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Morning Devotional



Gifts, Talents, Fruit—Which Is Which?

By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.

Every human being—Christian and non-Christian alike—is created in God's own image, and by virtue of being created in God's own image, we are born with natural talents. But the gifts of the Holy Spirit are different from the natural talents we are born with.

Talents inspire and entertain, but spiritual gifts build up the body of Christ. Something supernatural happens when a gift is exercised that does not happen when a talent is used. On occasion, however, when someone becomes born again, the Holy Spirit breathes His breath on their natural talent, and He turns it into a spiritual gift.

When the fruit of the Spirit is absent, gifts lose their effectiveness. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Not all the gifts are given to all believers, but the fruit of the Spirit should be evident in all who abide in Christ. The gifts of the Spirit define what a believer does, but the fruit of the Spirit defines who a believer is.

As we read earlier, love is the first and foremost fruit of abiding in Christ. Without love, our gifts are meaningless. No matter what our gift is, our goal should always be to glorify God and to serve others.

Prayer: God, I pray that the fruit of the Spirit would be evident in my life. Amen.

"If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2).

Wonderful devotional Jeanne. I've given a lot of thought to the fruits of the Spirit. Sometimes I feel so full of  those gifts and other times I wonder where they went when I've become stressed and say or do something that is not quite the way it should have been. Like being angry and venting over some small slight.

Well I am ready for church, we are going to the church wherehis secretary's husband is the pastor.

Thanks for the devotion Jeanne.

Home from church and was planning to watch the race and guess what. Can't get the channel, checked last night and got it no problem. This digital signal that was suppose to be so much better with more channels was  just another ponzi scheme of this government. The people running this country will have more to answer for than they will be able to handle when that day comes!

End of rant.

Have a great afternoon everyone.

Woke up yest. to snow, snowed all day all night and still snowing.  It looks like a winter wonderland and no end in sight.  Not the usual weather in these parts and more problems for wildlife, gardens and folks who live in areas that flood.  I should not have been so optimistic about Spring!

I watched the closing Olympic ceremony and it was lovely.  So proud of the curling teams who took gold.  First time the women have won gold in 16 yrs.  This time both men and women did and Jennifer Jones team didn't loose one game ..... I have been a big Jones fan for many years!  Now I don't have to get up in the wee hours to watch.....

My opinion is that all the athletes are winners.....they had to be in order to get to the Olympics.  I was sad that Una Kim didn't get gold in the figure skating....but judges are what they are!  She is magical and so much more than just a skater. 
Like Judy, I don't like hockey so much now with all the violence, but do watch the Olympics. 

So glad that Happy will be okay Marilyn.  I feel like your dogs are old familiar friends after all these years.  My Misty has arthritis and gum problems, so will have another vet bill ahead.  I give her medication to help both problems but do not give the shots from the vet. They didn't help Squeek and use Recovery in her food to help....Misty won't take it, so use something different for her.  Goodness, cats can be so picky about taste....

Time to go now.   

God Bless,

Liz

Curling was one of the ones I wanted to see - and I never did get it on the only channel here that ran the Olympics.  With my limited "basic" coverage I miss out on a lot.   

Liz I hav 3 cats as well as my 2 dogs.  Fritzy is Keith's baby, Grubby adopted us by coming to the door a few years ago, he has Feline Immunovirus, (FIV) . Then there is Harry, he was brought into the clinic where I am a volunteer in a trap. He tested positive for Leukemia and rather than put him down  they asked me to take him. He is such a lover and nice cat that no one at the clinic wanted to put him down. 

Back from church, I like the church we went to. The people are all so nice, it is non denominational and that is fine with me as long as   the Bible is taught and I get fed. I feel  like I fit right in. Worship always makes me cry and Keith always says something about me crying in church.  So I sing and I cry what i wrong with that.

Thank you for that thought provoking devotional, Jeanne. I agree with Marilyn - sometimes it seems that I'm making lots of progress with the fruits of the spirit, and then I second guess myself. One thing that I stick with is the advice that when we are angry, we must not sin. So, when angry, I try very hard to absent myself from the situation so I can find a way to cool down and later intelligently discuss the situation rather than popping off in the heat of the moment.

I'm glad you got to go to church, Marilyn. I tend to tear up when I receive a blessing either during a church service or at other times.

I'm so sorry you didn't get to see the games y'all were most interested in seeing.  Google is showing interest in putting extremely high speed internet (100 times better than Comcast's best) in Nashville. Wow! What a boost to the business end of the community and also to residents if it comes to pass.

I feel sorry for my next door neighbor. He was lifting a lid from something he was baking, and failed to get his hand out of the path the steam was going to take. He even teased about it hurting and acted like a little person asking for a hug from "mommy." I empathized with him about it.

It's interesting to hear of the good treatment y'all give to your animals.

Wow! some of you have already seen the closing Olympics ceremonies - it comes on here after the news reports.

I'm thankful you could enrich another's life, Larry, by giving them your range. That always feels good when it's a win-win situation.

I haven't thanked Pat and Paul and the administrators who keep this discussion going. Much love and appreciate to each of you.

Y'all have a good rest of the day,
Ruth Ann

Great devotional, So often we get the two definitions mixed up.  However like you say we have to exercise the fruit of the spirit.....

This has been some day.  First watching the Canadian Men win gold, then a rush to get ready and pick u our daughter, Wonderful time at church then lunch at our daughter's.  From there out to get chalk for John tomorrow, then home.......the long way......and lots of pictures later we actually arrived home!

I will share some here later.

Have a great evening.

I forgot to mention that the message was on the Fruits of the Spirit, so it when right along with the devotional.

I'm glad today's devotional seems to have touched many of us.  This is a preacher I have just re-discovered.  I used to listen to him on FM radio about 15 years ago, along with several others I enjoyed and benefited from and then we lost that station. 

On Sunday morning for the last couple of years, I have been getting a blessing from ION television with David Jeremiah's "Turning Point", Charles Stanley's "In Touch" and until recently "Day of Discovery".  When the station dropped "Day of Discovery" I was disappointed at first and then very pleased to find it was being replaced with "Leading the Way" with Michael Youssef.  Today's devotional is from his daily email message.

Well home in the comfort of our home with no need to get ready to leave with the truck in the morning. aaahhh. So relaxing for a change and don't have to face winter roads for a week. Church was good today Paster was preaching from  Heb 13 on the Biblical principle of handling our money He has sure been good lately. Tackling the tough unpopular topics that scare a lot of pasters off. Appreciate this man for his backbone. Go Paster John Go.  Hope you all had a great day and some much needed relaxation. We are so blessed on this continent to have the freedom comforts that we enjoy. Like the sang says count your blessings one by one. You know if we would remember to do that I'm sure we would all sleep better at night. When I see what goes on in other countries, I'm so glad we live over here on this side of the pond. Thank you Lord for all we have and please control those who are trying to destroy it. Don wish I could get a trip down your way some time and be able to meet you for coffee. I haven't been anywhere near you for a long time. Maybe some day we will get that opportunity. Well that's it for now folks Have a blessed evening.

Tired tonight so heading to bed.

I will be posting photo's tomorrow, John has some "part time" work to do in the morning, so that will be my window for posting them. 

Have a great night and sleep well!

John I know it must be good to be home and off the icy roads. I have a friend that use to drive for a living before he became disabled and some of the stories I've heard him tell about being on the highway with some of the other drivers will make your hair stand up. It sure would be nice to be able to sit down and chat with you over a cup of coffee, maybe we will get that chance one day. Hope you enjoy your week off.

Judy that was a great tune and so true. Some of the things we allow to get the best of us are so mundane.   We really do have so much to be thankful for that nothing down here should bother us but I guess we will have that problem as long as we are in the flesh.

Looking forward to seeing your photos!

Hi everyone.  It is going to be another beautiful day here in Georgia.  I picked up my SIL at the Atlanta Airport yesterday afternoon.  I had a terrible time getting to the terminal.  They were doing a lot of road and other work on the route I took and I missed a vital turn.  As a result I was put back on the Interstate and really got lost.  Fortunately, I had the GPS on my phone and after stopping at the International terminal and asking a policewoman how to get back to the Domestic terminal.  I finally made it just as my SIL called and she was waiting at the curb.  She will be going back on the subway, which ends its route at the airport terminal.  Just have my usual Monday activities for today.

Jeanne, thanks for that fine devotional.

Marilyn, nice you could visit the church that you did.  I am glad you enjoyed the church service.  I think many churches are denominational and many of the mainline churches are fading.  Nothing wrong with shedding tears. 

Ruth Ann, I stuffed my feeling so many years but have learned that God gave us feelings, including anger, and that we need to experience them but not get mired in them. 

Judy, it is none of my business but I had to wonder what John does with chalk?  Glad you had an enjoyable day and yesterday. 

John, you are right we are very fortunate to have homes, enough food to eat and be surrounded by friends.  I have witnessed so many evidences of God's care these last few days and it has really helped me cope as I know I am seeing God's plan worked out for our daughter as well as for us. John, when you retire I hope you and Judy will be able to make a trip down this way as we would love to have you visit us.  I know I certainly enjoyed the hour or so we had to visit several months ago at the truck stop.   


Don, sorry you couldn't see the race.  I saw that Dale Earnheart was the winner after a long stretch without a win.

Liz, I fear winter isn't through with us yet.  I noticed a couple of days ago that the early blooming trees here have bloomed out.  It sure is a nice sign that spring is on its way.  Sure hope the snow has stopped for you by now.  I know nothing about curling and not sure I ever saw a game.  I have always thought that skating scoring seems to be a bit political motivated.  I guess it has to be subject to judgment since it is not like races where the winner is evident.   

Larry He is using it in a safety meeting he is conducting.  Making notes on a blackboard!...LOL

Now to post the pictures, but first to load the furnace with wood!

Today is a sunny cool crisp day.
I had an appointment this morning and now home to get started with house work.

I also enjoyed the OLYMPIC'S The competitors did a lot of work and training to be there, now we will wait for the next winter games  4 yrs from now.

Marilyn: Nothing wrong with tears it is just that not everyone understands.

Marilyn I agree with Ruth.  Some of us are feelers, feeling every emotion going, others are thinkers, not understanding the emotional people.  There is the odd person who is both a thinker and a feeler......

Here are a few of my pictures from yesterday.

Fantastic Photos Judy.

I hd a good work out at the gym this morning,  quick and hard. I was only there 15 minutes as I had to get back home and return a call to the vet to give them the name of the drug store for Happy's new medication.

I spoke to Gilbert last night he tells me that the water situation in California is worse than I than I had heard, he said the water may be rationed and they wouldn't be able to take showers and would only be able to get bottled water. We need to pray for rain for California. I had heard on the radio and saw on TV that the farmers won't be getting water this year and the the produce price  will be going up. California has been considered the bread basket of the world. It too bad for the farmers.

Good morning!  The sun is shining brightly here on the Oregon Coast ... looks like it will be a nice day, although I think someone mentioned "possible showers" later.   

Today is the anniversary of my mother's birth ... she was born February 24th, 108 years ago!    She's been gone several years now, but I still miss her. 

It is interesting that, every year, exactly on Mom's birthday, the daffodils she loved and had planted around her porch in Oklahoma bloom!  I noticed this the first time when I was at her house (which had become mine) to clean and sort her things.  I walked out on the porch to leave when I saw her lovely daffodils blooming.  It was her birthday.  When I left Oklahoma for the last time, I dug up some of those bulbs and brought them with me.  I planted them here and, sure enough .... every year on her birthday they bloom.  There may be others blooming in the neighborhood sooner, but hers always wait until her birthday!   

I received a phone call this weekend to let me know that I am to expect another great grandchild!  This will be #16!  I am told it's a girl, so this will make 5 girls and 11 boys.  She is due mid-May or early June.

Judy, I saw the pictures you posted on Facebook ... I'm glad you were able to get out and take pictures after feeling disappointed that you couldn't do that the other day.

Well, I need to do something other than sit here at the computer, so I'll bid y'all a good day and keep you in my prayers as you face whatever challenges or blessings that come your way today.   

Judy wrote

Quotebut first to load the furnace with wood!

What do you mean by furnace Judy? Is it outside with forced air or is it a boiler heating water? Just wondering.

Hi Folks. Back from the safety meeting I conducted fro a local school bus company near where we live. It went very well and lasted about 2 hours. Being the first one we covered a variety of topics. It was sort of a get acquainted meeting mixed with business. We are having a great day up here today. It is still quite cool at night  but with the sun shining the days are getting quite pleasant. It was great to get into a training role for a change. Its been a while that I worked in a class room type setting. Like riding a bike. You never forget how to do it.
Don about inquiry regarding our furnace. We have a combination of an oil furnace and a wood furnace in our basement. These 2 units are connected by the ductwork and a common fan pushes the heat up through the house. Burning wood saves us a lot of money. We live in an old farmhouse and they were not very well insulated back in the day. With oil costing $1000 per 200 gal it would get very expensive to heat solely by oil. The down side of burning wood however is the amount of work it takes to gather the wood. But the up side of that is, it keeps me in shape. So I guess everything has it's ups and downs. As I said yesterday. Count your Blessings one by one. We need to be thank ful for what we have and not dwell on things we don't have and want. Got run for now Things to do. Blessings everyone.

Judy and John, I had guessed that the chalk you bought would be used in marking a plumb line for construction. There must be several other uses of chalk other than making pictures on the sidewalk for the kids - or setting up a hopscotch game.

I've rested today. Sometimes when the temp is dropping I deal with lots of body aches and pains. Down here, the really old folks (like my great grandma) used to call it "The Rheumatiz." So, now I know for sure I'm an "old folk." <chuckle>

Jane, congrats on the new great grandchild. I had 4 children, but seem to have diminishing returns, only ending up with 3 grandchildren and 2 great grands.

I'll miss the Olympics coverage, it was such an enjoyable interlude. I look forward to each version of the games - both summer and winter.

Y'all take care, and enjoy the rest of this day with our Lord.

Ruth Ann

This is the 3rd day of non-stop snowing and no end in sight!  The flakes are big, beautiful and very wet....our island snow is very different from on the prairie.  But one thing is the same, it needs to be shoveled.  My SIL takes care of that and will have to dig his van out again today to go to work.

I don't usually post this much but forgot to thank Jeanne Lee for the devotional and also for the name of programs to watch on Sunday morning.  Really miss going to church and this will help some.  Sort of gave up after so many were involved in problems of one sort or another. 

Sorry you missed out on the curling Jeanne Lee.  I would not say you are missing much by having basic cable. The kids have hundreds of channels on this system and much is the same on many.  I find it all a little confusing and stick to mostly the same spots.

Pictures are lovely Judy and Jeanne Lee.  No way am I going to go out in the wet to take any so will leave it to the imagination. 

Marilyn, you have a little mini animal shelter going and that is really nice.  Also, used to also get tears when moved in a service....and also got some strange looks if anyone noticed.  Jane, any flowers that started to stick their heads above ground here, will certainly regret it.
Larry, your posts always have wisdom tucked in...had not thought about anger quite like that...you are right.

Time to go.
God Bless,
Liz 

Liz, this old gray head didn't get out of the house to take those pictures.  They were all taken through windows.   

Good interuptions by Grandson and one son - another son called earlier. 

Don:  My Don will say something and I then get busy and clean up all my bookmarks.  So much clutter.

Marilyn:  That was very good news. 

JohnB:  A good friend is one is one who will speak the truth.

Ruth Ann:  I admire you tenacity and also your caring heart. 

Liz:  Hockey is merely fine ballet on ice    with a goal in mind.

Hi everyone.  We have a rainy morning but it is still suppose to be relatively warm today.  This evening we have been invited to have dinner with good friends and that will be enjoyable.  Other than that it should just be a routine day.  Yesterday we did select the flowers we want for the Memorial Service on Saturday.  We have a lady in our church who is a florist and does the flowers for our weekly church services.  We are leaving the flowers on Saturday to serve as the Sunday flowers and then plan on taking them to a good friend who had another stroke a couple of weeks ago and is in a rehab program. 

Judy, thanks for the info on the chalk.  It has been a long time since I have seen snow like you show in your pictures.

Marilyn, that water situation in California does sound dire.  We are hearing the same thing about food prices down this way. 

Jane, interesting that the daffodils always bloom on the anniversary of your mother's birth.  Wow, you sure do have a lot of great grandchildren. 

John, glad you enjoyed your training session with the school bus company folks and nice to know you had chalk to use.    That heating oil is really expensive.  I remember well when my folks heated with wood and I helped dad gather the wood and to bring it into the house to use. 

Ruth Ann, I am pretty sure that the four great grandchildren we have will be it as have only one granddaughter and she will not have anymore children.

Liz, wet snow is certainly a lot of work to shovel.  You all will certainly be looking forward to spring.  We also watch a select number of channels even though we have many available. 

Hi Carol, Jeanne, Don and Ruth. 

John I know about old farm houses I grew up in one, no running water, a pump on the back porch, and a out house. No I'm not a 100 years old but I did come up under tough circumstances. I have 1 small greenhouse that uses oil but it's been about 3 or 4 years since buying oil which was $3.50 a gal here then and I thought that was high. I know about cutting wood also, that is what I heat with now however we don't get as cold as it does where you are. Our low here this winter was 1 degree but we don't usually get that cold. Global warming I guess. 

Carol I know what you mean about bookmarks, I need to go through mine. At least bookmarks don't slow things down.

Larry that rain is headed our way and they have a little ice mixed with it for late tonight and early tomorrow morning. I remember Feb 28-29'th 1980 we had the biggest snow we have ever had in my lifetime. Don't know how many inches or feet but we had drifts 5 feet deep or deeper. It snowed so hard you couldn't see with thunder and lightning. Sure hope we don't have anything like that.

Good morning to everyone else, hope you have a great day.

Well, hello to you all. 
I've had a busy couple of days working on the Guelph Hiking Trail Club website.  Lots of changes that iinvolve changing many files that are all linked together and with html, it's so easy to leave out a crucial bracket or quotation mark or even some major code.  Then last night I drove away out into the country to one of the executive member's home where the monthly executive meeting was being held.  On the way in the light of the headlights, suddenly, we saw three coyotes on the snowy road ahead of us.  They were beautiful.  They stood for a few seconds and then meandered off the roadway so we could continue.

Liz, it's so good to see your posts.  I hope you are keeping warm and cosy.  This has been a very long winter indeed.


Thanks for the wonderful devotional, Jeanne.  It was a blessing to read.  The fruits of the spirit are so important to learn and know and what a great reminder to all of us.  This part especially blessed my heart:

Quote
When the fruit of the Spirit is absent, gifts lose their effectiveness. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Not all the gifts are given to all believers, but the fruit of the Spirit should be evident in all who abide in Christ. The gifts of the Spirit define what a believer does, but the fruit of the Spirit defines who a believer is.

As we read earlier, love is the first and foremost fruit of abiding in Christ. Without love, our gifts are meaningless. No matter what our gift is, our goal should always be to glorify God and to serve others.

HAHAHAHA!!!!  Don, sorry about the game and your inability to watch it!   

  Great pictures of the winter we have been having.   

Jeanne Lee:  The picture of the pile of snow beside the road reminds me of a time at approx 40 or so yrs ago when at my MIL's there was a pile of snow beside the then Hwy 11 and yes our children plus the other children in the area had a great time playing.  At that time it was the major hwy going (no bypass) through  town I think that the drivers took much more care way back then and also the children were also on the look out for danger.

Judy & Jeanne Lee thanks for sharing.

Also what John did not mention was that some ice hut operators have huts that are fitted out like a cottage  and for a large fee they can and are rented for weekends or even longer depending on the weather of course.