At the recent Leadership Summit, pastor Bill Hybels gave a message in which he asked and answered three important questions:

1) How much does it matter that a person is inspired and motivated?

It’s huge!  Workplace studies have shown that there is a 40% increase in productivity when a person is inspired and motivated compared to a person who is not.

2) Whose job is it to keep me inspired and motivated?

Is it the job of your pastor?  Your small group leader?  Your boss?  Your spouse?  No, it’s your responsibility to keep yourself inspired and motivated.

Train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.  – 1 Timothy 4:7-8

3) What can I do to keep myself inspired and motivated?

1. Remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing.  Whether we’re making widgets, cooking dinner for the family, or serving at church, sometimes what we do can become boring, burdensome, and seem even pointless because lose focus.  So it’s important to remind ourselves why we’re doing what we’re doing.
2. Use your God-given gifts and talents. 
3. As much as it is within your power, make sure the players on your teams are inspiring people and not negative.
4. Read inspiring books.
5. Rub shoulders with exceptionally inspiring people.
6. Take part in exceptionally inspiring events.
7. Pay attention to physical disciplines – diet, exercise, and sleep.
8. Pay attention to your work environment.  Decorate with a scheme that’s uplifting with pictures, plaques, and banners that inspire you.
9. Have an inspiring recreation outside of work.  What is it outside of work that creates energy in you?
10. Daily spiritual disciplines that keep your faith fresh such as read scripture, meditate on it, pray, and journal.

[Blessed is the person whose] delight is in the Word of the Lord, and on scripture he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.  – Psalm 1:2-3

Questions to Ponder 

• Do I rely on other people to inspired and motivate me?  Am I ready to take responsibility for my own motivation and inspiration?
• What do I need to do to keep myself inspired?

When I think about the idea of starting a fire ususally my mind wanders to the reality show “Survivor”. Every season someone is put in charge of the fire (this is usually before they win some type of immunity and are just given matches). I always think the same thing each time they collect their pile of wood, some brush, some line or string and they start twirling away - I think “not gonna happen”. And up to this point I don’t think it has. These are just ordinary people put out on an island and asked to hunt, fish, gather and make fire like they grew up there. Most, if not all, are not very good at any of the above.

I’ve always thought I would like to be on that show - I could show them how to do that - I would be the first one ever to start that fire without matches or catch a fish with my bare hands!!! Again - “not gonna happen”!!

Through the wonder of editing, directing and producing we don’t see all of what goes on behind the scenes on these types of shows. We see what they want us to see, what makes for good TV. We see this person trying for all they are worth just to get a little ember or spark of a flame going and then the very next week it’s like they have become professional fire builders - cooking over an open flame all their lives.

I think many of us in this world today are just like the people on these shows - yeah we are not thrust out into nature to fend for ourselves, but the world each of us lives in from day to day can feel very much the same. We are just ordinary people, but the difference is is that we have an extraordinary mission. Our job is to help to light or spark that small ember within others so that their lives one day will have the potential to burn white hot for God.

Everyday we have to hunt, fish, gather and make fire but when we do this with a purpose (like $1,000,000 on the show) it becomes very worthwhile.

How much is another soul worth? How long would you twirl away at that fire if you knew you were helping another person have the opportunity to live white hot forever?

~Christi Mahar

Do you want to live a white-hot life of fulfillment, freedom, and power?  If you missed the Sunday service, visit the sermon blog/podcast to listen to the teaching online, review and reflect on the sermon notes, and consider the next step in your spiritual journey, including “7 Fire Starters” – ways to light a fire in your spiritual life.

We are so glad you’ve taken a minute to stop by the Ignite Daily Blog.

Our desire is for this blog site to become a resource to help you raise the temperature in your spiritual life.

Over the next seven weeks stop by at least once a day to find a new devotional related to the topic Douglas covered on Sunday. These devotionals will be posted by people at Cypress like you who are also learning how to become and stay white-hot in their spiritual journey and in their lives.

You can also find here, resources for further study and an opportunity to discuss the subject for this week with others at Cypress. Simply click “comment” below any post to share your thoughts and questions.

You can start today! Post a comment on this post to let us know what could make this site even more helpful for you.

Looking forward to starting a raging fire at Cypress!
Your Ignite Team