The Sacramental Life – Day 339 – Ephesians 4-11-16 – Whole Body Fit Together – Growing As Disciples
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:11-16 (NLT)
Spiritual Gifts
What are my gifts? Have you given me spiritual gifts? How am I supposed to discover and use my spiritual gifts to build up others in your body? Will my spiritual gifts be fully formed in me the minute I start using them? You are asking very good questions. It pleases me that you have such passion in you to know their answers. Why is that? You will only discover and use your spiritual gifts if you have a passionate and persistent desire to use them to build up others in my body. I can’t tell you how many spiritual gifts lie dormant, undiscovered, and unused among my followers. Spiritual gifts will never be discovered and developed and deployed without passionate and persistent effort. Hasn’t that been your experience? Don’t you know the answers to your own questions? Haven’t you discovered and used your spiritual gifts as you have been relentless in loving and following and serving me? Haven’t you been discovering your spiritual gifts as you have followed me to where I led you and did what I asked you? Yes, what you say is true. Yes, you have helped me to discover and use my spiritual gifts as I have loved and followed and served you. Yes, you have given me a passionate and persistent desire to serve you. And no, my spiritual gifts have not been fully formed and developed in me the minute I started using them. To think otherwise would be foolish. In fact, my first attempts at using my spiritual gifts were quite feeble. But you have kept on using them. Only with your encouragement. You have spurred me on. You have kept me moving forward with you. That is true. Keep on using your spiritual gifts to serve me. I will. That will be very good. Thank you, Lord.
Lord, help me to discover, develop and use all the spiritual gifts you have given me to use to build up others in the body of Christ. Help me to fit into your body and be used to help others to grow to become your fully mature, healthy, and fruitful followers. Amen
Key Question… How have you come to discover and use your spiritual gifts to build others up in the body of Christ?
Living It Out… Use the spiritual gifts you have been given to build up others in the body of Christ.
Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord has given you spiritual gifts to use to build up others in the body of Christ.
Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how you are using your spiritual gifts to build up others.
Prayer To Bless Others… May you use your spiritual gifts to build up others in the body of Christ.
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The Sacramental Life – Day 339 – Ephesians 4-11-16 – Whole Body Fit Together – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide
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