Category: What Should I Do?

1 Corinthians 14:1 (NIV)
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

“We see this encouragement to pursue the gifts, ask God for them, and pray for them in two passages in 1 Corinthians. These verses tell us that it is not only permissible to seek the spiritual gifts—it is mandatory…In 1 Corinthians 12:11 Paul tells us ‘all these [that is, all the spiritual gifts he has just enumerated in vv. 8–10] are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.’ This means that the Holy Spirit is the one who decides who gets what. We don’t. But we are told to ‘earnestly desire’ spiritual gifts. Isn’t it reasonable to think that if we are responsible for desiring spiritual gifts and the Spirit is responsible for distributing them, we should ask that he fulfill our desire by granting us the gifts we want to see manifest in our lives? I would suggest that the ‘desire’ we feel for certain gifts is likely itself the fruit of the Spirit’s work in our hearts. He desires (or wills) to grant us a gift (or gifts), which awakens in us a desire for the very thing he is determined to impart.” [Sam Storms and Matt Chandler, Practicing the Power]

Prayer: Father, we call on your name for the desires that you have put in our hearts. We pray for the gifts you promised, for your purposes to be accomplished for your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “He’s The One” by Bethel. (click here)

-DP

Let’s behold Jesus again as we pray through the Nicene Creed and confess our faith in him.

Matthew 20.26–28 (NIV)
²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Let’s worship God as we sing “I Believe” by Charity Gayle. (click here)

Prayer: Father, I believe you are who you say you are. I come to you with all my concerns, trusting that you are always faithful through every season of my life. Help me to run my race well till I see you face to face. In Jesus’ name, amen.

-DP

Romans 12:3 (NIV)
³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

 “In v. 3, it says, don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought, literally don’t be ‘superior-minded.’ Don’t try to find ways to think that you are better than someone else…In ancient Rome, society was stratified, meaning everyone was ranked by class…Because everything functioned like this, people were consumed with thinking about how to climb up this social ladder.

This measure of grace, faith, and gifts God has given me, it doesn’t matter whether you think it’s a lot or a little. It’s there to be spent on this body of Christ, to help it grow, be encouraged, experience healing, feel secure, mature in faith, etc. If we always feel like the measure God has given us is short, like we don’t have much to give, Paul started ch. 12 with ‘in view of God’s mercy’—which refers to God’s generosity. It’s out of God being so extra, in a good way, that we can care for one another. Serving is our response to God’s generosity!” [P. Jason Park]

Prayer: Father, thank you that you have given us grace to serve and care for others. As I go through the day, help me to spend what you have given me on this body of Christ, in response to your great generosity towards us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “One Thing Remains” by Passion (click here)

-DP

Romans 12:6 (NIV)
⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.

“In any event, this passage implies that because gifts are an operation of grace (and are therefore neither merited positions nor merely natural talents), they are distributed to all in the community: male and female, gentile and Jew, rich and poor. This means that the non-elite in the community are not only children of God and filled with the Spirit (ch. 8), they are also full members of the functioning body with gifts to exercise and contributions to make. Implementing this reality would certainly prove to be a challenge in any culture, ancient or modern, where community participation is normally dominated by those with status or means, or both.

The use of these gifts is not only for the community’s internal harmony and holiness. The mission of God in the world is accomplished primarily because gifted participants use their gifts for the edification of the community.” [Michael J. Gorman, Romans: A Theological and Pastoral Commentary] 

Somebody needs your prayers, your words of encouragement, the message of the gospel and the love of Christ expressed through you. Once again, let’s make ourselves available to serve today.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the grace given to each of us so that we can build up and edify your church. Fill us with your love and power. Help us to fully participate by the power of the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Fullness” by Elevation Worship (click here)

-DP

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

“In churches today, people pay barely any attention to the biblical genealogies. Yet do you know how fundamentally important these genealogies were for the people in the Bible? This is what gave them their identity. They belonged to a family, a kinship group. They belonged. The important thing wasn’t what one did, but the kinship group to which one belonged…We saw that Paul’s usage of ‘calling’ does not refer to one’s occupation, but to God’s summons to be joined to his Son, and thus to his people. Within that call, we are summoned to live as God’s people regardless of our current workplace or station in life. Our primary call is to belong to God.” [Gordon D. Fee, Offer Yourselves To God]

It’s common in our society to be identified by what we do for work, our relationship status, parenthood, etc.  Let’s pray that from the eternal reality of belonging to God, flows how we live each day in the power of the Spirit in every context.

Prayer: Knowing you, Jesus, is my greatest joy and privilege. You show me who I am and how I am to live for your glory. I want to do your will. Fill me with your Spirit to love you and love others today.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Knowing You, Jesus” by Graham Kendrick (click here)

-DP