Gifts of the Spirit

The post I wrote yesterday about my home church, about my feelings, about what I want in a church, all of it is true.  Though I always, and will likely always struggle with questions like will I ever find a church family that can embrace me that I like too? Will I find a church family that understands my gifts?  Will they see these quirks as gifts?  Do they believe in afterlife?  Why do souls come to me to cross them over?  Why do I need to be so sensitive to someone else's struggles or livelihood.  Why is it so easy for me to see the reasoning behind our hardships or our windfalls?  How do I know things with such certainty?  Am I a freak?

I have simply been given a gift.  I struggle with it.  I get severe migraines from it.  Though, I may not like all of it, all the time, it's still a gift.  Mostly it is a gigantic dose of empathy, combined with an immense amount of integrity, and a smidge of super duper listening.  I do, I believe this is a gift from God.  I believe God speaks to each and every one of us.  I believe he is that voice inside us all, the rule follower, the voice of reason, that conscience. Some of us choose to listen to that voice.  Some of us don't.  I don't believe that makes us good or bad yet there is good or bad in all of us.  It's our choice what we listen to, what we say or what we do.  It's whether we feed the good or nourish the bad.

When it gets down to the brass tacks, I'm saying I choose to let that voice, God's voice lead me.  Right now, I'm not sure why His voice has me questioning my church home.  I'm not sure His voice wants me to go to a different church.  It's saying "Try something new. Grow.  Change.  Enlighten.  Learn."  Yet, when I ask what this "something new" is, I don't get a response.  Until I figure out what or where "something new" is, we're just treading water.

I've been wanting to share something with you.  I often speak of God Winks.  To me, these are little clues, or affirmations that I'm on the right path.  You may call them coincidences.  I don't believe in coincidence.  I believe in God.  Anyway, I had taken a Psychic Development class a month or so ago and in this class, the mentor read this passage from the bible.

1 Corinthians 12

Concerning Spiritual Gifts

12 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. ³ Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,^[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.^{[b] 11} All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Unity and Diversity in the Body

¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by^[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues^[d]? Do all interpret? ³¹ Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

That class was on a Saturday afternoon.  I went to church on Sunday morning and this passage, this very passage was our Gospel that morning.  What a wink!?!

Many believe that speaking with spirits/souls, or "predicting the future" is the work of Satan. If you'd like to sit down and talk to me about that, I'd be more than happy to speak of my faith in God with you. I love nothing more than telling of my faith once lost and now found. I also would like to remind you that there is one true judge of the living and the dead. You may think I'm crazy, "She believes God speaks to her". You can test me.  You can ask me.  I believe. You believe. When the Lord calls us home, we'll find out in the end who passed the test. 

There is so much to take away from this passage.  So much to think about.  It can be applied to family, to friendships, to marriage,  I think it might be my new favorite.  Let me know your thoughts.