LifeLift

One day Jesus spoke to the religious elite (Luke 15). The people who were in “church” every Sabbath. The ones who kept the most definitive rules and measured others on their moral compass.

They wondered why Jesus consistently did what I just mentioned- left those who thought they had it all together to befriend those whom we’re all sure don’t.

Instead of just answering the question, He told the story of a man who had two boys. One was bad, the other was “good.” The young, “bad” one actually wished his father dead. So he could get on with his life apart from the rules. Kind of like a “God doesn’t exist” thing.

The older one persisted in the rules. He kept it together.

Of course, everything came crashing down for the young one. It was predictable. The rate of depression, divorce, addiction, and even suicide is documented and backed by colorful charts with big numbers. (The elitists probably cheered or at least smirked when this happened in the story.)

Jesus wasn’t done with the story, though.

That poor “wretch” of a son came to his senses. It would be better to go back and be a simple servant, he thought. So that’s what he did. He’d become a statistic; now he needed redemption.

Turns out, his father was looking for him. And ran to him. And instead of stoning him as culture- and religious rules- demanded, the father didn’t even let him apologize.

No confession of faith. No verbal repentance.

There might not have been one. The young son wasn’t heading home to be a son; he headed home ONLY because he was hungry. Destitute. It was a shallow transformation, at best.

Until, the father...

He gave this son a ring of authority. And shoes. And a robe.

And a party.

Not to the exclusion of the relationship he had to the other son, the “good” one. But along with it. Turns out, they were all family.

Yeah. Jesus told that story to religious elitists who assumed they were IN and others were OUT, and that Jesus had missed it by seeking those who had been deemed “out.”

Look at it…

Jesus called both rebels and rule-keepers to abandon their lesser identities and embrace their roles as sons & daughters of the king. When they experience the lavish love of their Father, the natural response is to overflow that connection to others.

Everyone in the body of Christ has a special purpose, something they offer that only they can bring. Learning how to encourage people to fulfill their destiny enhances their life and it blesses the church as a whole.

Answering some of the commonly asked questions about spiritual gifts not only helps us clarify what the gifts are, but it also empowers us to serve our purpose with even more clarity and confidence.


Learn more about the project at www.LifeLift.online .

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God’s will for our lives can’t be reduced to a formula, as the true treasures of the Kingdom are found in relationship.


Learn more about the project at www.LifeLift.online 

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Discovering your purpose includes working through the areas of instructional obedience, your natural talents + created design, and— then— your spiritual gifts.


Learn more about the project at www.LifeLift.online 

Grab the paperback at https://amzn.to/2Zyvz6F 

Understanding the reason we’ve been gifted highlights their highly relational nature.

Learn more about the project at www.LifeLift.online

Grab the paperback at https://amzn.to/2Zyvz6F 

Spiritual gifts are different than natural talents, they aren’t confined to or defined by positions and titles, and they’re not constrained to the four walls of the church.

Learn more about the project at www.LifeLift.online 

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The New Testament authors spend more time defining spiritual gifts and describing how to use them than they do providing us with a definitive list as to what the gifts are. As such, and since the gifts are relational, any way in which God chooses to express Himself through us might be a venue for our spiritual gifts.

Learn more about the project at www.LifeLift.online

Grab the paperback at https://amzn.to/2Zyvz6F 

Spiritual gifts are the presence and power of God expressing Himself through His redeemed children to empower them for the work of ministry to the church and mission to the world.

Learn more about the project at www.LifeLift.online 

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We each have a unique design— natural talents, abilities, and the bent Proverbs speaks about which are given to us when we are born. Understanding that design is part of discerning God’s call on our lives.

Learn more about the project at www.LifeLift.online 

Grab the paperback at https://amzn.to/2Zyvz6F