God has prepared work for us to do, and He’s equipped us with spiritual gifts to do it. Spiritual gifts are special abilities the Lord gives us to serve others in the body of Christ.
These gifts are given to us, but they’re for the benefit of others. Though they come in several varieties, can be used in various ministries, and have a wide range of effects in the church, they all originate from the Holy Spirit. He’s the One who chooses which gift each believer will receive. When all church members serve the body using their particular gifts, everyone benefits spiritually.
The Lord has a specific purpose in mind for each of us, and He’s gifted us accordingly (Ephesians 2:10). Without our individual contribution, the local church will lack something. Part of living in the power of the Holy Spirit involves employing our divine endowments as God directs. By operating in our area of giftedness, we’ll have the motivation, ability, and confidence needed for effective service. If you don’t know what gift you have, start by volunteering at something of interest, and eventually you’ll discover it.
Life can hit us with the most unexpected and undesirable circumstances. When that happens, we might wonder, Does God really care about me? Here are three truths to remember:
1. Scripture tells us, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). This means His very nature is characterized by compassion and concern. Love originated with God, and He is the greatest example of how to express it. Together with the reality that God is holy, this means our Father is perfect in His love—He’ll never make a mistake in the way He cares for us.
2. God loves us because He calls us His children. “To those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” writes John in his gospel (John 1:12 NIV). Sadly, for some who’ve had a difficult upbringing, this may not be encouraging news. But God is the perfect parent, and He loves us perfectly.
3. God gave the supreme demonstration of His love at the cross. God’s Son came to earth as an expression of His Father’s infinite love and sacrificially did for us what no one else could do.
After considering these three facts about God’s love, how could we not expect Him to take care of even the smallest details of our life? Look for ways He is expressing His love to you, and remember Jesus’s own words on the subject: “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Let these words from Ephesians 3:20 slowly sink in: “able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.” What an amazing description of God’s ability to work within His followers! So often we focus on what we want Him to do around us, but He invites us to think and ask bigger—He wants to change us!
The Lord has a purpose for your life, and He is constantly working to achieve it. Although the Father has unique plans for each one of His children, He also has the goal of conforming every believer to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. In order to accomplish this, He may have to bring us through some struggles and heartaches. It might make no sense to us, but God knows exactly what He’s doing. Spiritual fruit takes time to grow and mature. That’s why we need patience and faith to believe He is working even when we don’t see the results right away. God is never in a hurry and won’t ever give up on us.
What would you like to see the Lord do within you? As you read the Scriptures, look for qualities that God considers precious, and ask Him to work them out in your life. Then rely on His wonderful promise to do even more than you have asked or imagined.
If you were asked to name influential people, strong individuals with impressive credentials might come to mind. But today’s passage tells us that God has chosen the weak, the base, and the foolish things of the world to shame the things that are strong and wise (1 Cor. 1:27-28).
This principle is woven throughout the fabric of biblical history: A prostitute named Rahab made a right choice and became the ancestor of the Messiah. A widow named Ruth chose the God of Israel and became the great-grandmother of King David. An infertile wife named Hannah poured out her soul to God and gave birth to Samuel the prophet. A man called Abram responded to God, left his relatives behind, and became the father of all who believe. A woman named Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ head, and she’s still memorialized by her lavish, loving act more than 2,000 years later.
Those with great influence are the ones who follow the Lord and have proven themselves to be “blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom [they] appear as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). You may not think your light is very bright by this world’s standards, but the opinion that matters belongs to God—the one who is Himself light (1 John 1:5).
What happens immediately after a believer’s death? Does the soul enter heaven right away, go to sleep until the resurrection, or suffer for certain sins before coming into the presence of God?
In writing to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul referred to the dead as being asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:14), which some interpret as a state of “suspended animation” until the resurrection. However, Jesus told the thief on the cross that they would be together in paradise that very day (Luke 23:43).
Others think that before we go to heaven, additional cleansing through punishment is required. But Scripture is clear: Jesus paid the price for all sins. His work of atonement was finished on the cross (1 Peter 3:18). Those who have received Jesus as Savior move immediately from life on earth to life in heaven.
Unfortunately, people who die without Jesus suffer until they face judgment (Luke 16:22-23). Since belief in Christ is the only way to heaven, the lake of fire will be their final destination (Revelation 20:11-15). This is a hard truth, but the good news is that knowing our ultimate destiny encourages us to face our unbelieving loved ones—and empowers us to pray for and witness to them.
