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Good morning. You may have a specialist position when playing a team sport. However, there may become a time when you may be called on to play out of position. The same is true of us and our spiritual gifts. As Andy Stanley says, "When the house is on fire, don't tell me what your spiritual gift is. Just grab a hose and put out the fire." Being a follower of Christ there are certain commands Jesus Christ has given us. They apply equally to all followers of Christ, irrespective of our spiritual gifts. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34) Also, we are told to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19‭-‬20) For many of us, doing this will require us to minister/serve outside of our comfort zone. However, doing this will be for the greater good of the Body of Christ, and bring you joy. Speaking of the gifts of the Spirit Paul says: "Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way." (1 Corinthians 12:31) He then launches into the well known chapter on love chapter 13. Let us allow God's love for us to inspire us to demonstrate this love to all we come in contact with. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. When it comes to living a life of serving God, we are reminded by Paul when he writes to Timothy, what our starting point should be. He says, "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Timothy 1:14) As we have previously said, one of the best way of guarding the gifts of the Spirit is to use them. We guard them not for ourselves, rather because they are fir the Body of Christ. • The Body of Christ needs our ministry/service. "so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:5) • We are accountable for our ministry/service. "So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. (Romans14:12) • We will be rewarded for our ministry/service. "“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:23) With this in mind, i.e. guarding our gifts if ministry/service, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:23‭-‬24) Let's do this for the benefit of the Body of Christ. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. The longer we walk with God the more we find His way and plans for us are perfect. Samuel reminds us, "As for God, his way is perfect" (2 Samuel 22:31) Jeremiah tells us that God has our best interest at heart. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) The gifts of the Spirit that we are given line up with God's plan and purpose for us. David, the psalmist, is convinced of this when he writes, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." (Psalms 16:6) As Terran Williams rightly points out, as enriching as our gifts may be, they are not the best thing in our lives. There is one thing much better than the gifts - it's the Giver, who has welcomed us with open arms into His company. "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:12‭-‬14) When that sinks in, we cannot but bow before Him in praise and adoration. Join us as we do that today. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Terran Williams wrting in the workbook for the course "Gifted" has some helpful instructions for using our spiritual gifts. 1. Do: Find a need and meet it. Our Spiritual gift(s) will come to the fore when taking an experimental approach to ministering/serving. It is as we "do" that we find the gift that we are comfortable and confident in. 2. Deploy: Once we have discovered our gift(s), we should be careful not to fall into the trap of putting ourselves in a box. Look for real needs to meet or areas of service using our gift(s). 3. Develop: our gifts are like muscles - the grow as we exercise them or conversely, they diminish with lack of use. As Terran says, "The more you exercise your gifts in reliance on the Spirit, the Sharper they will become." What better place to explore and develop our gifts than in our local church. As the saying goes, "if you want to prophesy, hangout with prophets." As Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:6 "I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God". Let's do it! Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. God has been moulding and shaping each of us for ministry since we were born. "Your hands shaped me and made me." (Job 10:8) In fact, God started uniquely shaping us even before we were born. "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made... My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Psalms 139:14‭-‬16) So, when looking at our spiritual gifts, there are 3 important truths to remember. • You were shaped for a purpose • You are unique • You are wonderfully complex Ministry is determined by several factors. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." (1 Corinthians 12:4‭-‬7) Our gifts are frequently be seen in our personalities. As Terran Williams observes, our talents and personality traits tend to correlate. He also points out that we are each a unique combination of talents and traits. In other words our gifts and personalities are complementary. Let your spiritual gifts shine through your personality. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. Paul writing to Timothy, his son in the Lord says: "fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you ..." (2 Timothy 1:6) In verse 14 of the same chapter Paul tell Timothy to "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." One of the best ways to guard the gifts we have been given is to use it. Jesus said, "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." (Matthew 5:15) • We have been authorized for service/ministry. "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28:18‭-‬19) • We are commanded to serve/minister. "and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve" (Matthew 20:27‭-‬28) • We are to be prepared for service/ministry. "Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Ephesians 4:11‭-‬12) Our service/ministry functions best in the context of our church family. Enjoy your day as you serve/minister. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. In Romans 12, my (Mike) friend, Paul, gives us a procedure to discovering our ministry. 1. Dedicate your body (i.e. yourself): "I urge you...to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (v1) 2. Eliminate competing distractions: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (v2) 3. Evaluate your strengths: "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." (v3) 4. Cooperate with other believers: "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (v4-5) 5. Activate your gift: "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us...prophesying...serving...teaching... encouraging...giving...leading...mercy (v6-7) Let's follow this procedure and if you have not already done so, do the online gifts assessment. (link is given below) It is a good tool. Have a good day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne https://www.gracecov.co.za/gifted

Good morning. Peter tells us that "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10) Now there's a thought! If we are to serve others with the gift(s) we've been given, it goes without saying that it is helpful to know what gift(s) we have individually received. We have been created for service/ministry. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." We have been saved for service/ministry. Paul writing to his son in the Lord, Timothy, says, "For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time" (2 Timothy 1:9 NLT) Jesus has demonstrated that we are to serve/minister. He said to His followers, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." (John 13:15) We have been gifted for service/ministry. "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us." (Romans 12:6) As you serve/minister, your spiritual gifts can help others grow" Enjoy your day as you serve others. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. The title of a book written by Peter Wagner, "Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow" is quite thought provoking. Some may think that is an audacious if not outlandish thought. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour we become part of the Body of Christ. Paul tells us in Romans 12:4 "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function" Holy Spirit gives us gifts to minister / to build each other up as we function as His body. We tend to get nervous when we hear of ministering to each other. Simply put, ministry is using whatever God has given me/you to serve Him and the needs of others. Terran Williams says, "a spiritual gift is a unique God-given capability to get God's work in the church and in the world done." Do you know what your spiritual gift is and how you can use it to serve/minister? We trust that as we discuss the motivational gifts spoken of in Romans 12:6-8 over the next while, you will get clarity from God. Each of us together are the Body of Christ and each one if us is a separate and necessary part of it. Have a wonderful week. Blessings. Mike and Daphne Here's a link where you can do an online spiritual gift assessment: https://www.gracecov.co.za/gifted

Good morning. For the next 6 weeks Grace Covenant Church will be taking a deeper look at the grace gifts that Paul writes of in Romans 12:6-8 " We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully." Paul lays out an elementary introduction/comment to help us understand the functioning of these gifts when he says: "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." (Romans 12:4‭-‬5) As we work through "Gifted - Discover Your Spiritual Gift" our prayer us that each one of us will discover our own unique design for ministry and how to use our God-given gifts and abilities in serving God and others through our church family. As you put your spiritual gift into practice you will discover the pleasure of serving others in a way that expresses what God made you to be. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. It is interesting to see that Paul, having listed the different aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, says there is no law preventing these. There is no "thou shalt not" love, have joy, experience peace, demonstrate patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, kindness and self-control. You will not be penalized for having the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. There is a tendency to blame the devil when we, as followers of Christ, fall short in displaying the fruit of the Spirit. Paul, however, says not so. It is the desires and passions of our flesh. James, in the first 3 verses of chapter 4 of his letter, spells out the cause and effect of giving in to the desires of our flesh. So what is the solution? James says we must "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you." (James 4:7‭-‬8a) Paul puts it like this. "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25 ) In every area of life we must lean into/on God. Then together with Paul we will acknowledge God saying to each of us, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9) Keep in step with Holy Spirit and have a good day. Blessings. Mike and Daphne

Good morning. The world appears to be out of control. So much violence, exploitation and anger. Just about every day we hear of incidents of GBV and people being attacked, even killed. Did we say the world is out of control? The world us made up of countries, of communities, of people. That's us! It's small wonder that Peter tells us "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control;" (2 Peter 1:5-6) If we are honest, most of us have suffered with the lack of self-control to a lesser or greater degree at some time or another. In the words of Mike's friend Paul. "Brothers (and sisters) this ought not to be!" Beside the fact that self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit, Paul tells us in Titus 2:11-12 that the grace of God teaches us self-control. "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age" Peter reminds us that "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3‭, ) As we go about our lives, today, let's let His grace teach us self-control in every situation we face. Blessings. Mike and Daphne