Welcome to Day 4! Thanks to so many of you who have completed your Spiritual Gift Inventory online! If you haven't done your inventory then you can do it right now! Get off your Facebook page or stop shopping eBay to take five minutes and do it. Here is the link again...
Again, it is Day 4 of our 40 Day journey to get our lives in SHAPE both physically and spiritually. Let me remind you of a passage of scripture from Day 2. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, "Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church."
The focus of this passage is usually on the different gifts or the different kinds of service or the different ways God works. The truth is that the focus of this passage should really be on three key phrases: "the same Holy Spirit;" "the same Lord;" "the same God." This is a key factor to understand because while it is true that we all have different gifts, works of service, abilities, and passions, they are all coordinated and given to us by the same Lord! You need to remember that when you use your spiritual gifts, it is God who is in complete control and not you. This means that the effectiveness, success, and the results of how you choose to use your spiritual gifts do not depend on you, but on God! That is some good news!
Now you can feel stress-free to go out there and exercise those gifts in areas of ministry where maybe you've never served before. You can go out there and not be afraid of failure. You can use those gifts to make a difference in the life of another person, thereby making a difference in your own life as well. Why not offer those gifts to God today! He gave them to you, therefore He knows how to best use them in and through your life and our church.
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Today's Prayer:
Dear God, Thank you for being the one in control of my gifts. Today I want to offer them to you to be used for serving You and others. I want to give these gifts as an offering back to you out of love. Thank you that you can use me and my gifts to make a difference. Amen. |
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Dr. Clay Hallmark is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Marion, Arkansas. Click here to read his latest blog post.
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