| Title: A Lifestyle of Worship By: William F. Holland Jr. Format: Paperback Number of Pages: 364 Vendor: Xulon Press Publication Date: 2015 | Dimensions: 9.21 X 6.14 X 0.81 (inches) Weight: 1 pound 2 ounces ISBN: 1498433812 ISBN-13: 9781498433815 Stock No: WW433815 |
Hello, my name is William F. Holland Jr. My book has just been released and is already receiving some very encouraging feedback. It is called: A LIFESTYLE OF WORSHIP living in the awareness of Gods presence and you can view the video trailer on YouTube. It is being offered by many different bookstores all over the world and we are very humbled that the Lord is using it for His glory.
The heart of the book is bases on a concept of going beyond the music into more serious level of spiritual intimacy. I have led worship and been writing spiritual music for 30 years and I must admit that many times on stage or in the recording studio, I was not really worshiping the Lord. To be honest, I did not begin to see the revelation of worship until the Holy Spirit revealed that developing a "constant awareness" of God's presence is the key to understanding worship (and love and prayer for that matter). After much meditating on this thought, I wondered why it seems we do not walk in the awareness of His presence when there is no music playing but associate entering into His Spirit when the worship music starts to play? We do not need music to worship Him neither does it regulate our spiritual sensitivity to His voice. He is not impressed with a religious attitude no matter how awesome the music sounds or how talented everyone is. It is NOT the music that causes us to instantly become holy and sold-out to Him it is getting to know Him in the times of isolation and quiet so that whether we have electric guitars or not, we can continue to sail smoothly in the peace of His Spirit.
Worship is all about expression and bringing Him your heart the same as when we accept communion and it is good to remember the story of why Cain's sacrifice was not accepted. The idea of going somewhere to worship and having a worship "service" is fine, but to LIVE in a worship attitude every moment is a deeper and much more satisfying level of spiritual consciousness. The meaning of life is all about our passionate relationship with Jesus and we can have as much of Him as we want ALL of the time. Nothing can stop us from worshiping Him constantly except our desire and lack of understanding. The question will always remain; just how much of Him do we really want? For those who already have all of Jesus they need this is probably a book that will interfere with the way they have already decided to live. May the Lord use this in-depth Biblical resource to inspire and encourage those who not only want to "visit" the holy of holies with a personal intimacy with God - but to have a vision and determination to live there.
Author: William F. Holland Jr.
Located in: Nicholasville, Kentucky
Submitted: September 23, 2015
Tell us a little about yourself. I am a licensed and ordained minister and a certified chaplain for the Jessamine County Fire District. I am also an active team member with State and Local community crisis response teams. I have several degrees from Seminary but most importantly - I have Jesus in my heart and I love to serve Him. I have always been a bi-vocational minister because you have to pay the bills but I grateful to the Lord for His mercy and love and all the blessings He has given to me. I recently retired from my job and now I am a full-time outreach minister and love spending my time teaching Bible studies and leading worship at the Veteran Center, nursing homes and those with disabilities. I am just a another beggar pointing people to where the bread is and just pray that something the Lord gives to me that I can pass it along and that it might inspire someone to seek God for themselves. My wife Cheryl and I have been married 38 years and have two accomplished children. We have two dogs; a french bulldog named Samson and a brush-coat Sharpei named China.
What was your motivation behind this project? I have been a songwriter for several years, so writing has been a passion from the beginning. Communicating what I feel in my heart and spirit through music was easily "expanded" to writing articles and devotions and has grown to be very important to me. I wake up in the night and make myself notes so that I can finish my thoughts the next day. I keep a notepad with me at all times because the Lord is constantly inspiring me with ideas and inspirations. I have learned a few things about worship throughout the years and just felt led to share what the Lord has shown me. I realize I have just scratched the surface about worship and I stand in awe of His mercy and how compassionate He is to reveal more about Himself to me every day. I just want people to get away with Him and allow Him to cover them with His presence and feel His glorious peace under the shadow of His wings.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? The heart of this book is actually far beyond just music and songs. After you are about half-way through the book, you begin to realize that you are on a spiritual journey toward a higher level with God. There are many lines and precepts to just how far we can go in our personal relationship with Jesus and how close we are to Him depends on how much of our carnality we are willing to let go of. I pray that everyone that reads the book will walk away knowing how much God longs for us to continually think about Him. He wants us to be aware of His presence constantly because He knows THIS is what will truly change us from the inside out.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? I have never been able to fully comprehend what it means to realize that we an all of God that we want and can be as close to Him as we choose. If I could sum up my message in one sentence it would be to proclaim to the world that NOTHING is stopping you and I from talking up our cross and following Him except our own decision not to! Walking in His Spirit is conditional upon us abandoning our will and this is why many in the church have fallen asleep. God said that in the last days He would pour out His Spirit upon His sons and daughters and the reason why many are awakening to the deeper call from God to draw near is because God is cleaning and purifying His bride so that what He returns the church will be stained or wrinkled. I felt that God was speaking to me in the writing of this book to stop playing games and become serious about living my knowledge! I write a weekly article and here lately the Lord has really been speaking to me about continuing the refining fire process and do not ever come to a place where I think this is far enough.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? I have always appreciated David Wilkerson as someone that I believed was not afraid to speak God's Word. I am not saying that I agree completely with any one particular person but I admire individuals that stand boldly. I like Tozer, Spurgeon, Swindoll, Meyer, Frangipane, Rogers and those who are effective and anointed orators that declare a message that inspires me to research on my own. Sometimes just one phrase can stimulate me to write 20 pages on the subject. I am an emotional personality and music is very powerful and moving in my soul. I always loved and appreciated Michael Card, Steve Green and similar music that has a deeper message that touches my heart and makes me cry. There is very good worship music out there like Kim Walker and Kari Jobe that God is using to glorify His name - and I love it!
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: In A Lifestyle of Worship Billy Holland encourages us to develop an awareness of Gods presence as a personal, intimate, covenant relationship instead of a religious act of legalism. This radical approach to spiritual sensitivity boldly breaks away from tradition and invites us to go beyond the music as we discover that living in a continual recognition of a constant Christ is our highest expression of devotion and adoration!
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