November 4, 2009 ~ You Are Gifted

What gifts do you have? Are you using them?

Remember God gave you gifts and when he was

pressed to submit he never tapped out or gave up.

Today's Scripture:

We all have different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us. The person who has the gift of prophecy should use that gift in agreement with the faith.

Romans 12:6

Kathy loves to proofread articles and books. Most people think that proofreading - finding every little punctuation mistake and making sure everything is perfect before a page is printed - is a tedious job. But if Kathy had her way, she'd just sit in a room alone all day checking pages. She gets annoyed when she has to attend meetings or supervise other employees in her publisher's proof room.

Jennifer is Kathy's friend at the office. Jennifer loves to work on writing the books and articles that Kathy proofreads. As it happens, Jennifer's least favorite job is proofreading. Their boss, Bonnie, has a skill to manage people and projects. Their coworker Bruce loves to strategize to sell the products. Lynda has no desire to do any of these tasks. But she is fulfilled in doing the secretarial work that keeps the office moving. This office tends to operate smoothly - because people are in positions that they enjoy; they are in jobs that make special use of their skills.

In combat sports such as mixed martial arts as pictured above. The athletes each have skills that they enjoy and are gifted with. A gifted striker wants to stand and punch and kick his or her way to victory, whereas a talented wrestler or jiu jitsu practitioner prefers to take the opponent down to the ground and submit them. All these skills we used properly can make one very well rounded if practiced but regardless the God given talents are the ones that come so naturally and are what a good competitor learns to put themselves in position to do by imposing their will. That is to put themselves in the position to do what they are gifted at; be it standing up and swinging or on the ground.

Selah people' and friends every person has specific abilities God has given him or her. And each ability we have is important.

Your skill is different from everyone else's in your office, school or church or family. Your skill is as vital as everyone else's. God has a place where your talent is needed. You'll find the most joy in life as you discover which gifts God has given you.

"Assess your abilities. List the things you like to do most. Pursue those things wholeheartedly, knowing that God gave you gifts and skills to enjoy."