spiritual gifts

Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts—everyone has them. Have you ever thought about the gifts within you? Do you know what they are? The apostle Paul talked about very specific gifts:

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed … There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit … To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith … to another gifts of healing … to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor. 12:1,4,8-10).

Ministry Brings Food, Faith to the Needy

Rev. Barbara Huffman has gone hungry. She knows the feeling all too well.   

While in her mid-20s she separated from her husband. Although she had a job as an office manager for a downtown Atlanta firm, the financial struggles of raising her 10-month-old baby alone became overwhelming. Barbara could not afford to feed herself for almost three months.

Somewhere between the cost of day care, diapers, and baby food, an ashamed and embarrassed Barbara lost 15 pounds in two months. Perhaps worse was the loss of her dignity and self-pride. When Barbara’s friends and family began to compliment her on her “diet,” she would simply say “thank you,” never “I’m hungry.”

Service

The sole purpose for our existence is simply to be happy. And we will never know true joy until we freely share our gifts, our time, and ourselves.

Jesus discovered this powerful secret. He knew that his very reason for being was to share himself and his wisdom with those around him. Doing so was as natural for him as breathing because he understood that all fulfillment comes from giving oneself.

Cultivating a Joyful Holiday

Cultivating a Joyful Holiday

This article originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Daily Word®.

Like so many people, I look forward to the holiday season. I’ve celebrated many special holidays in my life when I’ve had the opportunity to gather with family and friends to express our love and gratitude for each other and the world.

In these times, my joy came readily but in other years, when my family was not available or when I was in the middle of a painful life experience, my joy didn’t come as effortlessly. In those times, I needed to make a choice. I knew that if I was to feel joy, I would need to cultivate it in my mind and heart.