Sola Scriptura

I'm reminded this morning as I walk through the words of John Calvin in his Institutes of the glory of God displayed first and foremost in his Scriptures. I have written in the margins of one section, "Do not Stray!" This statement is true, both when i wrote it years ago studying at Whitworth, and today here at the church office. For Calvin states thruthfully:

"If we turn aside from the Word, as i have just now said, though we may strive with strenuous haste, yet, since we have got off the track, we shall never reach the goal."

So i am reminded yet again to "guard the deposit" entrusted to me in the scriptures and to hold firm to their proper study and exhortation. We cannot overemphasize the importance of Scripture in our lives as Christians! For Scripture...

1) Directs us to right knowledge and understanding of the Creator of the universe
2) Gathers up our confused notions of God reached by our innate reason and "clearly shows us the true God"
3) Directs us to right konwledge of God the Redeemer
4) Prevents wanton truth in our Lord by continuing the succession of truthful teaching in the world for all generations to stand upon, the Word of God
5) Above all calls us out from our feeble and foolish mindset, clouded by the fall, and aids us in attaining knowledge of our Lord, for we are called to know our God which is the Words purpose for all who read and meditate upon

This list is in no means exhaustive, nor does it come close to truly expounding the the power and purpose of Scripture, but we must remember that we are all called to know our Scripture deeply, to study it with the utmost diligence, not to stray, to find our God and grow in our understanding of our Father in heaven so that our lives might be transformed to the Glory of God! Scripture is our straightedge, our path; "so...it is better to limp along this path than to dash with all speed outside it."

All quotations from Calvin's Institutes, Book 1, Chapter 6

Labor Day 2008 in the Eagle Cap Wilderness

Our trip to the vast wilderness in Northeast Oregon began with a four hour car ride to the town of Enterprise, Oregon, where we met two of our close friends, Jim and Joelle Czirr, who travelle from Spokane, Washington. Since we had two cars, we had the option of doing our first point-to-point backpacking trip, instead of being forced to do a loop to return to our car. Looking into the Wallowa Mountains, we saw no peaks, only forest covered hills ascending into the grey sky above, anticipating that we just might be in the thick of the grey that became our daunting nemesis throughout the trip. We parked the Czirr's car at the Wallowa lake trailhead, waved goodbye and hoped that it would be there on our return three days later, and all piled into our subaru for the last leg of the drive up the Lostine River canyon to our trailhead, Two Pan, 22 trail miles from the Czirr's car. The trailhead was something you might see if you travel to a wal-mart on any given day, a veritable plethora of cars and humans. It was labor day weekend, and it was going to be crowded, lucky i had my wife to be my partner in the trip, and Jim had his wife to encourage him. Hiking with another couple is a great idea!

We donned our packs and hit the trail, winding steeply up the east fork Lostine river canyon, following the river upward and onward. After two miles of pretty good elevation gain, the trail began to level out and we began to emerge out of the pine shadow and into the lush river meadow. The meadow was unlike anything i had ever seen, over 4 miles long, a beautiful river flowing through the middle of it, and the Eagle Cap mountain framed by the u-shape of the mountains flowing into the meadow. It was as if the meadow pointed us to our destination, as if it beckoned us to sit and behold the mountain for which the wilderness area was named.

God did not create that meadow, pointing so directly and perfectly at the mountain, by chance. He made it to reflect his glory and creativity in creation. So that we might gaze and have our eyes and hearts drawn upward, to the seat of his throne where he reigns in spledor and glory. Our God is indeed and awesome God. At the end of the meadow we meanded a few hundred feet up to the Lakes Basin at the base of the Eagle Cap to find Mirror Lake, the gem of the Lakes Basin. Pictures do not do justice for Mirror Lake in the shadow of Eagle Cap. The mountain is too massive to capture with the lake in the foreground. This would be our camp for the night, however we would need to find a camp. Jim and i reckoned there might have been over 100 people camped on the lake as we made our way searching for a suitable spot. We found one, made dinner and called it quits. The mountain told me that i was not yet worthy to behold it as i encountered another bought with elevation sickness and spent the night trying to keep liquids and food in me. We had lightning, thunder and rain throughout our first night to welcome us to the wilderness that was not our own.

We knew it was cold the next morning when i rose from the tent to see frost and a little bit of snow on the tent and our packs. Kim's pink Nalgene had frozen water in it. Needless to say we had reached temperatures below freezing and the day ahead would not warm beyond freezing much. We ate our oatmeal and began the lakes basin trail. We saw seven lake within 4 hours of hiking below Eagle Cap, Hurricane Ridge and Glacier Peak: Mirror Lake, Sunshine Lake, Moccassin Lakes (Top Photo), Douglas Lake (Next Two Photos after), Crescent Lake, Lee Lake and Horseshoe Lake. They were all unique in their own right. From small enough to be considered a pond, to the vastly deep waters of Douglas lake at the base of Hurricane Ridge. I had never seen so many lakes in one day of hiking in my life. We ate lunch with jackets adorned and busted out the camp stove to warm tea and hot chocolate for the ladies.

I would be surprised if the temperature ever climbed above 45 degrees that day. It was the coldest i've experienced on a mid-day hike. At the eastern edge of the basin we got a glimpse of the valley floor below that we would be hiking down to our final campsite.

We dropped 1500 feet within a mile and a half and our knees felt it. The valley was massive at the base of the lakes basin and stretched from the town of Joseph on Wallowa Lake to Glacier lake beyond the backside of Eagle Cap. After innumerable switchbacks we hit the valley floor, disenchated that our supposed three day hike had become eight and a half. We crossed the West Fork Wallowa river on downed trees that got our hearts racing with the current of water beneath us. Our campsite was perfect.

Along the river, a fire pit, flat areas for our tents, meadow behind us and trees right next to us. We set up tents, graced the woods with our presence, filtered water, gathered firewood and laid down for a quick nap. It rained off and on as we were in the tent and as we were preparing dinner, disgruntling our hopes for blue sky and a warmer temperature. The fire warmed us up good and the warm spanish rice filled our stomachs, replenishing the much needed calories that we had burned. We spent a few hours playing farkle and laughing with one another before we thanked God for the day and the ability to be in His wilderness and fell asleep. It rained for a good portion of the night, but didn't creep as far below freezing as the previous night.

The last day we hiked out down the West Fork Wallowa River. We began in six mile meadow (the photo), six miles out from the Czirr mobile on Wallowa lake.

This valley was unlike anything we had experienced on the hike. We had ferns, over 30 stream crossings, grass foliage out of what could have been the olympic mountains, a avalanche chute that must be seen to be believed (at one point there was probably 15 feet vertical of piled trees from being tossed down by an avalanche that season), numerous huckleberry stops to replenish nutrients and feast on the berry that must be one of God's favorites, wonderful waterfalls and cascades, aneroid mountain in the distance, and the final view of Wallowa lake as we descended to the trailhead we had seen three days previously. We made it...22 miles later. We ate in Joseph at Mountain Air Cafe on main street and laughed, sat in silence in reflection from the trip, encouraged one another, and stuffed our faces with burgers and split pea soup. The Eagle Caps are not tame and i have more respect for God's power in creation now than I did before. Now to keep my muscles in shape for my next 40 miler in Banff, two weeks out...