Spiritual Gifts

So tonight I went round to a good friends house for a catch up and we got speaking about spiritual gifts. The last time I did a questionnaire on my gifts was over 3 years ago so before I went to uni, so I have probably changed a lot since then. When I completed it last time, my top ones were Leadership, Mission and Hospitality. Leadership was the gift that I was unsure as to why it came up when I completed it, however God  made it clear why it did as I then spent 18month leading the student team at my church. The gift of mission came high up, which also I wasn't to clear on, but through the student team, reaching out to people was part of the role so mission was included there, but I felt it wasn't one of my stronger gifts and came up high as the questions relating to the gift of mission often asked about speaking in different languages, and I was doing an A level in German at the point, so speaking a foreign language came as a second nature then.


Spiritual gifts are an important part of living as a Christian and being part of the church. In Romans 12 vs 3-9 it says:




'For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your^[a] faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully'




It is for this, that I strongly advise every Christian to do one. We should know our gifts, and use the gifts in serving the church, and by knowing what our strongest gifts are, we can serve the church effectively. 


So from completing the questionnaire today, my answers were slightly different. My top 3 scores were:


Hospitality: 17
Intercession- 15
Service- 14


Hospitality 
This is the gift that came up last time, and was my top scorer again this time. It is a gift that I knew I had as I love having people round, and enjoy cooking meals for them and baking cakes etc. I believe that it is an important gift to have we need to show Gods love, and by being hospitable to others, Gods love should shine through. Romans 9- vs 13 says: 'Share with the Lords people who are in need. Practice Hospitality' 


Intercession
This is a practical gift, that involves praying. Often praying for lengths of time and frequently and involves being persistent in praying until the situation that is needed has occurred and being prepared to hear from and act on Gods will.  'I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people' 1 Timothy 2:1


Service
This, like intercession is a practical gift and a gift that I was aware that I have. I love to serve the church, whether its from baking for an evening meeting, running the student team, helping out in the youth ministry, or even just being a smiling face that someone can talk to when they come into the church. Service is a gift I believe every has and is one that I encourage them to you. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:vs 9-10

Other top spiritual gifts that came up high were Mercy,  Administration, Exhortation, Faith, Teaching and Shepherd. Some of these I expected were exhortation (encouragement) and faith, whereas teaching was one that surprised me and is a gift that I am going to be praying into.

Let me encourage you to complete a questionnaire. There are numerous online ones, and the results may surprise you, but no matter what they are, act and pray upon them and see how using your gifts can give you a more intimate  relationship with God.

Spring Harvest 2012- Church Actually

Every year, there is an event called Spring Harvest. This is a 6 day event, where Butlins is taken over, and thousands of Christians of all ages from different dominations from all over the UK join together to learn about and to worship God. I was lucky enough to go this year, and went with some family and friend members in Skegness. The theme was called Church Actually and it looked at the church and split it into four main themes, that the church is: (1) The People of God (2) The community of the Spirit (3) The Body of Christ and (4) The Bridge of Christ. This themes will be looked into in further detail in later posts. 

It was such a blessed week. A week where I , made new friends, spent time with family and friends and grew in my faith.