Today’s Bible Journaling verse is Ephesians 4:11-12, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ.” (NLT) Each one of us has been given certain talents and abilities to further the gospel of Christ. Do you know what your Spiritual gifts are? A lot of times, the answer to that question is, “No”.
I knew one of my gifts was that of music. At an early age, I sang in church, in fact at the age of 4 or 5 my grandmother always had me sing one song for special music whenever we visited her church, and she would play the piano for me. The words of the song said, “I don’t have to wait until I’m grown up to be loving and true. There are many little deeds of kindness, that each day I can do. I can read my Bible and pray, be a loving helper alway. I don’t have to wait until I’m grown up, to be what Jesus wants me to be.” When I was in 5th grade, I began to take flute lessons, and have played with a Christian choral group and on the worship team of the churches I’ve attended and have had the opportunity to use my music on television and radio. For me, that talent or gift was easy for me to figure out.
It wasn’t until I married my second husband that I discovered that God had given me another gift, that of teaching. I began to do Bible Journaling, mostly for my own benefit, but then God called me to journal and write a blog. When I started this blog, I didn’t have a clue why God asked me to do this, but since I’ve been writing, I’ve found many readers have been helped, and my husband has told me that I am a teacher. That is what God wants me to do, teach!
Spiritual giftings are given to us from God not only to help other Believers but also to help us grow in faith and knowledge of Him. The New Believer’s Bible states that Spiritual gifts “are a gateway. They are not a hobby to play with – they are tools to build with, weapons to fight with.” The Spiritual gifts God has given us are to be utilized in the church to encourage one another and to do Spiritual warfare when needed. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” (NLT)
We are to use the gifts God has given us, not let them sit and rust. If we know God has called us to be a teacher, then use that gifting to teach and be a blessing to others. If God has called us to be the janitor in the church, lowly as that job may seem, use that gifting of helps and service to be a blessing to the church, and “do it heartily as unto the Lord.” (Colossians 3:23 KJV)
There is a special place in the body of Christ for each gift. Using our example of the janitor, if no one took that job, then we wouldn’t have a nice, clean facility to worship in. That is a needed position in the body of Christ even though not many people would step up and say, “Yes, I’ll do it.” It may not be a position that’s up front and center like being on the worship team, but it is a necessary function of church, and is just as important as being in front of the congregation.
What has God called you to do? What natural ability or gifting do you have that can bring encouragement to Fellow Believers? Ask God to show you what your Spiritual gifts are and then use them to edify, encourage, and be a blessing to the body of Christ.
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