“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” – 1 Corinthians 12:7

The Holy Spirit gifts every believer to accomplish the good works God has prepared for them to do. He makes possible what isn’t possible with our own natural skills, abilities, and talents. And the Spirit gives these gifts for the good of Christ’s bride – the church. Of course, we must use them for that good to actually happen.

Every believer has at least one gift that isn’t part of their natural or learned knowledge, skills, and abilities. If Jesus is your Lord, you’ve got something supernatural available to you – whether related to knowledge, wisdom, teaching, encouraging, helping others, showing mercy, leading, etc. Something that helps you do whatever God is calling you to do to serve Him and His church. Figure out what God has prepared for you to do and you’ll find the place where your gifts will be used. Don’t figure that out and miss out on a major path of obedience, blessing, and the experience of walking in God’s will.

The way the Spirit gives gifts is neither random nor democratic. It isn’t based on luck or personal preference. The Scripture states that it is as the Spirit determines. Our gifts vary, but they all matter. They’re all needed for the body of Christ to function as it should on earth. The specific modes of service to which we’re called vary, but they work together, if we do what God has prepared for us to do. Are you? Are you serving the Lord with all that is in you, including those gifts placed there by the Lord Himself? #FollowJesus

“And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them.” – Ezekiel 39:21

Note the certainty of God’s promise. He WILL set His glory among the nations. That in itself is amazing to contemplate, and you should contemplate it. His glory isn’t just reserved for a few nations or ethnicities. His glory will be seen, known, and worshipped throughout the whole of His creation. It is God’s heart for people from all nations, tribes, languages, and ethnicities to praise and worship Him, trusting on the Lord Jesus Christ. God will be glorified all over the planet as He draws followers of Jesus to Himself.

One important, and under-appreciated, way God does this is through delivering His righteous divine judgment on rebellious people and nations. God is explicit that while His glory is revealed in many ways, one way is through judgment. This may not be a popular thing to talk about, but a just God is absolutely glorified by just judgments and just punishments delivered to sinful people and wicked nations. Throughout history, God has poured out His just judgment in stunning ways, with the greatest still to come when King Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead.

However, when that final glorious judgment comes and Jesus sits upon His throne of judgment, it will be too late for anyone who hasn’t already put their faith in Him. God’s final judgment will be the most glorious judgment and will certainly be seen by all, but it will be too late for anyone to change their fate by coming to salvation. Thus, God is also glorified in smaller localized judgments, hard and harrowing things that reveal God’s truth, purity, holiness, and justice. These are invitations for people to repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Explain this and encourage people to accept that invitation, particularly when they ‘e struggling to process a divine act of judgment. Invite them to #FollowJesus

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.” – Ezekiel 37:1-2

Does this Labor Day find you feeling a bit like that pile of dry bones? Worn out, exhausted, numb, struggling to get up and get moving?

Hopefully not! But if you are feeling a bit dry or lacking in mental, emotional, or spiritual vitality keep reading Ezekiel 37. God restores and revives those dry bones by having Ezekiel speak God’s Word over them and pray for God’s Spirit to renew them. Understand that God can revive and restore you by the very same means. The Word of God and the Spirit of God nourishes, nurtures, refreshes, restores, and revitalizes God’s people when we’re felling weary, broken, and completely dried out.

God’s Spirit breathes life into God’s people, even when we think there’s no hope. If Jesus is your Lord, then God’s Holy Spirit lives in you and He can bring you a season of refreshment like no other. The most likely way God’s Spirit will do that is through a deeper encounter with God’s Word. So, if you aren’t already in Scripture every day, reading or listening to whole sections for yourself, get started. Get a plan and start reading or listening to God’s Word. Meditate on what you read or hear. Understand and apply God’s Word to you aching, sore, wounded, and shattered places.

If you think you’re too weary to read the Bible, pray, and spend time with God, then you’re actually too weary NOT to do those things! Seek God in His Word. Let His love, grace, and mercy heal you in Christ Jesus. Let His Spirit fill you until you’re no longer feeling like a pile of dry bones! #FollowJesus

“But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” – 1 Corinthians 8:9

If you are in Christ, then you have tremendous freedom! You’re saved by grace, sanctified by grace, united with Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Your salvation isn’t dependent on meticulous following of countless rules and laws. You are free in more ways than you probably realized. However, the way you exercise your freedom must always be submitted to the Lordship and glory of Jesus Christ, just like everything else in your life.

What does that mean? It means that in Christ, you’re free to lay down your spiritual rights and freedoms for the good of other believers. The exercise of your freedom – whether it’s about what you eat, what you drink, what you wear, where you go, what you read, listen to, or watch – must be self-limited for the good of less mature believers around you. Exercising freedom in a way that intentionally shocks, provokes, confuses, or divides other believers isn’t evidence of your theological maturity, it’s sinful.

The reality is that things which are biblically permissible can also be sins for those who can’t control themselves with those things. They can be sins for those utterly convinced they are sins. In such situations, the Christ-like use of your freedom isn’t to indulge whatever it is in front of that person. The Christ-like use of your freedom isn’t to argue them into submission with the truth of their freedom in a way that damages their fragile, as-yet-undeveloped faith. The Christ-like use of your freedom is to exercise your Spirit-given self-control in their presence. So, take care and #FollowJesús

“Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.” – Ezekiel 22:27-29

God delivered this word to ancient Judah, of course. He condemned the corrupt, greedy, self-serving political class. He condemned the lying religious class and numerous false prophets eager to cover for their sins. He also condemned the everyday sinfulness, meanness, cruelty, greed, and abuses of people unconcerned for the poor, the needy, the vulnerable, and the foreigners living among them.

It was certainly a powerful message to Judah, delivered to explain their looming disaster. But can anyone, of any political persuasion, honestly say that this shoe doesn’t fit today? Does anyone think God’s opinion is any different about these matters today than it was 2600 years ago?

We NEED Jesus and we need to be CHANGED by Jesus! Jesus came to rescue us from our sins and also to teach us how to live in His holiness and character. His Spirit has been given to every believer to bring forth love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In other words, the opposite of everything driving our culture today.

Transformation begins with each of us individually. It must affect what we support, what we oppose, what we endorse, what we call for, what we speak against, and what we vote for. Let Jesus transform you heart, mind, words, and actions. Then seek to transform those around you out of the overflow of that transformation. #FollowJesus