Tag Archives: Spiritual gift

May 21, 2012 · 6:27 pm

How Pupose and Gifts Keep Us On Track


How Purpose and Gifts Keep Us On Track

Discover Your Purpose In Life And It Will Keep You  On Track

Do you ever wonder why you are where you are and what you should be doing with your life?  In all honesty, there are times when I have to reassess what I am doing.  This is something that humans have struggled with from the very beginning of time. In the garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve a reason for existence and something to do with their lives.

Using Biblical precepts, the Christian can discover the purpose of life, design his or her destiny, and direct their achievement.

1. Remember that you are “called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

 Don’t think that by tapping into your human resources you will be where you’re supposed to be in your life. There is an expression that is used about some preachers, “they are momma called and daddy sent”. The fact is that only God can send us and when he does, he gifts us with the ability, talent, and skill to work within that calling. God will give evidence of those gifts and others will recognize the gift and follow by acknowledging your anointing to operate in that gift.

2. Take command of your life by submitting to God’s control of your life. (Romans 12 and 13).

Working for God is not a popularity contest, it is a spiritual calling to leadership and ministry of the gifts He has given us. That means: Functioning in a local church body in the gift God has given you along with others in submission to God. Think about the second part of God’s Great Commission, as Paul explains (I Cor. 12:15-17), the individual Christian cannot function alone. Each is like a specific part of the human body. The finger cannot function unless the brain does. The lungs must work well before the foot can carry the body. All parts of the body – and all parts of the church – must work in harmony and in submission to a Divine order God has set in place.

3. Share your Christian life with those around to bear the fruit of the purpose and gift you have to create lasting spiritual change. (John 15)

Realize that all spiritual fruit comes from being rightly related to God and comes in a life of surrender and submission. What are your dreams and desires? They usually come under four headings: spiritual, intellectual, physical, and those related to your personality, attitudes, and emotions. Ask yourself, am I asking God to bless what I want or have I decided to surrender to what He has called me for and gifted me to do? One way to know if we are gifted in a particular area is whether there is spiritual fruit from what we are doing and does it produce lasting change in people’s lives. When we decide to join God in what He is doing in there will be fruit and the fruit will bring spiritual change and lasting effect on the lives of people that we minister the gift to.

4. Pinpoint your social desires and ask yourself: Are my desires and goals the same as the Heavenly Fathers? (Colossians 3:1)

Think about your relationships with family, spouse, co-workers, people you associate with in organizations, and those in your church. Does you attitude reflect a perspective to others that I want God to be in control and that I am going to live a life under control, led by the Holy Spirit? If not; then fine-tune your goals to reflect the goals of God. This has to do with what we value –where our affections are set. God’s purpose in life is for us to be where He intends for us to be. It is being a good steward and being passionate about the right things. A lot of people spend their money in the wrong places and end up loosing everything they value most. Likewise, many people spend their lives in places and trying to exercise gifts that they don’t have and never have a productive life of value in the kingdom of heaven. The real issue is being a good steward of what God has gifted me to do, not what I want, or others want.

5. Where your heart is, there will be your treasure also. Do what you love. (Matt. 6:21).

A critical question that we have to ask ourselves in Christian ministry is why are we doing what we are doing. Is it for the approval that we get from others or is what we love to do because God has called us to do this ministry. Malcolm Forbes said, “Whatever you like to do, just find a way of doing it. The biggest mistake people make in life is not trying to make a living at doing what they most enjoy.” People who have their hearts connected to their work have evidence that manifests in what they do. They are enthusiastic, they take great time to think about it–pray about it, and have a desire to make what they do reflect excellency and bring glory to God. They are leaders and where they lead people to is to a higher place with God and not to complacency. When we love what we do like Jesus loves what He does, we will surrender to the gift, calling, and ministry that He has gifted us to do.

6. Ministry is the motive –Spiritual gifts are to minister help to someone who needs what you have to offer. (I Corinthians 12).

There is no more noble occupation than assisting another human being, or in helping someone succeed. Some of the reasons that people do not succeed at what they are gifted at are evident by: The motive is misplaced, it is about me and my rights; there has been little discipleship and personal spiritual growth; there is a spirit of pride and rebellion; and there has been no training and mentoring by a spiritually mature mentor. One thing that I remember that Joe Dubose said is a call to ministry is a call to prepare. Many people fail at the tasks of ministry because the motive is wrong from the beginning. It first has to be about God and then be about what God wants to do in people’s lives through the gift.

 Once you discover your God-ordained purpose, you must hold it under the brightness of God’s scrutiny and ask yourself: Is my attitudes, gift, and my ministry pleasing to God?

7. There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors –Seek wise counsel from spiritually mature people. (Proverbs 11:14).

Surround yourself with people you know and trust – and who know you, your strengths and weaknesses. Tap into their wisdom and experience, ask for their candid appraisal. One way that I can evaluate what I am doing is to find trustworthy people who are objective, functional, and will tell me the truth. So, often people just mirror back to us what we want to hear and are afraid of hurting our feelings. Sometimes we need to hear some painful truth in order to keep us humble before God and keep us from making fatal mistakes about what are purpose, gifts, and ministry means. Resisting the need to tell people the truth does not help them, it hurts them by re-enforcing the misconceptions they already have. There is a way to find where we belong in the ministry and it is not a popular vote, it is by a particular purpose of a sovereign God who created us for His glory.

8. If you are wondering where God wants you to be in this life, then create your own mission statement and ask yourself four questions about your purpose:

1. WHY do you have this purpose in life?

2 . WHO are you? (What have you accomplished to date? What is the code you live by?)

3. WHAT do you plan to accomplish in your destiny?

4 . WHEN are these goals to be achieved? (You must have a time line.)

9. Build an Action Plan: Determine how you will achieve your goals.

Start with the overview, details can come later.

10. Ask yourself,

“Is this really what I believe the Lord has planned for me?

Am I passionate about this? Can I give my life to this?” Believe that “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13).

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December 6, 2010 · 6:37 pm

Finding Direction When You Have To Make a Decision


Cast all your anxiety

How can a good choice be made when conflicting expectations, emotions, and control factors exert their power over our will and thinking processes? The holiday season like other times of the year is a time that require decisions that results in, direction being  found, and depression for some.  Can decision-making be depressing? Indeed it can when life is out of balance and the pressures of life exacerbate the tension about choices that are made.  A common malady in this time of year as described by some: the holiday blues, calls attention to how the time of year. as well as issues faced during this time of year raise incidences of mental health issues such as, seasonal affective disorder. The reality is that life presents choices and how response is given to choice connects to how we feel, and sometimes what choice occurs. In Choices, by Melody Beattie, “This process of discerning what we can choose—what we do have control over—and what we can’t is the heart of mental health and the heart of the spiritual path.”

Discernment is a word by Christians to describe a spiritual gift, activity of understanding something that may not be or is not clear and obvious.  One approach is to prayerfully understand, through spiritual reflection, to make sense of something that is obscure, or not understandable.  Also, discernment is a description of the cognitive condition of someone who understands.  It is both a state of mind an activity that occurs in the process of decision-making.  As a result,  discernment and problem solving comprise the essential activity which occurs in the mind that utilizes creativity and thinking processes bi-directionally.  Unfortunately, many people separate logic and intelligence from spiritual activity, but in reality how can these two processes be divided?  Understanding what choices can be made is  a process of spiritual understanding including one’s own self under the magnifying glass of God’s unique expression of purpose in our lives.  A choice is not simply about what an individual may want to happen or even what we believe that God may want to happen; it is more about the process of choosing– not what we choose or what happens to us. With a focus on outcome coupled with process, it is what we become through the choice made that is important. not so much the mechanics of choice.  In the mind of someone who believe in linear absolutes, it may only be the moral-should that is important.  However, the critical question is what impact do decisions have upon who individuals are becoming in the process?

The moment that we realize what we can control and what we cannot, it is an opportunity for Divine Grace to enable freedom from the fear of responsibility that we have to control everything, be responsible for everyone.  In addition, realization frees life from compulsive perfectionism which weighs life down with the burden of carrying everyone’s cross that obstructs the process of well-informed and responsible choices being made.  What becomes of life is not some much the direction that choices takes us, but it is the process of developing the individual who learns to trust their ability to make decisions and express faith in circumstances of change that bring personal growth.  Decisions and choices do not always bring peace with others, but it places the individual at a opportunity to confront fears and understand, self, purpose, and personal meaning, i.e,  how lie is expressed.  This process causes things come to the surface that need better understanding about how to have a more efficient life.  In the process, it is normal to experience  anxiety when choices are faced that include relationships with others, outcome, success, failure, etc. Understanding that anxiety comes from feeling  loss of control about what may or may not happen is important to developing effective decision making.  In that moment, when we face the source of anxiety and surrender control, freedom comes from what cannot done which creates the ability to respond with a new-found freedom to act instead of reacting.  In that moment, we can be released from the belief about how we think things have to be to have happy.  Then, there is the potential to experience new possibility when we use our head, our heart, and our faith to make choices.

When we fret about and focus upon what we can’t control or change, there will always be the challenge faced from mental stress affecting the spiritual condition.  Be honest with yourself, when you express anxiety, worry, and over-controlling behaviors, it will not bring the outcome one step closer.  Rather, it comes through putting things into perspective, placing attitudes and emotions in focus, and putting faith in the right place.  Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you” (Matt 6; 33).  This sounds like a good place to start with choices faced, what do you think?

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August 19, 2010 · 7:42 pm

Can Change Have a Negative Impact on Relationships?


Changing of the Guard, Inaugration Day, Washin...

Image by Beverly & Pack via Flickr

In Gary Collins book The Search for the Soul, quotes Mother Teresa who was asked: what is the greatest problem that people in the world face?  Her reply was “loneliness.” At the same time the culture of today has been described a time of emptiness and spiritual hunger. In the loneliness and spiritual emptiness that is explicit within our modern culture another term has been used to characterize the outlook of people in modern America; pessimism. Is the cynicism of our age, widespread dissatisfaction with a culture that has embraced rationalism, obsession with technology, only to see increased evidence of war, violence, poverty–environmental pollution–the decline of spiritual influence–things are not getting better with all our technology, an indicator of the absence of distinctives beliefs that can empower hope that transcends, mere, things and provide significance to existence?

The existentialism of the modern world that has put so much emphasis on me and I resulted in a generation of people who are together every day, but we have become solitary islands in the masses of humanity and technology.  I recently posted on Facebook, “The hardest thing about being an island is the solitary existence of being alone against the elements. The islands stand alone, solitary and are hardened by circumstances, weather, and time. When the sun goes away and the storms bring the pounding surf and the ravaging winds, the island must stand alone because that is what islands do until they are washed away” (2010).  It is a painful and isolated position that many people in the world have arrived at, but have no destination in mind.  With all the text-messaging, posting on social networks, and twittering; while people are connected to so many people, they may still be disconnected from healthy, meaningful relationships with others that will bring an efficacious way of living.

One of the great problems that characterize existence today is that life is replete with narcissism and self focused interests. If a person wants to deal with the problem of loneliness and find spiritual answers, then having a meaningful relationship with another person is something that requires integrity, honesty, and willingness to get off the island. Maybe, what is needed is realizing that what is best for others may not be what is best for me and being okay with that. This is the place where an attitude of servant-hood begins. The greatest of all spiritual gifts is the expression of love that is given in a way that sacrifices what benefits me and gives what someone else needs. (1 Corinthians 13.)   The great paradox of today is that we have evolved with a great amount of intelligence and technology at our finger tips, but the basic communication skills of people are deficient when it comes to relating to others in ways that foster healthy outcomes.

Has the individualism of the 70’s that spawned humanism, the “Me” generation, the “Now” generation been more than can be absorbed and processed? Alvin Toffler wrote about the stress that too much change to quick has upon culture, “Future shock is the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in people by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time”.  It is implicit within the behavior cues that are demonstrated by the absence of effort to connect that there is the subtle deception that says, “everything is all right and that we have become an advanced people”, when the evidence suggests that we are broken and need intervention to address the spiritual emptiness and loneliness of people today.  It has been said that, “The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions” (Leonardo da Vinci).  What can we learn from marriage and divorce statistics? One half of all first marriages failing in the first five years and  that sixty percent of all second marriage fail?  It is evident that the side effects of an evolving culture has rippling effects that can be seen in the lack of ability to function in relationships which is the thumbprint of the spiritual void in American culture.

One of the great challenges is to understand and not just to diagnose the problem.  To possess the ability make a meaningful contribution to life by being a change agent is the challenge.  We have the ability to understand, but will we? An imposing truth about what will be the answer to loneliness and the spiritual void may be characterized by a statement of truth, “The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn” (Alvin Toffler).  In the Garden of Eden, the first relationship problems were solved by a spiritual solution to the needs of humanity.  What is it that can be learned from that?  The people have changed, but the solution remains that when we do not have a right relationship to God, all other relationships disintegrate.

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