As each one has received a special gift,
employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of
God. 11 Whoever speaks, is
to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is
to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that
in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the
glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Insights: One last time I remind
you Peter has written these verses in the context of Jesus’ return, which is
near. Because He is coming back to
redeem His Bride, we ought to be proactively serving to in order to point
people to Him. How do we know where or
how we ought to be serving? Today’s
verses give us the answer. We are to
serve where and how the Spirit of the Lord God reveals. In other words, the Spirit manifests Himself
within a Believers life with skills. We
call those skills, gifts of the Spirit, or spiritual gifts. The passage in 1 Corinthians will assist us a
little more in understanding these gifts.
It states, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and
the same Lord. There are varieties of
effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of
the Spirit for the common good.” The Gift
IS the Holy Spirit and He manifests Himself within our lives with a variety of
gifts. I emphasis this point because
people often ask whether they can lose their gift and the answer is, NO! If they have truly encountered the Lord God
and have been born again because of the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses
them from all sin, then no, they cannot lose the Holy Spirit who came to live
within them. At the same time, however,
because the Gift is the Spirit, He has the freedom to manifest Himself however
He wishes within a Believers life and He may choose to change your spiritual
gift mix. The manifestation of the gift
is not as important as the Gift itself, which is the Holy Spirit. Let’s wrap up the thought for today. Jesus is coming back soon and because He is,
we are to serve. We serve using our gift
mix and we do so to point people to Jesus.
So, SERVE!
Questions:
- Do you know what your spiritual gifts are?
- Are you intentional about using them for the greater glory of God?
Prayer: Jesus, thank You that You sent the Holy Spirit to live within
me. Thank You for the transforming work
He does within my life. Thank You that
He manifests Himself within me with gifts to be used for Your glory. May I use them with boldness and point people
to You as a result of my activity. Amen.
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