11-08-24-DAILY READING-ENG.

EXPERIENCING THE SPIRIT

                                     GOD'S BEST IN YOUR LIFE

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. —ACTS 4:13 Anchor this truth in your mind: the gift of the Holy Spirit is primarily about God and His work, not about you and your work. Most of the discussions we hear today about spiritual gifts revolve around what people are good at doing or what people most like to do. That approach tends to be self-glorifying: if we operate only according to our talents and ability, we get the glory.

But if we function according to the power of the Spirit, God gets the glory as others around us see Him at work. And God's goal is to reveal Himself‘to a watching world, not to showcase our achievements. Great talents in this world may impress people, but they don't impress God. He is far beyond any human ability and is impressed by only one thing—faith. He understands human pride and our desire to be honored, and when God sees people humble themselves and turn to Him for help, He smiles. It's in and through their humble lives that He can do His best work. Consider the centurion who put his faith in the Lord.

Although the world admired him for his power and influence, he confessed to Jesus his own unworthiness, and he stated his full understanding that ultimate power was found in Jesus. “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’“ (Matthew 8:10). Because the centurion believed in the name of Jesus, he experienced the power of Jesus in his life and family. The centurion's faith became a blessing: his life in relationship with Christ impacted those around him, and God got the glory. You can put your trust in your ability, or you can put your faith in God. The choice is yours. When you rely on your own talents, you'll experience your best. But when you put your faith in God and allow His Spirit to work in you, you'll experience God's best.