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

Technorati Tags: Inspire,Inspiration,God,Bible,Faith,Trust

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

Something New

It seems that we all like something new. Its what make the retail world sing an dance, when we go shopping for new clothes, new cars, a new home, new stuff, etc.

What about a NEW YOU? Now that’s something worth looking into.

Please understand me at this point because I am not talking so much about a new outside, even though in many regards a new look, a new appearance can improve you a bunch; but I am clearly addressing this week a new you and a new us from the “Inside Out.”

One very important Bible story talks about “How Things Are Made New.” Revelation 21:1-6 the last book in the Bible says this about newness.

^“1I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea. ²I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband. ^3-5I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone." The Enthroned continued, "Look! I'm making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate." ^6-8Then he said, "It's happened. I'm A to Z. I'm the Beginning, I'm the Conclusion. From Water-of-Life Well, I give freely to the thirsty. Conquerors inherit all this. I'll be God to them; they'll be sons and daughters to me.” (from The Message)

The key component of our being made new this week is God’s personal involvement with us all along the way and in the process. While this specific scripture relates to a future dreamed about event in a literal sense, this making things new idea is not just some far off future unfolding, it is a process that begins today with us from the inside out.

Too much of the time we think that if our circumstances outside of us and around us are made new and change then we will be all right forever. But our spiritual compass always points us inward to making ourselves new first on the inside and then radiating to the outside.

The greatest power at work in the universe to make things new is God and God’s first name is love. So, when you love yourself the way God’s loves you and forgive yourself the way God forgives you, all the time and in every way then you are made new.

MAKING YOURSELF NEW - Will Smith Wisdom (10min)

Blessings,

Rev. Bill

Technorati Tags: new life,God,Revelatin 21,love,living,hpaainess,Jesus Christ,life,purpose

I Dare You

Have you ever played the game of DARE? A friend dares you to do something challenging and will not let up with their dare until you do it OR give them a "Double Dare"; something for them to do which is even harder than your dare.

Well, today I DARE YOU to believe. Folks can easily push aside and forget about trusting in God and living with faith when they do not even give it a try first. So, I dare you to believe this week; to really trust the Creator's love, the one who is the infinite source of all that is right, good and lovely. To Believe is to trust with your mind the idea proposed. To have faith is to put your behavior into your believing.

The belief I share with you today is that kind of believing that can be seen in your actions. It begins in your head but ends up in your feet; your actions.

How do we trust God, whom we have never seen and how do we believe? Let me offer you three suggestions:

1. Pray


2. Pursue


3. Ponder

FIRST PRAY: Like any satisfying relationship we have we have to spend time with that friend to get to know them better. Praying is our way of spending time with God, by talking with God about anything and everything. Also, good and helpful prayer means listening to God too.

SECOND PURSUE: By pursue I mean demonstrating to God that you want to get closer to God this week. Go after God because the sacred writings tell us that the Source of life is seeking us too. Remember a good relationship is a two way road. Spend time this week thinking about God, looking for signs of God and finding God.

THIRD PONDER: By ponder I mean really thinking about and even asking God. One thing that I believe our Creator really likes are questions. If we ask no questions how will we find any answers? So ponder and ask questions, even question God.

• I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. (Psalm 34:4,5)


• God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. ~St. Augustine

Can you just imagine what your FAITH can do this week?

Blessings to you this week,

Rev. Bill

WHAT IF?

Have you ever wondered, "What If?" What if I had been speeding, like I was a few miles back, when I passed that police car a few seconds ago? What if I had actually said to my neighbor what was going through my mind a moment ago? What if I had been on that plane, train, subway, car, bus that just crashed? What if?

What if the sun stopped shining or the earth stopped rotating and brining in the dawn?

Much of the time we do the "what if thing" in the context of negative or bad outcomes.

Consider two interesting Bible stories this week.

• Acts 9:1-20- Saul's encounter with the "Light" of God on the road to Damascus-"What if Saul had not listened to Jesus? What if Ananias had not listened and gone to Saul's' aid. What if Saul,now called Paul the great defender of the faith,had not decided to follow Jesus? What if he'd kept killng Christians?


• John 21:1-19- Peter's post resurrection encounter with Jesus while fishing on the Lake Galilee- "What if Peter had not accepted the 'three time' words of forgiveness and encouragement Christ gave him? What if Thomas had not decided to believe and follow too?"
  

Kind of makes you wonder doesn't it? WHAT IF for you and for me?

To make a switch to the "what if positive side of our lives", I challenge you to consider and answer this week;

• What if I choose to follow God's word to the best of my ability this week?


• What if I believe and behave like the spiritual truths and principals are true?


• What if I love and forgive the way that God loves and forgives me?

WHAT IF-We always remember that living is not so much about us as individuals; not W.I.I.F.M. (what's in it for me); but more about US. - together, we, teamwork, unity, the church family as the Creator intended it to be?

What if we believed, behaved, thought, felt, and did things with the best intentions and the highest ideals?

What If?

Blessings to you today,

Rev. Bill