Accepting Your Gift

-


God, through the Holy Spirit wants to gift each and every one of us.  Are we willing to accept the gift?

Scripture

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
(1 Corinthians 12:7 NASB)
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
(1 Corinthians 12:11 NASB)

Observation

Paul was telling the Christians in Corinth that the Holy Spirit was working in each and every person's life in a special and unique way. The result was that the community of faith had people with different gifts and abilities which brought balance to the church. Not everyone had the same gifting, but rather the culmination of their gifting created a whole. The focus was not on the gifts themselves, but on the Spirit who brought those gifts. The early church was a vibrant place where the Holy Spirit was moving through the individual members. Sadly, about a century later the growth of the church began to decline dramatically and there was little or no talk of the movement of the Spirit among the members. Throughout history there have been moments of time where the Church has been called back to remembering that it was when each member utilized the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit that the world is eternally impacted.

Application

I am afraid that we find ourselves in one of those eras where we are not tapping into the Holy Spirit, and therefore we are not using our spiritual gifting. God has a spiritual gift for each and every one of us, but yet, are we willing to receive that gift, not for ourselves, but for God's glory, work and movement here on this earth? God wants us to tap into the power of His Holy Spirit in everything that we do. He doesn't expect us to go about things on our own. Remember when Jesus said that He needed to leave and go to heaven so that He could send the "Comforter" or "Advocate" for us? That is God's desire for each and every one of us.
If God gives us a gift, He does expect us to use it. Are we so afraid of what God may ask us to do with the gift that He provides that we would rather simply not receive it? It's time for us to jump into the deep end of the pool -- allow the Holy Spirit to fill every nook and cranny of our lives. Accept the good gifts of the Father and then use them in His kingdom work.

Prayer

Lord, please remove all barriers of fear which may hinder us from living in the fullness of Your Spirit. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more