The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, part 2

I’ve participated on a variety of teams throughout my lifetime, but none more important or consequential than being a life-partner with my beautiful bride Kimberly throughout the last 33-years! I’m so grateful that the Lord created all of us to be on His team, and that He went the extra mile by filling us with His Holy Spirit to ensure our success.

Paul says in Romans 12:4-8, “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit grants spiritual gifts according to His will, according to how He has chosen to use each individual believer to minister to others. We don’t actually get to treat these gifts like a ‘buffet’ of choices and preferences to pick and choose from. We all possess spiritual gifts based upon God’s Word to be sure! However, it’s the Holy Spirit who knows what gift(s) to bestow upon each one of us so that we will function in the body (on His team), in such a way that brings the maximum glory and honor to our Lord and Savior.

I’m so very grateful to the Lord for instilling in me the gift of encouraging others! And please take to heart what Paul says here in Romans 12:1-2 as you personally seek to faithfully live out your calling and your gift(s) that He’s placed within you … “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”