Tag Archives: Enabling Others

Finding Your Talents

Living in the Spirit

June 18, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 8:26-39

Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. –Luke 8:26-31

People for many reasons end up poor living on the street, some suffer from mental illness. Others escaped abusive home lives or suffer from addictions. The demon-possessed man was most likely suffering from some form of mental illness. Some are veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

We all, to some extent, face challenges when we must change our understanding of the world around us with which we have become comfortable. When I worked with women with children trying to move out of poverty, we offered a workshop where the leader asked the participants the describe their life as it was. For most, it included not having enough money to buy food for a full month. They could not afford clothing for their children They were not able to get a job that paid enough to support their families often because they had dropped out of school because they got pregnant and were deserted by the child’s father. They felt left alone and stuck. The leader of this seminar asked the participants to imagine they were standing on a wall with one side representing the life had just described. The other side was an unknown dark chasm that encompassed their other choices. They were asked to imagine what might fill that void. What did they want to do or be not do or not be? Then they discussed what it would take to make their vision a reality–things like getting their GED or otherwise improving their employability and developing a plan to complete the reorganizing of their lives refocusing on making what they wanted to be a reality. It was a very successful program.  One of the participants wanted to be a hairdresser. I had watched a lot of young women go to beauty school and have it not work out, but I helped her enroll in the school and had her cut my hair after she had graduated and was renting a booth in a shop. Two years later she owned the shop. She enabled many young women to seek and fulfill their visions also.

One of Jesus’s traits was the ability to see the talent in each person he met and when necessary, help them to see and actualize it also. As Jesus’s disciples, we have been given that same challenge.

Prayer: Lord, help us at each stage of our lives fulfill being the person you created us to be and help us help others do the same. 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.

Sharing Christ

Living in the Spirit

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:38-50

John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. –Mark 9:38-41

How do we discern Christ-followers in our world today when stances and actions are being taken in the name of Christ that are totally foreign to me and I am sure my stances and actions seem foreign to others? Perhaps the better question is do we have a role in discerning who is a Christ follower?

The Parable of the Sower* offers insight. I think we usually read this parable with our focus on what happens to the one who receives the seed but what does it say to the ones who sow the seeds? To sow seeds among the brambles of life that are choking the spiritual life from people we must serve among the brambles, rocks, and thorn while digging our roots deeper into the richness of the love of God that enables us to enable others.

Jesus states in the scripture above that we are not to judge the credibility of others who share his message that is his job and he deals with all who call on his name including us. I think we have a two-fold mission one to work continuously to strengthen our relationships with God and to work with all our might to attain the oneness to which Jesus calls all his followers. In many instances that may mean setting aside the sticky-wicket issues about which we see no avenues to oneness while actively seeking and building on those paths of love on which we all can travel.

Prayer: Lord, help us find common ground on which we can share your love in your name so that our actions as your followers do not drive others away from your life-giving nurture into wastelands of the world. Amen.

*Matthew 13

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.