Spiritual Gifts
I know I should be used to this by now, but I am always still amazed how well God confirms lessons in my life by repeating them over and over again. Recently, two very close buddies of mine were talking about small groups, church, and community, in general. I mentioned that I will be teaching a class at my church, called, CS301, where we learn about ministry and how to determine our spiritual gifts. It will be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to teaching from the Word a bit. We were talking about how spiritual gifts were not given to us by God for our benefit, but for the benefit of others we come in contact with…people at our church, people in our small groups, people at work. How can we build true community with one another in all these different places? Here’s a little blurb from the book, “Better Together: What on Earth Are We Here For?” by Rick Warren:
Committing to one another means benefiting each other. God gives each of us unique abilities for the purpose of sharing them with others: “Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits” (1 Corinthians 12:7, Msg). Our small groups and our congregations are poorer if we do not freely use our spiritual gifts for the benefit of all. Commitment means we recognize each other as parts of a greater body working together (Romans 12:4-5).
Just think, what if we all knew what our spiritual gifts were and how we could effectively use them – not only in ministry, but just in our daily life? What kind of impact would we make in our community? What about those in our circles of influence? What kind of dynamic would we create in our churches if we all used the gifts and abilities God has given us on a regular basis, instead of just sitting like bumps on a log and merely absorbing what is taught?
Spiritual gifts are another aspect of God that He has placed in us. Why? So God can use us to show people a bit of Himself. “And we , with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Use your spiritual gifts to bless and encourage others. I can guarantee that you will also be blessed because you will be naturally doing something that you were created to do…God will be more real to you…you will be more alive…and that may give life to others.
Why is it that we are always looking for people to fit into the “holes” instead of enabling them to find their ministry? It seems like I look for containers to fill instead of looking at who’s in front of me … seems like the key is intentionality – proactive vs. reactive.
Nice blog on spiritual gifts. It was nice going through it. Keep it up the good work.
Thanks for sharing the information on spiritual gifts. He will bless you for this. Keep it up the good work. Cheers