Posted on Feb 23, 2018 in Devotional | Tags: body of Christ, church, confusion, devotion, discord, disunity, equipped, gifts, spiritual warfare, talents, team player, unity, value
As a child of God, you and I are part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Each of us has talents, passions, and wisdom to offer the Kingdom (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11, 12), but we must work together to be successful. For example, a team can have a player with phenomenal talent, but if the athlete does not function in unity with other members of the team, winning becomes a lot more difficult, if not impossible. Dr. Tony Evans writes, “One of the elements of God’s rule is His heart for oneness, also known as unity. Unity can be defined in its simplest of terms as oneness of purpose. It is working together in harmony toward a shared vision and goal.”
For believers to operate in unity and to remain in unity, there are three Biblical principles we must apply to our lives.
- We are commanded to live in unity with one another (Ephesians 4:3)
The Apostle Paul makes it clear in
Ephesians 4:3, we are to strive in unity with one another. It is not optional, but a command to believers to “make every effort” to live and work in unity with one another. Even if personalities clash, we always have common ground. We are saved by grace through the gift of Jesus Christ our Lord (John 3:16) and are tasked by Him to be His “witnesses” (
Acts 1:8).
Posted on Dec 20, 2016 in Devotional, The Holy Spirit | Tags: abilities, gifts, gifts of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, love, manifestation gifts, ministry gifts, motivational gifts, purpose, servant, service, talents, the Holy Spirit
Along with empowering us to accomplish God’s purpose for our lives, the Holy Spirit also equips us supernaturally. He expands the toolbox God gave us when we were born with gifts only He can operate in and He does so through us. But, before we dive into those gifts, we must first look at who God uses, why God chooses to work in this way, and our personal motivation to be used by Him.
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Posted on Dec 18, 2016 in Devotional, The Holy Spirit | Tags: abilities, baptism of the Holy Spirit, devotion, empowering of the Holy Spirit, gifts, Holy Spirit, purpose, talents
Ephesians 3:16– that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man
I am terrible when it comes to building things requiring tools to assemble. Throw in the curve ball of no instructions for a DIY project and I might as well quit before I get started. You could say I am hammer, screwdriver, saw, etc. challenged. But even in my pitiful state of tool ineptness, I recognize the benefits of a power tool over a standard hand tool. For example, on the rare occasion I am forced to use a screwdriver, I will always opt for the power of an electric drill. Why? Because I can complete the job far more quickly, efficiently, and impress my wife by using the power drill.
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