“What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It’s different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit. God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues. All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.” (I Corinthians 12:1-11 MSG)
I received an email the other day asking me how much longer I was going to write these daily meditations. He really did not have to pose that question, for I have asked myself the same question at the end of every calendar year. In fact I recently went as far to approximate that over the last three plus years, I have written over 16,000 words through this publication. That approximation does not include sermon manuscripts and Bible Study Class materials. Yet, here I am still carrying on, ministering beyond the local church to the Lord’s universal church. So my response to the person wondering how long I would keep writing and sending these daily meditation out to create a sense of God consciousness daily, I simply said, “As long as the Lord leaves me here, and gives me strength to carry on, I will keep doing the work that He put on my heart to do.” I went on to explain that every time I think I can write my last meditation, I hear a voice saying, “Carry on!”
Now, enough about me; let us once again turn the attention to you. Whatever the Lord has called you to do, “Carry on.” Whatever gift God has given you to build up His kingdom, use it and “carry on!” When temptation takes a swing at you, trying to terminate your endeavor to be useful in doing the work that you have been set apart to do, triumph over the temptation and “carry on!” If your role is to be the key witness for the Lord at your workplace, take the figurative stand and give your testimony. In other words, “Carry on!” You have some special designations that come with special duties. Don’t take my word for it. Read the verse from the word of God below and “Carry on!” Take your blessings and be a blessing to others who need to be blessed! Be blessed!
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (I Peter 2:9 NIV)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King