Gifts

Who doesn’t like to receive a gift, especially an unexpected one?  As I get older, I find myself telling people that I don’t need anything, so skip the gift.  While it’s true I may not need anything, it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate gifts on special occasions. Of course there are always those items I’ll never use,  tokens that are destined for the closet, resale shop or re-gifting.  Sometimes, even those who know me well, don’t know what I can really use and love.  Luckily for me, God is the greatest gift-giver ever.  Everything He gives is the right color, size and style!  Nothing goes in the closet.  You know that he gives all his kids these gifts, custom made and designed just for you!  Where do you keep yours?  I hope not on a shelf collecting dust! These gifts are not meant to be stored, they are designed to be shared.  Who would want to hide a fabulous pair of new shoes, or a diamond necklace?  No one; we’d be showing those gifts off to everyone, and posting it on Facebook.  So it should be with the Gifts of the Spirit.  God gives them to each of us individually, tailor-made.  What is even more amazing is that the more we use these gifts, the more they keep coming!   Talk about the gift that keeps on giving…WOW.  Sure beats the fruit of the month club!!  Most Christians today think that these gifts are no longer available to them…WRONG!!  I am here to remind you that God is still waiting to send them your way.  Don’t delay, ask and you will receive!!  Paul filled the Corinthians in on them, and his words apply to us as well.  “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”  Don’t be afraid to open those packages when they arrive, and USE them!!