Question: How does one know what his Gifts are?

So, a question was received, asking how one knows what his "gifts" are? The question was accompanied by an article that emphasized the importance of each of us using the "spiritual gifts" that God has given us, each doing that to the benefit of those around us. The point is well made that 1) our gifts, whatever they are, come from God, and 2) when we use our gifts, others benefit.

From what I see in the Bible, when discussing gifts, it is necessary to study the subject in context. For example, the article relates 1Corinthians 12 to us quite a bit. It is important to recognize that in Paul's letter to the Corinthian church he was dealing with a problem that existed in that church at that time. We get lessons from it, but we have to consider the context. We see in studying chapters 12 through 14 that they were having a special and significant problem with this matter of gifts--they were arguing and dividing over it. In chapter 12, Paul emphasizes unity--don't divide; God is not divided; the church should not be either. In chapter 13, he emphasizes love; that is more important than gifts. And in chapter 14, he points out that there are some speaking in tongues (languages), but there was no one to interpret, so no benefit received.

Looking at gifts in the Bible, we must first recognize that there were, at that time, miraculous gifts being given, like the ability to heal, to prophesy, to speak in unknown languages. We don't have that today. A previous blog entry dealt with that. But we all have certain gifts and abilities, all given by God. And so, that brings us back to the original question: how do we know what our gifts are?

I'm sure that this can be answered in many ways, but I go to two passages in the Bible that I feel shed good light on this. First, 1Cor. 13 says that "love never fails.......And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." The other passage is Romans 12. I can't record all of Romans 12 here, but be sure and read every word. Verse 6 says, "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them...."

Any discussion of gifts should reference the teaching of Jesus regarding the talents (Mathew 25:14). One man was given 5 talents to use to the master's benefit, another was given 2, and the third was given 1, "to each according to his own ability". Jesus' teaching was clear, that we need to use our "talents," whatever we are given, to God's glory here on earth.

And in conclusion, it seems to me that the question is not, "how do we know what our 'gifts' are?" but rather, "How do we best use what we have been given to His glory." If this does not completely answer the question, then "get back at me." And thanks for asking....and thanks for reading!

God Calls All People

One of the major themes that runs through the Bible is the matter of Jew versus Gentile. This was a key problem in the time of Christ. Looking back quickly into the history, the Lord gave a special law to the Jews (also called Hebrews or Israelites), the Law of Moses. His purpose in doing this would seem to be the development of a blood line leading to the birth of His Son, Jesus. Genesis 12 shows the promise being made to Abraham that a savior would eventually come from his family. This special privilege/position of the Jews caused them to feel superiority over other peoples, especially noted in the New Testament.

Jesus, of course, was a Jew, and He loved His own people. But Jesus was very critical of the Jewish leaders who had become hypocritical, following their traditions but not the Law itself. Matthew 15 is a good place to read of the criticism of Jesus for these leaders: :"Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your traditions....Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

But all through the Old Testament and the New Testament, there is a central theme of, yes, the Jews are special to God, but there is a Kingdom coming that will last forever and it will be for all people. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said to His disciples: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." In the book of Acts, we read that Jesus leaves the earth, ascending into heaven, and it is left to the apostles to carry on. The gospel is given to the Jews first, Acts 2-7. But beginning in Acts 8, and especially chapters 10 and 11, we see the gospel is taken to all.

In Galatians 3, for example, vs 27 starts, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." God wants every one of us to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Well, enough for now. I received a question regarding gifts; How do we know what our gifts are? We'll deal with that in the next entry, Lord willing. See you then!

Inheritance

This is a nice subject. We all know the value of inheritance. We have all seen the cases of people who received an inheritance or won the lottery, then proceeded to squander it all, and in many cases, have their lives completely ruined by all of the pressure. Still, we believe that we would be different, that we would be able to handle it. And given the opportunity, most of us would take the inheritance with glee. It is a natural thing, to want to be an heir.

Our Lord understands this desire to be an heir. But He goes much further with this. He knows that it isn't the goods of this world that really matter, or the little bit of time on this earth. Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:19, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." God knows and taught us what is important.

But our Lord did more than just teach us; He made us heirs of what is important. We became heirs by "adoption," Ephesians 1:5. And in Galatians 4, he is saying that we were at one time under bondage to this world, slaves; but in 4:7, he says, "..you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." If then we are followers of Christ, we become heirs of all that God has promised His children, including a beautiful life forever with Him in heaven. And for sure, being an heir of God beats being an heir of this world's goods.

So your rich uncle dies, and you go to the reading of the will, and you are wondering: did he leave me a lot of stuff, and was I good to him. Being an heir of God is kind of like this, too. Two things must happen: one is God's grace, and He wants us to be saved, gave us His Son and all the wonderful blessings to follow. The other is, we must have been true followers, not just lip service or left-over service. We know God has done His part. The rest is up to us (read Ephesians 4 and Galatians 4). Let's follow Him! Thanks for reading.

What Brand of Christian?

There are so many brands of Christians today that it all becomes very confusing. But it wasn't that way in the early days of Christianity. We see in Acts 11:26 "the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." We see the term "Christian" used in other places in the New Testament. Note 1Peter 4:16, "if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed." And in Acts 26:28, Agrippa said to Paul, "Almost you persuade me to be a Christian."

In the New Testament, there weren't different types of Christians; there were just Christians. We see a situation in Corinth as recorded in 1Cor.1, where people were starting to divide. "Each of you says, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of Apollos,' or 'I am of Cephas,' or 'I am of Christ.' Is Christ divided?" Here we realize that division (denomination) just isn't the Christian way.

Jesus prayed for unity in John 17. He prayed to the Father that His followers would be one. Unity is so important to God; and it needs to be to us.

We should each one of us be just Christians. Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Jesus is the Word

John chapter 1 teaches us some things about our Lord Jesus. We learn that He is described as the Word; note vs 1, "In the beginning was the Word," and vs 14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Clearly the Word is Jesus.

Chapter one also teaches us that Jesus was there at the creation of the world; vs 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." Also, vs 3: "All things were made through Him." Genesis 1:26 says, "Let Us make man in Our image." The plurality of this shows that God was the Father, Son and Spirit there at creation.

We learn in John 1 that Jesus is the "light." He came to bring light to the world. We already have physical light; that was the first thing that God created in Genesis 1. But Jesus became flesh to bring spiritual light to the world, though many do not "comprehend it," verse 5 of John 1.

John 1 teaches us that the main purpose of Jesus coming to this earth was to "take away the sin of the world." (vs 29) Again, we see a spiritual purpose.

John 1:41 tells us that Jesus is the Messiah, the fulfillment of all the Old Testament teaching about the fact that a Messiah would come, a new King whose Kingdom would last forever.

And finally, in selecting His apostles, Jesus said, very simply, "Follow Me." (John 1:43) And with all that is said in John 1, we must do the same. He is the light, the Son of God, the only way to life eternal. We must follow Him.

I hope you have a great week! Keep the faith!