Tag Archives: Gifts of the Spirit

God With Us

Advent

December 5, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 7:10-16

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Moses tells us–Jesus tells us–that we must not put God to the test. To test God means much more than trying to get Him to do a miracle; to test God is to insist that He prove that He is trustworthy. To test God is to look at today’s difficulties and say, “A loving God would never let me suffer in this way*.

Isaiah above is saying the Lord told Ahaz to ask a sign of the Lord your God. I am a fan of Gideon, who could not believe God was sending him to lead a battle in which he had no experience.  So, he asked for a sign and got one, then repeated the request just to be sure, and he got that one too. There is a difference between questioning whether God is trustworthy and questioning one’s own ability to carry out what God is calling us to accomplish. Any time we sense a call to do something beyond what we think is our ability, we will no doubt struggle with doubt about ourselves. My hope, faith, and love are that we can go to God with anything when we are sincere. God will hear our fear and grant us the assurance that he gave in Matthew 19:26:

But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.’

Prayer: Lord, as we struggle to build your Beloved Community and we sometimes wonder if what seems impossible is possible, send the Spirit to shore up our strength and courage to answer your call, to remind us that we are never alone. Amen.

*See at https://gutenberg.edu/2001/02/testing-god/#:~:text=Moses%20tells%20us%E2%80%93Jesus%20tells,me%20suffer%20in%20this%20way.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Spiritual Gifts

Kingdom Building

June 25, 2019

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-2,6-14

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. –2 Kings 2:9-14

When Elisha asked for a double share of Elijah’s spirit, he is not asking for the same gifts that Elijah had but for a double measure of the driving force that guided and supported Elijah in using his special gifts. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:4, Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. We each were blessed with gifts from God that we need to nurture and use to God’s glory through the Spirit’s help. The beauty of the Kingdom of God is that all are needed for the Kingdom to be actualized. Our support of each other’s gifts is important to making that happen.

I am no good at asking for money. I stand in awe of those who are good fundraisers who seem not to have any compunctions about asking for money particularly when you consider that they are most often rejected. Almost daily I receive five or six emails asking me to donate to something. I delete most without opening them, but they keep coming. People who are called to be fundraisers for worthy causes are blessed with a special gift. Quality fundraising is needed to establish schools for children; just as good teachers are necessary to do the training.

What are your gifts? How are you using and nurturing them? Whose gifts are you encouraging?

Prayer: Lord, help me find my niche in your service and bless me with your Spirit’s enabling powers to use my gifts. Help me to be an enabler of the gifts of others to your glory. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Spiritual Gifts

Eastertide
June 1, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3-13

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. –1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Similar to the fact that many of us do not know what to make of the Holy Spirit, we are also confused about the gifts of the Spirit. Some flaunt their gifts, “I am the world’s greatest athlete, movie star, doctor, lawyer, mother, dad, truck driver, or whatever.” Some hide them under a basket*. I like Russell Westbrook’s approach. I know of no one who questions his gifts, and his goals are personally to get better every day and to help each of his team members improve. Personal accolades do not mean as much to him as team wins. These are good aspirations for the whole Body of Christ.

Do you know what your gifts are? Books and other tools exist to help us identify our gifts. While they are helpful, learning to know ourselves is just as important. I think seeking justice is in my DNA, but I was surely also influenced by my egalitarian mother. Anymore, I exercise that gift using a keyboard rather than my feet and posters because I now accept that I am more an introvert than extrovert and I have bad knees.

It is important that we take the time to identify what brings us joy or any of the other fruit of the Spirit. The fruit or produce of the Spirit as spelled out in Galatians 5:22-23 is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Backtracking from an experience of joy, for example, you may be surprised to find its source. Most likely it stems from one of your gifts. I am talking true joy, and it most likely occurs after a lot of hard work and perhaps meeting many challenges. I felt it when I heard the Governor of Oklahoma had vetoed an onerous bill designed to increase the interest rate on payday loans in our state.

Prayer: Lord, help us to trace our gifts and to hone our crafts together with all our fellow members of your Body engaged in the world today. Amen.

*See Matthew 5:15

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Enabling Skills

quote-how-far-you-go-in-life-depends-on-your-being-tender-with-the-young-compassionate-with-george-washington-carver-5-3-0325Epiphany
January 12, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. –1 Corinthians 1:4-6

Paul outlines the gifts of the Spirit in both 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 and mentions them in other scripture. The one thing that is impressive about the list is that rarely does anyone excel at all of them. Working together in community is a given in God’s plan. The most gifted are the ones who enable the best from those around them. The more inclusive we are in enabling gifts, the better our world becomes.

I did a report on George Washington Carver when I was in grade school. I do not remember if he was assigned to me or if I picked him from a list. I met an African American lady when I was six years old. She was in a summer school class my mother was taking to get her certification to teach in Oklahoma. I had never known an African American before, and I do not remember meeting another before I wrote the report. George Washington Carver was a scientist whose discoveries about farming and crop usage still impact our lives today. I was impressed in the 4th grade with his accomplishments and wondered where we would be today if his gifts were lost, because of the color of his skin. How many gifts are we losing today because we are not enabling all of God’s children to use their gifts because of the color of their skin or gender or sexual orientation or disability?

Prayer: Lord, you called us to be the Body of Christ in the world today. You gifted each of us with skills to use in fulfilling this call. Help us use all our skills particularly those designed to enable the skills of others so that your way becomes the way of the world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.