The Gifts of God

May 21st, 2020

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols; however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For 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 ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

My dad is a preacher at a church in Richmond. Both my grandfathers are in ministry, my great-great-grandfather was a preacher at a large church in Georgia. My older brother is in ministry as well. I guess you could say that ministry is the ‘family business.’ I’ve grown up in church and went to a Bible college. One of the things that consistently comes up repeatedly in church and Bible college is the spiritual gifts test. I’ve taken a spiritual gifts test several times, and as I got older the answers that I got changed. One of the big answers that I normally get is Hospitality. This is something that my parents and grandparents are great at, and I learned it from them for sure.

It’s always interesting for me to hear what other people’s spiritual gifts are. I like to try and guess ahead of time to see if I can figure it out based on how well I know a person. I’m not particularly good at guessing usually, but most people tend to have 2-3 spiritual gifts that they’re good at – most tests give somewhere between 3-5. I think it’s important, ahead of time, to say that everyone has the capacity for any and all spiritual gifts – as the Holy Spirit empowers them – but everyone has some that they’re better with than others. God, however, has the capacity to be adept at each and every gift of the Spirit. These are His gifts and abilities that He bestows upon us with His Holy Spirit.

As we’re talking about reflecting God in your life, one of the best ways is to utilize your Spiritual Gifts in your life. Why does God bestow the gifts of His Spirit on us? Because He wants us to use them to further His Kingdom! We’ll talk more about that tomorrow, but it’s important to understand that God’s given you these gifts for a reason. God wants you to use your gifts, and that’s a way to reflect God in your life!

Reflect

How can you use your Spiritual Gifts to further the Kingdom of God?
What do you feel are the things that God has given you to help further His Kingdom?

Pray

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gifts that you’ve given to me. I pray that you guide me and help me to use my Spiritual Gifts in such a way that I can reflect You to the world around me. God thank you for being with me and blessing me with the gifts that you’ve given me. I thank you for everything you’ve given me. In your name I pray, Amen.

Philip Wines, May 21, 2020

Posted in Devotions
Posted in Author: Philip Wines