Abilities

My Question for God
How do I maximize my God-given abilities?

A Moment with God
Samson judged Israel for twenty years during the period when the Philistines dominated the land…. One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute…. Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. Then she cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" When he woke up, he thought, "I will do as before and shake myself free." But he didn't realize the LORD had left him. —Judges 15:20; 16:1, 19-20

With a man like Samson, Israel should have been ruling the Philistines, not the other way around. How ironic that a woman—certainly smaller than Samson—brought him down! The strongest do not always prevail, the fastest do not always win, the smartest do not always finish at the top of their class. God-given abilities are only maximized when they are used for God-given purposes. A dollar bill is useless if a vending machine takes only coins. Samson's great strength became useless when he used it to do something that didn't fit God's plan. Do you know what your God-given abilities are? These are sometimes called spiritual gifts. One of the first breakthroughs in the Christian life is discovering the abilities God has given you. Then when you learn how to use those gifts for him, not just for yourself, you will experience a profound divine moment. Fit your God-given abilities into God's plan, and watch your life produce great results.

Divine Promise
WHEN SOMEONE HAS BEEN GIVEN MUCH, MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED IN RETURN; AND WHEN SOMEONE HAS BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH MUCH, EVEN MORE WILL BE REQUIRED. —Luke 12:48

Accomplishments

My Question for God
I'm just an ordinary person; there's nothing special about me. Can God accomplish anything through me?

A Moment with God
The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. —Acts 4:13

Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. —Romans 12:16

This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. —Amos 1:1

Samuel asked, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse replied. "But he's out in the fields watching the sheep and goats." . . . The LORD said, "This is the one; anoint him." —1 Samuel 16:11-12

Although God sometimes uses miracles and angels to accomplish his plans, he more often chooses ordinary people doing ordinary things to accomplish something extraordinary. One day God may call you to do something extraordinary, but meanwhile get to work serving and obeying him today. Then you'll be ready when he calls.

Divine Promise
GOD CHOSE THINGS THE WORLD CONSIDERS FOOLISH IN ORDER TO SHAME THOSE WHO THINK THEY ARE WISE. AND HE CHOSE THINGS THAT ARE POWERLESS TO SHAME THOSE WHO ARE POWERFUL. —1 Corinthians 1:27

Accomplishments

My Question for God
How do I accomplish things that will last?

A Moment with God
They began saying to each other, "Let's make bricks and harden them with fire." . . . Then they said, "Come, let's build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world." But the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. "Look!" he said. "The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let's go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won't be able to understand each other." In that way, the LORD scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. —Genesis 11:3-8

Deep within the human heart lies a God-given longing for significance and lasting accomplishment. But too often we have much lower ambitions. It's easy to look out for ourselves. It's more difficult, more costly, more significant to look out for others. If our ambition is merely to look out for ourselves, we waste the opportunity for our accomplishments to last into eternity. Sadly, we become like ants who build their hill on a sidewalk and proudly proclaim, "Look! It will stand forever." We must always be asking ourselves if our passion and purpose is to accomplish things that (a) glorify ourselves, which are only temporary and do not last beyond this life, or (b) glorify God by serving others, which are lasting and bring eternal rewards.

Divine Promise
THEY SHOULD BE RICH IN GOOD WORKS AND GENEROUS TO THOSE IN NEED, ALWAYS BEING READY TO SHARE WITH OTHERS. BY DOING THIS THEY WILL BE STORING UP THEIR TREASURE AS A GOOD FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE SO THAT THEY MAY EXPERIENCE TRUE LIFE. —1 Timothy 6:18-19

Accountability

My Question for God
How can accountability deepen my relationship with God?

A Moment with God
"Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?" says the LORD. —Jeremiah 23:24

You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates…. Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so all will go well with you. —Deuteronomy 6:6-9, 18

To be accountable means you have to answer to someone. To be unaccountable means you freely go wherever your desires lead. Accountability is literally giving an account of yourself—where you've been, what you've been doing, what your motives were. The one who is holding you accountable has the freedom to ask for this account from you. The purpose of accountability is not to keep you from having fun but to help you enjoy life even more by preventing you from impulsively doing something that will hurt yourself or someone else. With the right person holding you accountable, you will make better decisions that will positively impact your future. You may not always like to be held accountable; you may think it puts too many restrictions on you. It forces you to open up the dark corners of your life that you'd prefer to keep hidden. But accountability will keep you honest, happy, and on the right path. It's not always comfortable, but it's necessary. Ultimately, accountability means answering to God. If you're really going to take it seriously, you have to begin with God as your primary accountability partner. He knows all the secrets of your heart anyway, so why try to hide anything from him? Be honest with God, and tell him about your struggles. Follow his principles for living as found in the Bible. Then you'll be less likely to do something you will later regret. You will better understand what you are doing and why you are doing it when you understand for whom you are doing it.

Divine Promise
YOU WILL ALWAYS HARVEST WHAT YOU PLANT. —Galatians 6:7

Addiction

My Question for God
How can God break the power of addiction in my life?

A Moment with God
You say, "I am allowed to do anything"—but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything. —1 Corinthians 6:12

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. —Romans 12:2

You belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. —1 John 4:4

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. —Galatians 5:22-23

Who in their right mind would volunteer to become a slave, chained forever to a life of bondage? That's exactly what addiction is: self-imposed slavery. It's selling yourself into a lifetime of bondage to a habit or substance. While we often think of addiction as a problem related to drugs or alcohol, there are other addictions that are just as destructive. You can become addicted to laziness, watching television, playing computer games, eating unhealthy food—the list goes on and on. You can even become addicted to good things, like exercising too much or eating too much health food. We all have our addictions, whether they are simply bad habits or serious dependencies. Sin is the worst addiction. Like other addictive habits or substances, sin often appears alluring and attractive and promises short-term pleasure. You can easily justify giving in just this once, thinking you have things under control. But soon you realize that your "one time" has turned into a habit you can't stop. It now controls you. As with other addictions, sin often results when you lose your self-control. Ironically, the only way to recover self-control is to let God control you. His control is always for your benefit and for your spiritual growth. God can break the power of any addiction you are struggling with when you give him control of your life. It is imperative that you admit your addiction and acknowledge its destructiveness. God often works through other people to help you. It is almost impossible to overcome addiction by yourself; you need the consistent support of people who love you enough to tell you the truth and hold you accountable. But you must also hold yourself accountable to God's way of living, as written in the Bible. This will keep you close to God, and he will work in your life to change your heart and desires. Surrender to the Holy Spirit, and God will replace addictive impulses with life-affirming desires. While it is important to seek the help of others, it is only with God's help that you will have the ultimate power to overcome addiction.

Divine Promise
YOU ARE NOT CONTROLLED BY YOUR SINFUL NATURE. YOU ARE CONTROLLED BY THE SPIRIT IF YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVING IN YOU.  —Romans 8:9

Advice

My Question for God
How can I make sure I'm getting good advice?

A Moment with God
The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." —Psalm 32:8

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. —James 1:5

Then Jehoshaphat added, "But first let's find out what the LORD says." —1 Kings 22:5

What should I do? This is a commonly asked question. In an age of conflicting claims and confusing information, many people are searching for wise counsel. Maybe that's why counselors are in such great demand and advice columnists are in every newspaper. But there is a critical difference between well-meaning advice and wise counsel. God's wisdom is best because he is all-knowing. Seek knowledge and understanding from the One who knows everything that will happen today and tomorrow and every day to come. Then you will have the wisdom to weigh and interpret advice from others.

Copyright © 2008 by Ronald A. Beers.