Spiritual Gifts: What They are NOT

Now we know what spiritual gifts are and why we have them. It is also important to understand what they are NOT.

• Spiritual gifts are not the same as natural talents. Having a talent means you can do something well. Having a spiritual gift means you have been given a special ability (anointing) to do something well because of the power of the Holy Spirit within you. God created us with certain natural abilities and then spiritually gifted us with certain gifts. Can they overlap? Certainly.  Sometimes our spiritual gifts are spiritual "extensions" of a natural talent. On the other hand, our spiritual gifts can sometimes provide special abilities where we lack naturally. Either way, we recognize that our God is incredibly detailed and knows in advance what to give us naturally or SUPERnaturally so that we can do what He has called us to do.
• Spiritual gifts do not allow us to make excuses for not fulfilling our roles as Christians. For example, just because we do not have the gift of evangelism doesn't mean we don't continue to share the love of Jesus Christ with others. And just because we don't have the spiritual gift of mercy doesn't mean that we have an excuse to be unkind or negligent.
• My spiritual gifts are not for bragging rights. Every believer has been given spiritual gifts. Even though some gifts are more visible than others, there is no gift that is superior. There is also not a gift that is inferior. All our gifts are necessary in the body of Christ for it to function as God intended.
• My spiritual gifts are not to be used without having love as a motive. Any other motive is selfish, and my gift is no longer being used in the power of the Holy Spirit.  LOVE is imperative. 

So, what do you think? Has this been helpful? I hope so.  And if you need to take a spiritual gift assessment to help you discover your gifts, I have included a link below to another site where you can either complete the assessment online or download it. Remember, assessments are only to be used as directional tools. If you feel you have a gift in which you do not score highly on the test, feel free to still include it as one of your gifts. You will notice that the inventory that I am linking to is not exhaustive and does not include all of the gifts. Again, this is just for discovery and directional purposes. And this inventory is free!  There are others online and in stores that you can pay to take. Even still, no assessment is perfect or complete. We must rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the affirmation of others to truly know what our gifts are.

FREE SPIRITUAL GIFT INVENTORY FROM SPREADING LIGHT.COM

Feel free to comment with any questions and I will get back with you. I LOVE YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS and will answer them by responding in the comments or in another blog post.

Have a great weekend. Don't forget to be thankful for the gifts you have!

Unwrapping the gifts - the spiritual ones,

Kelli

Spiritual Gifts: They are just that!

If you are just joining this blog series, you might want to go back and read God Believes in You and Spiritual Gifts: Not a Secret. 

Spiritual gifts are just that. GIFTS. You cannot earn them, work for them, stand in line for them, or volunteer for them. They are GIFTS and they are given to each of us who follow Christ. And I always say, if you don't like the gifts you are given, well, you can take that up with the Holy Spirit! 

"All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each person, just as He determines." 1 Corinthians 12:11

I don't believe the Holy Spirit is selfish about them, either. He gives them freely and graciously! Most people who have gone through my classes have at least three gifts that are evident to them. I find that many more gifts continue to surface as a person grows in his/her relationship with God and seeks to serve Him in many ways. In other words, sometimes we are not aware of gifts until we have had opportunities to use and develop certain gifts. And then there are times that God equips us with gifts necessary for a specific ministry situation, even if they are not our primary set of gifts.

So why do we even have spiritual gifts?

• Our use and development of our spiritual gifts glorify God. People see God and not us...He is made known. 
• Our spiritual gifts help other people when we use them as God intended. For example, when we use the gift of teaching, we are helping others understand the Word of God. Those with the  gift of mercy/compassion see people in need and reach out to help them. 
• The body of Christ (the Church - individual churches and the CHURCH as a whole) is strengthened and built up when we identify and develop our spiritual gifts. Similar to our physical bodies, when the parts of the body of Christ function and thrive, the body is healthy, stable, and productive. 

I know that many of you are anxious to complete an assessment. But I feel it necessary to lay a strong foundation about spiritual gifts in general before we start getting specific.

Coming Thursday: What Spiritual Gifts are Not.  ( And hopefully, the assessment)

So, tell me. Do you know what your gifts are? Have you ever been frustrated with the gifts you have been given? Are you using your gifts to build up the body of Christ? Please comment!

Unwrapping the gifts - the "spiritual" ones,

Kelli

Linking up with SDG...if you have never visited this blog, you need to.  Jen is a terrific writer and loves the Lord!

Spiritual Gifts: Not a Secret

I am constantly amazed at the number of Christians who are not aware of their spiritual giftedness. It motivates me, actually. I want to stand on the street corner, write a blog (ha!), tweet, whatever to educate believers about their spiritual gifts. They are not meant to be a secret!

Flikr

I am guessing there are a couple of reasons why this lack of knowledge exists:
1. Never thought about it
2. Not necessary to think about it
3. If I don't know my spiritual gifts, I don't have to use them.


Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12: 1, "Now about spiritual gifts, I do not want you to be ignorant." Thanks for cutting to the chase, Paul. In other words, Corinthian church, you are ignorant about them! Not only were they not informed about their individual gifts, but they had taken it on themselves to assign superiority to certain gifts. 


Ok, so what about you? Do you know YOUR spiritual gifts? If you do know them, are you using them? Developing them? Or are you taking the easy way out, preferring not to know them so that you are free not to use them?


Friends, spiritual gifts give us the opportunity to glorify God, serve others, and build up the Body of Christ.  And they remind us that we have a special place of service within the Kingdom. 


There is no one else who can do what God has called you to do like you do it. That's why He called you.


Next week I will provide an assessment for you folks that are not sure what your gifts are.  And then we will start looking at the gift descriptions.


In the mean time, PRAY that God would reveal how He has spiritually gifted you. ASK others in your life where they see fruit, and you will often find your gifts. 
So, what comments or questions do you have that we can cover in weeks to come?


Unwrapping the spiritual gifts,


Kelli

Out of Gas

Photo Credit


I know better. I really do.  My husband has taught me well. He always encourages me to fill up my gas tank when I get to 1/4 tank, NOT when my light signaling empty comes on.  

But I did it anyway.  I let my gas tank get to E, my light came on, and I continued to drive.  Don't judge me. You know you have done it, too.  I saw the light come on, I recognized it, and I quickly forgot about it as I carried on my "dailyness."

When my car cut off in the middle of the road and all I could do was try to coast into a nearby yard (literally!), I remembered. And I had just passed a gas station, but I was talking on my cell phone and didn't notice. What do I do? I called my neighbor who was a few cars behind me and to make a LONG story SHORT, my neglect of my fuel tank was responsible for ruining the mornings of my neighbor, the other four people who tried to help me, and my dad who finally brought enough gas to make my fuel injector connect. 

I didn't tell you that I had planned on taking a sabbatical day of prayer on this crazy morning of an empty fuel tank, did I?  My pastor encourages each of us on equipping ministry staff at Christ Community Church to take one day each month just to pray and be in God's presence.  I wish I could say that I was faithful to this every month. And though I spend some quiet time each day with the Lord, I find it difficult to cast everything aside to spend a day or even a few hours with Him.  My last sabbatical day noted in my journal:  May. Three months ago. 

I know better. I really do. My Jesus has taught me well.  He always encourages me to fill up on my "spiritual" gas tank, before I hit EMPTY.

But I do it anyway. I let my spiritual gas tank get to empty, and I continue to walk, serve, minister, write, speak, teach, and lead. Don't judge me, you know you have done it, too. God prompts me through His gentle nudges and His calling me to come away with Him. I recognize Him and His nudges and calling, but I quickly forget about it as I carry on my "dailyness."

I finally made it home yesterday morning with a full tank of gas, thanks to a few gracious people giving up their time and energy. And though I didn't get the full five hours with God I was hoping and planning for, I did get two hours alone with Him to rest in His presence, pray for direction, and listen to Him telling me how much He loves me. He didn't condemn me for not letting my spiritual gas tank get so low. But the special, sweet time with Him reminded me of how much I absolutely need Him to fill me up so that I can do what He has called me to do. 

What about you? Running on empty? Need to fill up on the sweet presence of God? Don't let the "dailyness" of this world allow you to forget your need to just "be" with Jesus. 


Practical application: Maybe a day away with God sounds great, but it is impossible for you.  How about trying to plan a couple of hours a month to listen to God?  Even 30 minutes a day?  The point is to make Him a priority so that we don't run on empty when we are serving Him and ministering to others.  


Would love to hear your comments! And if you subscribe via email, don't forget to click the link to return to the actual blog to comment. Otherwise, I don't ever hear what you have to say.  

Unwrap the gift of His sweet presence today,


Kelli