Gifts to Bless

God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. – (1 Peter 4:10, NLT)

God has shown you His grace in many different ways. So be good servants and use whatever gifts He has given you in a way that will best serve each other. – (1 Peter 4:10, ERV)

Use whatever gift you’ve received for the good of one another so that you can show yourselves to be good stewards of God’s grace in all its varieties. – (1 Peter 4:10, VOICE)

 

God created each of us with a gift that will bless and benefit those around us, if we choose to walk out our days with the purpose for which we were designed. We do not need to go searching to discover what our “gift” is, but rather we ought to serve in the spaces where we have been called, as faithful forward momentum is how we can be faithful stewards of the good God has placed within us. May we ever choose to seek and serve the Lord, utilizing the gifts which we have been granted to love and serve one another.

 

We’ve all been gifted,

Vandy Massey Watercolor

By God’s loving grace;

Spiritual blessings,

To share all our days.

All we’ve been given,

Was done with intent;

So others are blessed,

By God, heaven sent.

Let us choose to use,

These great gifts of grace;

To love others well,

For all of our days.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You create each of us with gifts and purpose and a plan. Forgive us for the times that we have either neglected the gift or the purpose, or wandered away from the plan that You have placed before us. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would walk in Your way and do Your will, even when we cannot see the “why” or where we are going. Show us how to love those around us well, as we utilize the gifts You have placed within us to bless and love others well. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we walk out our days utilizing the gifts that You have given. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. – Jeremiah 17:7

 

 

Above All Else – Love

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

– (I Corinthians 13:1-3)

 

Paul was speaking to the people of Corinth. The point Paul was driving home, is that no spiritual gift is of any value, if it is not utilized in love. If the purpose for our actions (our exercising of our spiritual gifts) is not to build up the body as we love the Lord, there is no point. It is love that makes the gifts that God gives, useful. His love is available to everyone. Though we all have different gifts, we all have the same God, who loves each of us with His everlasting, sacrificial, unconditional love. We cannot earn it, we must choose to receive that which is available before us. As we choose His love, we are supplied to love others as He loves us.

 

If we speak out,

but have not love;

the sound’s in vain,

not for God above.

If we foretell,

what God reveals;

yet have not love,

its value’s repealed.

If we give all,

to them with none;

yet have not love,

our reward is done.

If we suffer,

for the Lord’s sake;

yet have not love,

it’s all a mistake.

All that we do,

all that is done;

must be in love,

unto everyone.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that above all, You give us and value love. Thank You that the gifts You give us to encourage and build up the body, are only meant to be used if they are fueled by Your love. Thank You that it is Your love that makes our actions and gifts useful, and that Your love is available to all of us. Forgive us for thinking that we don’t have enough to offer, or for doing anything that was not fueled by Your love. Teach us to trust You completely, and let Your love lead us in everything that we say and do. May many come to know Your great love, as we love others as You love us. Be glorified as we love, above all else. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. – Proverbs 11:25

Live in Love

image from betterbaking.com

God grants us each,
some spiritual gifts;

they are most useful,

when to Him we lift.

Be firmly rooted,

immersed in His word;

follow Christ’s teachings,

so His heart is heard.

Steer clear of the myths,

mind not old wives’ tales;

train well in His ways,

for they never fail.

Spiritual fitness,

reaps heaven’s reward;

faith to move mountains,

with future secured.

Let our lives be full,

faithful purity;

may all see His love,

and captives set free.

May we watch our lives,

ever diligent;

persevere in faith,

lead lost to repent.

(Responding to I Timothy 4:7-15)

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You grant each of us good gifts, given to be used for Your glory.  Help us to embrace and operate in these gifts, faithfully and wholly dependent on You.  Train us in the ways You want us to go, and grant us ears to hear, hearts to understand, and feet that are willing to walk wherever You call.  Forgive us for not investing all that we ought to in our spiritual training.  Please teach us to trust You more, so that we may rise up and reveal more of You as we live lives of love, unto You.  May many come to know You as we are intentional to seek and serve however we are called.  Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

The Gift Wrap of Grace

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” – Ephesians 3:17b-18

Grace is God’s glorious gift of eternal life given to us by faith, despite our entirely undeserving nature.  Incredibly, He goes far beyond that – by His love, He grants us power together with the body of believers, to begin to unwrap the magnitude of the miracle found in the love of God.

Paul unpacks the totality of God’s love for us in this portion of his letter to the church of Ephesus.

‘God’s love is wide – it reaches out to every corner of the world.

God’s love is long – it lasts through the entire length of our lives.

God’s love is high – it remains present, celebrating beside us, our every victory in Him.

God’s love is deep – even when we are discouraged, in the depths of despair, or facing death, He remains with us, holding our hands and heart in His love.’

(paraphrased from NIV Study Bible footnotes)

So what does this mean for us?  Each of us who call on His Name, and by faith, have given our heart and placed our trust in His hands, are granted the immeasurable gift of God’s great love for us that is the “wrapping” around our very lives.  As we lay hold of His gifts, and allow them to envelop our very being, we are empowered to pass them along.  For God’s gifts are given so that they too, might be given away for the sake of salvation and the building of the body of believers.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great gift of grace that grants us entry into eternity with You.  Thank You that as we learn to embrace Your grace, (the gifts You have freely given, though we deserve them not) You unwrap the layers of Your lasting love  for us, in all things and at all times.  Forgive us for setting aside the “wrappings” rather than really allowing our hearts and minds to be enveloped in the full expanse of Your eternal love for each of us.  May every heart embrace Your good gifts, and then in turn, give them away, so that others too, may come to know Your love and Your nearness, both now and forevermore.  Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Great is Thy Faithfulness

“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gifts as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.  He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” – I Corinthians 1:7-9

All that we need to be found blameless before Him on the day we stand before His throne, has been granted to us through His Son.  He has given each of us spiritual gifts and strength in Him to grow our faith, edify the body, and endure until we see Him face to face.  God, who has called us each by name, is faithful to equip us individually, as we trust in Him.

The hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” is flooding my heart and my head, as my spirit soars at the reminder of the depth of His love and faithfulness to me.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou has been Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided –

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

(copyright 1923. Ren. 1951 Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188)

For complete hymn with music, go to: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/19

If we abide in Him, we come to know His faithfulness, steadfastness, compassion, mercy, provision, love, and glorious grace.  From us, He wants faithful fellowship.  For us, He has salvation, spiritual gifts, strength, faithfulness and hope for the day we will join Him in heaven forever.  May we continue to seek our Savior, as we have been found by Him, our forever faithful Father.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that in You, we lack nothing we need to stand strong until the day You summon us home.  Forgive us for forgetting how truly faithful You are and for placing our trust anywhere outside of You.  Teach us to trust in Your faithfulness that knows no end.  Thank You that You call us and keep us.  May our strength in You, and our spiritual gifts from You, speak volumes to those who need to hear.  Use us as Your instruments so that we may be a sweet, sweet sound, in Your ear.  Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present