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What are your giftings

29. Jul 2024 On The Way In Love
In the New Testament various gifts are mentioned that God has given to His church to enable His people to grow, serve, evangelize and live an abundant life. The Father’s gifts are listed in Romans 12:6-8. These are the gifts of prophecy, ministry or practical service in the church, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership and mercy or compassion. These gifts are known as creational gifts, talents or qualities we were born with. People may exhibit several of these gifts but usually one is dominant.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit edify and benefit the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:7-11), These gifts are not owned by anyone but given to individuals as and when the Holy Spirit desires. These gifts are: words of wisdom, words of knowledge bringing clarity and direction, and a special power of faith. Other spiritual gifts are those of healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, good or evil, tongues and the interpretation of tongues.
Finally, there are the ministry gifts of Christ: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Eph 4:11-16). These last gifts are to edify, build up, equip and bring unity to the church.
It is so clear that we all need to discover our creational gifts, be open to be used by the Holy Spirit and eager to benefit from the ministry gifts in our churches and discern if we are called to operate in any of them. The church is strongest when we all understand and correctly embrace God’s gifts.

Generosity

26. Jul 2024 On The Way In Love
“The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself” (Prov 11:25; NKJV). The meaning of “made rich” is actually prosper or grow fat! Proverbs 19:17 tells us that when we are generous to the poor, we are actually lending to the Lord! According to Prov 22:9, a generous person is a blessed person. (See also Ps 112:5).
This is all confirmed in the New Testament in 2 Cor 9:6-10. Let’s see what God is telling us in these verses. Verse 6 tells us we are blessed according to the measure that we give (see also Luke 6:38). Verse 7 says that God loves cheerful givers, not those who give begrudgingly. In verse 8 we learn that God will supply our needs abundantly, so that we have enough left over to give to others. In Verse 9, we see that our generosity whether in giving money or good deeds will be remembered forever. Finally verse 10 teaches us that God will multiply our resources so we can keep on being generous. All very encouraging!
The reason we should be generous is because God’s love compels us (1 John 3:17). However, no one can outgive God; He gave his only Son to die, and Jesus being obedient gave His life, so we could enjoy eternity with Him.
Keep these scriptures in mind as you go through your day and “be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others” (1 Tim 6:18; NLT).

God can and always will.

24. Jul 2024 On The Way In Love
Have you ever faced trial after trial in your life and just sometimes wondered if God could really rescue you or even if God was still there? Well, as always, let’s see what the Bible has to say! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall flame scorch you” (Isa 43:2; NKJV). That is pretty clear and encouraging. We don’t need to fear when things come against us because God is our strength (Ps 27:1), He will help us and hold us up (Isa 41:10). The writer of Hebrews goes a step further and assures us that with God helping us, people can’t do anything to us (Heb 13:6). God tells us to give Him all our burdens and cares and He won’t let us be shaken (Ps 55:22). The apostle Peter emphasizes that we should give God all of our cares and not just some (1 Peter 5:7). I am sure that means that we should give them to God and not pick them up again and worry.
There are many places in the Bible where we read, “He (I) will never leave you nor forsake you” (e.g. Deut 31:6,8; Heb 13:5; 1 Chron 28:20; NKJV). This refers to God and the psalmist added that God is always with us (Ps 73:23). God is with us wherever we are (Josh 1:9). Jesus assured His disciples and us that, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20; NKJV). We just need to look to God, believe His word, ask for His help and remember that nothing is too hard for Him (Luke 1:37).

God’s Power in us.

19. Jul 2024 On The Way In Love
When we think of God we often think of power. “You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you” (Jer 32:17; NKJV). Mary conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). Jesus came to earth as a man and had to be filled or anointed with God’s Holy Spirit power to carry out the ministry the Father had for Him (John 3:32). That power flowing through Him brought healing and deliverance to those around Him (Luke 6:19; Acts 10:38). We are also told in the word that it was the Holy Spirit that, “raised Jesus from the dead” (Rom 8:11). Jesus promised His disciples that they would get power to minister when they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and this happened in Acts 2:1-4. The power of the Holy Spirit is clearly seen in the early church with thousands of lives being saved and transformed along with signs, wonders and miracles (e.g. Acts 2:41; Acts 19:11-12). That Holy Spirit that dwelt in Jesus also lives in us as born-again Spirit-filled Christians and the writer of Romans assures us that the Holy Spirit will, “give life to your mortal bodies” (Rom 8:11b; NKJV). The apostle Peter wrote that the Holy Spirit “has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Now that covers every aspect of our existence. The Holy Spirit also empowers us to be ambassadors, ministers and witnesses in our Christian lives (Acts 1:8b). In our own strength alone, we are weak but we can live mighty, fruitful lives with God’s power.

Pursue

17. Jul 2024 On The Way In Love
There are certain things that the Bible tells us to “pursue”. In the Greek that means to “seek after eagerly and earnestly” In light of that I thought it was worth studying what we are to pursue. The first thing that caught my attention was love, the cardinal virtue. 1 Cor 14:1 says, “Seek to acquire (this) love (make it your aim, your great quest). (AMPC). So, how do we do this? This verse comes right after the “love chapter” of the Bible, 1 Corinthians chapter 13, which is wholly dedicated to the topic of love. Studying that chapter especially verses 4-8 would be a good starting place.
Another thing we are told to pursue is peace. “Seek, inquire for and crave peace and pursue (go after) it!” (Ps 34:14b; AMPC). (See also, 1 Peter 3:11). In the Amplified Bible it explains that this is referring to peace with God, men and self. If we are serious about this it would be worth finding all the scriptures on peace and meditating on them.
A third thing we are to pursue is holiness, “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness – without it no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14; CSB) Holiness is a life set apart for God. There are instructions on holiness throughout the New Testament.
Finally, “See to it that no one pays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all” (1 Thess 5:15; CSB). Doing good, that is what the Christian life is all about (See also Matt 5:16; James 2:14-17).

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