First, I must admit to not being diligent in my exercise routine. With that settled, I’d like to invite you on an exercise adventure, sweat optional.

There have been some discussions in my circles lately regarding growing one’s faith, or having more faith, etc. Our culture, especially in the realms of televangelism and book writing, have made the case for greater faith very clearly. The trouble is, we’ve toppled over the edge a bit into the notion that what we need, if we’re not getting desired results, is to measure our degree of faith and find some way to make it bigger – as though we’re relying on the quality of our faith to see great things. Notsomuch, and I’ll back that up – ready? Check out Jesus’ own words on two different occasions “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain/tree ‘move’, and it will move” (Matt 17:20, Luke 17:6). So it is not the size of our faith, but the application of whatever faith we have, and the decision of the One in whom our faith rests. (by the way, I strongly suggest reading the entire story, which may mean several verses or a chapter, to make sure you have the statement in context.)

Admittedly, this is the first time I’ve taken note that Jesus gave the ‘mustard seed’ analogy twice, and in different settings – I’ll be exploring that in more detail later. (ahh, ‘later’, what a dangerous word!)

AAAnnnddd…..back to the point…. a determined effort to have increased faith – the kind that will inspire us to stare down a giant or stroll on rolling waves…. Consider faith as a muscle – everybody’s got ’em, and some are stronger than others, by factors such as age, health, and exercise. I can’t do anything about age, nor can I do anything to impact your health, but I can suggest a few exercises. Let’s walk through this faith thing one step at a time, and see where it gets us.

The first exercise is like lifting light weights and walking comfortably… start listing those things that God has provided to everyone – sun, rain, air…the basics…. actually write it down somewhere, and add to the list daily whatever you can think of. Remember, these are the things that God has provided to everyone – focus on just those things, and don’t forget to say “thank You”.

Once you have this list, and have given thanks, you can move on to Session 2.