Wisely Inspired?

Have you been inspired this week? Getting inspired is a crucial key to your attainment of your worthy goals and aspirations. In the Bible it says in 2 Timothy 3:16, that “all scripture is inspired by God.” Good news for those who seek advice and wisdom from the sacred texts. But what about your life this week. Are you inspired too?

INSPIRATION is defined as: being motivated; stimulated, provoked [in the good sense], influenced and encouraged.

When a person is inspired they accomplish great things. In fact when you are inspired thoughts come easily and fit together well, jobs get accomplished with it seems less effort, problems get solved in a flash and difficult tasks become easy possibilities.

The English word Inspire is derived from the Latin “inspirare”, which means "to breathe in." For spiritually minded people the breathing in, is God breathing into the human spirit from the Divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

Here is what one philosopher says about being inspired: “A psychic state in which one becomes susceptible to creative spiritual influence or unwittingly lends oneself as an instrument for through-flowing ideas. It is the creative state of the artist, poet, and author, traditionally believed to be amenable to the wisdom of the muses or inspiring gods. In a state of inspiration, the prophets of various religions dictated scriptures or predicted future events. The term inspiration denotes a breathing in of the divine creative spirit, bringing perception of truth.”

The idea of God breathing the Creative Spirit into our lives and influencing our spirits to produce our creative best is a comforting and interesting understanding of this divine power at work in our world through our lives. We understand that wisdom is the desire to become so filled with God’s in-breathing, this Divine breath into our lives that we think more clearly and act more creatively than ever before.

"Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant, there is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks." - Johann Gottfried Von Herder

Ask God to fill you this day and inspire you to think, feel and act your wisest and best.

Watch this movie of a Father and Son running the Ironman Triathlon to get inspired. Remember you CAN do all things through God who inspires you.

Blessings to you today.

Rev. Bill

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Poured Out Spirit

This Sunday we focus on the Spirit of God, called the Holy Spirit. "Holy" because we are in the spiritual context and "of God" because we are understanding the way in which the Creator and Source of life came to the world and gave the world the "Holy Spirit" to reach its dreams and goals.

It is this Holy Spirit, the presence and power of God that comes to us and lives within us and empowers us to live our best for ourselves and for each other. God gave us the Holy Spirit for important reasons:

1. Help us feel closer to God-its a feeling thing and from the heart. (John 14:25-27)
2. Help us have the power and energy to go out into new and different places and experiences and share-live our faith. (Matthew 28:18-20)
3. Make good on Christ's promise to never leave us as orphans and lonely. (John 14:15-18)

Watch this interesting and wise interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams about the Holy Spirit.

Blessings to you. Fill your life with God; Ask and Believe.

Rev. Bill

WANTED: Followers

The world touts leaders, being a self-made success, stepping out from the crowd and marching to a different drummer. BUT what about being a good, very good follower?

Now don't get me wrong this week. I am all for strong leadership. yes indeed. But let us not forget good "followership."

S. I. McMillen, in his book "None of These Diseases," tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower."

Jesus said it, Matthew heard it, Peter and the disciples did it. What about us?

I have to admit that there are really a lot of important words in the Bible. How about Love, or Faith, or Pray? When you boil it all down, you have to admit that everything that preachers preach on and challenge their faithful to obey, everything the church teaches and everything else in the Holy Word DEPENDS on two most important words.

When Jesus Said, in Matthew 9:9, "Follow Me" he said it all.

How are you doing this week at following Christ, following God, following the best intentions and spirit-led intentions of your heart?

Blessing to you as you Follow Jesus.

Rev. Bill

Hi Mom!

Mother's Day is this coming Sunday, the second Sunday in May. We have celebrated Mother's Day as a national holiday since 1914 when president Woodrow Wilson declared this event as a national holiday.

Since several hundred years after the time of Jesus Christ the church has portrayed the Creator in masculine language and personality. People generally think of God as a "Father" figure who is all powerful, a king and a warrior who rules the universe with power and might. But what about the motherly side of God?

It is important to not allow the customary gender bias to cloud our view of God. God is neither male nor female, even though we humanize the Creator so to understand, bring God down to earth. And since God is not a man or a woman, it is equally proper to consider the mothering qualities of God, for these qualities really do enhance our lives.

GOD'S LOVE CAN LIFT YOU HIGHER




If Jesus succeeded in restoring a vital connection between God and the people by evoking the love between father and child, perhaps, today, the vitality of faith can be recaptured by drawing upon the equally intimate relationship between mother and child. What better way to emphasize the intimacy of our relationship with God than to imagine a mother's love for her child? When you think of the devotion, the sacrifice, the tenderness, and sometimes the suffering that a mother pours out for her children, doesn't that reflect in some deep way the love God feels for each of us?

Of course, this is nothing new. In ancient religions the idea of Mother God was very closely related to the idea of Mother Earth or Mother Nature. It seemed only natural and obvious that a God who gave birth to the world must have at least something in common with a woman who gives birth. As a human mother gave birth to us all, God was quite naturally seen as the Mother of us all.

So, there is really only one thing to say into the cameras today; "Hi Mom" and I hope your Mother's Day is wonderful.

Blessings,

Rev. Bill