Today’s devotion is based on Sunday’s message: SERVE with your gifts! To listen: CLICK HERE
A good gift is personal.
Christmas is a month in the past or 11 months away. If you reflect on your gift giving, there are times where you get everyone the same gift. Perhaps you have 15 co workers and you get them all the same ornament as a little token of appreciation. However, gifts are usually given specifically to the individual. These personal gifts take time and energy to understand the person, their likes, their interests and then give them a gift that matches who they are.
God gives both kinds of gifts.
His gift of salvation is the same for all people.
Romans 3:22-24: There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Every person has the same problem…they are sinners. Every person needs the same solution…forgiveness in Jesus. This gift of grace is the same for all.
However, once we have been given the common gift of salvation, God uniquely gives us gifts that are just the ones he wants us to have. Consider 1 Corinthians 12:11, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
In this chapter the Apostle Paul makes a list of just some of the spiritual gifts God gives to people. A single person is not given all of the gifts, just the one or ones that God has determined are for them uniquely and individually. The unifying factor is all the gifts come from the same source.
1 Corinthians 12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
Two challenges arise. First is sometimes I get “gift envy.” Like sitting around the Christmas tree looking at what someone else received and thinking, “I wish I got that gift!” we can look around the church, the body of Christ, and think, “I wish I had that gift…I wish I could lead like that person…I wish I could be such a positive encourager as that person…I wish I had time to serve like that person…and the “envy” goes on. In the process, Satan gets our gift to sit on the sidelines while we envy everyone else’s, minimizing the gift God has given to us.
The second challenge is knowing what those gifts are. While God can and does refocus or repurpose our talents, careers, hobbies, and interests for his glory, he also has given us spiritual gifts for use in his kingdom. There are various assessments that can give a starting point of reflection and experimentation to see what gifts God has given to you. This isn’t intended to be a cumbersome and challenging process, but simply taking time to reflect and use an assessment is helpful to see what gifts God has given to YOU for use in his kingdom.
God knows you better than you know yourself. Of all gift givers, God is the best and individually and uniquely has given you gifts to glorify him, bless others and build up his kingdom!
Apply: Need help determining what gifts God has given to you and how to use them? Here is an assessment tool which includes spiritual gifts, but also other inputs to best determine how God has uniquely gifted you. Click here: www.freeshapetest.com
If you would like help discerning the results and how to use them, at the end of the assessment, email the results to christygeiger@gmail.com. Christy serves as our member ministry coordinator at Crosspoint and whether a member here or not, she can help you plug into the body of Christ where God has you!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for knowing us so individually and uniquely that you give gifts to me that are best suited for me. Help me to use them for your glory, the blessing of people and the building up of your kingdom.