I realize it’s been a long time since I left off on my Who You Are series, but I would like to pick it back up again. Since I just launched my new persecution blog, I wanted to reintroduce these WYA posts with a reminder that who you are in Christ isn’t only about you, it’s about your brothers and sisters at church, in your town, your state, and all around the world. I also find it an encouragement to know that I’m not in this faith thing alone.
A coworker of mine was fairly agitated and discouraged last night. The people who were supposed to be helping him with the end-of-the-night duties were leaving it all on him. This is a man who I have only ever seen smile, always in a good mood, even if he’s dead-on-his-feet tired, yet now he was frustrated. I put my hand on his shoulder and told him,
“El Señor es contigo, y tú eres mi hermano.” (The Lord is with you, and you are my brother.)
He thanked me and said that he really needed to hear that. One of the gifts I believe God has given me is my voice. Most who know me will tell you that my singing voice is my gift, some others will say that my writing voice is my gift, my mother would say that the fact that I’ll speak up in a crowd (or in front of one) is a gift in itself. But I don’t think God limits our giftings to only one arena. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I’m going to give you a longer portion of Scripture today. I want to read it, meditate on it, read it again, pray about it, then join me again for Part 2 of this post where we’ll pick back up.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant…There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have
all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many…But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. –1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-14, 18-20
BecomingEllipsisMark 