by Joyce Meyer - posted February 21, 2016
According to Your Gift
by Joyce Meyer - posted February 21, 2016
Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith; [He whose gift is] practical service, let him give himself to serving; he who teaches, to his teaching.
—Romans 12:6-7
It’s a time-tested truth: Most people who criticize others for what they are doing are usually doing nothing themselves. It is sad when people have nothing better to do than criticize those who are trying to do something to make the world a better place.
I recall being a member of one church in which the pastor felt that any woman who wanted to do anything other than pray, clean, or work in the nursery had to present her case to him and the elders for their approval. I was teaching a very successful home Bible study, and the pastor told my husband he should be teaching the meeting rather than me. The pastor had his rules, but God had called me to teach, and He had not called Dave in that way. Dave has other wonderful, valuable gifts, but he is not called to teach. Surely if God had not wanted me to teach, He would not have gifted me to do it—and given me a desire to do it. As far as I can discern from Scripture, God is not in the business of frustrating and confusing people.
Lord, thank You for the spiritual gift You’ve given me. Direct me in how to use it to glorify Your name. Amen.
Comfort for the Pain of Death
Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith; [He whose gift is] practical service, let him give himself to serving; he who teaches, to his teaching.
—Romans 12:6-7
It’s a time-tested truth: Most people who criticize others for what they are doing are usually doing nothing themselves. It is sad when people have nothing better to do than criticize those who are trying to do something to make the world a better place.
I recall being a member of one church in which the pastor felt that any woman who wanted to do anything other than pray, clean, or work in the nursery had to present her case to him and the elders for their approval. I was teaching a very successful home Bible study, and the pastor told my husband he should be teaching the meeting rather than me. The pastor had his rules, but God had called me to teach, and He had not called Dave in that way. Dave has other wonderful, valuable gifts, but he is not called to teach. Surely if God had not wanted me to teach, He would not have gifted me to do it—and given me a desire to do it. As far as I can discern from Scripture, God is not in the business of frustrating and confusing people.
Lord, thank You for the spiritual gift You’ve given me. Direct me in how to use it to glorify Your name. Amen.
Comfort for the Pain of Death
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.”
Luke 7:12–15
The British statesman Edmund Burke received great acclaim during his life for his powerful speeches and writings. But he also knew the deep sorrow of great loss. His son Richard, for whom Burke had great hopes, fell sick and died just weeks after being elected to Parliament. He was just thirty-six years old. Burke wrote, “The storms have gone over me, and I die like one of those old oaks which the late hurricane has scattered about me. I am stripped of all my honors; I am torn up by the roots and lie prostrate on the earth. I am alone. I have none to meet my enemies in the gate. I live in an inverted order. They who ought to have succeeded me have gone before me. They who should have been to me as posterity are in the place of ancestors.”
Because we live in a world that has been corrupted by sin, all of us must at times face the pain of death. The loss of a family member or dear friend leaves a hole in our hearts, but though it brings pain, it does not bring a loss of hope for the Christian. “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Luke 7:12–15
The British statesman Edmund Burke received great acclaim during his life for his powerful speeches and writings. But he also knew the deep sorrow of great loss. His son Richard, for whom Burke had great hopes, fell sick and died just weeks after being elected to Parliament. He was just thirty-six years old. Burke wrote, “The storms have gone over me, and I die like one of those old oaks which the late hurricane has scattered about me. I am stripped of all my honors; I am torn up by the roots and lie prostrate on the earth. I am alone. I have none to meet my enemies in the gate. I live in an inverted order. They who ought to have succeeded me have gone before me. They who should have been to me as posterity are in the place of ancestors.”
Because we live in a world that has been corrupted by sin, all of us must at times face the pain of death. The loss of a family member or dear friend leaves a hole in our hearts, but though it brings pain, it does not bring a loss of hope for the Christian. “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Today’s Growth Principle:
Even in our moments of deepest pain, our Saviour never stops caring for us.
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