Today’s Reading: Judges 1; Judges 2; Judges 3; 1 Corinthians 12
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
Observation: God is good! He does not give gifts to just a select few. There is not “the gifted group” and “the left-outs.” No. God has warehouses filled to the rafters with gifts and He gives them to everyone. Here Paul writes to the Corinthians (who prided themselves in spiritual gifts) that “each one,” that is every single Christian, is given a “manifestation of the Spirit” or spiritual gift. And just as the giving of the gifts is universal in the church, the purpose is universal as well. They are given “for the common good.” That is, the gifts are to bring blessing to everyone.
Application: There are three main applications that I get out of this.
First, unleash the church. If everybody has received a gift, then why is so much being done by so few in the church? We have a lot of Christians uninvolved — not using their gifts. Too many Christians do not have any role ministering — they are spectator Christians. So unwrap your spiritual gifts and start using them.
Second, expect more. As we see more believers begin to function in the Spirit, we should see the effectiveness of the church grow exponentially. And we must ready ourselves to see our gifts and abilities multiplied as we step out with greater obedience and boldness. And as we see God move through us, our expectation and faith will grow and that will accelerate the whole process.
Third, get real. Understanding that the gifts are to benefit everyone will shape our approach to the gifts. I have seen the exercise of spiritual gifts become weird and exclusive. It should be practical and understandable. It needs to be “down to earth.” After all, this is the point: to bring the wonder of God down to earth so we can see Him and know Him better.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for giving gifts to all Your people. I pray that we will open them and use them. May we understand how it works and how You want to use us to bless Your church and the whole planet. Empower us to greater effectiveness and draw us close to You in the process.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 comment:
There is also much food for thought in the Old Testament reading. I noticed in Josh. 2:4 that when the people were rebuked by an angel for their diobedience they cried and wept mournfully. However, they didn't change their behavior and obey. We do ourselves no favors when our tears at the negative outcomes of our diobedience produce no change. Many times we want escape from the negative consequences of our actions without having to change our behavior. Also, further down in the passage, it talks about how when the older generation who had seen the Lord work mightily on their behalf died off, the children fell away from the Lord and had a tendency, when they did return to Him, to fall away again much more quickly. It's a warning to us parents and teachers that we need to be constantly "rehearsing" the good things God does for us and the answers to prayers that He gives us to our children and the generation coming behind us. They won't get it just from watching us. Modeling a good relationship with God is important but it isn't enough. It must be combined with "speaking about Him on the way, as we sit to eat, as we lie down". It is our responsibility to do all we can to leave a people of strong faith behind us. Our culture is working to take our children in the other direction. We can't afford to let that happen. It will take concerted, thoughtful effort on our part. --- Cynthia Stipech
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