Savage About Sobriety April 28, 2023

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. - Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)

"God given talent," "Born with it," "A Natural," these are terms we are all familiar with. Terms we have used to describe various people we have met in our life who seem to do certain things with ease. Whether it's athleticism, playing music, being highly intelligent, or good with people, we all have certain gifts that we were born with.

In my addiction, I couldn't imagine having any gifts or talents. There was no way that God would want me for any kind of purpose. My confidence was in the gutter and it seemed like I was worthless to myself and to my loved ones. Thank God we serve a God of second chances, or in my case, a God of a million chances. As I started living for God, He started rebuilding my confidence and showing me how He wants to use me and started laying out His purpose for my life. When it comes to our talents, Shevon and I fit together nicely to make a good team. The areas I'm not good at, she is, and vice versa.

As a born again Christian, God will use the natural gifts He has given us from birth to serve His purpose. The Bible says He had a plan for you before you were born (Jeremiah 1:5). Now that you have accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour, the fun begins.

Finding out what that plan is can be one of the most exciting times as a new Christian. Paul tells the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 12:7-11, "7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have." (NLT).

So many of our friends are discovering the amazing gifts they can now use for God's glory. One person in particular is our friend and brother in Christ, Earnie Adams, who accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour and has been living for God for the last several months. Shevon and I are so excited to see what God has in store for him. Some people just have a knack for drawing people to them and when God gets ahold of people like that then look out, because He will use them to cast a huge net when it comes to being "fishers of men."

Recently, Earnie sent me this poem he wrote and I want to share it with you guys:

They say the narrow road leads to forever,

The wide road's the destroyer of life...

I've made the wrong choices,

I've lived by the gun and the knife...

I've been no displayer of passion,

I've broken all the golden rules...

I've seen it as a game of survival, though,

Refused to be anyone's fool...

I've rarely asked favors of no one,

Refused to conform or be under the thumb...

I've rarely done much for another,

Never to be taken for dumb...

Jesus has taken my chaos n' given me peace,

Shown me mercy, forgiveness, & His Divine loving way...

Being content with His will for tomorrow,

Loving His blessings for today...

Some start their day,

With complaining, brooding, & blunder...

Saying the day is awful,

Cause of the rain and distant thunder...

No day given is awful,

As it is given from God above...

Be thankful for the days He gives,

They're from His Divine & perfect love...

Give in to His flawless will,

For it's better than we could ever achieve...

Unharden your hearts my friends,

Have hope, faith, and believe

A year ago Earnie probably wouldn't have predicted that his life would be changing for the good. He's just one example of what God can do with a willingness to be changed. If you aren't sure what your talents are, then just ask God for clarity. 1 John 2:27 says, "But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. (ESV). Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you what you need to do to serve God the way God created you to do. Let God have his way and you will find out that God gave you more gifts to serve Him with than you thought.