An Update From Samuel Montes

Dear Randy, brother in Christ,

Receive a fraternal greeting from my family and brothers of VRAE II. God bless each one of you, it is our prayer.  I apologize for being so late in replying.  We are well by the grace of God, this year we have a great blessing, there is a lot of rain, the fields are very green and thank God there will be a good harvest.

I have been busy visiting and cheering up the churches and telling them that this year we begin with the construction of our church, it is our priority.  On the other hand, the documents of Puriyninchik are on a good way.  I already have conversations with an organization who attend the disabled people, I hope to have an answer in February and start working with them.

I am grateful for the support with the donations, because everything is a blessing for the families and their children.  When I visit them, I give clothes and shoes and a Bible is given to each new believer.

We can not be happier!  Christmas At VRAE II

Greetings to the Pastor and all the congregation of the Church of Sharon, to your wife, Sarita, to my sister Connie and her husband Van and to my brother Tom and Rosa.

Oh! you asked me if I had rooms in my house, yes! We have two rooms at home.

Thank you my brother, now I understand, the real love is nothing more than the inevitable desire to help others, this is the reason for what we were called. 1 Tesalonicenses 5: 11-13.  1 Juan.3: 1.

I beg for your prayers for my health and our ministry.

Affectionately yours.

Samuel Montes

Meditation And Reflection

A place for meditation and reflection in the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Lima, Perú.

Lord, do not forsake me;  do not be far from me, my God.  Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.  Psalm 38:21-22

Request For Help With Transportation Of Donations

On Sunday, June 18, 2017, members and friends of the 2017 Sharon Presbyterian Church Mission Trip to Perú met in Room 6 of the Activities Building to pack suitcases of donations to be taken to Perú by this year’s mission team. Items packed included women’s and children’s clothing and shoes, Bibles and study materials, prayer shawls, crutches, knitted infant caps, reading glasses, toys and crafts. Eighteen suitcases, containing nearly one thousand pounds of donations were packed. The Sharon Church congregation has again provided a blessing to its less fortunate brothers and sisters in Perú.

The mission team is seeking assistance transporting these suitcases to the airport Thursday morning, July 27, 2017. If interested, please contact, Van Dale (704-577-3409 / wvandale@gmail.com) or Randy Ross (704-965-5432 / mrandallross@aol.com).

Spanish - English Bibles

Spanish - English Bible App

There are free Spanish - English Bibles and even a listening version of a Quechua Ayacucho Biblia available in Google Play for Android users.  A Spanish - English Bible in iTunes for iOS users is now available.

The apps load all the books of the Bible into your phone or tablet memory so you can use them in airplane mode, without cell phone service or without WiFi.

All are basic Bibles, but they will save weight when packing on your next Perú trip.

Bible Institute

Are You Called To Mission?

Mark 16:

Jesus Has Risen

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Called To Be A Bible Translator

Calvin Hubbard, 90, Still Works With The JAARS Group

Resource: The Charlotte Observer
By John Anderson

The JAARS family celebrated Calvin Hibbard’s 90 birthday Nov. 14.

Hibbard is among the few remaining living members of an early group that worked on Bible translation.

That work continues to be supported by the former Jungle Aviation and Radio Service, now known as JAARS, which has its headquarters on Davis Road, five miles south of Waxhaw.

JAARS uses pilots and mechanics, software developers, media specialists, maritime workers, purchasers and shippers to support those who do translation and literacy work worldwide.

Hibbard was born in Chicago on Nov. 11, 1924. He joined the Army at 18, and went to France and Germany during World War II.

He married in 1948, and together with his wife, Cornelia, went to the jungles of Peru in early 1952, where he worked for 23 years at the JAARS base in Yarinacocha, Peru.

In a series of reflections on his life, Hibbard tells a fascinating tale of devotion and faith.

He has spent the last 64 years as a member of Wycliffe Bible Translators, about 32 of those years as administrative assistant to founder William Cameron Townsend.

“Without a doubt, the greatest call of God on my life was when he put me to work as Cameron Townsend’s administrative assistant in September of 1950, just four weeks after we joined Wycliffe,” Hibbard said. “It was none of my doing, but God brought circumstances together, with the result of my serving with Townsend over a period of 32 years.

Read more...

Lessons From A Peruvian Jungle

Tommy Larner Teaches The Importance Of The Great Commission

Resource:  Baptist Press

By Tommy Larner

Iquitos, Peru (BP) -- In August 2011, I saw the Amazon River for the first time. It was while I was traveling from Lima, Peru, to Iquitos, a city of approximately 700,000 people located in the Amazon Basin of Peru. 

The city is surrounded by rivers and is only accessible by air or boat. Little did I know that during the next two years I would fly into the small Iquitos airport 13 times and with repeated opportunities to look at the world's largest river.

Every two months, my wife and I go to a jungle camp two hours outside of Iquitos to train national believers in cross-cultural missions principles. Beth and I also have been involved in two conferences for pastors and leaders in towns outside of Iquitos. One of these was down-river on the Amazon and allowed us a much deeper understanding of the life of our Peruvian brothers and sisters as they labor to proclaim the Gospel among the people living in villages in the Amazon Basin.

During the two years that we have continually visited the Iquitos area, my life has been deeply touched by the lives of those we go to teach and train. Those with whom we work in this jungle area see me as their teacher. They show me great respect, which in itself is very humbling. But as I listen to them and observe their lives, they teach me some very important lessons about what it means to follow Christ -- and I believe I learn more from them than I could ever teach them.

Several powerful traits in their lives have become obvious to me. Foundational to everything else, many of these servants of the Lord demonstrate a single-minded devotion to Christ. Jesus is at the center of their lives. They are simple and humble people who are motivated by pleasing their Master. It is common to see well-used Bibles, and prayer is an important part of their lives. In times of corporate worship they sing with great enthusiasm and listen attentively as the Word of God is proclaimed.

Read more...

Peru: Let The Fire Burn Bright

Resource:  The Baptist Standard

By Janet Ruiz

On a recent Sunday after church, the pastor brought out a small grill he bought and wanted to use. He had never grilled in his life, and I had never started a fire in my life. So, this was a new experience for both of us.

We got the coal, wood and cardboard. We tried to start the fire by burning the cardboard and the wood. That material would burn fast, but the coal did not want to light. It was embarrassing how long it took us to get the coal to fire up, but once we got it burning, it continued to burn. It made me think about the church members.

I see members who come to church, sit in a pew and leave after every service, but it is always the same people. I see no growth, no true communion between the members, and no one wanting to step up to serve. It is a bit discouraging, but the thing that sparked a flame of hope in my life was the idea that maybe the members are like the coal.

What if they take a lot more time and energy to light? We must not give up and continue pouring into them, because they might just light up when we least expect it. We have the assurance that once they light up, they will not burn out.

The problem I see is that all the people here in the town think they know about God, but because of the actions of some church members, they decide to stay away from church. They respect the pastor and his family for what they do for the community, but they do not dare step into a church service.

God placed in my heart the desire to prayer-walk the town. Talking to people, I know they want more. We must pray like never before and trust God will open their eyes. It is my desire to see a church that burns bright for God. Only then will the town be willing to hear.

Janet Ruiz, a student at the University of Texas-Pan American, is serving with Go Now Missions in Peru.

Sharon Presbyterian Church, (PCUSA) Charlotte, NC 28210 is honored to host a book signing at Sharon On Wednesday on November 6th for the new book by Ken Garfield, Billy Graham: A Life in Pictures.

Ken, former Religion editor for The Charlotte Observer, will speak to us about the book and share some stories about Rev. Graham beginning at 6:15 p.m. in the Chapel, and he will be available to personally autograph your book following his talk.

Pre-order copies of the book at a reduced price ($11 each)

Quechua Bible Welcomed In Ayacucho & Huanta

Resource:  United Bible Societies
From:  Carol Weaver of Wycliffe Information Services

Last month thousands of speakers of Ayacucho Quechua in Peru joined together to celebrate the publication of a new, updated version of the Bible in their language.

They flooded into the city of Ayacucho (also known as Huamanga) and the town of Huanta, singing and celebrating and waving banners with Scripture verses. Young and old, men and women – they all gathered in the town squares to witness the official launch of the new translation and to buy their own copies at subsidized prices.

Within a month, all the copies were sold and a second print-run is under way.

One million speakers

Peru’s one million Ayacucho Quechua-speakers have had the Bible in their language for more than 25 years, so why is this new translation being welcomed so enthusiastically? It’s because most of them now find it very difficult to understand, explains the Peruvian Bible Society:

“The terrorism in the Ayacucho region in the 1980s forced many Quechua people to abandon their rural communities to seek safety in the cities. The Ayacucho Quechua Bible was published in 1987, at the height of this conflict. The upheaval led to significant changes in the language. New terms have absorbed into the language from the Spanish spoken in the city and some old Quechua expressions are no longer used. Young people today cannot understand some of the language used in the original Bible translation.”

Read more...

Local Students At Work In Perú

Resource: The Charlotte Observer

By Jennifer Baxter

Students from SouthLake Christian Academy in Huntersville, North Carolina are working in the mountains of Peru on the school’s annual senior trip May 19-29. Seniors have been embarking on this journey since its inception in 2004.

Susan Smith, lower school principal at SouthLake, said the idea for the trip came after she and two other SouthLake staff members worked as part of a missions team in Peru, in collaboration with Scripture Union, a group working to renew Peru through the power of the Gospel. Their team was assigned the task of constructing a home for orphans known as “street boys” in the Andes Mountains, near the town of Yungay.

“The three of us thought that this project would be an excellent connection and long-term project for our seniors and our school,” said Smith.

The trip is open only to seniors and typically has an attendance of more than half of each graduating class. This year, they have the largest group to date, with 38 of their 62 seniors going. Nine parents and three school personnel also went.

The original home has now expanded into several buildings and a school. For the first five days, students were to participate in construction work that includes making adobe bricks for building. The process begins with the students mixing mud, water and straw using their feet and then pouring the mixture into molds. The bricks are left to dry in the sun for several days and will later be used to construct more buildings in the village.

The students will also dig foundations, clear land, construct rock walls and apply stucco to the front of completed buildings. Female students also develop and teach Bible lessons in the local school, while the male students organize a field day for the boys at the home.

After five days in the Andes, the students were to travel south to the desert city of Ica to visit a shantytown with no electricity or running water. The group purchases several trucks of drinking water and walks throughout the community giving water to residents who would otherwise have to wait on the city for days or possibly even weeks.

Although the trip includes a lot of hard work, the students will also take a day trip to a glacial park high up in the Andes, as well as a boat trip to the Paracas Islands, south of Lima. The islands, known as the “mini Galapagos Islands,” are abundant in sea life and rare birds.

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What Are The Pros And Cons Of Short-Term Missions?

Resource:  Got Questions

Although short-term missions have drawbacks, they can be overcome with godly wisdom, training, and heart.

The Pros:

• Short-term missionaries better understand the ministry and purpose of missions. Those who have never experienced cross-cultural missions often have wrong impressions about it. They may view missions as a glamorous ministry with thankful natives coming to Christ each day. After participating in a short-term missions trip, they better appreciate the goals and service of missions.
• Short-term missionaries become more sacrificial supporters of long-term missionaries. A short-term mission trip often increases a person’s interest in and support of missions. God may use a short-term mission trip to call a person to long-term missions. Besides going long-term, multiple opportunities await to support missions. The short-term mission trip itself strengthens missionaries. The church group brings fresh hands to work, enthusiasm for the ministry, and Christian fellowship to encourage. They can help with tasks the long-term missionaries don’t have the time or numbers to do: relief projects, tract handouts, children’s clubs, etc. Once back home, the short-term missionary doesn't easily forget the need. They often become life-long supporters of missionaries through prayer, gifts, and letters. Their passion for missions spreads to others back home.
• Short-term missions develop passion for knowing Christ and making Christ known. A short-term mission trip teaches people dependence on God. They face customs to get through, an unfamiliar language to understand, and culture shock to overcome. As they turn to God for help, short-term missionaries experience the power of prayer. Seeing God move in and through lives, they develop a love for Christ and the Gospel. This passion does not end at the mission trip’s end but should continue to energize the short-term missionary back home. By God’s grace, personal evangelism increases. Prayer and Bible study become a delight, not a duty or drudgery.

The Cons:

• Short-term missions are expensive. If cost were the only factor, short-term missions would not be worthwhile. Some people point out that the money used to fly 30 teens to Perú could be sent to the long-term missionaries there. After all, the youth group could do missions at home: passing out tracts at a park, teaching a children’s Bible club, or helping in a soup kitchen in the inner city.
• Short-term missions may not require “counting the cost." Some who go on a short-term mission trip still don’t understand the sacrifices of missions. They haven’t spent the grueling hours learning the language; they haven’t had to leave family and friends for more than a few weeks; they haven’t experienced the years of service without visible results. Besides, short-term missionaries sometimes only add to the burdens of long-term missionaries.
• Short-term missions may not have a lasting impact. Some short-term missionaries come with the haughty idea that they can single-handedly change the nation in the few weeks they serve. Without regard to the long-term missionaries, native church leaders, or even the Lord, they hand out a few tracts, hold a puppet show, or put a new roof on an orphanage. Their impact on the community fades as soon as they hop on the plane back home. Even with the proper heart attitude and goals, short-term missionaries have more limitations than long-term missionaries. Short-term missions may not provide the time it takes to learn the language and culture, build relationships, and make disciples.

Conclusion: Are short-term missions worthwhile?

God uses both short and long-term missionaries to make disciples of all nations (e.g. the apostle Paul vs. Timothy). The call and heart of both types of missionary are most important. While long-term missionaries carry out the bulk of missions work, short-term missions can lighten the load. Short-term missions are usually most effective under the direction of long-term missionaries and the national church. Although short-term missions has drawbacks, they can be overcome with godly wisdom, training, and heart.

Read more...

Easter Greetings From Argentina

Garden Of Gethsemane

Gerardo Oberman is president of the Reformed Churches of Argentina. Here's his Easter reflection...

“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden…” (John 19; 41)

This is not a casual remark from John.

In the place where they snatch the life from Jesus, in all cruelty and pain, there, there was a garden.

Where torture and hatred try to bring to silence Him who was opening up the way to the new, to light, just there, there was a garden.

Where the religious and political power came together to put a stop to the man from Nazareth who scandalized their fake morality and the corruption of their ways, in that same place there were flowers and the fresh smell of spring.

Where there was the absence of friends and disciples, where there was announcement of cowardice and betrayal, where there was denial and fear in that same place birds sang their daily praise to creation.

Where oppressors smiled and greeted the guardians of death, the breeze danced among the tress and their dance brought with it a fresh perfume of life.

Where two men in solidarity took into their arms an innocent body to place it in a tomb, there, there was a garden.

A garden would soon become the sacred place of the most marvelous subversion of all times: the resurrection.

Torture, innocent deaths, intrigues of power, oppression, darkness, they continue to be part of human history, they are present still today.

But, let us not forget, let us open up our eyes, because there, precisely there, God may have put a garden.

Gerardo Oberman/Argentina

Tr. Roberto Jordan

Under the Mercy,

Dennis A. Smith

dennis.smith@pcusa.org

PCUSA Enlace Regional, Brasil y Cono Sur, Misión Mundial

PCUSA Regional Liaison, Brazil and Southern Cone, World Mission

PCUSA Representante Regional, Brasil e Cone Sul, Missão Mundial

Sucre 2855, 3o 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina

telephone: +54-11-4787-0436

fax: +54-11-4787-0335

mobile: +54-911-6621-8944 (BBM pin 281953C5)

www.pcusa.org/worldmission

World In Prayer

From Sara Armstrong

"When I needed a neighbor, were you there?" ~ Sydney Carter

"Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language it is to say.  'My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours'. A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed." (1) Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu 

"Someday after mastering winds, waves, tides and gravity, we shall harness the energies of love. And then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will discover fire." ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: 

So many images, Lord, are flooding through my mind from the news this week.

• People burned out of their homes and communities for the second time within a few days in Victoria, Australia.
• Others flooded in Queensland, Australia.
• Thousands of Syrian refugees in UNHCR refugee camps in Jordan with thousands more waiting to flee the carnage in Syria.
• A young newly married man in England, unexpectedly made redundant when his retail chain employer went into receivership, found dead in woods.
• People protesting in their thousands in India over the abuse and sexual assaults so prevalent on women.
• Homeless people sleeping in cardboard boxes in so many of our towns and cities across the world.
• Young children abandoned in so many countries in Africa and South America and elsewhere trying to survive on the streets without education, love and protection except from each other.
• In Libya and Mali hostages and ordinary people attacked by fundamentalist militants with hate in their hearts.
• The pictures crowd each other out forming a shocking and at times overwhelmingly depressing mosaic of suffering, pain and hopelessness.

Lord, on the road to Calvary and on the Cross you took on the weight of evil and hatred with implacable Love. Teach us anew daily of the annealing and transforming power of love in the face of the most abject horror and evil. You who are Love, help us to love even the unlovely and help us know the reality that none of us and nothing is ever beyond the transforming power of love.

Other images come into focus:

• Thousands gathering for the second inauguration of President Barack Obama calling for all Americans to come together for the common good, but are we willing to listen and hear those who think and feel differently from us?
• A young, slight girl in Somalia, carrying her skeletally thin younger brother to a feeding station.
• So many disparate people across the globe uniting via their computers to stand together to take on issues of justice and harmful practices for so many who individually do not have access themselves to power and influence.  Together they are achieving changes in policy and action of even governments and multinational corporations.
• So many community groups working together to care and provide opportunities for those on the edges of our societies. Love in action rather than doctrinaire words being spouted or tweeted.
• The lady in front of me who spent so much time explaining with gentleness and humor the intricacies of releasing a shopping cart to a confused elderly gentleman at the local grocery store reminding me how unimportant my egotistic notions of being busy and time pressured are in the real scale of things. Later when I speak to her in the store and thank her for reminding me by her actions of what it is to be caring and human, I discover that on this bitterly cold day she is out buying groceries for an elderly neighbor.

Lord God, may the heat and transforming power of such loving actions fill our hearts and minds as we make often small choices in the course of our day so that as drops of hatred spread out ripples far and wide, the even more powerful ripples of loving actions and attitudes will cascade out giving life to giver and receiver and changing our communities, locally, nationally and internationally.

Heavenly Father, creator of each one of us, be close to those who suffer, are alone, frightened, in danger, without hope. As I kneel before you, let my brothers and sisters in need be with me receiving the touch of life, love and light in whatever darkness we find ourselves. Bind us as one in you.  Apart we are so ulnerable and weak. Together we are united and share our strengths and joys as well as our pain and sorrows.

Lord make us one, in You, in Love.

AMEN

(1) No Future Without Forgiveness: A Personal Overview of South Africa's Truth

and Reconciliation Commission , Desmond Tutu, C 2000.

World in Prayer is a ministry of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist

Lodi, California, USA, and is written by a team of writers representing different denominations throughout the U.S., Canada and Great Britain.

Write to us at worldinprayer@aol.com

Are We Praying Correctly?

Resource:  Got Questions

Question: "How can I be sure I am praying according to the will of God?"

Answer: Man's highest aim should be to bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and this includes praying according to His will. First, we must ask for wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). In asking for wisdom, we must also trust that God is gracious and willing to answer our prayers: “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt” (James 1:6; see also Mark 11:24). So, praying according to the will of God includes asking for wisdom (to know the will of God) and asking in faith (to trust the will of God).

Read more...

Is Corporate Prayer Important?

Resource:  Got Questions

Question: "Is corporate prayer important? Is corporate prayer more powerful than an individual praying alone?"

Answer: Corporate prayer is an important part of the life of the church, along with worship, sound doctrine, communion, and fellowship. The early church met regularly to learn the doctrine of the apostles, break bread, and pray together (Acts 2:42). When we pray together with other believers, the effects can be very positive. Corporate prayer edifies and unifies us as we share our common faith. The same Holy Spirit who dwells within each believer causes our hearts to rejoice as we hear praises to our Lord and Savior, knitting us together in a unique bond of fellowship found nowhere else in life.

To those who may be alone and struggling with life’s burdens, hearing others lift them up to the throne of grace can be a great encouragement. It also builds in us love and concern for others as we intercede for them. At the same time, corporate prayer will only be a reflection of the hearts of the individuals who participate. We are to come to God in humility (James 4:10), truth (Psalm 145:18), obedience (1 John 3:21-22), with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6) and confidence (Hebrews 4:16). Sadly, corporate prayer can also become a platform for those whose words are directed not to God, but to their hearers. Jesus warned against such behavior in Matthew 6:5-8 where he exhorts us not to be showy, long-winded, or hypocritical in our prayers, but to pray secretly in our own rooms in order to avoid the temptation of using prayer hypocritically.

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The Perú Mission Network Conference

The Perú Mission Network Conference
 Begins Today In Lima, Perú!

Please take time out of your day for prayer:

• Pray that all that are attending the conference will see and feel the peace of Jesus Christ in each discussion and decision.
• Pray that each participant will feel the love of fellowship with our Peruvian and U.S. partners.
• Pray for those that are traveling long distances and making great sacrifices in order to attend this wonderful event.
• Pray that all attending will witness and spread the love of Jesus Christ.

Gracias y bendiciones a todos! Saludos de Sara

Ghosts And Hauntings

Resource:  Got Questions

Question: "What does the Bible say about ghosts / hauntings?"

Answer:  Is there such a thing as ghosts? The answer to this question depends on what precisely is meant by the term “ghosts.” If the term means “spirit beings,” the answer is a qualified “yes.” If the term means “spirits of people who have died,” the answer is “no.” The Bible makes it abundantly clear that there are spirit beings, both good and evil. But the Bible negates the idea that the spirits of deceased human beings can remain on earth and “haunt” the living.

Hebrews 9:27 declares, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” That is what happens to a person’s soul-spirit after death—judgment. The result of this judgment is heaven for the believer (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23) and hell for the unbeliever (Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:22-24). There is no in-between. There is no possibility of remaining on earth in spirit form as a “ghost.” If there are such things as ghosts, according to the Bible, they absolutely cannot be the disembodied spirits of deceased human beings.

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What Is My Spiritual Gift?

Resource:  Got Questions

Question: "How do I identify my spiritual gift?"

Answer:  There is no magic formula or definitive test that can tell us exactly what our spiritual gifts are. The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts as He determines (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). A common problem for Christians is the temptation to get so caught up in our spiritual gift that we only seek to serve God in the area in which we feel we have been gifted. That is not how the spiritual gifts work. God calls us to obediently serve Him in all things. He will equip us with whatever gift or gifts we need to accomplish the task He has called us to.

Identifying our spiritual giftedness can be accomplished in various ways. Spiritual gift tests or inventories, while not to be fully relied upon, can definitely help us understand where our gifting might be. Confirmation from others also gives light to our spiritual giftedness. Other people who see us serving the Lord can often identify a spiritual gift in use that we might take for granted or not recognize. Prayer is also important. The one person who knows exactly how we are spiritually gifted is the gift-giver Himself—the Holy Spirit. We can ask God to show us how we are gifted in order to better use our spiritual gifts for His glory.

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