Ever have one of those days when it seems like your brain just forgets how to work? Yeah, that's what my day was like yesterday. It was actually kind of funny. At one point, after walking into another room and forgetting why I went in there for the umpteenth time, I yelled, "Really??? Come on!!! Give me a break already!!!" That's when my son asked who I was yelling at, and I told him that I was yelling at my brain. He lost it! I don't think I've ever seen that boy laugh so hard.
He then went upstairs and apparently had to tell his twin brother, because I could hear the almost hysterical laughter downstairs that came from their room.
Yeah, that's the kind of day I had yesterday. Good thing I have a warped sense of humor which gave me the ability to find something to laugh about in all of it.
I'm curious, do you know what the "Gifts of the Spirit" are? I'm sure you've probably heard of the "Fruits of the Spirit", even if you don't really know God, it's something that is out there and talked about a whole lot more then the "Gifts" are.
And there are people who get them confused and think they're the same thing. They aren't.
The "Fruits of the Spirit" are what is produced through faith. Like the way a tree will produce fruit if it is watered, fertilized and sometimes pruned.
But the "Gifts of the Spirit" are just that, gifts. They are given to us by the Holy Spirit, and they are talents that God gives us through the Holy Spirit to use to help others develop a relationship with God and to know His truth.
Paul wrote about them to the believers in Corinth and they are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8 - 10 as being; (KJV -King James Version)
wisdom (meaning to give wise advice)
knowledge (the Living Bible says it this way- being especially good at studying and teaching)
faith (I like how the Living Bible says this part - special
faith- meaning that kind of faith that no matter what happens they still
believe and trust God)
gifts of
healing (whether it's miraculous healing/ laying-on-of-hands, or just being a great doctor and truly caring for a patient's body and spirit, a nurse and giving kind and compassionate care, or simply being an decent human being giving comfort and courage to a person who's hurting emotionally)
working
of miracles (this can mean divine miracles, or even just the skill to
put together a fundraiser, or to put the right people together to profoundly
bless someone in need)
prophecy (meaning the
ability to predict something, maybe to warn someone, or to encourage someone
else that can't see any hope)
discerning of spirits (meaning
the ability to recognize and understand spirits)
speaking in tongues (meaning the ability to speak in a language that you
never learned - believed to be the Holy Spirit praying through you)
the interpretation of tongues (meaning the ability to
understand someone else who's speaking in tongues even though you never learned
that language either).
Paul was trying to teach the believers that when we have a relationship with God, He gives us special talents. And that we are supposed to use those talents to help others. It can be to help others know God and know who He truly is, or it can be so that God can work through us to bless someone else.
God kept guiding me to these over and over, through devotionals and other teaching sources when I would question Him about my qualification to study His word and really understand it. I thought, because Religion leads us to believe, that only those people specially picked by God have the ability to get messages from God through the Bible, you know, like preachers, pastors and priests.
But God showed me, that it's not who you are in the world, but instead who you are to God. Do you truly believe in and love Him? Do you really want to KNOW Him?
If the answer is yes, then that's all you need.
Surrender yourself to Him, especially your heart and mind, and ask Him to reveal His truth to you. And ask Him to reveal what your "Gift" or even "Gifts" from Him are, and how to use them. You'll probably be surprised to find out what they are. I sure was!
Have a GREAT DAY!
Talk to you soon.
Love you!
No comments:
Post a Comment