We are in a sermon series about using your gifts for the Glory of God. EVERYONE has been given some type of gift. You are good at something. Wouldn’t it please the Lord if every one of us used our God given talents for the purpose of honoring God?
Not only would YOU be blessed for using your talent, but the Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:12 that the entire body of Christ would be built up. Now in my little brain, I think that building up the body of Christ would be a GOOD thing… Don’t you???
And just think about that… With the gifts and talents that God has placed within you, you are able to build up the entire body of Christ.
Unlike some things, this particular discipline is something that brings JOY into the heart of the one who practices it, and it is also able to bring JOY into the heart of the person that you are serving.
Why not put a little JOY into your heart and into the heart of God by finding a place to serve his body (church) today? He is never more pleased than when we are excitedly and exceptionally developing and deploying our talents on His behalf.
that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight
, This says to me that love, true love, biblical love, is more than just an emotional response; that love is sitting down and going through a process of reasoning and attempting to gain knowledge, insight, and wisdom. This insight is what enables us to make right decisions. It allows us to think about the details of our circumstances, see how God is truly working in and through our situation, and then come to conclusions that will bring honor and glory to God. That is why the rest of the prayer goes like this…
so that you may be able to discern what is best
There is always a huge difference between what is good and what is best. There are always things that are good, but they are not necessarily the best for us. For example, ice cream is good, chocolate sundaes are REALLY GOOD, but I’m not sure that these are the best things for us. Likewise, many choices we make may be good choices, but they just might not be the best choices.
and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh you know this is the end result, that in and through our love for the Lord, we will gain wisdom and insight to know HOW to make wise decisions that will ultimately lead us to live lives of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Righteousness and living pure and blameless lives are what bring GLORY and PRAISE to God. As we embark on the beginning of a new year, may each of us, in love, have discernment and wisdom in making choices and decisions that will result in the fruit of righteousness.
