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.

Build Your Faith Muscle

Faith moves.

Reading the great faith chapter, Hebrews 11, I notice that everyone who had faith did something as a result.  Almost all of Jesus' miracles involved human action or decision.

I remember John Maxwell talking about faith.  He used this acrostic to create a helpful, brief definition:

• F - Forward
• A - Action
• I - Inspired
• T - Through
• H - Him

Years ago, when I was a student in Evangelism Explosion  at my local Salvation Army, I heard Anne talking about exercising your faith muscle.  At that time, she was talking about sharing her testimony.  She was talking about sharing the Gospel.

I am living out my faith right now by honoring commitments I made to myself at the beginning of the year.  These "New Year's Resolutions" include exercise, writing and reading.  Because I believe (faith) that these activities (action) will make me a better, healthier, spiritually stronger person, I continue doing them.

I wonder what else God wants me to do - what my faith will call me to put into practice.

Here are some steps that have been helpful to me:

1. What do I believe?  Determine where your faith is.  Maybe you need to spend some time here developing a foundation of life-transforming faith.  The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)  Settling this issue in your life will make the biggest difference to you.  It will be the foundation for all your actions and decision-making.
2. What activities will support my belief?  Some activities, while fun, are really not representing your faith.  Don't get me wrong - part of my faith builds rest and fun into life, but there are some activities that are really distractions or downright destructive to my life.  Carefully choose how you spend your time in order to gain ground - not lose it.
3. What is reasonable to do now?  I have been the victim of my own unreasonable goals.  Set some targets that will change your life gradually to your belief system, not discourage you. 
4. Start doing something.  Just do something different in your life.  When you see how your faith works in small ways, you will be encouraged to take bigger steps.
5. Don't let previous failures hold you back.  There are few things more deflating than missing a goal you set for yourself.  We all have missed the mark in the past.  Just pick yourself up, set a new goal, and start moving.
   
6. Talk about your faith.  This doesn't mean making a nuisance of yourself, but it does mean being ready to tell others why you are doing what you are doing.  Let people around you know what your new motivation is.
7. Find others who share your faith.  This "support system" approach means that you need to find other people who believe the same things and are moving in the same direction.  It's like having a running partner who moves at the same pace.  You enjoy the time even more, and you are less likely to give up along the way.  Caution:  You may find it difficult to find people who take action on their faith even in your local congregation.  But keep looking - there are like-minded people out there, and they are worth the time to hunt them down.

I don't know how you are doing on  your New Year's Resolutions, but frankly, I don't care.  And neither should you.  The only thing that matters is what you are doing starting today.

So get out there and start flexing your faith muscle.  It will get stronger and stronger.

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