1 Peter 4:10 Gifts
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

By Marni Montanez

1 Peter 4:10

New King James Version (NKJV)

10. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Each of us are given a gift from God. Whatever the gift, it is given to us by the Holy Spirit and operates through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are merely conduits who allow God's love to touch those around us. He gives us a gift, teaches us how to use it and we simply watch as God changes and heals lives through the gift He has given us. A lot of times there is a primary gift we are given, but this doesn’t mean we cannot operate in any other gift at any given time. If we are lead by the Holy Spirit, He can do anything through us if we are willing. But we must be excellent in what we are called to.

In order to become more skilled at using our gifts we must practice them. Otherwise they will atrophy and become weak. The more we use our gifts the better we understand how to use them. Our gifts are fashioned with specific details that will minister in the way and time God has ordained. Remember He knows our times and every detail even before He created us.

In order for us to use these gifts correctly, we must be prepared. Our preparation begins with questions. We must ask the Author of these gifts how He wants us to use them?

Yes, there are bumps in the road and we will make mistakes, but those mistakes usher us into humility. It is when we fail that we clearly see our need to lean on God to minister through us. It is in God's word where we will learn the frame work of using our particular gift. His word is the mirror of truth and revelation. In order to use our gift for God's glory we must intertwine it with His light and Spirit and truth. Our gift is without power if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to minister through us.

Challenge: practice using your gifts. Keep spending time with God. Find out what it says about your gift in the Bible.

God bless

Marni

Go on to: 1 Peter 4:12 - Suffering for Being a Christian
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lamb-rightThe purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.