The Dash: Halloween

   Around Halloween we all think about different things. Some of us may think about what costumes we will wear. Others may think about scary movies. And I'm pretty sure most children are thinking about the candy stash they will have. Meanwhile parents are thinking about the sugar rush their children will have; and maybe even the candy they will take from their kids.
   I'm pretty sure many of them are not thinking about death. Yet, Halloween is a time where a certain decoration reminds us of death: the tombstone. Yes, there are other decorations that remind us of death but, in America for some of us, the tombstone represents finality of death. On the tombstone you see a few items typically. You see the person's name, maybe a quote or a verse, and 2 years with a dash in  the middle.
   You were born when you were born for a reason. You only have a few years to live on this earth, that's your dash. Then the last date is the day you die. When you are born doesn't matter. When you die doesn't matter. What does matter is that dash. You get to choose every day when you wake up what you are going to do with your day. James 4:14 says: "Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." We don't know what tomorrow will bring. We don't even know if we will get a tomorrow. That's why we need to live every day as if it is our last.
   We choose who we will follow. We choose who we will live our lives for. Who will you live your life for? Will you choose to glorify yourself or God? What are you going to do with your dash?

   Image from here. 

Mercy: Spiritual Gift Series

   In a world that sometimes feels like ot knocks us down after we just got up, the next spiritual gift is something so important: mercy showing. To have the gift of mercy means to show compassion and have empathy for others. Some examples of people who had mercy in the Bible were Joseph and David.

   Though I have this gift, and you may as well, it may not come easily at times. This world tells us that we should hurt those who hurt us. It says we should look out for number one. I'm not saying everyone is like this but the media messages and corporate world tend to have these messages. 

   Mercy says to turn the other cheek. If someone hurts us, not only should we forgive them but we should also go the extra mile for them. We should show them the love of Jesus. He is God and is all powerful. He could have stopped the pharasiees at any time. Yet Jesus was hurt and killed by the pharisees yet he died for them too. He did that because he loves them. He showed them mercy. 

   Mercy showing is not just showing sympathy. Sympathy means you hear of someone in pain or trouble and you care. People who show mercy have empathy. Empathy meaning you hear of someone in trouble or hurt and you take action. You try to help them in some way, even if it's just listening to them. You pray for that person because you care and want to show God's love to them. That's what people who have the gift of mercy excel in.

   So do you or anyone you know have the gift of mercy? How can you show mercy to people each day?

Leadership: Spiritual Gift Series

   Are you someone who in a group setting will take the lead if no one else does? Leadership is the next spiritual gift listed in the Romans 12 list. To lead is to guide others. There's a long list of good leaders in the Bible but to name a few: Moses, Joshua, Deborah, David, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, John the Baptist, Peter, and Paul all were diligent leaders.

   What makes a good leader? That's a question that people may all answer differently. Some people may say a good leader is charismatic, doesn't let power go to their head, distributes tasks but does their fair share, cares for others, cooperates, listens, etc. That list could go on and on. This is why I think being a leader is so hard. You have the spotlight on you a lot and all it takes is one wrong move and you get blamed for it all. 

   I don't think we truly understand leadership until we need to lead. Even if you don't consider yourself to have the gift of leadership I'm sure you've been called upon to lead something at least once in your life. If you have, you understand the weight it can be. You may even go home at the end of it and wonder if you did a good job. 

   The truth is we cannot please everyone. But good leaders have a good example in Christ. He led others and not everyone liked him. He followed God and was sinless and some people hated him. This can be comforting when we realize that people are not always going to like what we do in leadership either if we are following Christ. 

   But there's one type of leader that we haven't discussed yet that I think is the hardest: servant leadership. Jesus was this but we can also see servant leadership in a character like Captain America. A servant leader is in the trenches with his followers. He doesn't just talk the talk; he walks the walk. If he asks his people to dig a hole, he is also there shoveling with them. A servant leader also takes responsibility for the whole group. If someone messes up on their watch, the servant leader owns up to it if someone else points it out because it happened on their watch. That doesn't mean the servant leader doesn't talk with the person who messed up in a calm and caring manner, it means the leader takes the blame for it because he is responsible for his followers. 

   That's what it is to have the gift of leadership. It's a heavy gift to have but a necessary one.

   So do you know anyone who has the gift of leadership? How can you encourage a leader you know today?

Giving: Spiritual Gift Series

   Have you ever got a gift for someone and you were so excited to give that gift to them because you knew they would love it? Have you ever felt that way about giving to God? If you have, perhaps you have the next spiritual gift in the Romans 12 list: giving. Some examples of people who had this gift in the Bible were Dorcas, the Macedonia Church, and Boaz.

   When you think of giving what do you usually think about? If you said money then you are probably like most people, myself included. Yes, giving money to the church is one thing we are called to do as Christians. Though, many of us struggle with that, myself included at times. We are called to give tithes which is to be 10% of our income. This is hard for some of us, especially with how the economy is. It's easy to look at our needs and wants, think about how much it all costs, and to say "I don't have enough to give to God." But that's cheating God who was the one who gave you that money in the first place.

   The people who have the gift of giving do it freely, joyfully, and trust God to provide. They don't go up and give their gifts while complaining or grumbling. Instead they see a need and fill it trusting God to do the rest. 

   Giving is also more than just money. If you have the gift of giving you also may give your time and talents to God. Some people are gifted at fixing things so they do work around the church. They volunteer for teaching classes or help with the technology for service. Again, they do it without complaining or expecting a thank you in return. They know that God sees what they do in secret and will reward them. Even if he doesn't, these people trust that God is with them as they give of their time and money. 

   So, do you know anyone with the gift of giving? How can you trust God more and give back to him?

Encouraging: Spiritual Gift Series

   When you feel upset or down, what do you wish people would do for you? If you said, "encourage me" then you also just answered what the next spiritual gift is in Romans 12. People who have this gift offer comfort to others, especially when those people are going through a hard time. Some examples of people who encouraged others in the Bible were Barnabas, Jonathan, Ruth, and Deborah. 

   Encouragement can look different depending on whom you are trying to encourage. Some people just need to be held to be encouraged. Others could use a kind word or just someone being there for them. This can go into the five love languages. I've found that there is typically one common cord of encouragement in almost any situation: God's word.

   True, God's word is offensive to some. Some non-belivers may not like what it says. But I've found if someone is down, and you are not shoving the Bible down their throat, they are more open to hearing God's word if you've already shown you care about them. That doesn't mean you just pull out your Bible and begin reading. It means you can give them the message of the word without necessarily giving them the reference. If this encourages them and they ask where you found that wisdom, you can tell them.

   I cannot count how many times I have either encouraged someone with God's word or someone has encouraged me with it. Sometimes it's nice to have a reminder that we are not alone. Someone out there cares enough about what we are going through to take the time to encourage us. That's all it takes sometimes: a note saying, "I'm thinking about you" can make a huge difference. That's something we all can do, even if we feel we don't have this spiritual gift.

   So, do you know anyone with the gift of encouragement? How can you encourage someone each day?

Teaching: Spiritual Gift Series

   Teaching is the next spiritual gift we find in the Romans 12 passage. Some examples of teachers in the Bible were Paul, Elijah, and Jesus. It is also a gift that is very near and dear to my heart as I went to school to be a teacher. 

   In the context of the passages we find the spiritual gift lists, teaching and preaching are in essence the same. Those who have the teaching spiritual gift learn the word of God. They know it and understand it enough to be able to explain it to others. It seems like it wouldn't be that difficult to do, but teachers need to take the knowledge and explain it in a way that not only do students understand the material, but they also remember it. 

   There's a quote that my parents introduced to me on a magnet they got me which says, "I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you." The Bible is more than just facts. Yes, those are in there. But if all we do is memorize the Bible without understanding it or letting it change us we miss getting to know God. While it's true that we will never completely be able to understand all of God, that shouldn't stop us from getting to know him. It shouldn't stop us from wanting to grow in our relationship with him. To do that, we need to know more than just facts. We need to understand the word and apply it to our lives.

   That's where teachers come in. There have been many times I read something in the Bible that I don't quite understand or know why it is in there. That's when I draw on the knowledge of others by either asking someone I know or by looking on the Internet for a website that can explain it better. The people who write those articles, or answer the questions I have, that help me are teachers. They understood the word and explained it to me. 

   This is why the gift of teaching is so important. When we don't have the answers, we have someone we can turn to. Yes, we can always go to God with our questions; but it's also nice to know there are people out there smarter than us, or more experienced, who can explain things we don't understand.

   So, do you know anyone who has the gift of teaching? How can you understand God better?

Serving: Spiritual Gift Series

  Jesus came to serve and not be served. In Romans 12 we find the next spiritual gift which is serving. Some examples of people who served others in the Bible were Ruth, Joseph, Martha, Paul, and Jesus. 

   When you think of the word serve what do you think of? Maybe you think of a waiter serving you food. You could think of Jesus washing feet. You may think about one of the five love languages, which is acts of service. Or you could think of making a great play in a sport and saying, "you got served!"

   That last one was a joke. To serve means to put aside your own needs for the needs of others. If you have ever worked in the food industry, or any job really, I'm sure you have served others at times you may not have felt like doing so. Serving is not always easy to do. Some days are hard and we are tired but we are still called to serve. 

   There are some people to whom service just comes naturally. These are the people who have the spiritual gift of service. While we are all called to serve, these people see a need and fill it before being asked. They don't complain or tell others about what they did to make themselves look good. Most of the time, these people would rather be in the background; at least that's what I've found to be true most of the time. 

   Sure, we all trip up at times and our pride gets in the way (prime example: Martha). But we know in the end whom we are serving others for. When we serve, we are not serving for our own good or the good of others, though those reasons can be perks. When we serve, we are serving God. God sees all our efforts and cares about what we do for others. He especially sees when we do things for those who don't thank us or could not repay us. I mean, just look at what Jesus did. He served us by dying on the cross and we could never repay that!

   So, do you know anyone with the spiritual gift of service? How can you serve others each day?