Spiritual Gifts, 26

 ~ The Spiritual Gift of Pastor ~

Opening Comment  ~  “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:16-18). 

Category  ~  We are still in the broad classification of grace gifts which I think of as the medical community.  The Gift of Pastor could be considered the spiritual General Practitioner or Primary Care Physician. 

Definition  ~  Those with the Gift of Pastor are the shepherds of local flocks of believers.  A shepherd is concerned about all aspects of the sheep. Thus a pastor is a self-sacrificing servant striving to provide all that his sheep need for health and vitality (spiritually and all other ways).

Scripture  ~  “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Closing Comments  ~  “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.  Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.  Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.  Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine.  Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16).

“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

* * * * *

Question – Jesus, 99

 ~ Regarding Purpose ~

Introduction  ~  This series is about questions involving Jesus.  Some were asked by individuals involved with Jesus Christ while He walked on earth.  Others are questions that Jesus Christ asked others.  We will look at questions on about 130 topics (some may split into two or more posts).  Even so, it is far from an exhaustive list. 

Scripture  ~  “And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.  Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.’  Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed Him.

“But Jesus said to him, ‘Friend, why have you come?’

“Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.  And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

“But Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?’

“In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, ‘Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.  But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.’

“Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled” (Matthew 26:47-56).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

* * * * *

God Is My… (Psalms), 66

 ~ God Is My God, 2  ~

Introduction  ~  Previously from July 16, 2017 through January 6, 2019 ALN posted a series of 60 posts of “Jesus is…,” and now we look exclusively at who “God is…” from the Book of Psalms.  While not a complete list these posts occur are in the same order they are in the Psalms. 

Passage  ~  “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!  Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

“For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods.  In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also.  The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.  For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand “Psalm 95:1-7).    

Previous Passage  ~  “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.  Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray.  My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up” (Psalm 5:1-3). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

* * * * *