This past Sunday I was challenged by a guest speaker at our church to come to the reality that this life is not all about me. Well, for me this was no surprise, now don’t get all upset, I’m not saying I’m perfect, I know all my failures and where they hide; however, I have had numerous opportunities to practice the challenge of putting others before myself. In ministry that is just the normal progression of serving. That being said there are times in our lives that we have to put ourselves first. For instance, when I lost my vision in my left eye back in 1982 I was forced to be on the receiving end of ministry. There were families in our church who stepped up and took care of me and of our family in the way of meals and transportation of our son to school and back. I was running a daycare at the time and there were women who took care of those children as well. What a blessing to have a body of believers who practice Romans 12: 5-8. It was not easy having someone take care of me, it was very humbling to say the least, but this gave me incredible insight to how others feel when they are on the receiving end of mercy. We all have gifts that God intends for us to use. He also intends for us to look outside of ourselves, our church and family to the community at large. Your community may not stop at the mountains edge; it may extend to a foreign country. What will you do if it does? I was told once that God has a purpose for each of us and when He calls us into service in a particular area if we do not respond and do what He has asked us to do He will find another to do it. This has happened to me and I can tell you that when I realized what I had not done and that God had found another to complete the task I felt profoundly ashamed of myself. Not only had I failed my Lord and Savior, but I had lost the blessing of being the fleshly hands and feet of God, extending His touch to another who needed to feel God’s presence.  I vowed never to let that happen again. Of course I have failed on occasion, but each time I get better and better at responding to God’s call.  I look for ways to use the gifts He has given me so that they will not be wasted gifts sitting dormant.
 
WHAT ARE MY GIFTS?
 
When trying to determine your “gifts” you need to start by asking yourself this question, “What do I really enjoy doing and when do I enjoy doing it?”  You might also ask yourself, “What am I really good at?” These are ways of determining what to start looking for in your life. Ways that you might start serving others. There are also tests that you can take that will help determine “gifts” that are more spiritually based. The point is to start looking at what the world calls “talents” and realizing that these are gifts given to you by God to use for a purpose. This is also a way to discover what God’s purpose is for your life.
 
WHY ME; WHY NOT YOU?
 
Often times we get caught up in the lie that we could never live nor do what missionaries do. So we literally “buy” into the idea that if “I can’t” then I‘ll give money so “they can.” We become more willing to part with the almighty dollar than be obedient to what God is calling us to do. How many of you have sat and listened to a missionary and felt that nudging by the Holy Spirit to get involved but squashed the urges with justifications like I have a family, or work, or age, and the list goes on, your excuse here! So we take out the check book and send someone else. Remember in the last paragraph I talked about regrets and not being obedient to God’s call. Learn from my mistakes and don’t do it, or rather get out there and do it! Who do we think we are that God’s purpose should not be completed in us? Are we better than others, do we think that being a servant in some area is beneath us? All good questions, right? Why not you, if not you, who? God created us for servanthood. We are His creation and He delights in us.
 
WHERE DO I START?
 
Okay, I have officially stepped off my soap box and now I want to help you see beyond the guilt and put feet to your new resolve to walk by faith. Once we have discovered one or more of our “gifts” we need to put them to work for the Lord. What that looks like depends on your gift. You might need to start small and work up from there. It might at times stretch you beyond your comfort zone; however, when you are obedient to the call, God will honor that obedience. More often than not each time we “stretch” ourselves it gets easier. Our joy increases exponentially.
 
HAVING A SERVANTS HEART
 
It’s not always easy to be a servant. There are and or will be people in your life that will make it hard to serve them, especially family. They see and know where all your skeletons are buried. Sometimes it’s hard for family to accept that you are genuinely changing, this may even make them feel guilty. Please don’t let Satan win by stopping your walk of faith and giving into peer pressure. You are a child of the Prince of Peace, King of Kings. Live there and revel in who you belong to! He loves you beyond measure.
 
When our children were young we often heard “it’s not fair” whenever they felt they weren’t getting what they wanted. My response was almost always the same, “Life isn’t fair, so get over it.” This was my way of telling them that life didn’t revolve around them. That there is more to life than whatever their “crisis” was at the moment, to look at the big picture and how they could be involved in changing the outcome. We often talked about what a resolution might look like or how we could help in the situation. I always looked for ways to teach our children God’s character through everyday happenings. My challenge to you as you “check your pulse” this week is to start evaluating where or what your gifts are and to start walking in faith to put them into practice. Don’t be afraid to try something outside your comfort zone, the weather will be better than you think!
 
Kathi Brixey
“Wasting No Longer”
 
CHALLENGED TO THE CORE
P.O. BOX 414
LAKE ARROWHEAD, CA 92352-0414
 
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