In
His Word 11-12-12
Soon
it will be time to give and receive holiday gifts. What have you done
with last years presents? Are they still in the package? Did you
stick them on a shelf or under a table someplace waiting for the day
when you could use them? Of course not; you would not put a box of
chocolates on the shelf and wait for the day you could use them, when
it was convenient so why do you put God's gifts on the shelf?
For
I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to
think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith...
Romans 12:2-4
Now
concerning spiritual gifts,
brethren,
I do not want you to be ignorant:
You
know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols,
however you were led.
Therefore
I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls
Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the
Holy Spirit.
There
are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There
are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
And
there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works
all in all.
But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit
of
all
for
to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the
word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
to
another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the
same Spirit,
to
another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another
discerning of spirits, to another different
kinds
of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the
same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one
individually as He wills.1 Corinthians 12:1-15
As
we read through the gifts listed here in Corinthians we can write
them down; knowledge, miracles, healing, wisdom, faith, discerning of
spirits, speaking in unknown tongues; there are seven listed here.
These
are spiritual gifts given to us by God the father as He sees fit to
give them. There are no rules listed to say each one of us gets them
all equally any more than there are rules that state how many gifts
we have to give each Christmas to people we love.
The
point is that the gifts should be useful as we have been given gifts
of God to be used for the furtherance of His kingdom.
What
can we do with each of these gifts?
Word
of Wisdom- teach, preach, instruct in righteousness.
Knowledge-
same as above.
Miracles-
enlighten people who are lost and bring them the Truth by using
Miraculous signs and wonders as God sees fit to provide them through
you. Pray for sick, wounded, damaged or broken people and their lives
and watch as they are healed and brought to wholeness and the Truth.
Prayer-
pray for those whom you see and those you do not see as God gives you
direction to do so.
Faith-
as a gift this one is stronger than others but seen less. Faith is
the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not yet
seen. (Hebrews 11:1) It goes hand in hand with trusting God to do
what He promises and knowing in your heart that God will come through
in a time of trial as well as grant a new life to someone who has
been broken or shattered in their life span.
Faith
is believing for whatever it is that God has put upon your heart to
believe.
Discerning
of spirits- is used less openly these days as people think its
'freaky' or 'fake' but once we realize and know we live in a
spiritual world as well as a physical world and God grants some the
ability to know if a Word is truly from the Lord or from man's own
desires or even if its of the enemy’s devices. Truth or fiction? I
know a lot of people could miss use this gift and God knows that too.
This is why the Word says He gives these gifts to whom He sees fit.
It is not our choice of what gift we receive but the choice of the
giver.
Speaking
in unknown tongues- also known as the voice of men and angels in
some passages. Speaking in a language that is not the same as your
normal one is not as common today as it was even 20 years ago because
people have miss used it I think. We need to be careful to use the
gifts for what they are intended for.
In
the day of Pentecost when the disciples were in the upper room
worshiping and praying and waiting there on the Lord, He came an
granted them these unknown tongues. Many thought they were speaking
in their native languages and this leads me to believe the speaking
in tongues is indeed a language for certain we just don't know what
language usually. God knows though and He will use this ability that
He gives some Christians with His discretion. It is not for us to
give out God's gifts, the Word does not say man gives out God's gifts
to people anywhere in my Bible!
Its
a good thing too because God sees our hearts and minds not just how
we act on the outside. He knows to whom to give what gift knowing
that each of us His children, will use them differently for different
reasons.
In
the same way that we search for the perfect gift for the ones we love
each time there is occasion to give them, so God searches our hearts
for the perfect gift to give us.
It
saddens me to think of how many people we know who are not using the
God given gifts He has chosen specially for them because they either
feel unworthy or inadequate, and then there are those who try to use
other peoples gifts because of jealousy.
Are
you one of these above mentioned people? Are you sitting on your
gifts today waiting for the perfect time in your life to unwrap them?
If you sat on a gift of chocolates it would melt and get really
gross; get off your gift!
What
can you do if you are stuck with an unwrapped gift?
1-
Unwrap it.
2-
Pray and ask God what it is for.
3-
Put it to use as God intended. Do not be discouraged or dismayed and
know that the Lord your God is with you in whatever He gifts you to
use.
4-
Walk boldly in the power of His might and do as He instructs and
guides you to do to use the gift or gifts you are given.
Think
for a moment, if you are still not sure how to use your gifts; would
you put a chocolate bar into a toaster? I think not, you put breaded
items in a toaster to toast them other things would melt and or cause
a fire; in the same way use your gifts for what they are intended.
God did not give you discernment of spiritual things so that you
could go around claiming to be a wizard or something crazy like that;
use your gift for His glory.
Gods
gifts are made to lift up and give His life to old. Use the faith God
has gifted you with and trust Him to carry you through this trial. In
Jesus name!
Dear
Heavenly Father we thank you today for giving us gifts. Help us to
use them as You see fit not as we see fit. For Your wisdom is far
above all of ours. In Jesus name, amen.
Suggested
Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-31,Romans 12:1-21, 1 Corinthians 12:1-25
and Ephesians 4:1-32