1 Corinthians 12:3-11

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

What is your gift? What do you plan to do with your God given gift? Do you have a goal in mind to use your gift for good in this world? 

Normally at the beginning of each new year we human beings like to set goals. A lot of our goals have to do with working out and trying to lose some of the pounds that we gained in weight over the Christmas holidays. The gyms would normally be full right about now but given the current covid restrictions that is not possible. For some of us we set a target weight that we want to get to and it is only due to sheer discipline that we are able to achieve our goal. Isn’t it a fantastic feeling when we reach our target? Setting goals is easy – achieving them is another story all together. Achieving our goals in life require a lot of hard work, dedication, endurance, perseverance, discipline, overcoming temptation, turning a deaf ear to the naysayers and staying focused on the end goal.

If we look at the life of Jesus, right from the beginning of his ministry after being baptized the first thing he encountered was temptation. The scriptures say that the spirit of God actually drove him out into the wilderness to be tempted. It’s only after paying for that gym membership that all of your favourite restaurants seem to be having a promotion of some sort. Jesus’ ultimate goal was to get to Jerusalem, die on the cross, be raised from the dead to atone for our sins and then ascend back into heaven. The 3 year road to Jerusalem was not easy. The Pharisees and the entire religious establishment seemed to relentless in their persecution of him. Yet still he pressed on. Even his close friends, the disciples, didn’t understand his mission at times and they had to be rebuked on more than one occasion. That’s how life is. ‘You don’t need to lose those pounds…’ they would say, come on let’s go out for brunch.

As we all set off on the journey of life this new year let us first of all identify our God given gift. Next let us set a target for the year of how we are going to use that gift, then we set a plan in place for how we are going to get to that target and execute it. God is counting on us to make a difference in this world of ours. Let us support each other in the achievement of our goals. One of my goals is to invite as many people as possible for a coffee and a chat this year at my office. My new Nepresso coffee machine is waiting to brew a cup of coffee for you. Come and tell me about your goals. Let’s make this the best year ever.