If someone says, “Tell me about yourself,” what do you say?

If someone asks, “What is your spiritual gifting,” how would you answer? 

I would respond, “I am a Christian wife, mom, daughter, and grandmother, and God called and gifted me to teach his word.”  

I’ve been teaching the Bible for a long time now and this week I will step into a new beginning. I’ve been teaching a Bible study for more than three decades and I am stepping away from that effort to focus on my online Bible studies. 

The week after Easter

Jesus was meeting with his disciples in the Upper Room for the Passover meal. He told them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). Then Jesus was arrested, tried, crucified, buried, and, on Sunday, rose again.  

Everything about the disciples’ lives changed after Easter. They saw the risen Jesus and knew with confidence that he was their Messiah. They would soon receive the Holy Spirit and realize all that Jesus had gifted them to accomplish for their kingdom work. 

Jesus had told them, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.” The words of Christ are still his teaching to his disciples today. The reality of Easter has changed our lives as well. 

Are we doing the “works” Jesus has enabled us to do? 

How has your Christian faith changed you?

Do you ever think about who you would have been apart from your salvation in Christ? 

Would your life be dramatically different or would you simply notice subtle differences? 

Which people would be part of your life and who would be missing? 

Our salvation changed us in ways we will never fully realize this side of heaven. When the Holy Spirit entered our lives, we were “born again.” We joined a family that has been increasing in size since the days of Adam and Eve. We were given a new name and a new character. We became an eternal child of God the day we asked Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. We also became a disciple of Christ, gifted by his Holy Spirit. 

What has God gifted you to do?

One of the most important lessons I ever learned was the difference between my abilities and God’s gifting. I think every Christian needs to gain a deep understanding of what their spiritual gifts should mean to their lives and ministries. It is very possible to live your entire life as a Christian without ever entering into a powerful relationship with the Holy Spirit. 

Our ministry depends on our keeping “in step with the Spirit” as Galatians 5:25 teaches. The Holy Spirit is the amazing gift of God’s counsel, teaching, understanding, and calling. That’s why Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” 

Jesus can continue to minister to people of every nation because Christians allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, producing the works that Jesus does through them. 

• People are still healed by Jesus Christ.
• People are still taught by Jesus.
• People are still brought to faith in God through Christ.
• The gospel message still changes hearts and lives.

Why do you need to know what God has gifted you to do? 

God’s gifting through the Holy Spirit is the way Jesus will continue his earthly ministry through your life.  

You have heard a Christian say, “I could never . . . .” That should actually be a statement of confidence when it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit. The key to allowing the Holy Spirit to work through your life is understanding that his work is not our own; it is his work. The work of the Holy Spirit in your life is something “you could never do.”  

If you limit the Holy Spirit to your abilities, you will never fully understand the spiritual gifting of God to use your life for his kingdom purpose. The point is not what you are able to do but what Jesus is able to do through you.  

If you will serve God in your gifting, you will come to understand the Presence and power of God in your life. You will be blessed to know the reality of Jesus at work in and through your life. You will come to have a daily, dependent relationship with the Holy Spirit of Christ. Jesus didn’t submit to the cross simply to be your Savior. He also wants to be your Lord and Master as you serve him through your gifts. 

Gifted to teach

Teaching God’s word has been my joy for almost forty years now. I began teaching before I understood what a spiritual gift really was. I taught children and was very comfortable sharing the Bible with them. Then, one day, I was asked to teach a class of women. 

It’s a long story, but suffice it to say that I had every intention of saying no and sticking to my class of boys and girls. To this day, I’m not completely sure why I ever said yes, except that God led me by the hand to step into that role. 

I was a young woman and utterly terrified that first Sunday. I had seven women in my class that day. I had five women the next week. It was a rough beginning but it was the path God was calling me to take. A friend had taught me that, when God calls you to a ministry, you can count on him to gift you and equip you to fulfill his calling. For decades now my friend’s teaching has been truth in my life. 

I’ve been teaching for a long time now and I often tell people that if someone had told me that one day I would stand up in front of a large group, wear a microphone, and teach the Bible, I would have told them they didn’t know me very well. I would never have chosen the path that God placed me on, but I will always be grateful. Teaching was God’s calling on my life. He led me and equipped me to do something I would never have chosen to do myself. 

Some people think it sounds arrogant to say, “I have been gifted to teach,” but it is actually the exact opposite. The fact I am gifted to teach has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the work of Jesus in my life. The only credit I can take is that I learned to present his word with a desperate dependence on his Holy Spirit to do the teaching. I am simply a willing voice who wants Jesus to speak through me. 

The good days are when I teach Spirit-led lessons. Honestly, there have been “not-good” days when I got in his way. It is easy to know the difference. We will never use our gifting perfectly, but that doesn’t change the fact we have been perfectly gifted. 

What are you gifted by the Spirit of Christ to do?

If you are a Christian, there is a specific answer to that question and you need to know it. 

This is a spiritual gifts tool my husband Jim developed. After you have prayed and opened your heart to God’s leading, carefully work through this online spiritual gifts assessment and prayerfully ask to understand how the Holy Spirit has gifted your life. 

God has called you to serve him, and you are equipped to fulfill that calling.  

Join centuries of Christians who found new beginnings by discovering their spiritual gifting. Jesus wants to continue his earthly ministry in and through your life.  

Paul wrote, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).  

If you are a Christian, you have been gifted to serve. 

Do you know what God has gifted and called you to do?  

It could be that the Lord has a new beginning for you too.