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It is Saturday and Day 6 of our 40 Day journey to get our lives in SHAPE both physically and spiritually. I know it is Saturday, but surely you are out of bed and ready to think about spiritual gifts and getting ready for a great day of worship tomorrow at First Baptist Marion! Right? Everybody that didn't say "right" needs to go have another cup of coffee and start this over again!
Let's begin with scripture today. In Romans 12:4-5, we read these words: "Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. W are all parts of His one body and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other and each of us needs all the others."
Have you ever played the game Monopoly? It is a game that requires lots of things to make it work. You need a game board, game pieces, properties, Chance cards, houses and hotels, and lots and lots of money. If you ever lose a piece of the game like the houses and hotels, then the game just doesn't really work any more. Every piece is important if everyone is to enjoy the game.
Likewise, First Baptist Church is a very interesting concoction of preachers, teachers, musicians, deacons, students, single adults, families, new believers, old believers, day laborers, professionals, CEOs, secretaries, nurses, sales people, and retirees all designed by God to create in the church an atmosphere of encouragement toward others so that we each might deepen our spiritual walk with God, discover our spiritual gifts, and minister to others.
When members at FBC decide not to use their gifts, only show up about half the time, rob God of tithes and offerings, or do not participate in our church-wide emphases, then the entire church is weakened. Sadly, the individual Christian is also weak and anemic spiritually. A recent survey taken among active, evangelical Christians revealed that most never or rarely encourage the faith of another person, seldom talk about their own personal faith with others, and rarely read their Bible or pray. Wow! No wonder we are so ineffective in our world and our lives are not more meaningful.
Make up your mind now to discover your spiritual gifts and put them into practice. Make it a priority for you and/or you and your family to be in Sunday School and worship tomorrow. Guess what I'll be preaching on tomorrow? You guessed it...spiritual gifts! I'll see you there.
To take the online Spiritual gift inventory, click here.
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Today's Prayer:
Dear God, I want to be apart of something bigger than my own life, my goals, and my own personal ambitions. I want to be used by you in ways that I have never even imagined so that you might be praised and others might be reached with the gospel. Help me to discover my entire SHAPE over the next 34 days so that I might better serve you and serve others through First Baptist Marion. Also, Lord, prepare my heart for worship and for studying your word tomorrow. 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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