What do you do?
I've read in the Bible that God has gifted his believers with spiritual gifts. There are a few places where this is mentioned, but for sake of brevity, let's focus on just 1 Corinthians 12. In this passage there is a list of spiritual gifts: administration, apostle, discernment, faith, healing, helps, knowledge, miracles, prophecy, teaching, tongues interpretation and wisdom.
This is quite a list. And there are a few things on the list I have never seen manifested in any of the church people I've come into contact with in my short (read - 54 years) life. I would love to have run into a real healer. I see the healers on tv and, well..., I just don't believe it. I want to have faith, but I cannot muster it up for the guy with the giant comb-over or whoever else is charging big money for the healings.
It seems to me most people who believe in the gifts of the spirit and most people who believe they possess one or more of these gifts are fairly "out there" about them. I can't tell you how many people I've met who have been gifted by teaching or knowledge or administration or discernment or faith. Yep, they are out there. I'm glad they know their gifts and I'm glad they are proud of them. I'm also glad they are willing to use them. Hopefully they will use them to serve others and not themselves. I can always hope.
I've never been proud or happy about the spiritual gift I believe I have. It scares me. When I've shared it, people don't care much for me. I was thinking about this while I was away from church and prior to returning to an organized church. I decided, I'm not going to share my spiritual gift with anyone in the church. While pondering this decision I spent time l discovering what happened to other people gifted similarly.
Isaiah: suffered martyrdom by being sawn in two.
Jeremiah: suffered martyrdom by stoning
Ezekiel: suffered martyrdom in the land of the Chaldeans
Daniel: Saved from martyrdom in a lion's den by angels
Micah: suffered martyrdom in Jehoram
Amos: tortured by Amaziah and then martyred
Johan: remember being in the belly of a giant fish, yeah, he lived
Nahum: died in peace (yay)
Habakkuk: died two years before Israel was released from Babylonian captivity
Zephaniah: I didn't discover how he died
Haggai: ditto
Malachi: died young
Nathan: died old, but pissed off David regarding his infidelity with Bathsheba, so I'll bet his life wasn't so much fun after that.
There are more, but the bottom line is this. Most people didn't like what they had to say.
Yep, these were the prophets. It seems, most people do not want to hear what the prophets have to say. Even if what they have to say is, "Hey, stop what you are doing. There is a train coming. Hey, you are going to get hit by a train."
I've thought, for quite a while, that my spiritual gift is prophecy. Not the kind that knows what the lottery numbers are (darn it). Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's just the kind of prophecy that mom's have. I don't think it gives me the right to say anything I want. I don't really know how to explain it. I've discovered when I share my thoughts about God stuff in God centered activities, it isn't always well received. (even when the result is exactly as I predicted) As I write this, I see how strange this sounds. As I find myself back in church and moving closer to God and spending more time with God,the visions the desire to share my thoughts with others is returning, as well. I don't like this.
Thanks for letting me share this dilemma with you. I welcome all criticism and correction on this. I'm open to your opinions. :)
I've read in the Bible that God has gifted his believers with spiritual gifts. There are a few places where this is mentioned, but for sake of brevity, let's focus on just 1 Corinthians 12. In this passage there is a list of spiritual gifts: administration, apostle, discernment, faith, healing, helps, knowledge, miracles, prophecy, teaching, tongues interpretation and wisdom.
This is quite a list. And there are a few things on the list I have never seen manifested in any of the church people I've come into contact with in my short (read - 54 years) life. I would love to have run into a real healer. I see the healers on tv and, well..., I just don't believe it. I want to have faith, but I cannot muster it up for the guy with the giant comb-over or whoever else is charging big money for the healings.
It seems to me most people who believe in the gifts of the spirit and most people who believe they possess one or more of these gifts are fairly "out there" about them. I can't tell you how many people I've met who have been gifted by teaching or knowledge or administration or discernment or faith. Yep, they are out there. I'm glad they know their gifts and I'm glad they are proud of them. I'm also glad they are willing to use them. Hopefully they will use them to serve others and not themselves. I can always hope.
I've never been proud or happy about the spiritual gift I believe I have. It scares me. When I've shared it, people don't care much for me. I was thinking about this while I was away from church and prior to returning to an organized church. I decided, I'm not going to share my spiritual gift with anyone in the church. While pondering this decision I spent time l discovering what happened to other people gifted similarly.
Isaiah: suffered martyrdom by being sawn in two.
Jeremiah: suffered martyrdom by stoning
Ezekiel: suffered martyrdom in the land of the Chaldeans
Daniel: Saved from martyrdom in a lion's den by angels
Micah: suffered martyrdom in Jehoram
Amos: tortured by Amaziah and then martyred
Johan: remember being in the belly of a giant fish, yeah, he lived
Nahum: died in peace (yay)
Habakkuk: died two years before Israel was released from Babylonian captivity
Zephaniah: I didn't discover how he died
Haggai: ditto
Malachi: died young
Nathan: died old, but pissed off David regarding his infidelity with Bathsheba, so I'll bet his life wasn't so much fun after that.
There are more, but the bottom line is this. Most people didn't like what they had to say.
Yep, these were the prophets. It seems, most people do not want to hear what the prophets have to say. Even if what they have to say is, "Hey, stop what you are doing. There is a train coming. Hey, you are going to get hit by a train."
I've thought, for quite a while, that my spiritual gift is prophecy. Not the kind that knows what the lottery numbers are (darn it). Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's just the kind of prophecy that mom's have. I don't think it gives me the right to say anything I want. I don't really know how to explain it. I've discovered when I share my thoughts about God stuff in God centered activities, it isn't always well received. (even when the result is exactly as I predicted) As I write this, I see how strange this sounds. As I find myself back in church and moving closer to God and spending more time with God,
Thanks for letting me share this dilemma with you. I welcome all criticism and correction on this. I'm open to your opinions. :)
