INSPIRING OTHERS

SATURDAY, September 1  "God-Colors"
Matthew 5: 14, 16  (MSG)
"You're to be light, bringing out God-colors in the world.  God is not a secret to be kept....Keep open house, be generous with your lives.  By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." 
     I love this passage from the Sermon on the Mount!  First there are the obvious references to LIGHT.  A single candle can light a dark room, a lone barn light can be seen for long distances, a lighthouse on the rocks can penetrate the dangerous fog.  One small life or light CAN make a difference in our world of dark.  We can hide our light, hold on tightly, or we can let it radiate and proclaim God's glory. 

     Peterson's MSG brought other analogies to me right now.  I loved the phrase "God-colors".  It made me think of the aspen leaves on the hillsides we saw yesterday.  Just a few tiny leaves that are changing to the glorious hues of autumn can be seen from far away.  Are those God-colors in the world?  Later this fall it will be a display of awesome glory!  Yes, God is present!  What about a field of wildflowers in the early morning?  The blooms are often shut tight, hiding their glory.  You might never know they are there.  But bring out the light, the morning sun, and suddenly they open, sharing their God-color beauty with all.  
     We need to be the light to open the flowers of our world, exposing God's love at all times.  A tiny light, one aspen leaf, a hidden flower.....how will we share the love and majesty of God to inspire others?  

GO! d365.org

"It is easy to feel that we are not inspirational to others. However, each day we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be agents of inspiration and change in the lives of others.  How can we make a difference in the world today?
We have the gifts, the ability, and the Spirit of the Living God to inspire others.
Go! Be! Inspire!"

FRIDAY, August 31 "Measuring Worth"
Philippians 2:22-23 (Good News)

"And you yourselves know how he has proved his worth, how he and I, like a son and his father, have worked together for the sake of the gospel. ²³ So I hope to send him to you as soon as I know how things are going to turn out for me."

     How do we measure one's worth?  In today's society, it often becomes an economic value. What is our bank account look like?  How nice is our house?  What kind of car do we drive?  But Paul is measuring Timothy's worth by his service to the gospel. This seems like a far better ruler to use for measurement! 

     Let's quit defining ourselves by our economics, our race, our vocation, our friends.  Let's start using our service to God as the qualitative measure of our lives.  Small acts of service may not add up quickly in our eyes, but in God's standards the values are great! Let's redefine our worth to a new standard of measurement!   

Mark - In reading your article in the newsletter, I was struck today by your choice of words, "Yours are not to be the great things, but the little things" - once again God reaffirms a message sent in the morning's devotion.  (See above AND yesterday's part about Luke's blog!)  We are in community together even though separated by a thousand miles!  

THURSDAY, August 30    "Climbing Mountains"
Psalm 24:3-6  (The Message)

"Who can climb Mount God? 
      Who can scale the holy north-face? 
   Only the clean-handed, 
      only the pure-hearted; 
   Men who won't cheat, 
      women who won't seduce. 
 God is at their side; 
      with God's help they make it. 
   This, Jacob, is what happens 
      to God-seekers, God-
         questers."
     Climbing mountains isn't exactly the primary point of today's passage.  Sometimes our spiritual journey can feel like a daily climb to a high point of relationship.  But this is more to remind us that how we live, if in a God-inspired life, will likewise inspire others to seek God in their lives.  
     In our frantic paced world today, it is difficult, nigh on impossible at times, to stand above the unchurched crowd as an example.  But it is a mountain we should strive to climb daily, not only for the blessings it brings to us but also for the inspiration we can be to others.  We should make a point to deliberately take some action daily that will be an example, an inspiration.  Not to be a 'goodie two shoes', but to be a light in a dark world.  It doesn't have to be something big.  As Luke's blog is titled, "Dream Big. Act Small."  It's those little actions that add up to inspire others.  Where can we climb today?  What light can we turn on?
Note to Missional Group:  It is dark in the trailer and I have been using Bible Gateway.com to 'read' my bible text in The Message version. (I can't see my bible, but I can see the light on the screen!)  Anyway, today I discovered on Bible Gateway a whole series of devotions that might be of interest to some of you.  All can be delivered to your in-box on a daily, weekly, etc. schedule.  Some for women, men, leaders, etc.  Check it out.  I'm going to.  http://www.biblegateway.com/newsletters/

WEDNESDAY, August 29   
1 Timothy 5:1-2   (The Message)
"Don't be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers. Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters."

     How we treat one another, what we say and do, goes a long way to determine whether we are an inspiration or not.  No one is going to heed our words if our actions speak a different message.  Peterson's Message gives these verses a slightly different slant than the NRSV or NIV - they speak mostly of the words we use with each other.  Peterson mentions 'talk', but more importantly, the whole way we treat one another....with respect and reverence....as family.  Unfortunately today, the concept of treating one another as family might not be the best example.  Some people reserve their worst side for those closest to them.  
     But when I am in community, whether at church or outside my faith family, if I can approach everyone as if they are my mother, father, brother or sister, I will watch what I say, the actions I do.  And with that 'purity of heart', we will inspire others to seek the God that lives within us.  
     A note on yesterday's blog.....I picked up a book to start reading last night while soaking at the mineral hot springs after a long hike (yes, life is hard right now!)  It is a book called "How to Be a Sweet Old Lady Instead of a Grumpy Grouch".  One of the very first chapters spoke of 'doing what has to be done'.  And the last line of the section?  "I had to just do it!"  I continue to be amazed at the number of times I will read or notice something that reaffirms the morning's devotions, the times God will pound the message in hard enough that perhaps it will take!  Maybe that's why it seems to be important to START the day with God.....then you know where to look for all the reaffirmations during the rest of the day!   God is good!  All the time! 

TUESDAY, August 28 "Just Do It!" 

1 Timothy 4:15-16   The Message (MSG)

"Cultivate these things. Immerse yourself in them. The people will all see you mature right before their eyes! Keep a firm grasp on both your character and your teaching. Don't be diverted. Just keep at it. Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation."

     Nike came up with a winner when they coined the phrase "Just Do It!"  Half the people using it may not even realize it is from a shoe company.  Regardless, the message is the same.  We KNOW the message of God, the salvation of Christ.  We have heard it over and over since Sunday School.  Now it is time to  put it into practice - even if we don't have it all figured out exactly.  It is in the doing that we learn more!  

     I've seen this problem often with beginning art students.  They are afraid to get started on a project, not sure where to begin.  I encourage them to "just put the brush in the paint and make a mark!"  Once you begin, you suddenly find God is gently prodding you along in the process.  How often this is the case!  I wasn't exactly sure how to caulk a crack in a house.  But I grabbed the gun and got started (it looked like fun!)....and God helped me along from there! 

     Jimmy wrote me that it is in community that others help us discover our gifts, inspire us to start painting!  How true this is.  May we all continue to encourage, inspire, and "get 'er done!"  

MONDAY, August 27  "Keep Gifts in Use"
1 Timothy 4:13-14 (The Message)
"Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given ... —keep that dusted off and in use."

     How many of us fail to open our Christmas or birthday presents?  That would be unthinkable!  But how often might we also say thank you and then put the gift aside and save it for a "special time or use"?  The good china that gets used once because "it is too nice to use".  God has given us gifts as well that we might not be opening, talents we might not be sharing.
     We ALL have talents and gifts that can be used to follow God's call in our lives.  It is part of our call to use those gifts, to share them with others, to inspire others in witness to the glory of God.  Sometimes we might feel our gift doesn't compare in quality to that of someone else.  It doesn't matter.  God gave it to us for a purpose.  God knows how to use it.  We just have to give it a start and let God take it from there.  
     I feel like I have a gift in my scribbles....I hope they are God inspired and therefore inspire others.  How God chooses to use this gift I don't know.  I just keep drawing and wait for God to unwrap his plan.  Some of us have the gift for hospitality, for preaching, for visitation, for voice, ....God is using them.  Our job is to take the gift off the shelf, dust it off, and keep it in use.  Let God work his magic from there!  

PAUSE! d365.org  (Dale Tatlock)
"Everyone needs to be reminded that God creates us with a calling for each of us.  Everyone is given gifts that need to be shared with the world.  
We can be agents of change in our world.  We can empower anyone, no matter what age, to make a change in their life and follow God's call."

SUNDAY, August 26   "All Have Gifts"
1 Timothy 4:12 (The Message)
"Don't let anyone put you down because you are young.  Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity." 
     Paul is writing to Timothy, a teenager in his church, to not be intimidated by the elders and to demand respect and join the conversation.  How often do we allow our youth or even newcomers to the faith or congregation to feel that way?  That they are unworthy, or knowledgeable enough,  to be actively engaged?  I've heard the lines, 'I can't be involved in that - I just became a Presbyterian!' or 'My faith isn't that strong yet.'  These are the very voices we need to hear - voices with fresh ideas, opinions that are not corrupted by tradition or the 'we've always done it that way!'
     All of us must heed the reminder here that everyone - newcomers, elders, youth, old-timers - everyone has gifts to share and is worthy to be heard and called into action!  Within the Habitat community we have discovered that the "first-timers" like us are quickly assimilated into the work crew and our expertise in whatever area it may lie is soon discovered and encouraged.