GIFTS

My children have a lot of great talents!! My son is an amazing actor and singer. My twin girls have such beautiful voices! I love to hear them sing, however, they get super embarrassed whenever I ask them to sing for me. They don't share their talents because they get scared about what others will think. I sometimes get really frustrated because all I want is to hear them share their voices with everyone! I think it would be such a blessing for others to hear them sing.

This reminded me of the gifts the Lord has given me. Since I was 6 years old I've had the most realistic dreams. I thought everyone dreamt like I did. I can remember the first dream the Lord blessed me with. I was riding a big wheel with my cousin Tina. (Some of you might remember those LOL) Anyhow we walked up a long stairwell into a room. The room had a full closet mirror. I asked my cousin if she loved God, she said, "yes".  She asked me if I loved God. I looked over to the mirror and saw Jesus' face slightly tilted to the right, thorns on is head, and he looked at me and said. "Do you? Do you love me Annette?" I froze with fear and shouted "YES!!" and booked it down the long stairwell. 

Fun fact- I didn't know much about Jesus as a girl. The religion I grew up in focused more on saints, so this dream was very hard for me to understand back then. It wasn't until a few years ago I was reading a passage in the Bible that made the hairs on my arms stand up. It was John 21:15-17

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”

OKAY PEOPLE.... I immediately thought back to that dream I had when I was 6 years old, and I was freaking out! This was God's confirmation to me. His solidification that he is the one who loves and gives spiritual gifts.

Sharing this dream is really scary for me, even 30 years later. Like my children, I wonder what others will think of me. Will I embarrass myself? If I am honest I always felt like people would think I was a little crazy with the dreams and songs the Lord would give me. The more and more I think about it, people thought his disciple were crazy too! 

I don't believe for a minute God ever wanted us to hide or conceal the gift he gives any of his children. The Bible tells us this in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20:

Don't quench the spirit, Don't despise prophecies. 

I will not be ashamed to say that the Lord has given me the gift of prophecy. This isn't prophecy like how we think of the world. The gift of prophecy was put this way when I took a spiritual gift test my church encouraged us to take.

"The Greek word for the gift of prophecy is propheteia which is the ability to receive a divinely inspired message and deliver it to others in the church.  These messages can take the form of exhortation, correction, disclosure of secret sins, prediction of future events, comfort, inspiration, or other revelations given to equip and edify the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:3-4, 24-25).  Again, they do not constitute the authoritative Word of God, but are the human interpretation of the revelation that was received.  They are spoken in human words through a human mind which is why they must be tested against the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).

The Holy Spirit gives the gift of prophecy to some believers to make God’s heart known and to edify the church.  This gift is for the benefit of both believers and unbelievers and is a sign that God is truly among His church (1 Corinthians 14:22-25).  Those with this gift are sensitive to both the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the needs of the church body." - spiritualgifttest.com

I am so thankful for a church that thrives in helping our congregation defining their spiritual gifts, and placing them where they can best serve God. After all, isn't that what we are called to do?

"Don't hinder his greatness because of your fears"

Family, I encourage you to take your spiritual gift test and see what Gift the Lord has blessed you with. Then find out how you might be able to serve his church with your gift. And don't be ashamed of using that gift as the Lord calls you too. Don't hinder his greatness because of your fears. Far to long I've let that be the case in my life. Praying that you find your spiritual gift exciting and a blessing to God. 

To take your spiritual gifts test. click the link below.
 https://spiritualgiftstest.com/tests/


God Bless Family