Pentecost

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

“God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel,
clear understanding,
simple trust,
healing the sick,
miraculous acts,
proclamation,
distinguishing between spirits,
tongues,
interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.”

After Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday he spent a little over a month on earth with his disciples teaching and preparing them once again before his ascension to sit on the right side of God’s throne in heaven. When Jesus ascended he left his followers the gift of the Holy Spirit to comfort and convict us. The Holy Spirit comforts us in our time of distress and also convicts us when we are headed in the wrong direction or doing the wrong thing which leads us to repentance and back to righteousness. In the scripture above we are told that as followers of Christ we all have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, but not all have the same gift and each is used according to His purposes for his children and His kingdom. I wonder what Spiritual gifts from the list above you see in yourself and each other?

Take time as a family to pray, discern, and discuss with each other what unique and individual gifts you all see in each other.  Then take a minute to reflect on how God is using you and your family to serve Him and those in your midst through the spiritual gifts you’ve been given.

Pentecost literally means fifty days after Easter and it’s the day the church celebrates receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. The liturgical color for Pentecost is red. You can read the story for yourself in the Bible found in Acts 2:1-21 about how the gift of the Holy Spirit was given on Pentecost.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them with the fire of your love.

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