Week FIVE Devotionals

MOTIVATIONAL GIFTS

Thursday, March 27, 2025 

Topic: He Uses Us All – God has given me Gifts

Scriptures: 

1 Peter 4:10 - Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

James 1:17 - Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

1 Corinthians 7:7 - …But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

Discussion: Many of you are actively involved in Church already. However, there are many men who, for whatever reason, have never stepped into their calling and used their gifts for the kingdom.  As you consider your calling, take the challenge and examine the giftings you were created with or developed over time. We have all been given physical, mental, spiritual, or relational gifts. In Romans 12, Paul goes into detail on several gifts—prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving with generosity, leadership, and mercy. The gifts listed by Paul are not all-inclusive but are examples to show us God gives a variety of gifts to His church. As you read this, do you know your gifting(s)? What are you passionate about? Where or when have you been stirred to get involved or act? You must be as honest with yourself as possible when you consider what gifts you have. Many know about their giftings but choose not to use them for Christ and His purposes. As we progress through this devotional series, you will see how the church is to use the fullness of the gifts to accomplish the work of Christ on earth. Today, take a few moments to consider your gifts and how you have used those gifts for Jesus. 

Prayer: Lord, thank You for the gifts You have given to me. Thank You for this amazing opportunity to serve Your will and your people. All good things and all perfect gifts come from You, my Heavenly Father, and I am humbled by everything that You have entrusted to me. Please show me the gifts you have given, even the ones I have neglected, and help me to use them in Your service. Remove any self-deception about the roles and skills I have pursued for myself that You did not intend me to pursue. I want to look at myself honestly and not think more highly or poorly about myself than I should. You know me better than I know myself, so please help me be true to who You know I am and who You call me to be.  In the Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen. 

Friday, March 28, 2025

Topic: He Uses Us All – Gifts in Action 

Scriptures: 

Romans 12:4-5 - For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

1 Corinthians 12:18-20 - But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts but one body.

James 2:14 - What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?

Discussion: Think back to when you received an injury, something that slowed you down. It may be something you live with to this day. A sprained ankle, a broken arm, a bad back, an illness- no matter what, life gets a lot harder for the rest of your body when something is not working correctly. Even worse, things get challenging when a body part is removed or not working. You don’t notice your pinky toe until it’s broken or gone, and your entire body is forced to compensate. The same applies to us in our service to the Church Body.  

You are a part of the body.  Everything works better when we are all doing our part, according to the gifts God has given us. It is essential to understand that both your presence and your absence are felt when your gifts are not being used for Christ. An eye can’t do the job of a nose. A body can walk on its hands briefly, but things work much better and more naturally with our feet firmly on the ground. You have seen situations where there were too many “leaders” and not enough followers. Remember to be humble and work where you are needed. Your gifts are valuable, even if not in the public eye. Remember, Jesus is the head of the Church body, and we are called to serve Him. Using our gifts is essential, and they go wasted if misused or unused. 

How will you use what you have been given?  Are your giftings mechanical, electrical, musical, merciful, charitable, or ministerial (or any other)? Do you see anywhere in the church you could contribute?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to you today to declare that You are my King, and I choose to serve You. I am a part of the body, and every part is important, big or small. Thank You for entrusting me with this responsibility, and I want to serve Your will faithfully. You are the head of this body; lead me. Father God, please let my works show my faith, strengthen me in times of weakness, and guide me in times of trouble. Thank You for the gifts You have given me and the opportunity to use them for Your glory. Please help me be humble and not seek authority that You do not intend me to have. Please place me where I am needed. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Monday, March 31, 2025

Topic: He Uses Us All – Gifts in Isolation

Scriptures: 

Proverbs 18:1 - Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.

1 Corinthians 12:14 - For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

Discussion: We have discussed that gifts are entrusted to you for use in God’s service. You are a part of a greater whole, a complex set of individual pieces that work at their best when working together. When you work in service to God, how often do you try to do it alone? That can mean physically alone or spiritually alone. In both cases, being isolated reduces your ability to use your gifts to their fullest. It may even lead you down the wrong path, pursuing your chosen goals instead of God's. Who do you have in your life that can serve to check and correct your course? Who has God placed in your life to use your gifts in service to, and how are you being challenged in that service? How is God helping you to grow? Are you seeking His wisdom?

Hindsight is 20/20. It’s much easier to look back at your life and see how God prepared you for a particular task, situation, or trial than to recognize your growth in the moment. One of the challenges of being a member of the Body of Christ is that the enemy will constantly attack us. Trials will come, and the question will be whether you can serve faithfully through the storm. It is often through these trials, however, that our most significant growth occurs. Embrace the challenge. More importantly, in the face of trials, seek after God for wisdom and trust; He knows the way even when you can’t see your next step. God has an entire family, an entire body of people waiting for your help and waiting to give you theirs. Stay connected, stay active, and stay humble. Stay faithful, and remember you are here with these gifts and these people for a purpose. Finally, remember that God knows that purpose and plans are for your good and His glory. 

Prayer: Lord, please keep me close and help me avoid the temptation to use my gifts in isolation. I am a part of Your plan: use me to serve Your will. I want to use the gifts You have given me and be known by You as a good and faithful servant. When two or three gather in Your name, You are there, and I want You to be in the center of my life, service, and church. I want my life, service, and church to be Yours first. Please connect me with the people you need me to connect with. Please guide me into the ministry in which You want me to work. Please work through me. Use the gifts You have entrusted in me alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ. Continue to help me grow into the person You want me to be. Help my gifts grow and my relationship with You grow. Help me through the trials that will stretch me beyond what I’m comfortable with so I may come out the other side ever closer to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.  

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Topic: He Uses Us All – Talents

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-28 ( https://www.bible.com/bible/2692/MAT.25.NASB2020 )

Discussion: Talent is defined as a natural aptitude or skill. In other words, it is something you were born with or have become skilled at over time. The talents Jesus was discussing in this parable were units of money used in the ancient Roman and Greek empires. With either definition, the same lesson applies… what did you do with the talents you were given? We should not separate what talents God gives us and what He expects us to do with them. We can use them wholeheartedly for the Kingdom, sparingly, or not use them at all. Those are the options. This week, we have had an opportunity to look inside ourselves to determine what gifts (or talents) we possess. Now, the real question comes—what are we doing with the talents He gave us? I like to draw a dramatic comparison between two very popular vocalists. These two amazingly gifted singers grew up together, singing gospel music from a young age. As they grew older, one left to pursue a successful secular music career, making millions of dollars and countless number-one recordings and eventually succumbing to a drug overdose. The other remained focused on her calling to worship God and continue to lead others to Him. Now remember the parable Jesus told. Imagine the outcome given as the example and what could be the outcome for the one who squandered her gift. 

This is a bit of a heavy devotion, but it is not designed to frighten anyone. We must thoroughly understand Jesus' expectations regarding our giftings. He expects them to be used for His glory, not our gain. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad”. Here’s a hard truth for some: our hearts should reflect the love of God in all we do and should motivate us to use our gifts and talents for the furtherance of His kingdom. Let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

Prayer: Father, I thank You today for how much You love me. I am a redeemed child of the King and eternally grateful for that. I recognize that I may not have placed my priorities and talents where they should be. I ask that You examine my heart today on this matter and reveal any areas of complacency or wrong motives regarding how I use my time and talents – PAUSE AND REFLECT. 

God, I ask that You place a fire in me for what matters most to You and show me the place You desire to use me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Topic: He Uses Us All -- Motive

Scripture: John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.

John 14:23-24 If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. 

Discussion: Do any of us really know what it means to love? Over the years of serving God, I have come to believe we tend to create our own parameters for love. In other words, we love according to our understanding, and, in most cases, that understanding involves “conditions.” This partial love is what inhibits the body of Christ from fully experiencing God's fullness, not only in the Church but also in what He wants to do outside of the Church. To answer His calling, we need to learn how to love like Jesus—to have His heart toward one another and pursue what He desires to do in the world. 

How does this tie into a week of teaching about gifts and talents? Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 13, “If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good”. 

In a nutshell, the love of Christ should compel us to serve in ways that glorify Him and to serve in ways that are pleasing to Him. Have you ever taken the time to ask Him how He would like you to use your talents? Maybe it involves serving someone others believe to be unlovable or even doing something outside your comfort zone. Don’t be naïve and think Jesus won’t challenge the normal operating zone of your ability to love. I can speak from personal experience that if you commit and step into areas of service that make you uncomfortable, Jesus will grow your capacity to love.  

Prayer:  Father, thank you for Your love and patience with me. I’m not even going to pretend that I know everything about love or that I love like You do. I repent that I fall so short in this area of my life too often and have put up walls that have prevented me from fully grasping even how much You love me. Above all, Jesus, teach me to love like You love. I understand that some lessons may be difficult, but I am Yours and need to reflect You wherever I go. Let every motivation for service and the use of my giftings and talents be rooted in love. Never allow me to be just noise or serve to gain men’s favor or accolades. Let the love of God be in me so that You can work through me. I love You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.