Ah, the Christmas-time mantra: ‘Tis better to give than to receive.

But, what about this – ’Tis best to give with the gifts you have received.

We all have been given gifts by God. Are you aware of yours? Have you acknowledged and thanked God for them? Are you opening your gifts today and putting them to use?

Are Spiritual gifts the same thing as someone who is “gifted” with a talent or ability?  I believe it can be one in the same.  A great athlete who can break every sports record, lead her team to continual victories, bring home the gold…also has a chance to use her physical gifts for God’s glory. Maybe it is to inspire others to believe in themselves, because God created them, loves them and has a great plan for their life. To show thankfulness in winning and graciousness in defeat, too. Or to be the extra supportive one on the team that listens and gives others advice.

Spiritual gifts are placed on us because He knows how our whole life will play out. For some of us, our gifts are clear from a young age. Maybe it is a clear, angelic voice that stands out from the crowd at a school music concert. The crowd all thinks, “wow – that child has a gift with that voice.” What will that child do with his gift?  I look at the many talented Christian music artists, especially, who give God the glory in their words and their testimonies.  Some children are born leaders, teachers or caretakers.

Maybe our gifts aren’t discovered until later in life.  Maybe we have overcome addiction, leave an abusive relationship, experience a tragedy, or recover from an illness or accident and use our struggle journey to help others going through the same. It could be through that process that we discover our spiritual gift(s).

Some of us wish we had a particular gift. That strong voice, that speaking ability, that writing career, that aptitude for teaching others, that pastoral leadership quality or counseling trait that listens to others and provides encouragement and direction. Is there a gift you wish you had?  Maybe fear of failure is holding you back from discovering your true spiritual gift. It might take some practicing, some training, and definitely prayer to put your gift to use, even if you are unsure of it. God is sure of it. He has hand-picked these gifts for you and your life circumstances.

The current “project” I am working on is for people to discover their spiritual gifts, and then use those gifts to help someone who is grieving.  Don’t you love it when you see that a gift you bought for someone is actually being used? It didn’t get returned to the store, thrown into the back of the closet, re-gifted, or thrown away. God feels the same way. He loves to see us using the gifts he has given us…even better when we are using them to help someone else find hope and healing.

Will you help me with my project?

1 Corinthians 12:1 – Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

Step one: take the Spiritual Gifts test.   Yes, it will take a few minutes. Yes, you are busy. I really appreciate you being willing to spend a few minutes taking this test for me,  for you, and, for anyone that you may help using these gifts.

Thank you for taking this step.

Take the test at  www.giftstest.com   and comment below when you are done. I will do it, too! Tell me what your top 5 gifts are!!! (And don’t forget to follow/subscribe to this blog so you won’t miss the next follow up.)