Miraculous Lovely

This month marks a major milestone in my faith walk. God called me to follow Him during one Amazing Week in September in Sydney, Australia. What a journey it’s been! I’ll be sharing more milestones soon. Here’s a few thoughts on spiritual gifts.

I’ve taken different spiritual gifts tests over the years. I usually score high in exhortation, evangelism and faith.

This top 3 is new for me (see pic above).

There’s a New Season loading ..

Thanks for staying on this faith journey with me

I still remember the first time I took a spiritual gifts test.

Back then, I kept hearing people at church say they had a “ministry” but I wasn’t sure what that meant. I thought I had missed a meeting when ministries were handed out.

When my church offered a class about spiritual gifts, I signed up. That’s when I took my first spiritual gifts test.

I was still new in my faith journey, but I’d already been serving at church.

I was stunned when I scored high in pastoring.

Who me?

Yup.

My teacher explained that many times people with the gift of pastoring are drawn to joining the Care ministry.

Oh! I was already the Care Leader in my small group for young adults.

I love how I was already serving and using my spiritual gift of pastoring by helping to shepherd and care for the flock God had entrusted to me in that season.

In typical fashion, I sometimes back into something without even realizing it’s the Lord leading me.

I also scored high in exhortation. I hadn’t heard that word before taking the class. (Why did it sound so much like extortion?)

When I found out it meant encouraging people, I was a bit disappointed.

So my gift was to cheer people on as they did something simple like crossing the street? (Not sure why that example came to mind at that moment?)

I wasn’t thrilled but it did confirm what a ministry leader had already recognized in me. I did like to encourage people.

As I grew in my faith and kept serving and encouraging people, I embraced my spiritual gift.

I remember a sister in Christ reminded me that people really need encouragement. That stuck with me.

I also scored high in evangelism. Oh, that would explain why I delighted in inviting friends and family to church and giving them Bibles and praying for strangers, etc.

Again, I was operating in my gifting without knowing it.

No wonder the very first time I volunteered at my church it was for a block party they were hosting (ah, community outreach is a form of evangelism).

It was my spiritual gifts teacher who first made the connection that my journalism background was a great match with my evangelism gift.

I had been wondering how I could use my writing background to bless others.

I was delighted to write Care notes to members of my small group.

That’s around the time I started to feel God calling me to write and speak for His glory.

As a native New Yorker, I’ve grown up with the nations all around me.

And God loves to speak to me whether I’m home or abroad.

God called me to follow Him while I was in Australia.

I felt God calling me to be an evangelist during a trip to Israel.

I’m so grateful I took a class on spiritual gifts at that particular time in my faith journey.

Taking that spiritual gifts class helped to bring clarity in some areas and confirm some things to me.

The teacher mentioned that our results could change over the years. We could grow stronger in some gifts in different seasons of life. He mentioned it was good to take a look at our top 3 gifts and also to take the test again at a later date.

I waited a few years before I took a different spiritual gifts test.

That time I scored high in the gift of faith. That made sense as the Lord had stretched my faith during five short-term missions trips to five countries. I had also grown in my faith as I read and studied the Bible and had seen God’s faithfulness in my life and the lives of others around me.

This was also somewhere around the time I was launching my AboundingFaith.com website and writing books, speaking to groups and teaching at a Bible school.

I’m still so touched when people share that what I’ve said or written was exactly what they needed to hear in that moment.

Whether it’s a person in tears in front of me thanking me or a Reader sending me a kind note, I know it’s not me. It’s the Holy Spirit working through me.

As I look at my latest spiritual gifts test results and see gifts like apostleship, prophecy and knowledge take the lead in this season, it can feel daunting but it’s also confirmation as I continue to write, speak, teach, coach, etc.

Of course, we’re to worship God more than His gifts, but it’s good to learn about spiritual gifts.

Here’s a few thoughts and Bible verses about spiritual gifts:

• They are given by the Holy Spirit – “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.” (1 Corinthians 12:4 NIV)
• The Holy Spirit chooses our spiritual gifts – “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” (1 Corinthians 12:11 NIV)
• They are given to bless others – “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV)
• All the gifts are special. We don’t have to compete or covet someone else’s gifts – “There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (1 Corinthians 5-6 NIV)
• Gifts don’t just go away – “for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29 NIV)
• We’re to develop and exercise our gifts to SHINE for Christ – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 NIV)
• There are good works that only we can do – “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)
• We’re to follow God’s plan for our life – “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” (Ephesians 4:1 NIV)

You can read all of 1 Corinthians 12 to learn more about spiritual gifts.

Over the years, I’ve learned that you can use different spiritual gifts in different settings. I’ve seen that especially while on the mission field or during outreaches where it feels like all the spiritual gifts are available to any one of us so we can be the hands and feet of Jesus in any given moment.

As you grow in your faith, I hope you’ll get curious about your spiritual gifts and find ways to use those gifts to be a blessing to your family, church and community.

As you grow in your relationship with Jesus, you’ll also grow in your spiritual gifts.

I hope my books will help encourage and empower you as you walk by abounding faith, hope and love and dare to live your God-given dreams.

If you’re interested in learning more about having me come alongside of you on your faith journey as your life coach, visit this page.

I hope my devotional articles for the Our Daily Bread devotional will also encourage you on your faith journey. Writing these devotional articles makes my evangelistic and exhorter heart sing.

That’s part of the beauty of operating in our spiritual gifts. As we are a blessing to others, we usually also feel blessed.

To God be the Glory!

P.S. I’m also talking about spiritual gifts in Episode 77 of the Abounding Faith for Today podcast that’s available wherever you get your podcasts.

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®