Spiritual Gifts Listed in the New Testament
In the Acts of the Apostles, believers who perform miracles and healings are said to be full of the Holy Spirit; the implication is that the ability to do such things is a direct result of Spirit baptism.
In the Acts of the Apostles, believers who perform miracles and healings are said to be full of the Holy Spirit; the implication is that the ability to do such things is a direct result of Spirit baptism.
“To trust God in the light is nothing, but trust Him in the dark — that is faith.” C. H. Spurgeon
If we will merely listen to God’s instructions to us and then follow through on them, the overflow of His answer(s) will astound us!
God honors the step of faith; He honors vulnerability. To say we believe God is not the same as living as we believe. These men in Mark put their faith in Jesus on the line; they were counting on Him, utterly. That’s Biblical faith.
Being filled with the Spirit doesn’t mean God is going to change our personality! It means He empowers the obedient Christian to tell others about Jesus as He provides the opportunity — and He does it through the personality and gifts He created us with!
God builds our faith in the valleys of life. We prefer the vistas, the mountaintops, but we don’t build faith there. In fact, how do you get to the top of a mountain in the first place? You start in the valley below!
Martin Luther’s life was dramatically changed as he meditated on Romans 1:17: “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: `The righteous will live by faith.’”
Jesus’ purpose was to do the miraculous in the presence of faith. He did not then, nor does He now, cast His pearls before swine. If we know Jesus well enough, we’ll recognize His work and rejoice when it comes!
We cannot really trust God if we do not believe what He promises, just as we cannot really trust other human beings if we doubt what they say. Biblical faith involves believing the specific promises of God. We must believe God, not simply believe in God. Ask the Lord this day to strengthen your faith in His promises so that you will continue to trust in Him alone.”
Even though Satan’s carte blanche rule over man was broken at Calvary (Colossians 2:15), it’s obvious from what Paul has written that God nevertheless grants Satan and his subordinates a measure of freedom to tempt, stress, press, even afflict believers at times. God’s intention of course is that we learn to depend on Jesus, donning the full armor of God so we can recognize and resist every scheme, every attack, every temptation of the evil one, coming to maturity in Christ.