An Inspiration From Jesus

Luke 4:16-21

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,

and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

It's easy for me to get a little upset when reading this one. Jesus comes "home" and shares with his friends and family what his mission is and they don't believe him. I wished I had been there. I would have been like, "Hey count me in! I want to walk with you Jesus!", but reflecting would I have been really. I remember once I was at a family get together and we were talking about music. I had been writing and preforming for some time by then and when I casually mentioned though the thread of the conversation that I played music no one believed me. They were shocked when I told them that at that time I had written about 3 albums worth of material. My mother and/or my father have never come to see me live. My friends from my school days have never seen me play live either. That's okay, sure part of me would love to share that with people I love, but life is busy. The thing that inspires me here is that Jesus carried on. I am sure he would have loved to had some of his childhood friends with him on his journey, but he didn't let their lack of belief daunt him. This passage inspires me to not worry about fame, money or success with my music (past, present or future). I am inspired to make music that I love because God gave me this talent. I am inspired to make music for God because I realize how much he loves me and I want to give my talent back to him. So I carry on, I love the people I have met through my entire life and try my best to pray for them all daily. I can't wait to see them in Heaven. Maybe I can play a song for them then.

Jesus,

Your journey must have been filled with so many twists and turns. As John said there was too much that happened to be contained in books. The world could not hold them all. Thank you, thank you thank you. There are many times that I want to give up on a variety of things. You inspire me. Help me to see my way in this world. Guide me, and when I get off track please smack me up the back side of my head. I know I need it sometimes. Thank you for all the talents, gifts and blessings I have. I know that I did not earn them. Help me to make the most of them. Most importantly help me to love with and through all that I have. I love you Jesus. I look forward to spending more time with you today. I love you.

In Jesus Christ's name I pray,

Amen