The CMI Chaplain - After the final Sealed Order

What a terrific ten days we shared at Wonderland Camp.  And now, CMI 2010 is one for the books.  I hope you will remember the Consecration Hymn and how we broke it apart day after day.

Maybe there will be a worship meeting years from now when that song will be sung, and you will be instantly transported to the Sharp Center in your mind.

Take my life and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to thee.

But I hope (and have been praying since before CMI started) that you will internalize the things we learned together and that you will live them.

Will you be different because you went to CMI 2010?  And I'm not talking about musical ability.  My desire as chaplain, perhaps the best real test of whether I was truly consecrated as a chaplain, is that you in turn would hand your lives over to God day by day and make a difference in your corner of the Kingdom.

Now many of you are back to school and work, and life has returned to a familiar pattern of daily and weekly events.

Remember, you are the only one who goes where you go and has the gifts and talents you have.  You might be the only person on the earth who has the same friends, family, schoolmates and fellow employees that you have.

Maybe your new assignment will be to take 20 quiet minutes, sit down with a piece of paper and list out some things that you know need to change in your new, consecrated life.  Make a list of things you need to let go of, and another list of things that you need to pursue.

This might be a life-transforming moment for you - perhaps the first time you are writing spiritual goals for your life.

If you need some scripture to inspire you, go to Psalm 146 (Commissioner Carol Seiler preached from this on Sunday morning), Colossians 3:1-17, Romans 12 or Psalm 1.  If you find other scripture passages that are helpful, please let me know.

Anyway, allow God to speak to you and to lead you not only to set reasonable goals, but also to start living them out.  Today.

Thanks for being there at CMI and for allowing me to relay a little of God's wisdom into your lives.  Hope to see you next year, and I hope to hear great consecration and victory reports in the meantime.

Myself - Real Consecration - Sealed Orders Part 9

This is one in a series of posts, sharing the Sealed Orders devotions, day by day, from CMI 2010.  They are based on the "Consecration Hymn," Salvation Army Songbook #525

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Simon was complaining to the fishermen standing next to him.  It had been a difficult evening.  Since he and his crew cast out last night, every time they brought the nets up, they felt too light – disappointingly light. 

A heavy net meant a full net, and a full net meant a productive night for a fisherman.  A light net meant no fish, and no fish meant effort wasted, and wasted effort meant frustration.

With each empty net, hope dissolved a little more until the morning, when all Simon wanted was to go home and rest.  But he still had to wash the nets.  After all, tomorrow had to be a better night for fishing.

The other fishermen – his friends – had the same heavy hearts and long, tired faces that Simon did.  They probably would have complained to each other, but there was something else to do.  Something unusual.

Someone was preaching and a large crowd gathered at the beach.  So Simon’s crew worked silently, getting the nets ready to be stored for tomorrow’s fishing.  And then the preacher – Jesus was his name – got into Simon’s boat (Luke 5:3). Simon had heard Jesus before and knew his reputation.

But this time, Jesus asked Simon to put his boat out in the water a little.  With the crowd intent on learning, the bench Simon normally worked from became the rabbi’s seat, and great wisdom was shared.

When the lesson was over, Jesus told Simon to “put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

"Look who knows so much about fishing,” Simon must have thought.  But with a little sarcasm said, “Because you say so, I will let down the nets."

Soon, there were so many fish in the net that they needed help from another boat to pull them all in. 

Now Jesus had Simon’s attention!  Simon knew he was in the presence of greatness.  "Go away from me, Lord,” declared Simon, with a changed attitude.  “I am a sinful man!"

Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men."

The response of James, John and Simon was the same:  They pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Has Jesus been trying to get your attention this week?  What will it take for you to consecrate yourself to him today?  Was something said, sung or played this week that melted your skepticism about Jesus?  Does he have your attention now?

Pray that you respond like the first disciples – leave everything and follow him.

Intellect - Real Consecration - Sealed Orders Part 8

This is one in a series of posts, sharing the Sealed Orders devotions, day by day, from CMI 2010.  They are based on the "Consecration Hymn," Salvation Army Songbook #525

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Psalm 139 is often read at baby dedications.  It is David’s praise poem about God and his care over us; his knowledge of us when man cannot see us is encouraging, but also mind-boggling.

O LORD, you have searched me 

and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue 

you know it completely, O LORD.

It is incredible that God knows so much about us.

But if we remember that God is the one who designed us, knit us together before we were born, and sees us and knows our thoughts when and where no one else can, it boggles the mind.

King David says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

As you continue to learn about the world through school and life experiences, remember that God not only designed your mind, but he also created the structure for whatever subject you are studying – from English literature to molecular biology – and everything in between.

When we consecrate our intellect, it isn’t putting our brain on ice or checking out mentally.  It really is an opportunity to let Him inspire us to greatness using our minds.  We will be better equipped to serve, theorize and organize.  God will help us create, communicate and innovate.

Ask God in this moment to take your mind and sanctify it for His purposes.  And as you make plans to use your mind in school and at work, remember that God is the one who created your intellect and even knows your thoughts.  He designed your brain and inspires you to think.

All so that He can glorify himself through you.

Pray that you will offer your whole mind to Jesus.

Lips - Real Consecration - Sealed Orders Part 7

This is one in a series of posts, sharing the Sealed Orders devotions, day by day, from CMI 2010.  They are based on the "Consecration Hymn," Salvation Army Songbook #525

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One part of the body reflects the condition of the soul more readily than any other.  It is the mouth. 

James says, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.” (James 3:9-10)

Perhaps the hurtful words of someone in your life still ring in your ears – they cut down your joy, your confidence or your faith.  At the same time, you can remember the words of another for how they lifted you up – words of encouragement, of comfort, of inspiration.

Jesus understands the power of words.  But he also knows that our mouths are a window into the condition of our soul.  He said, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) 

Can you recall a time when your words caused pain?  Each of us remembers words that we said that we wish we could take back.  There may even be words that have destroyed trust, hurt feelings and crushed relationships. 

But with God’s help, our words can build up where they might have torn down before.

What messages come from your mouth?  What do your words say about the condition of your heart?  What influence do you have with the words you say? 

Take a moment and ask God to take your lips.  Ask Him to sanctify them along with your heart – that He will cleanse them and use your mouth for His praise.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
     be pleasing in your sight,
     O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
               Psalm 19:14

Voice - Real Consecration - Sealed Orders Part 6

This is one in a series of posts, sharing the Sealed Orders devotions, day by day, from CMI 2010.  They are based on the "Consecration Hymn," Salvation Army Songbook #525

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At CMI, we hear and participate in worship with the best talents around.  We are so grateful for the way God has gifted each of us – and it’s wonderful that those gifts come in so many different ways for each of us.

Perhaps you have heard music this week that has been technically perfect – all the notes, articulations and phrasing are correct, but it seems to fall flat.  Then there have been moments when you hear a solo from an untrained voice – maybe the tone isn’t quite right or the notes sound a little flat – and yet our souls and hearts were moved.

Perhaps that is how God transforms a consecrated voice.

While practice and accuracy are important to everything we do for God, without giving him the voice itself, our voice will make no impact on its own.  Refined notes without a refined heart are empty.

Now, before you use that as an excuse to miss practice time, remember that everything starts with a consecrated heart.  Consecrating our voices means that we will give more effort – not less, because we want to do our best for God as we worship Him.

Matt Redman wrote a song to reintroduce music to his congregation.  He thought that music and the “mechanics” of worship seemed to have a higher priority than the worship itself.  So he removed music from services at his church for several months.  When he felt the priorities were in the right order, he brought the music back with this song:

When the music fades
All is stripped away, and I simply come
Longing just to bring something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart

I'll bring You more than a song, for a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You, all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You, all about You, Jesus

Take a moment to think about your music.  Is music the focus, or is it really all about Jesus?

Think through a favorite worship song (use the Consecration Hymn or Matt Redman’s song above if you want).   As you think through the song, pray that God will help you consecrate your efforts in worship.

Let Him have more than the song.  Let Him have more than your voice. 

Let Him have your heart.

Hands and Feet - Real Consecration - Sealed Orders Part 5

This is one in a series of posts, sharing the Sealed Orders devotions, day by day, from CMI 2010.  They are based on the "Consecration Hymn," Salvation Army Songbook #525

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After forty years in Pharaoh’s palace and forty years in the wilderness, Moses saw a burning bush and heard the voice of God.  God heard the prayers of the Hebrews and was going to use Moses to set them free.

When God called him, Moses came up with excuse after excuse, telling God why He chose the wrong person.

Moses asked God, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" (Exodus 4:1)

God had extraordinary things He wanted to do through Moses.  But Moses didn’t think there was any reason why God would use him.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "What is that in your hand?"

“A staff," he replied.

The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground."  Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.

Have you been hearing God calling you, but you don’t think there is anything about you that God could use? 

During this quiet moment, you might hear him ask you, “What is that in your hand?”  There could be something in your hand that God can use for His glory and serving others.  And it’s more than the paper this sealed order is written on.

There is a talent that you have, or a passion that makes you unique.  You have a certain set of friends and family, or people that you work with.  Chances are, you are the only one who goes all the places you go, with your gifts and abilities.

As you sing this stanza, think about how God wants to use you; what you have, where you go and who you know; to make a difference in His kingdom and the world around you:

Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of thy love;
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for thee.

Make this your prayer, asking God to use you in a powerful way.

Moments and Days - Real Consecration - Sealed Orders Part 4

This is one in a series of posts, sharing the Sealed Orders devotions, day by day, from CMI 2010.  They are based on the "Consecration Hymn," Salvation Army Songbook #525

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Think about your biggest temptation:  your weakest area – the one thing that will most likely be your downfall.

What day of the week are you most likely to fall to this temptation?

Now, what time of day are you weakest to this temptation?

Where are you when the temptation is strongest?

Who are you with when temptation comes?  Are you alone?

Paul gives us some advice:  “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17)

If we know when, where and with whom the attack is most likely to come, we will be better prepared to defend against that attack.

Every moment we have is a gift from God – an opportunity for growth or failure.

If you are really serious about overcoming temptation, you can make a concerted effort to avoid one or more factors that make temptation so powerful in your life.  For instance, if you know you are especially vulnerable on a certain day, time or location, you can make a point to be in a different place at that time. 

If temptation hits when you are alone, make sure you are with a friend or a family member at that time.  If attack comes when or because you are with someone, you need to either change who you are with or invite a spiritual mentor to be with you during that time of weakness.

Challenge yourself to talk with someone you trust this week about a strategy to overcome your temptation.  Some advance planning can set you up for spiritual success.

Will and Heart - Real Consecration - Sealed Orders Part 3

This is one in a series of posts, sharing the Sealed Orders devotions, day by day, from CMI 2010.  They are based on the "Consecration Hymn," Salvation Army Songbook #525

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In the epic movie “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy and her three friends are escorted into the presence of the Wizard.  The sight of his bodiless head terrifies the group, with eerie smoke and geysers of flame shooting out in front of it.

[Spoiler Alert] On a later trip to the Wizard, they discover a man behind a curtain who is controlling the “Wizard,” which amounts to no more than a projected image of a head and mechanical tricks meant to scare and intimidate.

Then, the real Wizard is discovered.  They find that the smoke, flames and head really don’t move on their own.  They are controlled by the man behind the curtain.

Many believe that our will and our spiritual heart are the same thing – they are the center of who we are as people.  The will is the center of decision-making, and the heart is the throne on which the one who controls it sits.

Until my heart is consecrated to God, I am the one sitting on the throne of my heart.  I call the shots, and every decision I make centers around me.  While we might send some smoke to distract from this fact, the reality is that we are in it for ourselves.
   
When we sing, “Take my will, . . . It shall be no longer mine,” we invite God himself to sit on our heart’s throne.  We are no longer calling the shots, but God is.

When we sing, “Take my heart, . . . It shall be thy royal throne,” we ask God to extend His kingdom into our lives.

It doesn’t mean that we no longer make choices – we still have a day-to-day, moment-by-moment decision to do what God wants us to do.  But now we make our choices with God’s help.

Today is Sunday and we are about to enter worship.  Use this time to consider who is on the throne of your heart.  Is it you or Jesus? 

The song’s fifth verse talks about consecrating your will and heart.  Make it your prayer during these quiet moments as you prepare for worship.

Taking and Keeping - Real Consecration - Sealed Orders Part 2

This is one in a series of posts, sharing the Sealed Orders devotions, day by day, from CMI 2010.  They are based on the "Consecration Hymn," Salvation Army Songbook #525
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Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, once told a story about a flock of barnyard geese in Denmark. Every Sunday the geese would gather in the barnyard near the feeding trough.

One of their group, a "preaching goose," would struggle up on the top rail of the fence and exhort the geese about the glories of goosedom. He would describe how wonderful it was to be a goose, rather than a chicken or a turkey. He would remind them of their great heritage and tell them of the marvelous possibilities in the future.

Occasionally while he was preaching, a flock of wild geese, winging their way south from Sweden across the Baltic Sea on their way to sunny France, would fly overhead in a marvelous V formation . . . thousands of feet in the air. When they saw this, all the geese would excitedly look and say to one another. "That's who we really are. We are not destined to spend our lives in this stinking barnyard. Our destiny is to fly."

But then the wild geese would disappear from sight, their honking echoing across the horizon. The barnyard geese would look around at their comfortable surroundings, sigh, and return to the mud and filth of the barn. They never did fly.

Our destiny is for growth.  As we come to faith in Christ, some simply remain just as they are.  They could put bumper stickers on their cars which read, “Not Perfect, Just Forgiven.”  The only thing they allowed God to do in their lives was to forgive them.

But God wants so much more for us.

Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

There is a difference between asking God to take us and asking him to keep us. 

The word take implies a one-time event.  Once it’s done, it’s done.  Of course, if I took your slice of key lime pie, I had it at one point.  But just because I took it doesn’t necessarily mean I still have it.  No matter how many times you ask me to take your pie, if you keep taking it back, it never really belonged to me.

The word keep says something about who still has me (or the pie).  If I ask God in my prayer, “Keep my life,” that means I am asking God to maintain possession of my life. 

It’s a difficult prayer, but if you determine to have God keep you, your life will be transformed.

If geese are destined to fly, you and I are destined to remain in God’s hands.

Let Him have you and keep you today.

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Keep my life, that it may be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Keep my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Keep my hands, that they may move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Keep my feet, that they may be
Swift and "beautiful" for Thee.

Keep my voice, that I may sing
Always, only, for my King.
Keep my lips, that they may be
Filled with messages from Thee.

Keep my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold.
Keep my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose.

Keep my will, oh, keep it Thine!
For it is no longer mine.
Keep my heart; it is Thine own ;
It is now Thy royal throne.

Keep my love my Lord, I pour;
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Keep myself, that I may be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

 -Frances Ridley Havergal

Consecration - Real Consecration - Sealed Orders Part 1

This is one in a series of posts, sharing the Sealed Orders devotions, day by day, from CMI 2010.  They are based on the "Consecration Hymn," Salvation Army Songbook #525
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When Queen Victoria of England reigned as Empress of India, the Maharajah of Punjab was a little boy. To show his allegiance, he sent her a magnificent diamond. It became one of the crown jewels and was safely kept in the Tower of London. When he became a man, he went to London to pay his respects to the Queen. The young man asked the Queen if he could see the diamond. The precious jewel was brought in and presented before the Indian prince. Then, taking the diamond and kneeling before the Queen, he said with deep emotion, "Madam, I gave you this jewel when I was too young to know what I was doing.  I want to give it again, in the fullness of my strength, with all my heart, and affection, and gratitude, now and forever, fully realizing all that I do."

Perhaps you gave your heart to God as a child.  But now you understand more fully what it means to consecrate yourself to God.  And five years from now, you will understand even more.

Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, said that the most dangerous prayer is only two words: “Use Me.”

The danger in that little prayer is the thought of taking our hands off the steering wheel of life and letting God decide our path.  Although it is dangerous, the only time I am afraid of is when I don’t trust God to do what really is best for me.

King David reminds us, “He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”  (Psalm 23:3) 

But we still have a choice as to whether we follow Him or not.

Consecration means two things: to be set apart from something, and to be set apart for something.  Is there something that you are reluctant to let go of so that God can have all of you? 

At this stage of your life, are you ready, once again, to give yourself fully to God?

During this week, we will discover what it means to be consecrated to God.

Pray that you will feel God’s love and encouragement as you consider once again giving yourself to God so that He can sanctify you.

Need your CMI "Sealed Orders" Fix?

Starting tomorrow, I will be posting my daily "sealed orders" devotionals, timed at about the time the real sealed orders are distributed at Wonderland Camp.

With CMI a little later this year, and many schools starting before it is over, there are many CMI "regulars" who won't be at Wonderland.  This is a little virtual way of getting in on the action.

Just to let you know, this year's devotionals will be based around The Consecration Hymn, 525 in The Songbook of The Salvation Army.  This is better known as "Take my Life and Let it Be"

I have also based some of my devotional thoughts around a book written by Frances Ridley Havergal, who wrote the original hymn.  The book is called "Kept for the Master's Use," available for free online in Google Books.  It was written by Havergal before her death on June 3, 1879, and published later that year by her sister, Maria.

You can keep up with these posts through Facebook, Twitter, or at Blogspot.  Please let me know what you think as the week progresses.

Have a great week!