-
Use Your Gift For God
Posted on April 9th, 2012 No commentsI really like books that encourage us to use our gifts for God. Here are some of the best:
“The Pound for Pound Principle” by Mike Kai
“Knit Together” by Debbie Macomber
“Become a Better You” by Joel Osteen
“Extraordinary” by Jack Bevere
“The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren
“A Life God Rewards” by Bruce Wilkinson
“It’s Not About Me” by Max Lucado
And the best one of all: The Bible!
Here are some of my favorite Bible verses about living for God:
To this end I work hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. (Colossians 1:29)
We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10)
“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” — Jesus (John 17:4)
“… I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts” — the Lord (Exodus 31:3)
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. (Romans 12:6)
I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. (1 Corinthians 7:7)
Do not neglect your gift … (1 Timothy 4:14)
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)
Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:15)
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10)
Question of the Day: Can you reach the lost by sitting on your talent??
2 responses to “Use Your Gift For God”
-
I think the biggest reasons why people don’t use their talent to reach the lost are distraction and a lack of confidence.
Distraction is straight from the enemy. It seeps in to deceive and to gradually pull our attention away from the things that truly matter most.
A lack of confidence can be overcome simply through our trust in Christ. First that means trusting that He has a will for each of us. Then it means being “still” enough to listen and watch for how he’s calling each of us. Then it’s trusting that God can do through us far more than what we can do by ourselves. Then it’s simply consistency / dedication and fighting the wiles of the enemy’s distraction.
What else would you add?
-
jadijohnson April 12th, 2012 at 13:00
Dear Michael,
Thanks for commenting on my post. I completely agree with what you’ve written here. I think I would have to add “selfish ambition” to the list of reasons why we might not use our gifts for God. It is the reason I have fought Him for so long. I want to publish my young adult novels. Unfortunately, the majority of them are secular. While I don’t aspire to be as popular as J.K. Rowling, I admit I would enjoy some fame and wealth from my writing. This desire does NOT come from God. I see ways in which I could transform some of my novels into Christian stories, but not all of them. Right now, I’m working on one of the Christian ones, and it is going really well. I think my desire for writing for God comes from a combination of finding a good church, attending a women’s Bible study, and the blog I’m doing on your web site! All of these things have brought me closer to God and have made me want to reach out to the lost. So thank you, Michael, for creating your web site. As I’ve said before, it has brought me such joy. I pray it blesses you every day.
Sincerely, jadijohnson
-
Leave a reply
-
michael April 11th, 2012 at 20:24