Use your gifts

This is a great follow up to what we talked about on Sunday at Hub City. Discover and use your gifts.

To Fulfill Your Destiny, Use Your Gifts byRick Warren “Each of us, as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God.” (1 Peter 4:10 TEV) Do you know what God created you for? Do you know what your destiny is? The first thing you must do to understand your destiny is to recognize the gifts God has given you to use. They include the things you can’t control: your parents, your nationality, your race, your first language. They also include your S.H.A.P.E.: your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. These are the things that make you uniquely you. Now, you are not responsible for the gifts God didn’t give you. In other words, if you are not artistically gifted, you are not expected to paint pictures like Rembrandt. But you are responsible for the ones he did give you. When you get to Heaven, God isn’t going to compare you with anyone else, but he will compare you with yourself. What did you do with what you were given? What could you have done if you had trusted God a little bit more? Romans 14:12 says, “Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” (NIV). God has given you gifts for a purpose. And you have a responsibility to be a good steward of those gifts — not for selfish uses, but for the good of others. Your gifts are not for your benefit. God gave you gifts for the benefit of other people. Ask yourself, “What has God given me for good to use for good?” Talk About It If you haven’t already, take the time to learn your S.H.A.P.E. — your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. How has God uniquely gifted you? Are there any gifts with which God has not gifted you but that you have mistakenly spent time pursuing?

Love Does - a review

This book was a complete blast to read. Love Does, by Bob Goff, is filled with unbelievable and adventurous stories. Hitch-hiking with Satan, having with world leaders, rescuing imprisoned kids... this is just the tip of the iceberg. Bob has done things with his life that are so far fetched and crazy that they inspire me to change how I live. 


But what makes this book extremely valuable is how he uses his incredible stories to teach us about God. And the picture he paints is needed and refreshing. What makes it even better, in my opinion, is that Bob isn't a professional Christian (ie. "paid minister"). 


This was the most entertaining book I've read in months, maybe years. I couldn't wait to learn more about his life and adventures. I also was reminded of our God who loves us in ways that are way beyond our wildest dreams.


I highly recommend Love Does. It will entertain you, inspire you, challenge you and lead you to a place of growth and development.

Hottest cookout ever

I think yesterday's Hub City Cookout could possibly go down as the hottest church cookout in the history of the world. Seriously, it was hot.


But in spite of the heat, the Hub City family was great. You brought a ton of food. You were able to put a smile on the face of the theater employees who came to eat the food. You made the most of the heat and had a good time. And, you may not know this, you brought so much food that you were able to give a huge food donation to The Haven!


In Acts 2 we read that the early church regularly spent time together hanging out and eating. It's part of what we're to do as the church. The Biblical word for it is "fellowship." I am thankful for our fellowship, for our community, for our church family. 


Next time we need to pick a cooler day, though.