A few weeks ago my wife said, “If Pricilla Shirer ever comes to Houston m I want to see her.” I got out my phone and found out she was going to be in Houston within the month. We bought tickets to the event and then went. It wasn’t just her though. It was her dad, Dr. Tony Evans and her siblings too. There was a lot of great content throughout the event, but one of the incredible things to me was seeing the different members of this family operating in their gifts. Anthony Evans led us all in worship. Dr. Tony Evans preached. Chrystal Evans Hurst, who has a podcast, shared like it was just the two of you in the room. The youngest, John, shared the story of when they found out their mom had been diagnosed with cancer. Then Pricilla taught from 1 John. Every one of them used their giftings effectively and communicated the Gospel.
When you look at the disciples that Jesus chose, it wasn’t a group that anyone would choose for students. However, Jesus didn’t choose them for their family name or their grades in school. He choose normal, every day people with different gifts to be able to turn the world upside down with the Gospel. Peter had the gift of leading and preaching. John had the gift of being a friend and teaching. Matthew was very logical and accurate which shaped the way he recorded the works of Jesus and wrote his gospel. I could go through the list one by one, but just know that they all had their strength and used them effectively to spread the Gospel. Those that heard them were amazed because they didn’t expect much from them based on who they were. However, when we operate in our God given gifts, everything changes.
1 Corinthians 12:6 says, “The same God distributes different kinds of miracles that accomplish different results through each believer’s gift and ministry as he energizes and activates them” (TPT). God has given you gifts from His Holy Spirit that need to be activated, energized and developed for His purposes. The disciples were people like you and me. They spent time with Jesus who stirred up those gifts in them. We stir ours up the same way. We energize them by using them when given the opportunity. However, they must be developed and honed. God’s gifts to us are usually raw and it’s up to us to mold them, shape them and make them better. Don’t wait on someone else to take charge of your gifts. Seek out your pastor, ministry leader or someone else to help you develop and use what God has given you. The world needs your gifts and the Holy Spirit is ready to empower you to accomplish what God created you to do.
Photo by Brad Barmore on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 