Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Acts 6 and Psalm 74

The lesson of Acts 6 is very clear. When every disciple of Jesus responds faithfully to the call of the Lord and serves the Kingdom’s cause in the power of the Holy Spirit with his or her particular gifts and abilities, the Lord uses that to extend His kingdom on earth through the local Church. Some gifts might seem more important or glamorous, but each and every gift is precious in the cause of the Kingdom.

If our calling and gifting is to communicate the Word of the Lord so that others can be convinced of their need to repent of sin and receive His salvation by faith – that is what we must dedicate ourselves to doing. And if our calling is to the administration and financial well-being of our Kingdom-community, the Church, that’s where we must focus. If our calling is to works of feeding the hungry, providing for the needy and caring for the sick, that’s where we must focus.

We must fiercely guard against being drawn into areas of ministry that are very good ministries indeed but are not the areas to which God is calling us. We must, instead, give ourselves wholeheartedly to the ministry He has for us – wherever and whenever that may be. And when every believer in the local community is serving the Lord in that “sweet spot” that combines our gifting and our calling, the whole Church is strengthened and made healthy. Then we can become everything the Lord intends and empowers us to be!

Life application: Do something today for which you know you have a natural ability and which will make someone else’s life better. And do it in the name of the Lord and for His glory.