But, brothers, I do not want you to go on being ignorant about the things of the Spirit. 2 You know that when you were pagans, no matter how you felt you were being led, you were being led astray to idols, which can’t speak at all. 3 Therefore, I want to make it clear to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, “Yeshua is cursed!” and no one can say, “Yeshua is Lord,” except by the Ruach HaKodesh.
4 Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. 5 Also there are different ways of serving, but it is the same Lord being served. 6 And there are different modes of working, but it is the same God working them all in everyone. 7 Moreover, to each person is given the particular manifestation of the Spirit that will be for the common good. 8 To one, through the Spirit, is given a word of wisdom; to another, a word of knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; 9 to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of healing, by the one Spirit; 10 to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the ability to judge between spirits; to another, the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the ability to interpret tongues. 11 One and the same Spirit is at work in all these things, distributing to each person as he chooses.
[Complete Jewish Bible]The scripture readings for this week share a common theme. They all talk about the presence of God in some way or another. As people who are both "of faith" and "with questions," we often look for signs from God to help us understand and to give us a sense that God is with us. An important aspect of the Apostle Paul's familiar counsel about the gifts of the Spirit is its reminder that God is with us in visible ways.
Maybe some us of are too modest to admit that we've been given gifts of wisdom, discernment or knowledge. Maybe some of us have never experienced gifts of tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy or miracles. Yet, how many of us can proclaim that Jesus is Lord? Paul tells us that the only way we can proclaim those words is by the power of God's spirit in us. God is present in our proclamation. And in that proclamation we can experience the presence of God in our lives in a very real way--through our boldness and courage to let others know that God is with us and for us.
God, thank you for the gift of your spirit, empowering and enabling me to proclaim you as Lord. Amen.
Tom Jolivette
Executive for Client Development, Kairos and Associates
Master of Divinity , 1980
1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.
2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak.
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord;
6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.[New Revised Standard Version]
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