Spiritual Gifts Reflections

It has been a joy to pause and consider today some of the dynamics that go along with discovering, developing and deploying our spiritual gifts. I would like to share them here to encourage your own reflection.

Spiritual gifts originate in the mind of the Holy Spirit, yet He does seem to take into consideration who we are as a person.

Spiritual gifts are given to us in the measure the Holy Spirit determines, yet it is our responsibility to seek to grow in that gift or to “fan the flame” of the gift (2 Tim 1:6).

Spiritual gifts may be similar in two or more people, yet it is faith what allows each individual to employ the gift to a different extent or capacity.

Spiritual gifts may be expressed as a service or activity, yet they are motivated by and aim at loving others.

Spiritual gifts have an eternal design to them (because God chose beforehand the good works we are to walk in, Eph 2:10), yet they take place in a specific moment for the common good.

Spiritual gifts are offered to us, yet we are given the imperative to “pursue love, and earnestly desiring” the greater gifts (1 Cor 12:31, 14:1).

Spiritual gifts are used by the Holy Spirit for the edification of the Church.

Spiritual gifts are accompanied by a manifestation of the Holy Spirit to show unbelievers that “God is really among you” (1 Cor 14:25).

In summary, the Holy Spirit is entrusted with the creative and glorious work of enabling, empowering the believer to serve in specific ways. He also manifests Himself through the gifts for the growth of others and to display the glory of God.

Spiritual gifts are beautiful because they emanate from the glorious Spirit of God!

--Diego Cuartas

And Jesus Asked Him, "Do You Want to be Made Well?"

And Jesus asked him,

 “Do you want to be made well?”

John 5:6 (NKJV)

Years ago, I had a friend make a wall hanging for my office that had the above words on it. They are powerful words that Jesus spoke to one man, only one, at a Pool called Bethesda in the story found in John 5:6. They are words that I never understood very well before I became a counselor.

It always confused me why Jesus only interacted with one man at this pool, a pool that the Bible says many people laid around who were lame, paralyzed, blind or suffering from some sort of brokenness. They were all waiting for the key to their healing that took place at this pool. You see, the Bible says that during a certain season an angel would come down and stir the waters. The first person that entered the pool would be made well of their diseases. On this particular day, Jesus goes over to this certain man and asks him the above question, “Do you want to be made well?”. The man goes into an explanation of why he can’t get into the water, but Jesus doesn’t get caught up in the “why he can’t” reasons. He goes to the heart of the matter. Jesus asks the guy if he wants to be made well, tells him get up and the man does! He just does what he is told to do! Let me say that again: The man does what Jesus tells him to do! He was healed. Later, as the story unfolds, we find something interesting in verse 14. The man encounters Jesus in the temple. The identity of Jesus is made known to the man, and this is what happens:

"A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, “You look wonderful! You’re well! Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse might happen.” (The Message)

Whoa! That’s pretty heavy! Interesting, huh? Here are some of my thoughts and questions this passage has evoked over the years, as well as other questions I get from quite a few people. Maybe they echo some of yours:  

1. Why did Jesus only talk to the one man?

2. The story also says later on that the man didn’t even know it was Jesus!

3. Practically speaking, this man had been an invalid for 38 years. 38 years would cause his legs to be atrophied, bones fragile, etc, and he didn’t question this guy who says, “Get up!”?

4. Does verse 14 mean that our sin issues can contribute to our diseases?

5. Does God make us sick as punishment for our sins?

6. The invalid must have believed the man who told him to get up off his mat.

I always say I get 3 kinds of people in the counseling room: 

1. The Yes People- When asked the same question Jesus asked the man, they answer a wholehearted YES! I want healing and believe Jesus can do it.

2. The I Don’t Know People- They are usually silent for a minute or so, having to weigh their answer according to what the cost will be, what the responsibility will be, how hard it is going to be and the exhaustive list goes on and on.

3. The I Don’t Deserve It People- They step into the role of God and judge themselves, using their veto power to reject the work that Jesus already did on the cross for them. The Bible says we are healed by His stripes. Amen. This group of people doesn’t understand that verse yet.

In working with folks, including myself, I think I have part of the answer for my number one question: Why did Jesus go to the one man? I think it’s because he desperately wanted to be healed, had no excuses and was willing to GET UP! He believed he could be healed, and he wanted to be healed. Plus, he was willing to do the hard work of walking out that healing without excuse. What is Jesus telling you to do regarding your brokenness??

As far as the other questions go, a big resounding Yes to the question #4. Our sin issues can perpetuate our diseases. We can be lazy about doing exercise, eating right and establishing good sleep patterns in order to help in our healing process. On the other hand, a big resounding NO to question #5. God does not punish us with sickness. All of the punishment we deserved for our sins was put onto Jesus Christ when He died on the cross and came back from the dead on the third day, so we too can have eternal life with Him when we say YES to Jesus! That is the good news, folks!

The big point I want to end with is this. It is absolutely, absolutely imperative that you believe Jesus can and desires to heal you. Jesus heals in many ways, three of which I have listed:

1. Instantaneously

2. In a process

3. When we see Him face to face.

I pray for the grace to accept His answer to my healing. I am always wanting an instantaneous healing and will do my part in the process of healing, but will still praise Him if it won’t be until Glory. In Scripture, I find Jesus asking people all the time, “Do you believe?” They respond ‘Yes, I believe,” and then He says, “Your faith has made you well.” Folks, there is something very important about believing Jesus can do it! He can BREAK EVERY CHAIN! Check out this video: Tasha Cobbs ; Break Every Chain. Worship with it; watch the expressions of worship in the video. Ask yourself, “Do I believe that Jesus can really break every chain off my life?”. I would encourage you to check out John 5 for yourselves. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what He wants you to understand in the passage.

Be blessed friends.

--Lois Robinson

Horizontal Help

In MY DAILY BREAD a few days ago, Marvin Williams tells of an eight-year-old, Carmine McDaniel, who on a very hot day wanted to make sure that his neighborhood mail carrier stayed cool and had plenty to drink. So he left a cooler with a sports drink and water bottles on his front step. The family security camera caught the mail carrier’s reaction: “Oh man, water and Gatorade. Thank God; thank you!”

Carmine’s mom says, “Carmine feels that it’s his ‘duty’ to supply the mailman with a cool beverage even if we’re not home.”

This is more than the story of a very thoughtful little boy. It is instead a beautiful example of a truth that Williams writes farther down the page: God often sends vertical help through horizontal means. And these ‘horizontal means’ are often others, sometimes folks we don’t even know.

Last week my daughter Joyce, with whom I live, was in California celebrating Easter with her son and his fiancé, and I was home alone caring for our lovely dog. But one day I looked out my window and there was happy Matilda sniffing every bush across the road! With my recent knee surgery, I was completely unable to go looking for her, and I went to the back door and called her, with absolutely no hope that she would respond! But just then a young man in a little green car slowed down and yelled that the dog was around the corner, and what was her name? He opened his car door and called her, and ever eager to make a new friend she actually came, spotted the treat in my hand and ran home. A little boy who likes to come and play with her had left the gate unfastened. Not to be outdone, she got out again two days later when someone ELSE left the gate open, so I went and got my coat. And then up the street came two of my young friends (and Matilda’s!) with happy Matilda by the collar, calling out, “We’ve got your dog!” (The boys, not Matilda.)

These were not coincidences. (I don’t believe in coincidences.) And it wasn’t just a matter of saving me a little trouble. They were circumstances which I truly couldn’t have handled. God sent me solutions which I badly needed right in time. As He always does.

Sometimes it works differently, over a long period of time, when we don’t understand what’s going on and sometimes feel deserted. I’ve written about our despair when our son, a devoted Christian, was in prison for someone else’s embezelment of millions of dollars in his company business set aside for the IRS. It took eighteen months for them to straighten it out, and I kept telling myself and my son that God WAS in it, and that it would be OK,  every day reminding myself that it was true. Today my son would tell you that he had definitely needed to make some changes in himself, and that God knew it would take a lifetime on his own, so God took the shorter eighteen-month path, and it worked! Another different but related truth: it may have been meant for evil, but God turned it to good.

I have learned to be patient. It’s not easy. But I know that God is present in everything that I experience, and it’s fun to look for what in the world God is doing NOW. But usually it’s little things, that I might ordinarily brush off. Except it’s easy to spot God’s hand if you know to look. And it certainly saves a lot of worrying once you firmly plant this idea in your mind and heart: that God is involved in everything you do; that God sends you help in any number of ways; that God loves it when you recognize that truth and thank Him, even for the little things.

--Norma Stockton

The Heart of Resurrection Witness: Do not be silent! Keep speaking!

If you have met me or you know me, I engage people. I talk to them. Unless I am just utterly exhausted, I usually move toward others. I talk to people. I open myself to them and make a connection. While driving one of my sons to State College yesterday, at several instances I noticed that Easter Sunday was already in the rearview mirror for most people. Unless specifically mentioned, it wasn't even discussed nor brought up. During the previous week, I had shifted from "Happy Easter" to "Blessings to you and your family for the Resurrection Lord's Sunday." It wasn't meant to be tactical for the Gospel, but it did open up so many discussions. I don't assume that people have Christ at the forefront of their minds and souls. They may believe in the historically risen Jesus, but I don't assume that they know the resurrected LORD. I believe that this is what it means to be a witness and to testify to the truth. SIDE NOTE EXTRA: Your own story is important, but it never has the strength and the power of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your story intersects with His; but your story is an effect and a by-product of His Gospel. His Story is inerrant, inspired, and revelation from God.

In Luke 24 (which I would encourage you to read along with the first 7-8 chapters of the book of Acts, also penned by Luke), the apostles' grief and confusion and skepticism is transformed into joyful elation and bold, confident, repetitious testimony of the resurrection of Christ. I love how the Lord through the angels reveals His death conquering rise to the women, only to have the apostles doubt their testimony. Luke says, "But they did not believe the women because the words seemed like nonsense; except for Peter who ran to the tomb." They were wrong. He was Risen. As the story continues, these men were always talking and discussing these things. They were always using words in discussion. They talked and they talked and they talked. I absolutely love how the Lord Jesus engages them. Before they knew it was Him, He asked them in Luke 24:17, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" I think we should hope that people ask us the same: "You, Christ-Follower, what are you talking about?" Later the apostles, when they knew it was the LORD, said, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened The Scriptures to us?" These witnesses, men and women, would become the heralds of Jesus' resurrection. They spoke boldly, they declared the truth, and they talked and talked and talked. They could not be silenced no matter what.

They would not shut up about the resurrected Christ.  Even in the midst of danger and persecution, they would not be silent. Their discussions went from perplexity and confusion and sadness and timidity and fear to clarity and boldness and joyful elation and confidence. They exuded hope to the broken world. They saw that the Old Testament Scriptures had paved the path for the New Covenant in Christ. You couldn't keep them silent. They wouldn't shut up. They wouldn't listen to other gospels. They declared as witnesses His resurrection. By the time you read Luke's historical account of the new church in the book of Acts, they continue to speak and refuse silence. They had no shame in the resurrected LORD Jesus, Messiah and Savior. They had no fear and no timidity. They declared Him, Jesus, the Anointed One. So should we. So should we. So should we. For the Gospel of Christ is the one topic in all truth meant for unbridled tongues; and unbridled tongues were meant for his same Gospel. Herald the truth to your neighbors and to your families and to your friends and even to strangers, dear people. Do not be silenced by the times of political correctness or fear of offense, beloved believers. For the enemy of our souls, the accusing devil called Satan, knows that this silence is his weary attempt to thwart the Gospel. This adversary wants truth stifled and confused and silenced. But nothing can be done against the Truth - only for the Truth.  Praise Him our Lord Christ Jesus who gives us resurrection hope, boldness & courage, and Himself, the Truth - to be repeated and declared and proclaimed to others. Now, as you are going, go tell others His story and be witnesses as you are going. This is how the church is built and multiplied. Do not be silent. Keep speaking His name.  Keep talking. Keep discussing. Do not be silent, beloved. Eternity is at stake for many; and multiplication with what is spoken is required by we ambassadors. Speak. Declare. Testify.  Proclaim. Share readily when you can. 

--Thor Knutstad