Faithbase

Your gifts day four. The beans or the background. Each of us are gifted with specific abilities and talents and as you can imagine when all these gifts and talents come together, members of the body of Christ working together, that is when we function the best. This study is designed to introduce you to some of the spiritual gifts listed in the Bible and hopefully as you learn a little more about them you'll be able to identify your own strengths. When we know our gifts and begin using them well, that is when our faith truly opens up and we begin to see a major difference in our hearts and lives and in the lives of those around us. The verse 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 11. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up just as in fact you are doing. Also James chapter 1 verse 19. My dear brothers and sisters take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. The fill. What's the point? Today's spiritual gift is encouragement. We hear the word encouragement and imagine someone offering advice and or a hug to someone going through a struggle. Thinking about offering advice or a hug causes some of us to feel compelled to reach out to someone, however it also makes some of us withdraw. Encouragement is not a gift that we all possess. After all, that's why it takes many parts to form the one body of Christ. It is not up to any one person to possess all of the gifts. However, I do believe that whether or not encouragement is a gift you were blessed with or not, we can all offer proactive encouragement. Meaning we can diffuse situations in the lives of those around us before they become a major problem. I really see this played out most with the people you love the most. Think about the person or people that you can be your true self around. You know, show those sides of yourself that you wouldn't want the rest of the world to see. It could be your parents, your spouse, your children, close friends, or family members. Just as those people mean a great deal to us, we too hold a lot of power in those people's lives as well. More power than we may realize. Today's second verse from James highlights the need for all of us to be quick to listen. That is the first piece. Listen. Watch for subtle hints in their behavior. You know your children or parents or spouse better than anyone else in the world. So often my husband and my mom will ask and say, are you okay? You just don't seem like yourself. That one statement opens my eyes to the fact that no, I'm not okay and I really just need someone to listen. Instead of being reactive to my behavior, becoming defensive and fighting back, when my loved ones offer to listen, they are proactively offering encouragement. They allow me to get whatever it is out of my system before it bubbles up into an argument or bigger problem. We should all aim to be intentional about loving the people in our lives. Even if we aren't blessed with the gift of offering deep and profound advice, just offering the listening ear or simply giving people space, that can be all the encouragement your loved one needs. The Steem. What does this mean to me and how can I apply it to my life today? To help you identify what your spiritual gifts are, there are several tools and tests that you can take online for free. Or to help you begin thinking about it, I encourage you to spend the course of this study reflecting on the following questions. Number one, what do you enjoy doing? Number two, when you hear about people helping others, do you feel drawn to specific stories about children, those living in poverty, racial equality, or something else? Number three, ask someone who knows you well what gifts they see in you. What do they think you are the best at?