Spiritual Gifts

Romans 12 begins by asking the question, ''Since He owed us nothing and has given us great mercy, how should we respond? '' The answer is a life of self-sacrificing worship spent in serving the Lord and other believers, refusing revenge and overcoming evil with good.

God asks us to serve each other in the church. He has equipped us to do this by giving each believer specific spiritual gifts through His Holy Spirit who comes to live with us. God has supernaturally enabled us to be able to give to each other exactly what is needed. But we must do it. All together, the church is Christ's body, with each person serving a specific function that keeps the body going. Our first job is to find our function and to do it, through God's power, for the good of everyone else.

https://bible-studys.org/

Read Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, 28. 

Here’s a list of the spiritual gifts we find in the Bible.

Romans 12:6–8:

• Prophecy

• Service

• Teaching

• Exhorting

• Giving

• Leading

• Mercy

1 Corinthians 12:4–11:

• Wisdom

• Knowledge

• Faith

• Healing

• Miracles

• Prophecy

• Distinguishing Between Spirits

• Tongues

• Interpretation of Tongues

1 Corinthians 12:28:

• Helping

• Administrating (Note: Some Bible versions translate this word as “leading” or “guidance.”)

 Inventory to determine your gifts:

 Spiritual Gifts Inventory: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/spiritual-gifts-inventory/en

Spiritual Gifts Download: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/spiritual-gifts-inventory-download

Praying Romans 10

 Father,

I was among those who were not looking for you (Rom 10:20).

I was not asking for you (Rom 10:20).

I belonged to the kingdom of darkness (Col 1:13).

I was your enemy (Rom 5:10).

Yet your message of good news has gone out to the whole earth,

And your words to the ends of the world (Ps 19:4).

And though I lacked understanding, you revealed yourself to me (Rom 10:20).

By your grace, you have planted faith in me (Eph 2:8).

You have established belief in my heart and drawn a confession from my mouth:

Jesus is Lord; he is risen from the dead (Rom 10:9).

Make my life to align with this confession.

 

As you have planted faith in me, so also plant and grow gratitude,

For every good and perfect gift comes from you and you alone (Jer 1:17).

You are great, Oh God, and greatly to be praised (Ps 145:3).

May the whole of my life be lived in gratitude for the grace you’ve given in the person and work of your Son.

Amen.

 "The Christian is like a man who has the right tune in his head but cannot remember all the words. That is not to say that Christians are perfect, but that they live according to the Spirit. The present tense of the Greek peripatein, "to walk" or live, suggesting continued action, forward progress, a pattern of behavior under the Spirits leading."

Pause and Reflect: Lectio Divina

We can sometimes breeze through familiar or difficult passages of Scripture, speeding over the words instead of letting the truth of Scripture sink into our minds and hearts. Lectio Divina, or prayerful reading, is a historical Christian practice that has helped generations of Christians to pause and reflect on God’s Word.

Below are the four steps of Lectio Divina, which will help you pray and think deeply about Romans 9:22–24. Carve out some time this week to go through this exercise. Take your time with each step. This isn’t something to rush through, so make sure you have plenty of time before you start.

1. Lectio (read): Remove all distractions and quiet your mind before God. Now read Romans 9:22–24 three times slowly. If you can, read it out loud to yourself. Let the message hit you. After reading it three times, find something that stands out to you. Re-read it a couple more times and place emphasis on different words as you read.

2. Meditatio (meditate): Think about the words or phrases that stood out to you the most. What do they mean? What do they say about God? What do they say about you? How do they illuminate the main idea of Romans 9?

3. Oratio (pray): Pray through your words or phrases. Ask God to show you what he’s saying through this verse. Take the verse and turn it into a prayer. For example, you could pray, “Thank you, God, that you have made me an object of mercy and not an object of wrath,” or, “Help me, oh God, to share your mercy with others.”

4. Contemplatio (contemplate): Now that you’ve read, thought, and prayed through Romans 9:22–24, finish your time in silence. Ask God to speak to you. Pray he’d show you one practical thing you could apply to your life from this passage. Then listen. Write down what he says and then do it.

The Beauty of Questions and Catechisms

As Paul shows in Romans 8:31–39, asking good questions can play an important part in the practice of our faith. Questions cause us to be curious and go deeper into the truths of our theology.

There are several well-known catechisms that Christians have used for centuries—the Westminster Shorter Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism are great examples—and a more contemporary option that has grown popular is the New City Catechism.

 The following is an excerpt from the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

 Question 1: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. 

Question 2: What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

Answer: The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. 

Question 3: What do the Scriptures principally teach?

A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man.

 The Westminster Shorter Catechism consists of 107 total questions and answers, which walk people through the major doctrines and beliefs of the Christian faith. 

 Whether we know it or not, we are all being catechized—discipled—by something all the time. We must consider who or what is discipling us, and what kind of person is it forming us to be. With Christian catechism, we can be sure that we’re being discipled in the faith and formed into the image of Christ. Consider today how you might integrate the New City Catechism (or some other option) into your regular routine. Whether you use a formal catechism or not, how could you be intentional about asking and answering thoughtful questions as a discipleship practice?

Romans Part Two

 I'm really excited about Part 2 of the study of Romans. To present this study, I've combined the video series from Right Now Media by J.D. Greear and the book from the Smart Guide to the Bible Series, The Book of Romans by Gib Martin and Larry Richards.

In combining these two sources, I came to two sessions that would require 24-26 pages of reading. I  determined that those two sessions should be split and was searching Right Now Media for a couple background videos on Rome when I found a great selection! It's called Paul in Rome. David Nasser does a wonderful job of giving some historical perspective and comparison of ancient Rome and the United States. 

I'm so looking forward to sharing and learning with Sisters as we complete this study.

The Result of Bunny Trails

My current round of bunny trails began with a link that my friend Kathy shared with me of Calvin Robinson who was speaking at The Oxford Union. In the video, Robinson discusses the biblical sexual ethic of the Church of England. https://youtu.be/o13A6UU6IPY

Of course after watching the video of Robinson's debate, I had to read more about him. He is a British conservative political commentator, writer, and broadcaster. Since last year he has also been a deacon in the Free Church of England. I also wondered about The Oxford Union, so I looked it up and found that is a prestigious debating society that has a reputation for bringing international guests and speakers to Oxford.

Next I listened to a sermon on the radio and was drawn in by the speaker. The lilt of his native Irish tongue and witty humor caught my attention immediately, but it was soon apparent that this was a man whose Biblical wisdom and love for God were more a part of what him such a good speaker. I was compelled to find out more about him and find more of his sermons. Of course there was a bit of a problem, I didn't know his name. Luckily it didn't take too long to discover the man was Phillip De Courcy. He is the senior pastor of Kindred Community Church in Anaheim Hills, California and teacher on the daily media program, Know The Truth. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland to Christian parents. In this message from the book of Proverbs, he speaks about teaching your children about the birds and the bees. https://www.ktt.org/broadcasts/makes-good-sense/041023

Even though this particular sermon is not relevant to me at this stage of life, I really wanted to hear more from De Courcy. I will listen to this series of his sermons.. as soon as I stop chasing bunny trails. Armed and Dangerous focuses on the Apostle Paul’s instruction to believers engaged in spiritual warfare – including identifying the enemy, and an in-depth view of the equipment necessary to engage in battle successfully. https://www.ktt.org/broadcasts/armed-dangerous

The next stop on my bunny trail began on Sunday during Rev. Herlong's sermon, titled “Too Good to Be True?” I was delighted to learn that he is so interested in Apologetics too. When he mentioned Robert Jastrow along with Lee Strobel, I knew I would be looking up Jastrow too.

Robert Jastrow was an American astronomer and planetary physicist. He led a major space science institution and helped to bring space down to earth for millions of Americans. In his book God and the Astronomers Jastrow describes the astronomical discoveries of recent years as well as their theological implications. https://bigthink.com/the-well/astrophysics-christian/

Whew! I'm exhausted.

Where to Draw the Line When It Comes to Religious Tolerance

I recently read a very good article on Christianity.com about Religious Tolerance. It perfectly explains how I have understood Religious Tolerance.

"Christians should always be tolerant of other religious beliefs but not accept them as the truth. Instead, Christians should respect and love others in their beliefs, but show greater love in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ."

"The tolerance that was experienced in the classical era is quite different in the modern-day. In the classical era, Christians acknowledged that there were different religions and beliefs and accepted that people had the right to choose which belief they wanted to be in." Makes sense doesn't it? This is what my parents taught us. But as time passed and people became "enlightened" religious tolerance took on a different meaning.

"In the modern-day view of tolerance, acceptance is not only a matter of respecting other religions, but also accepting they are right and true." Wait a minute... RIGHT AND TRUE??  How did that get in there?? And WHY are so many Christians following this line of thinking?

The article points out that accepting that these beliefs are right, which is the modern-day view of Christian toleranc is where we, as Christians, need to draw the line.

You may be asking, "is religious tolerance a biblical principle?"  Yes, in most definitely is! 

"Christians should always be tolerant of other religious beliefs but not accept them as the truth. Instead, Christians should respect and love others in their beliefs, but show greater love in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ."

I highly recommend reading the full article: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-life/is-religious-tolerance-biblical.html 

Social Pain Or a God Shaped Vacuum?

I recently became aware of the term Social Pain in a couple different places: Psychology Today, HealthLine, and in the book, Where Do We Go From Here by David Jeremiah. Neuroscientists in Italy have discovered that “social pain” activates the same brain regions as physical pain. The researchers also found that witnessing the social pain of another person activated a similar physical pain response of empathy in most test subjects. Social pain is the experience of pain as a result of interpersonal rejection or loss, such as rejection from a social group, bullying, or the loss of a loved one.

The COVID 19 pandemic made the problem worse, taking people from the workplace and schools and forcing them to live in isolation. However, Dr. Jeremiah says that the root cause of disconnection is spiritual in nature, and I whole-heartedly agree. When we are disconnected from God, we don't have the love, peace, joy, kindness or patience to show others. He says we become isolated in our self-centeredness.

I find myself thinking about “Social Pain” this disconnection from God and feeling that there is more to it than just the result of losses in/of relationships. I believe this pain for many people, can also be attributed to the God shaped hole or vacuum in the lives of unbelievers, or believers who have fallen away.

Several years ago, while teaching about famous mathematicians in history, I can across Blaise Pascal. I was delighted to learn that this famous mathematician was actually one of the great Christian minds in the 17th century. Referring to the spiritual condition of mankind he famously said, “There is a God–shaped vacuum in the heart of each man, which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”

King Solomon expressed the same concept in  Ecclesiastes 3:11 when he says that God “has put eternity into man’s heart.” Even though His image in us is scarred by sin, within every human soul we have an awareness that there is something more than what this world offers. Because of this awareness, when we are separated from God, our sin-sick, rebellious hearts are desperately running after things to fill the place reserved in our hearts exclusively for God. Many of mans' depraved actions are because of this desperate attempt to fill that place in our hearts that should be, NEEDS to be filled by God.

While Social Pain is definitely due to losses in relationships or lack of relationships, The lack of belief in God, the God Shaped Hole, also contributes greatly to Social Pain. The lack of God in our lives, to me, is the ultimate Social Pain. How completely horrible it is for those living their lives without God. This is another reason to reach out to others and share the Good News of the Gospel, and pray for them.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

Two Sides of a Coin

 

Sin creates a a deep inconsistency between who we are, and who we were created to be. The law in the Old Testament shows us our sin and points us to God for saving and healing. Many died because of Adam's sin, but many have been saved because of God's grace- Jesus' death on the cross.

Sin and righteousness are two sides of a coin. We feel the presence of Christ and the pressure of sin. We delight in the peace we experience when we have been made right with God, but we still struggle daily with problems that often help us grow. If we remember the two sides of this Christian coin, we will not become discouraged when facing life's trials. We will learn to depend on the power given to us from Christ, who lives in us.

The book of Romans says we should rejoice in suffering because we know God is using life's difficulties and Satan's attacks to build our character. Problems/suffering help us grow. We know that God is using life's difficulties to build our character, develop our perseverance which in turn strengthens our character and deepens our trust in God.

God gave His only son to suffer and die on the cross in order to save us from sin. He allows us to suffer to save us by building character, which deepens our trust in God.  Romans 5:3-4