MEDITATION MONDAY
Each person's genetics, physical characteristics, intellect, personality, and emotional make-up are different even if some similarities do exist. Then, when a person comes to Christ (as talked about in yesterday's post), she receives spiritual gifts or grace gifts for the building up of the body..
Yesterday, one of our preachers, Dan Cooper began a discussion of this subject. He spoke about how diverse our church family is. We are a body of believers who have come from all different backgrounds, cultures, and walks of life. We are represented by a myriad of different talents and ability levels that we use out in the workplace. So, there is a lot we have to give to the body of Christ based on our job skill set and our background of experiences.
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It is at the point when each of us came to the LORD that the Holy Spirit gave gifts for the building up of the body of Christ. There are several scriptures that discuss that specifically. Yesterday, Dan spent a little time in Romans 12:3-8. If you are a christian, ask yourself, "Which of these spiritual gifts has God given me that I can use to build up my church family?" and "Who are some people who have these gifts and use them well that I can thank for being in tune with the Spirit?" When christians fail to use their gifts effectively, it hurts the entire body!
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"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,
but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,
in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Just as each of us has one body with many members,
and these members do not all have the same function,
so in Christ we who are many form one body,
and each member belongs to all the others.
We have different gifts,
according to the grace given us.
- If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
- If it is serving, let him serve;
- if it is teaching, let him teach;
- if it is encouraging, let him encourage;
- if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously
- if it is leadership, let him govern diligently
- if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully
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For me, I am convinced that out of this list, God has given me the gifts of prophesying, teaching, and leadership. It is my prayer that I have the spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear how the Spirit wants me to use these gifts.
Yesterday, Dan said, we can choose our responses when we observe how others use their gifts:
- We can be intimidated.
- We can be infuriated
- We can let the Holy Spirit inspire us and move us to use our gifts for the building up of the body of Christ.
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