Tag Archives: spiritual gifts

A better gift

 

Have you ever found yourself wanting more or wishing you were more like someone else? It might be the way they look or their ability to think quickly. Maybe you admire the sense of peace that seems to characterize their life even in times of turmoil.

 

Paul wrote a letter to the church in Corinth about this (1 Corinthians 14). It seems people were more than a bit contentious about the manifestation of spiritual gifts and which should be most highly prized. We see this today when we hear ourselves say things like, “I want more money, a better house, and more elegant vacations. I want people to admire my creative crafts. I want to be fit. I want to be the smartest.” Or this…”I just want to be happy. Nothing is more important than that.” For sure, these reflect more of our desires than our gifts. But Paul links the two: “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.” (Vs 1,12) The wise counsel for us is this: Since you have desire and passion for your life to be marked in a certain way, focus your greatest desires on encouraging others and building them up. Follow the way of love.

 

Prophecy sometimes refers to predicting future events but it also, perhaps more often, refers to seeking and speaking wisdom and godly instruction in times of uncertainty and the very real problems that perplex our lives. In this sense, prophecy speaks the truth and purpose of God for our lives. I think we would all find it beneficial to use this as our filter when listening to political candidates who are “speaking into the air” and also in the ways we engage in the lives of others close to us. Follow the way of love and seek to desire wisdom concerning the events of your life. Eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit that God longs to bestow upon you.

 

It seems life is full of chaos and random disappointments that frustrate our happiness and fill us with fear. Our thoughts and actions seem driven by the insecurities and fears that threaten to overcome us. But that is not God’s design. He wants more for you and me. And he provides more for us. . . if we will just seek more of him and the spiritual gifts he longs to share.

 

What are these spiritual gifts? The bible describes a long list  related to prophecy (speaking God’s truth), serving others, teaching, encouraging, giving,leading, being merciful, healing, faith, and more. Unlike our natural talents and skills, spiritual gifts are given to us so we can participate with God in fulfilling his plan.

 

So what shall we do? Shall we continue to seek riches or fame or comfort and happiness? Of all the gifts that you might desire, have you asked God to reveal the gifts he intends specifically for you, the ones he desires you to seek and use in order to follow the way of love and build up those around you?

 

Seeking God’s way in this troublesome world makes sense of the chaos in our lives. It brings purpose and meaning to the mundane. It speaks peace to the turmoil we experience. It’s okay to seek gifts. Seek the higher ones that God offers you today.

 

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
1 Corinthians 14:31

 

Can I really make a difference?

 

I was chatting with a recent college graduate recently and the subject of making a difference in the world came up. Eager to find his way of making a difference in the world, he asked me, “So, what was the first time you realized you can make a difference?”

 

The first time I realized I could make a difference? That’s a hard one.

 

I went into teaching thinking I could make a difference. In Australia I was the 6th music teacher in 6 years at the local high school. I like to think I made a difference by bringing music from something that was hated to something that was merely disliked. (sigh) I started their first brass band. Years later they did a concert tour of Europe! Who would have known? It was in Oz that I asked if I could work with the students in Special Education. That simple request turned into a thirty year career working with people with disabilities. It reminds me that when we set out to make a difference in someone’s life it often works out that they end up being the ones who make a difference in our life!

 

Like you, we pour ourselves into our children. We introduce them to Jesus who makes the difference in our lives. We fill them with love and hope, skills, encouragement, and values. The difference that is made is how they pour their lives into their children…and others.

 

Rebuilding over forty homes over eight years following Hurricane Katrina, we found that you make a difference by just by showing up and serving others. In all 150 people joined us in ten “vacation” trips to gut and rebuild homes and encourage people. Everyone on the team had different skills. Some thought they had no skills at all. Have you ever thought that? Maybe you’ve thought, “I’d like to serve but I just don’t feel qualified. I don’t know how to make a difference.” The truth is we can all make a difference in the lives of others and in our world. We only have to surrender our obsession with serving ourselves and then we find all kinds of opportunities to serve and encourage others. Some things seem impossible. One of our teams went into a house that had been flooded for weeks. The putrefying stench was so bad they quickly ran out. It was impossible to think of going back in. But with God all things are possible. They huddled in prayer and, with God’s power, went back and got the job done.

 

Our passion for the people of Bolivia started with sponsoring a Compassion International child. (YOU can do this too for only $38/month.) We started praying for her, her family, then her community and country. We asked God to help us see others through HIS eyes. When we visited Daniela in 2011, she showed us all the letters and photos we had sent her over the ten year period. It takes so little to make a difference in one person’s life!

 

The enemy would like to convince you that you have nothing to give, no special talents or gifts, no way to make a difference. But God has different plans. He gifts us in different ways so we can work together toward the same work of advancing God’s plan on earth. Paul compares it to the human body, composed of many parts but working together for a common purpose. In a time where so many are fighting against each other, striving to advance their own agenda, how we desperately need to remind ourselves of the important contribution we must make…by working together to make a difference.

 

It takes only one person to make a difference but it also takes us all.

 

Do you want to make a difference? Ask God to show you how to see people through his eyes. And then show up and be an encouragement to others.

 

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6