Do You Want to Be Guided by the Choicest of Spiritual Gifts?
Good Morning Friends,
Out on the mission frontier one gets to meet some amazing people. People that risk it all. Some of them function as teachers and others as preachers and artists. They have a variety of gifts God has placed in them that are used to connect with God’s ongoing act of redemption in the creation of His Kingdom while sustaining people along the way. They seek to see the world through the eyes of God. Typically these Disciples of Christ have found how to use their God given talent, in their daily walk, guided by the Holy Spirit to serve the common good, glorifying God. For them it is a labor of love to be part of an expanding community of love. Do You Want to Be Guided by the Choicest of Spiritual Gifts?
Scripture: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17 (NIV)
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 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 12:1-11 (NRSV)
For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part;
1 Corinthians 13:9 (NRSV)
Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow-servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’
Revelation 19:10 (NRSV)
We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith;
Romans 12:6 (NRSV)
Message: Scripture does not exactly say that art is a gift of the Holy Spirit and yet its prominence in the history of religious life would indicate its importance. I have found that it instructs us in the role of beauty in our lives and how it relates to the process of community building. Like prophecy, it can be about forth-telling, conveying the truth of who we really are, as well as fore-telling, predicting future events. But more the former. For here each kind word we utter, each generous gift we give, each helpful deed we do and obedient act of service to which we submit, proclaims God’s grace as part of His Master work. It is about committing to the covenantal yet unfinished work of God. It is this creative work that both unites us and blows into our sails the Wind of the Spirit. It is this work that colors the tapestry of our lives. It is in this work of love we are molded by the potter’s hand into something practical but also beautiful. It is in this act of prophetic love that the Master’s brush paints us into His ongoing work of creation. When I asked a couple friends of mine yesterday to define Prophecy the responses were like the opening of a creative flood gate. Not everyone agrees on what the experience of prophecy is but maybe we do not have to as long as we exalt Christ though our faith in the process. Here the Spirit prompted…the Spirit redeemed… and the Spirit sustained is rooted in the true revelation of the art of living this very moment.
Pray we help to make a part of our world just a little more beautiful. Pray we realize that our spiritual gifts are not for us but for the Body. Pray we call Jesus Lord and know that by His hands, manifested in and through us, He will reveal the New Creation, allowing His Kingdom to break through in each act of love. Pray we rejoice in the grace and love of the Creator as the Master Artist of the Universe caresses our canvas with a stroke of His brush. Pray we discern the difference between what we are to discover and what we are to develop. Pray the Spirit of Prophecy prepares a table for us to engage in community. Pray the Spirit of Prophecy stimulates our faith and unlocks the door to our heart to act as a conduit for the Spirit to encourage, strengthen and comfort. Pray we use our creative and collective insights to love and build each other up in faith to the glory of Christ. Pray we reconcile our faith and beliefs in the ongoing creative love of Christ. Pray we embrace the full counsel of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 