Thoughts of Our Fathers (TOF)

“My friend, I ask, ‘Who do you think you are to question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way he did?’” 

(Romans 9:20 CEV).

Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experiences — these are the five things that make you, you. I call them your SHAPE.

Accepting your SHAPE — the unique way God made you that brings glory to him — means to believe that God knows best. It all comes down to the matter of trust. Do you believe that God made a mistake when he made you? Or do you trust him, knowing that he has a plan for your life? Do you believe it?

Many of us make these kinds of statements: “God, there are things I don’t like about myself. I wish I had different hair or a different color of skin. I wish I were taller, shorter, skinnier. I wish I had more talent. I wish I could do ‘that.’ I wish I looked like him. I wish I had her smarts.” And on and on our lists go. This kind of thinking is basically telling God, “You blew it! Everybody else is okay. But you goofed up big when you made me.”

When you reject yourself, you are in essence rejecting God, because he’s your Creator. When you don’t accept yourself, it’s rebellion against God. You’re saying, “God, I know better than you. You should have made me differently, with a different set of strengths and a different set of weaknesses.”

But God says, “No, I created you exactly the way you are because I want you to be you — with your strengths and your weaknesses. All of it can give me glory — if you’ll just start doing what I made you to do instead of trying to be like everybody else.”

It’s actually quite arrogant to reject yourself. The Bible says in Romans 9:20, “My friend, I ask, ‘Who do you think you are to question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way he did?’” (CEV).

Whenever we doubt God’s love and wisdom, we always get into trouble. The root behind these problems is that you don’t trust God. You don’t believe God really loves you. You don’t believe that he really has your best interest at heart. You wish he had made you something different. As a result, there’s a spirit of bitterness in you that produces frustration and keeps you from being the person God wants you to be.

But you don’t have to live that way — there is hope! Job 10:10 says, “You guided my conception and formed me in the womb” (NLT). God wanted you, and he loves you. Believe it, and then trust it!

“Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” 

(Romans 6:13b NLT).

How do you start using the spiritual gifts God put inside of you? Here are four ways to get started:
Discover your gifts. You’ve got to know what your gifts are before you can use them. Stop neglecting the fact that inside of you are some dormant gifts that you’re not even using, and figure out what God has put in you. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4:14a, “Do not neglect the spiritual gift that is in you” (GNT).
Dedicate your gifts to God. The Bible says in Romans 6:13b, “Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (NLT). Maybe you already know what you’re good at, but you’re just not using it for the Lord. You’re using it for yourself. You need to humble yourself and dedicate to the Lord every gift you have. Push all of your excuses out of the way, and say, “God, I dedicate what you gave to me back to you.”
Develop your gifts. Gifts are like muscles: The more you use them, the bigger they get. You can strengthen and develop and grow what God has given you. Any gift that God gives you can and should be developed. You get better at it by practice, studying, and learning from other people who have the same gift. I’ve learned that when God gives you something, he will give you even more of it if you use it well — more talent, money, influence, relationships, or responsibility. He says, “I can trust that person. I’m going to give that person more and more and more.”
Deploy your spiritual gifts. “Deploy” means to put into service. You get out on the field, and you start doing something. Romans 12:6 says this: “We are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we have” (GNT). What’s the best way to discover and dedicate and develop and deploy your spiritual gifts? In a small group. It’s a testing ground! If you are not in a small group, I encourage you to get connected to one this week so that you can test and develop your spiritual gifts in the safe and supportive environment of friends who will encourage you.

Would you pray this prayer today? “Thank you, God, for forgetting everything I’ve ever done wrong. I’m putting my trust in your grace. Today I accept your free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ because of what he did for me. I know I can’t earn my way to Heaven. I accept this free gift of your Spirit into my life. Live through me, and fill me with your love and joy and peace and patience. God, I accept the gift of special abilities you put in my life. Help me to discover them, dedicate them, develop them, and deploy them to be the person you created me to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

“Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” 

(Ephesians 6:17 NCV)

If you want to be able to handle temptation, you need to claim the promises of God that he has given in his Word about temptation. Everybody ought to memorize 1 Corinthians 10:13b: “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (NIV).

I’ve had many people tell me, “I couldn’t help myself. It was impossible to resist. I had no choice but to give in.” When you say that, you’re calling God a liar! God says he’ll always offer an escape from the temptation you face. It may be tough and painful. It might even be embarrassing. But there will always be a way out. God makes sure of it! That is his promise.

Satan is constantly battling for your mind. That’s where the battle happens. When God gives us an idea, it’s inspiration. When the Devil gives us an idea, it’s temptation. You choose every day which thought you’re going to dwell on.

You can change your mind by replacing the temptation with truth, and truth is found in the Bible.

The Bible says to resist the devil. How do you do that? By preparing for the temptation. Ephesians 6:17 says, “Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (NCV).

There are two things you need to do in order to handle temptation. Salvation is the first step: “Accept God’s salvation as your helmet.” What does a helmet do? It protects your head and your mind, and that’s where the battle is going on. Before you can say “no” to the Devil, you have to learn to say “yes” to Jesus Christ. You’ve got to have his power through salvation.

The second step is to receive God’s Word to use as a sword. Truth is the antidote to temptation. You can keep your Bible on the coffee table at home, but when you’re at work and you are tempted, what good is it going to do you? No good at all! You need to get the truth that is in that book in your mind.

Without a doubt, the single most effective tool to combating temptation is to memorize Scripture. If you don’t have any verses memorized, you’ve got no bullets in your gun! When the Devil comes along, how are you going to counter him? He’s not afraid of your opinion, but he does fear the truth. The sword of God is God’s truth, but it only becomes a weapon when you memorize it.

“We are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15 GNT).