We are approaching Pentecost when the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to the early church.
Spend some time quietly clearing your mind and focusing on your breath.
Spirit of God, Holy Spirit, you breathed life and inspiration into your church on Pentecost. Breathe life and inspiration into me also that I may be open to your leading and guiding in every part of my life. Amen.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 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 by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 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. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
The body of Christ is large, encompassing all believers and their particular gifts to be used in service to the world. While we give thanks for and pray for the larger body, for many of us that is too big to comprehend. As you consider your congregation or a group of which you are part, take some time to pray for each part of the body and the gifts they bring. If you have a copy of the members directory, use that to facilitate your prayer to make sure you do not overlook any part of the body. As the Spirit prompts, write a card or email to several people, giving thanks for the individual gifts they bring to the community or encouragement of gifts you see in them.
For many of us, it is often easier to see the gifts that others bring to the group, so it is important to hold up a mirror for others. If you would like help identifying your own gifts, you can take a Spiritual Gifts Assessment. Once you have identified your gifts, the next step is to put them into use.
Feel free to share any learnings or engage in deeper conversation with Pastor Lecia. You can email to set up a time for a 1:1 conversation about this or other topics on your mind!
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