1 Corinthians 12:7, "A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other."

Think

Last week we saw the classic movie "Sandlot" as Pastor Ed compared this neighborhood sandlot baseball team to the Church. It was the perfect picture of someone using their spiritual gifts to bring about the two most important things in a church...evangelism and discipleship. Evangelism is sharing the good news of Jesus with someone who doesn't know him. Discipleship is helping them to grow in their relationship with Christ. A boy named Smalls moved into the neighborhood. Many would have considered him a geek, definitely not a baseball player. Benny, the best player, went out of his way to make Smalls feel welcome by inviting him to come play. This is a perfect picture of someone using their spiritual gifts to evangelize. But Benny took it even further than that. When Benny saw that Smalls didn't know how to catch or throw a baseball, he mentored him, painting an equally perfect picture of discipleship. Benny used his spiritual gifts to invest in Smalls until he became a vital part of their sandlot team. In the same way, God has given you spiritual gifts that you are to use to make a difference in other people's lives. When you meet people through your interests, hobbies and activities, do you look for opportunities to share your story or invite them to church? Are you using them to build his kingdom? God wants to use you to make a difference!

Act

Think of someone you know who doesn't know the Lord and doesn't go to church. Make an effort this week to invite them to church. Then, make it a priority in the coming weeks and months to take them under your wing and disciple them or hand them off to a mature believer who can take them further. When you use your gifts to evangelize and disciple, you are putting today's passage into practice.

Pray

God, reveal to me someone within my sphere of influence that needs you. Give me the courage to see the people you put in my path and the wisdom to know how to reach out to them. Thank you for the people who have done the same for me! Amen.