Wednesday, March 7, 2007

How can I give God my best?

To even begin to determine how to give God our best, we have to be willing to ask this not so simple question. What are my spiritual gifts and how can I use them to have the greatest impact on the Kingdom of God? That is quite a question to ask and some might even feel like this is a question people spend most of their lives trying to answer. My response to this question is based on my personal experiences with finding God's calling on my life and I believe it can provide direction to those in search of following God's will for their lives.

I like to relate a spiritual gift to what a person is passionate about in life. I'm talking about a Godly passion that the good Lord has put on our hearts that is unique to who we are and how we think. In my life, this passion was found while attending our local church in Greensboro, NC. I can't overemphasize the importance of getting plugged into a good Bible based church. When you are serving the Lord in a local church, you start to find what spiritual gifts God has given you. The way you know it is a spiritual gift is because you'll get excited about getting involved in a specific activity and you can see the fruit of your labor. Romans 12:5 reminds us "so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." We all have a different role in the church and by every member participating, many parts are coming together to create the body of Christ. What an awesome thing to be a part of as you grow closer to God!

So I encourage you to get involved in a local church if you have not been going. Even if you are attending a church but are not serving, I encourage you to take a step of faith and go on a mission trip, feed the homeless at the shelter, sing in the choir, witness to the inmates at the jail ministry, volunteer in the nursery or maybe God is calling you to even teach a Sunday School class. So many ways to help your local church grow and in the process you are ultimately growing closer to the God of the Universe through your personal relationship with His son Jesus Christ. His best is waiting for you, all you have to do is meet Him halfway and answer the call He has put on your heart. Let's take a deep breath together and dare to tackle God's will for our lives and discover the very reason we were created in His image.

Your Brother in Christ,

Miguel "The Hitman" Viera #40

"Committed to tackling souls for Christ"

Visit www.trafford.com/06-0375 to read about Miguel's new book "Walking on Higher Ground and Awakening the Spirit Within: A Christian Student Athlete's Spiritual Journey Through the Doors of College and Beyond." To learn more about Playing for Jesus Ministries, visit www.playingforjesusministries.vpweb.com.