Good Morning Spirit-Filled, Spirit-Led, Purposeful Followers of Jesus! I thought God was leading me to a blog this morning that I asked Him to write. And He is. However, I always check the Harvest Connection blog before writing the blog. And, well, today gave me a fresh word for me, you and us! PTL! He is always speaking, guiding, and will redirect as we stay open, listening and available for Him to do so. And such is the case today. My devotionals may flow from the Connection Blog? We'll see, but lets start with that as they discuss the Holy Spirit's gifting and equipping believers. Lord, Come! Speak! Lead us to Your perfect plans. Thank You for Your love, gifting, equipping and empowering Spirit in us! Your Kingdom come and will be done today (and always) as we spend some time with you and seek your plans to follow. Speak to our hearts today! Thanks! Amen!
So most of you know that God has had me fixated on a few things for several years that He wants to bring alive through you and our Body of believers. Mainly that we are all custom made, custom gifted and placed where He wants us to be His hands and feet for such a time as this. We even discussed this yesterday a bit. He knew you before you were formed in the womb. All the days of your life are written in His book. He has custom plans just for you and they are age and circumstance appropriate for each day of your journey to become more like Jesus and growing into your fullest potential in Christ. And Jesus is the key! He draws us and as we come to faith, we receive His Holy Spirit as a sign and seal of our faith, The Holy Spirit brings custom gifts to each of us in alignment with who we are created to be and Christ's plans for us. The Holy Spirit trains us, guides us, corrects us and works at transforming us into Christ's Image. He equips, empowers and enables us to be about who we are created to be and what we are created to do. How cool is that! That's Jesus' easy yoke as we come to Him and stop striving in our own strength but allow Him to have His way with us and use us for His glory. I have found such rest for my soul, joy and peace as I still myself, die to self and allow Him to lead. He does have great plans for me, you and us as His gifted, gathered, empowered and sent people! Amen!
We have moved from the Become Me in '23 and Become More in '24 challenges where we worked on becoming who we are created to be and then doing more of what we are created to do as we say less of me and more of Christ. He has now led us to the Come Alive in '25 Challenge. What's that? That is letting go and letting God lead us to true life in Christ and allowing Him to use us to bring life to a dead world around us. Revival and new life are on the horizon as we cooperate with his Spirit and follow Jesus well. Are you in? Talk to me or Sarah about next steps in your journey. May we Come Alive in '25!
I believe God is leading us to explore our spiritual gifts and learn how to step more fully into them this year. Gifts are given to help you become who you are created to be and do what you are created to do. That is building God's Church, encouraging and spurring each other on and to bring new life to outsiders and help them become disciples of Jesus. As we do this better and more we will become that dynamic movement of God that the bishop has challenged us to become. We are God's Good News Delivery Company. We need each other to do our parts. Soon we will begin discovery and training opportunities with spiritual gifts and our God given roles. I expect several groups doing this over the next month or so and then learning throughout '25 and beyond how to utilize the gifts we have been given and use them to fulfill our created purposes as His team of purposeful followers. I will not force anyone into this discovery and learning opportunity. It's up to you to seek God and see if He is leading you to that. I'd think He wants that for many of us. Reach out to me and let me know of your interest and we will try to schedule some trainings that fit your schedules. Know this, God wants to bring you and our church alive in '25 and this is the next step for that to happen.
Now, pray and invite the Holy Spirit in, spend some time with God and the Connection blog and see what He is saying to you. He does have great things ahead for you as we work together to grow into our fuller potential and God's greater things! PTL! What a great adventure lies ahead! And know this, I believe as we remain humble and seeking, He will lead us to at least 30 new people this year. Who is He leading you to? Who are you gathering, processing and serving with? Let us commit wholeheartedly to seek God, His plans and to allow His Spirit to teach us and lead us to some great and lasting fruit! Amen!
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January 13 - The Holy Spirit Gives Gifts and Equips for Ministry
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Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have (1 Corinthians 12:1, 4, 7, 11).
One of the marks of God on a believer is that through the power of the Holy Spirit He gives spiritual gifts to strengthen them and the church. There are different kinds of gifts and God decides what gifts to give, when to give them, and how they will be used. These gifts are driven by the power of the Holy Spirit and manifested in the lives of ordinary believers. The Holy Spirit uses these gifts to strengthen the faith of the individual believer, build up the church, and impact the lost as He sees fit. He gifts and equips all of us in different ways to facilitate any aspect of ministry needed for the advancement of His Kingdom.
Holy Spirit, would You enable every believer to see how You have uniquely gifted them and that You want to use these gifts in their lives? Reveal to our church how You are using these gifts to build up Your body, the church! Empower each believer to continually exercise these spiritual gifts for Your glory!
--Adapted with permission from The Summit Church (thesummitchurch.org) we are inviting you into 21 days of prayer and fasting at the beginning of this new year! Each day will focus on a different biblical attribute of the Holy Spirit.
The founding pastor of Summit Church is Bill Elliff, who is now the pastor Emeritus and serves on the Executive Leadership Team of OneCry (onecry.com). You can find one of Bill’s books, The Essential Presence at prayershop.org.
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I believe these devotionals flow from this:
Sarah Young
ODB:
Reflecting on why people tend to be entirely convinced they’re right—even when they’re not—author Julia Galef suggests that it has to do with a “soldier mindset”—where we’re focused on defending what we already believe against what we see as threats. Galef argues a more helpful mindset is that of a scout—someone focused not primarily on eliminating threats but on seeking the complete truth: comprehending “what’s really there as honestly and accurately as you can, even if it’s not pretty or convenient or pleasant.” People with this outlook have the humility to continually grow in understanding.
Galef’s insights bring to mind James’ encouragement that believers adopt a similar mindset—one where they’re “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). Instead of being driven by knee-jerk reactions to others, James urges believers in Jesus to remember that human anger doesn’t lead to God’s righteousness (v. 20). Growth in wisdom is only possible through humble submission to His grace (v. 21; see Titus 2:11-14).
When we remember that each moment of our lives is dependent on God’s grace—not on us—we can let go of a need to always be right. And we can rely on His leading for how to live and care well for others (James 1:25-27).
By Monica La Rose
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What examples have you seen of a spirit of humble willingness to learn and change? How can you cultivate a willingness to learn from others?
Dear God, please help me to surrender the need to always be right in exchange for the gift of unending learning as I journey with You.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
When James warns that believers in Jesus should be “slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (1:19-20), the context suggests he has in mind angry outbursts. Instead of lashing out at someone in anger, believers ought to be “quick to listen, slow to speak” (v. 19). Outbursts of anger fall short of “the righteousness that God desires” (v. 20). It’s impossible to aim at how God wishes us to live our lives if our tempers are leading our behavior. Instead, we ought to humbly depend on Him and His standards for a life of service (vv. 21, 25). James even goes so far as to say that “those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless” (v. 26).
Monica La Rose |
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Upper Room: Like A Mother
The Lord said, “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” - Isaiah 66:13 (NRSVUE)
My doctor told me I needed a medical procedure. I dreaded having it, and as the day came closer I became more and more afraid. On the day of the procedure, I wore a T-shirt that had belonged to my mother. Feeling its soft material on my shoulders and arms, I remembered how my mother used to put her arms around me. When I was a small child and not feeling well, she would rock me and sing to me.
As the doctor gave me the anesthesia, the memory of my mother comforting me reminded me that God also comforts us. I remembered scripture from the worship service that past Sunday: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.” I went to sleep feeling calm and peaceful as I once did in my mother’s arms.
Today's Prayer
O God, help us to turn to you for comfort when we are afraid. We pray as Jesus taught us, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:9-13, NIV). Amen.
Joyce Meyer
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- Praise Jesus Christ for his grace and beauty.
- Thank God for reproducing the beauty of Christ’s character in you.
- Confess anything in your life which is displeasing to God.
- Commit yourself to pleasing him in every way.
- Ask God to help you live a life worthy of the Lord, to please him in everything you do, and to bear fruit in every good work (Col. 1:10).
- Pray that all God’s people will be able to stand against the principalities, powers, and the world rulers of darkness that seek to control the lives and destinies of people.
- Pray that they may put on the whole armor of God and may pray in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers and requests (Eph. 6:10-18).
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Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2025 is a free devotional published daily by OneCry Prayer. Find more resources at www.onecry.com |
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