None of us are excepted or exempted. Are we looking for and exercising the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us?
This is an excerpt from Dr. Robert A. Cook*s book, Today With The King. You can subscribe to his daily devotional readings and listen to his 15 minute radio broadcast at the website www.walkwiththekingorg.
Romans 16:1: *Phebe... a servant of the church.*
Read also Romans 16:1-27.
I firmly believe the Bible teaches that God has something for every believer to do in the local church. That being the case, how can each of us become an effective servant in the church? Here is where common sense as well as zeal come in. We must be honest and realistic about our fitness for particular tasks. For example, if the Lord hasn*t given you a solo voice, don*t press to *help* the church by singing solos. If you are not gifted in public speaking, don*t expect to be the voice of the congregation.
Dr. Ted Place, a precious man of God who has a ministry of preaching, counseling, and writing, told me that as a high school student he had gotten down on his knees one day and said, *Jesus, I want to give You my life. But I don*t have any abilities. I stammer. I get embarrassed when I try to speak in a group. I can*t sing. The only thing I can do is gymnastics. So I*m going to give you that.* The following day, he went to the park to work on his tumbling routine. When he paused, he was surprised to find an audience had gathered. The Holy Spirit prompted him: *Tell them about Jesus.* Although he thought he couldn*t, in a moment he was facing the crowd and explaining: *You*re watching me do these tumbling tricks and gymnastic exercises. I want you to know that just yesterday I gave my ability to do this to Jesus, my Savior, and I want to recommend Him to each one of you.*
Small thought here. That was the beginning of Ted*s ministry. He later learned to lead music, to speak in public, and, after seminary, to direct overseas Gospel teams. All because he had given his gift to Jesus. He became a true servant of the church just like Phebe.