Bible League: Living His Word As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.The Holy Spirit has been poured out from heaven above onto every Christian (Joel 2:28). As a result, we have a supernatural gifting of help (John 14:16), strength (Ephesians 3:16), guidance (Romans 8:14), and much more working within us. One might say that the Holy Spirit works with whatever natural abilities we have within us and takes them to whole new levels of effectiveness. Sometimes the Holy Spirit imparts a truly special and extraordinary gift or gifts to a person. The wisdom of our verse for today applies to every gift of the Spirit, but it seems to have these special gifts in mind primarily. It could be anything. It could be a special gift of administration, healing, miracles, wisdom and knowledge, and so on. Although the Bible gives us lists of such gifts in places, there is no reason to think that the lists are exhaustive. God can anoint a person with a special gift of the Holy Spirit for any purpose He chooses. The gifts of the Spirit, ordinary or extraordinary, are meant for ministry. That is, they are meant to be used to minister to the needs of the other members of the body of Christ and to people in general. Thus, they must be put into practice. We have been given the gifts, but it is up to us to make use of them. That's why the Apostle Paul told Timothy not to "neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership" (I Timothy 4:14). We should also be good stewards of the gifts we have been given. In this context, a steward is someone who manages the grace of God as an agent of God Himself. Thus, we should use the gifts we have been given on God's behalf and for His plans and purposes. This is how Paul viewed his own gifts. He said, "Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (I Corinthians 4:1). And, as mere stewards, we should be "found faithful" by God (I Corinthians 4:2). Don't underestimate your special gifts. Don't neglect to put them into practice. People need them. They need the grace God has given you to manage. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEzekiel 36, 37 Ezekiel 36 -- The Mountains of Israel Will Be Blessed NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezekiel 37 -- Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones; Judah and Israel Reunified NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Peter 3 1 Peter 3 -- Wives and Husbands; It is Better to Suffer for Doing Good NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.Insight Jesus was God's agent in creating the world. As followers of Christ, we may give easy assent to this truth but deny it in practice. We may believe that Christ knows and controls the laws of heaven (pertaining to salvation and spiritual growth), but we may act each day as though our financial, family, or medical problems are beyond his reach. If Jesus could create the universe, then no part of life is out of his control. Do not exclude Jesus' wisdom and the Bible's guidance in your complex problems of life. No expert, professor, doctor, lawyer, or financial advisor knows more about your ultimate security and well-being than Jesus does. Challenge Go first to God for advice. Talk to him in prayer and listen to him in his Word. He can sustain you in times of stress. From that perspective you can evaluate all the other wisdom and help made available to you. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do," refers to works that are possible. There are many things which our heart findeth to do which we never shall do. It is well it is in our heart; but if we would be eminently useful, we must not be content with forming schemes in our heart, and talking of them; we must practically carry out "whatsoever our hand findeth to do." One good deed is more worth than a thousand brilliant theories. Let us not wait for large opportunities, or for a different kind of work, but do just the things we "find to do" day by day. We have no other time in which to live. The past is gone; the future has not arrived; we never shall have any time but time present. Then do not wait until your experience has ripened into maturity before you attempt to serve God. Endeavour now to bring forth fruit. Serve God now, but be careful as to the way in which you perform what you find to do--"do it with thy might." Do it promptly; do not fritter away your life in thinking of what you intend to do to-morrow as if that could recompense for the idleness of today. No man ever served God by doing things to-morrow. If we honor Christ and are blessed, it is by the things which we do today. Whatever you do for Christ throw your whole soul into it. Do not give Christ a little slurred labor, done as a matter of course now and then; but when you do serve him, do it with heart, and soul, and strength. But where is the might of a Christian? It is not in himself, for he is perfect weakness. His might lieth in the Lord of Hosts. Then let us seek his help; let us proceed with prayer and faith, and when we have done what our "hand findeth to do," let us wait upon the Lord for his blessing. What we do thus will be well done, and will not fail in its effect. Daily Light on the Daily Path Isaiah 62:4 It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her," And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.Isaiah 43:1 But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! Isaiah 49:15,16 "Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. • "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. Psalm 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. Proverbs 8:31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men. Psalm 147:11 The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness. Malachi 3:17 "They will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." Colossians 1:21,22 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, • yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach-- New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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