Tag Archives: 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

You Got Some Gifts! Open Them. Now, Give them AWAY

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Usually, you get excited about receiving gifts. The first thing you want to do is open one up! You might shake it or hold it for a moment, trying to imagine what someone gave to YOU. Do you ever think, at that moment, about giving it away? Probably not; but, that’s what Paul tells us to do with the gifts God has given to us: “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; and if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; and if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:6-8, NIV)

The Reason for Gifts

Gifts, says Paul, are given to each of us according to grace. Not the “tear open the wrapping paper” kind of gifts, and not necessarily the “this is your gift, for only you to enjoy” kind of gifts, but the “I am giving this to you so that you can give it to others” kind of gift. Our flesh loves to celebrate giftedness itself, and we make much of talented musicians and athletes; Grace loves to make gifts useful by humbling them in service to others.

Right after Paul says that we are all part of the body of Christ, and we all belong to each other, he exhorts us to utilize what we have been given on behalf of others.
He presents this as an “if-then” kind of process, which really has two steps. First, determine what your gift is. Paul declares that we all have different gifts, given to us spiritually “according to the grace given to each of us.”

There are gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4, and they are all focused on “others”, not on “Me”. In context, he is saying that these gifts are bestowed on each believer as part of the body of Christ in order to serve the other members of the body. And here in Romans Paul basically says, “If you have been given a gift, then use it.”

How Should You Use What You Have?

So ask yourself the question: what have I been gifted with? A spiritual gift is not necessarily a talent (although it could be related), and not necessarily something you are accomplished at; it is really more a quality that other believers see in you even when you don’t always see it in yourself. If you aren’t sure, pray about it, and then ask some fellow believers close to you what they feel your gift(s) might be. You might be surprised by the answers you get.

Secondly, whatever gift you have been given, USE IT. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.“ Being motivated by grace puts a whole different spin on receiving a gift: Open it. Use it. Give it away.

A Gift Given Should Be A Gift, Given

God’s given something to everyone
To enrich our lives, to create some fun.
These gifts aren’t meant to be just enjoyed,
But are given to us to be re-employed!
When you can do something and others it lifts,
You’ve probably discovered your spiritual gifts.
As we open them up we should give them to others,
To build and encourage our sisters and brothers.
If Paul was still preaching among us, today,
He’d look at our gifts and here’s what he’d say:
Your gifts are not gifts ’til they’re given away!

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Regifting is Socially Unacceptable, But It’s OK in This Case

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There was a humorous episode of Seinfeld about “regifting”, the practice of taking a somewhat less desirable gift you have received, keeping it new in the box, and then giving it away to someone else. In the episode, various people re-gift and get caught doing it because people either recognize the gift or tell the original gift-giver what they just received. A re-gift is kind of like a white elephant gift, although the idea is not to stick someone else with a useless gift, but rather to divest yourself of something YOU didn’t really want or need in the first place. And hey, the original giver will never know, right? (Although in Seinfeld, everyone finds out and it’s pretty funny.)

What goes Around…

You hate to think that the gift you picked out for someone and hoped they would enjoy would become the object of regifting! You also hate to receive a re-gifted item, right? The whole thing is awkward because it involves rejecting and reusing a gift, and in a small circle of friends it can prove that “what goes around, comes around!”

regifting

Well, the Apostle Paul had another take on that, and it’s worth considering: “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, NIV)

Everybody likes to get gifts! They are a small mystery, wrapped in festive paper. We weigh them, shake them, and hold them in our hands with delicious anticipation. We get to take a moment to savor them and wonder what they are. Gifts are a way that someone says, “You are special”, and who doesn’t like to hear THAT more often?

The Reason for Gifts

Here in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says that EVERY ONE of us has been given gifts: “the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” In yet another small way, the Christian life flips conventional wisdom upside down: we are not given gifts to enjoy selfishly, we are given gifts to BENEFIT OTHERS. Paul compares us as members of the Church to a body, where every part plays a role in its health and function, and where every one of us matters.

As humans, we tend to exalt certain spiritual gifts (up-front stuff like teaching, preaching, or leading worship) and minimize others (behind-the-scenes stuff, like administering, or serving); but every part of the body contributes, and every part shares equally in the accomplishments and edification of the whole. (And yes, that means that the guy who sets up chairs, and the woman who greets folks at the door are just as important as the Preacher in God’s eyes…)

If you haven’t discovered your Spiritual gift(s), then do some study, get some wise counsel, and identify what God has given you. Usually, a good indicator is when other believers feel blessed by something you do. If it edifies someone else, it is a spiritual gift. If it results in self-importance, or pride, or ego inflation, then chances are it’s not. Then it’s time to apply the regifting principle. Once you think you know about God’s gift, you have a re-gifting assignment every day: Open your gift. Give it away. It’s what gifts are for.

Regifting

There are occasions when everyone’s hopin’
That there are some presents which they get to open!
I see all the gifts wrapped up under the tree,
And I always hope some are wrapped up there for ME!
But Paul had a much different take on the season:
He said that we each receive gifts for a reason.
Our gifts are not given for fun, or for play,
But we get them so we can go give them away.
Paul said that spiritual gifts are uplifting,
And those kinds of gifts are ok for regifting!
Discover your spiritual gifts and then shift them
Because they’re designed so that you can re-gift them!

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Here’s Something YOU Have Never Thought of About April Fool’s Day

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Since April Fool’s Day was on the calendar during Easter Week, I wasn’t able to publish this on April Fool’s Day. But, before we get too far past that, I wanted to chase a theological rabbit for a minute. This is NOT an April Fool’s joke, but it has to do with my take (purely conjecture) on a possibility about WHY we call April first a fool’s day. In so doing, I’ll share some quick opinions about Jesus’ birthday and the Real April Fool: and offer the perspective that perhaps there is a reason we can’t nail down the exact date of Jesus’ birthday…The Scripture says it like this:

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2, NIV)

No Certain Date

The historical birthday of Jesus has been debated and even disputed in modern times. Because of a lack of clarity over the timing of Herod’s reign and Quirinius’ term as governor of Syria, several theories have arisen around the exact day Jesus was born. Most scholars agree that Jesus was born in 3-4 BC, and was probably not born on Christmas day itself.

Our modern date for Christmas probably started around 400 AD, when the Church moved Christmas there from January 6 to compete with (and perhaps redirect) the pagan celebration of the birth of the sun. At any rate, there is no purely Biblical reason to use December 25 as the true historical day of Jesus’ birth.

Based on Jewish Holy days, and the fact that shepherds were out in the fields with their flocks, many scholars feel that the most likely birth date might be in the Fall of the year. Interpretations based on lambing season, climate. flock locations all have good points to help justify a Fall annunciation. Other scholars choose to place it in the Spring (and for some of the same reasons!), but it’s just not conclusive. As a result, men have disputed and debated the true birth day of Christ ever since… I would submit that anywhere there is division, dispute, and debate, we find opportunities for the great deceiver to bend and twist the truth.

As Paul Harvey Might Have Said

If I were the devil, I would love anything that creates doubt or confusion about Jesus. (Even his birthday.) I would certainly be opportunistic enough to take anything not explicitly stated in Scripture and try to use it for division or doubt. (As a parenthetical note, there is NO real debate as to whether Jesus of Nazareth was an actual historical figure. There are still people who continue to try to change that history today. But then there are also those who still claim the earth is flat, or that the Holocaust never happened…)

Even though the exact date may be obscure, there is NO DOUBT that Jesus of Nazareth had a birthday! We just don’t really know if it was in April or not.

A New Theory That Makes Sense to Me

My lovely wife Nancy has a very interesting idea about April first. She has often noted that it seems like Satan loves to mess with days that are special to Christians. Several significant church holidays have been tied to pagan activities or worldly festivals and traditions, and are therefore subject to criticism, or worse, to perversion.

Easter, for instance, was loosely related to Ishtar festivals, which celebrated fertility and spring. Even though our liturgical Easter probably was not related to Ishtar, it has received criticism for its proximity to it, since all manner of pagan activities took place around THAT celebration! Halloween has been tainted by ties to Satan and evil (so much so that many Christians refuse to celebrate it and have renamed it “Fall Festival”. But there’s very little “hallowed” about Halloween these days.) So where did Christmas come from? It was never really tied historically to the exact birthday of Jesus, and the very year it occurred is not really clear from Scriptural and historical accounts. (In fact, it probably happened around 4 BC to account for Tiberius and likely census dates).

Misdirection?

We celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25 because it came from a traditional church feast day that started in the 4th century AD (which was also based on a pagan feast day!). Scripture never gives the exact date, but the fact that sheep were out grazing in Luke’s account could indicate early spring. My wife Nancy speculated that since Satan likes to 1) mess with anything godly; 2) cast aspersions about who Jesus was; and 3) make Christians look foolish, then perhaps the most logical date for the birth of Christ would be April 1.

April birthday

If the great Deceiver wanted to call attention away from Jesus, why not make the day of his birth an annual Fool’s day? Make it day of pranks and foolishness rather than a day of reverence and celebration? It’s not based on scholarly research, but to me it makes sense because it is just the kind of thing that the great deceiver would do: he would try to make Christ look foolish and to create a case for doubt around His birthday.

April fools

However, if Satan did that, the joke is on him. As Paul said, “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. (I Corinthians 12:7, KJV). If Satan is somehow behind turning the day of Jesus’ birth into a Fool’s day, then his little joke is just like the Cross: he thinks he won a battle when he actually lost the war!

So, What does April Fool’s Day Have to Do With Jesus?

Scholars just cannot agree, from all the evidence they can see,
The very day of Jesus’ birth. They know for sure he came to earth,
And has a place in history, but there is ambiguity
Because the Bible does not say which year, or month, or week, or day.
I know the Devil roams about to cast destruction, death, and doubt–
Using falsehood to disguise, and shrouding truth with outright lies!
I’m sure he’d love to use his tools to turn us into April Fools,
Prompting men to cast some scorn about the day that Christ was born.

But please o seeker, just remember, whether in April or December,
Jesus Christ was really here. On that, we can be crystal clear.
We may not have the day exact, but Jesus came, and that’s a fact.
So if you’d like to have debate, I wouldn’t wait, or hesitate–
Let’s talk about eternal fate, and whether Jesus shot us straight,
And if the things he said were true. I’d research that, if I were you!

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr