the week. But as the morning ended, and the day was growing hot, everyone was looking forward to a swim in the lake.

Maria was surprised to see that Maggie was such an excellent swimmer. She could dive, float, and swim better than anyone in camp.

Miss Amy was also impressed. "Hey, Maggie, where did you learn to swim like that?" she asked.

Maggie seemed a bit embarrassed as everyone began watching her. "We live close to a lake and my Dad began to teach me to swim when I was very little."

"Maggie, would you be willing to help others during our swimming time each day?" asked Miss Amy.

Maggie looked surprised but pleased. "Of course! I would be happy to," she answered.

Maria kept thinking about how others seemed to be growing. Even Maggie.

"Lord Jesus," she prayed, "please help me to grow to be more like You."

The day was filled with fun activities that all the children enjoyed. No one had time to become bored. Maria and Susan quickly made many new friends.

Later in the afternoon Maria and Susan went for a walk in the woods.

Susan said to Maria, "Maggie is going to make a lot of friends if she keeps helping others with their swimming. A lot of girls in her cabin really like her. But, I am concerned about my buddy, Nancy."

"What do you mean, Susan? I thought she would be the most popular girl in Cabin 8," Maria responded.

"Oh, the girls are making fun of her because of her fancy clothes. They call her 'Princess'. I found her crying in our cabin after lunch, and she told me that she wants to call her mother and go home," Susan explained.

"I am not surprised that the girls are teasing her. She is too proud of her clothes. All she talks about is what she is going to wear!" Maria said.

Susan agreed. "I know, Maria. At first I envied her because of all of her clothes, but now I feel sorry for her. Nancy told me that she is an only child. Her mother picks out her clothes and will not allow her to wear jeans.

"When her dad heard about this camp, he insisted on sending her here. I know she wants to be with the girls in the cabin and have fun with them, but she does not know how."

Maria's face lit up. "Oh, Susan, I have an idea! Why don't we ask Miss Amy to find some jeans and tops for Nancy. Maybe she would get along better with the other girls if she did not look like a dressed up doll, but wore the same type of clothes like all of us."

"But what would her mother say?" Susan asked doubtfully.

"Her dad sent her to camp and he can take care of that problem. He was probably tired of having a 'princess' for a daughter instead of a real girl," Maria answered with a laugh.

Susan giggled, "You might be right." Then she got serious and said, "As soon as I get a chance I am going to talk to Nancy about this. I want to help her."

Maria and Susan had been walking on a path through the woods. They were nearing the entrance gate when they suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes.

They both froze in their tracks, then heard a "Psst!" They saw Steven and Randy crouching down behind some bushes. The boys motioned to the girls to join them. Maria and Susan knelt down beside the boys.

"What is going on?" Maria asked.

"Shh, look over there by the gate," Steven whispered.

As the girls peeked through the bushes, they saw Pete talking to an old man with a violin case. All of a sudden the case opened and Pete began to stuff things into his pockets that the old man gave him. The last thing the man gave Pete looked like a roll of papers. Then Pete ran off towards the cabins.

The four children watched the old man wait for a moment, then slowly walk off.

"W-who is that man?" Maria asked with a trembling voice.

"I don't know," answered Steven with a puzzled look. "But I think—"

"It is almost dinner time!" interrupted Randy. "We have to talk to Mr. Douglas about this before he leaves his cabin."

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