I was watching an incredible talk by Louie Giglio. Click here if you want to watch it, too.
Louie is one of my favorite speakers and the message he gives is powerful and moving. I can be a bit emotional and I found my eyes watering as I listened to him. (Okay, I’ll admit it, I was outright crying by the end). But, as I listened, another thought struck me…
…if only I could communicate like he does…
As I captured this thought I was reminded that God has gifted him in this way. More importantly, God has gifted you and I in incredible ways, as well. In fact, I believe that if we are able to discover just how incredibly gifted we are, the things we could do using those gifts would be just as powerful and as moving as a message by Louie. If we have surrendered our hearts and lives to Christ to follow Him, we have the same power within us. The key is finding this incredible gift (or gifts) God has given you and using it how He desires for you to use it.
The obvious next question is – How, how do I do this?
If you have a relationship with God through Christ the power to discover your gift is already within you. You simply need to ask God to reveal it to you. Here’s what I think. I think many of us already know what God has given us and even how He wants us to use it, but we’re too scared to trust Him and go for it! So, we keep walking around like we’re clueless. Maybe I’m wrong, you can write a comment and tell me what you think, but I know for me there are things I believe God has gifted me to do and I know what He wants me to do – but it’s scary. It requires me to lean into my faith in Him full tilt.
How about you?
By the way, if you haven’t listened to Louie’s clip yet, go back to the top and click the link – you’ll be glad you did.
/D
Showing posts with label Gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gifts. Show all posts
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Questions Jesus Asked – Prayer (5)
This next set of questions is intriguing to me. It’s Matthew 7:9-10 when Jesus asks, “You parents – if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Of if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake?”
A quick reminder: in Jesus’ day these were primary staples of food. So, the question really is, if your kids ask for basic necessities, would you give them something worthless (a stone) or harmful (a snake)?
Jesus gives us the obvious answer at the end of verse 10 – “Of course not!” And then He makes the connection for us. Just before this Jesus is encouraging the people to be persistent in prayer – keep asking, keep looking, keep knocking. The connection is when we ask God for things we need, He’s not going to give us worthless or harmful things. Verse 11 confirms this – “If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”
Now, there are a number of ways, in my opinion, to abuse this teaching. We get fussy when God doesn’t show up and give us everything we think we need right away. I don’t think that’s what Jesus is teaching here (that God is just a fast food clerk waiting to fill our every order) – I believe he’s telling us to recognize that God is the One who provides everything we need, and what He provides is always good for us.
There have certainly been times when I’ve begged God for something and it has not happened. At those times I can either assume God doesn’t love me and doesn’t care, or I can remember that God takes care of me better than I take care of my own kids.
This is getting a bit long, but there’s one more thing I want to mention here. The effects of sin continue to corrupt our world and those of us living in it. It’s not hard to find many examples of really bad parents. The news loves to exploit all of the abuses they find (and these days abuse is not hard to find). But I think there’s another way to look at this teaching. Instead of thinking about the worst case scenario, think about the best ones you know. Think about those parents who truly love their kids; those who have solid healthy relationships with their children. Then reconsider this teaching from that perspective – God loves us even more, and will treat us even better than the best parents we know!
/D
A quick reminder: in Jesus’ day these were primary staples of food. So, the question really is, if your kids ask for basic necessities, would you give them something worthless (a stone) or harmful (a snake)?
Jesus gives us the obvious answer at the end of verse 10 – “Of course not!” And then He makes the connection for us. Just before this Jesus is encouraging the people to be persistent in prayer – keep asking, keep looking, keep knocking. The connection is when we ask God for things we need, He’s not going to give us worthless or harmful things. Verse 11 confirms this – “If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”
Now, there are a number of ways, in my opinion, to abuse this teaching. We get fussy when God doesn’t show up and give us everything we think we need right away. I don’t think that’s what Jesus is teaching here (that God is just a fast food clerk waiting to fill our every order) – I believe he’s telling us to recognize that God is the One who provides everything we need, and what He provides is always good for us.
There have certainly been times when I’ve begged God for something and it has not happened. At those times I can either assume God doesn’t love me and doesn’t care, or I can remember that God takes care of me better than I take care of my own kids.
This is getting a bit long, but there’s one more thing I want to mention here. The effects of sin continue to corrupt our world and those of us living in it. It’s not hard to find many examples of really bad parents. The news loves to exploit all of the abuses they find (and these days abuse is not hard to find). But I think there’s another way to look at this teaching. Instead of thinking about the worst case scenario, think about the best ones you know. Think about those parents who truly love their kids; those who have solid healthy relationships with their children. Then reconsider this teaching from that perspective – God loves us even more, and will treat us even better than the best parents we know!
/D
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