For thought and meditation Tue Mar 5 2024

[Markopolo]

Why Spiritual Gifts Are Important
by Greg Laurie on Mar 5, 2024

However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.
—Ephesians 4:7

When you are born into this world, you have certain natural abilities. Some of us have a natural ability in mechanics. Some have a natural ability in music. Others have a natural ability in art. There is a skill or a talent that God has given to each of us.

However, there’s a difference between spiritual gifts and natural abilities. In the spiritual realm, after we put our faith in Jesus Christ, God places certain gifts in our lives.

Ephesians 4:7 tells us, “However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ” (NLT). God has given some gifts to you. And God is the one who decides what gift (or gifts) you will have.

The Bible also says, “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well” (Romans 12:4–6 NLT).

There are gifts that God has placed into your life, and He has chosen to whom He will give what. The choice is totally up to Him. These gifts have nothing to do with any kind of merit on our part. Rather, they’re a result of God’s grace.

Paul mentions these gifts again in the letter he wrote to the church of Corinth. He pointed out, “It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have” (1 Corinthians 12:11 NLT).

We can’t go out and pick and choose what gifts appeal to us. We need to recognize that God has placed these gifts in our lives, and our main objective is to use them.

Of course, whenever you bring up the gifts of the Spirit, it causes some level of discomfort for certain people because of the abuse they’ve seen. It seems that whenever we hear the phrase “gifts of the Spirit” or “the power of the Spirit,” we often see excess. We often see the gifts misused.

What we see displayed may be so bizarre and erratic that we think, “If those are the gifts of the Spirit and that is the work of the Holy Spirit, then I want nothing to do with it.”

Yet what we are often seeing is not the gifts in action but an abuse of the gifts, a misuse of them outside the parameters that the Bible gives. We are not seeing what God really wants to do. God wants to work through our lives in a powerful and wonderful way. God has given us these gifts, and we need them.

We are living in dark times. In fact, the Bible tells us that the last days would be satanically energized times. People will go from bad to worse. We need all the power that we can get to effectively live for the Lord and serve Him.

have a great day!!

[Wayne Smith]

Yes, it seems to me that for each gift there is a corresponding sin that is the excess. E.G. for the gift of prophesy it is pride, for the gift of administration it is having to be in charge. Humility is the key - if I remain humble I won't fall into that particular sin.

[USMC87]

Amen, God gives as He is pleased to do so.

[John Wayne]

"We are living in dark times. In fact, the Bible tells us that the last days would be satanically energized times. People will go from bad to worse. We need all the power that we can get to effectively live for the Lord and serve Him."
SO TRUE!
JW