ptl@fluke.UUCP (Mike Andrews) (03/20/86)
Hi,
An excellant book that presents the Gifts of the Holy Spirit from both
the scriptural and personal sides is Fr. Dennis Bennet's "The Holy
Spirit and You." It is clear and easy to read [ my kind of book :-) ],
solid in the scriptures, and complete with real life examples. He is an
Episcopalean priest, married to Rita Bennet - a woman with a special Gift
of healing, especially in the area of inner healing. She has several books
of her own out that you might like to look into. Fr. Bennet also
has a book out called "Nine O'clock in the Morning" - his personal story
relating his receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
God has apparently given us natural gifts, many of which are barely
tapped. Even animals exhibit special gifts. Some time ago the Russians
conducted a test where a mother rabbit was left on shore, while a
submarine carrying her offspring went to sea. While at see, the
baby rabbits were killed at specific times. The mother rabbit, being
monitored, showed definite increased activity at those exact times.
And God has given people Divine Gifts as well. The many examples of their
use can be seen, as well as their misuse. To use the Gifts properly
means, to me, to ask God what He wants me to do, and then be faithful to
do it His way. He remains the focus of the glory, not me; salvation and
sharing God's Love are the goals, and the exercise of the Gifts is only
one means to the goal. Am I always successful at all this - no. Do I get
upset when I see others make the same selfish `mistakes' I do - yes. Do
I make up excuses for God when things don't go the way *I* think they should
have - yes. So why does God continue to use me and you - He wants us to
grow up, thru our mistakes, sins, falling flat on our noses, as well as
thru our obedience, trust, Love, and the resulting many successes.
Leave God to be the Judge as to whether what you did, or didn't do, was
actually a success or failure.
Yes satan is a copy cat. For every Gift God has, satan seems to have
a counterfeit version. The difference in their use being - who gets the
glory, and whether the person (both the giver and receiver of the gifts)
finds freedom or bondage. Jesus sets us free, satan sets a trap.
Working with God and for Him is both exciting and scary. Exciting because
of the wonderful things you'll be priveleged to witness. Scary because
He'll take you beyond limits you've set for yourself, and give you a freedom
you never thought possible and a Love you dreamed unimaginable.
God Bless,
Mike Andrews
--
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God says He is always with us, and will never leave us.
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ARPA : fluke!ptl@uw-beaver.ARPA
UUCP : {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!ptlpadraig@utastro.UUCP (Padraig Houlahan) (03/20/86)
In article <48@cal-asd.fluke.UUCP>, ptl@fluke.UUCP (Mike Andrews) writes: >... > God has apparently given us natural gifts, many of which are barely > tapped. Even animals exhibit special gifts. Some time ago the Russians > conducted a test where a mother rabbit was left on shore, while a > submarine carrying her offspring went to sea. While at see, the > baby rabbits were killed at specific times. The mother rabbit, being > monitored, showed definite increased activity at those exact times. > Thank you for the gift of joy and laughter this paragraph brought me. Padraig Houlahan.
jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (03/21/86)
> > God has apparently given us natural gifts, many of which are barely > tapped. Even animals exhibit special gifts. Some time ago the Russians > conducted a test where a mother rabbit was left on shore, while a > submarine carrying her offspring went to sea. While at see, the > baby rabbits were killed at specific times. The mother rabbit, being > monitored, showed definite increased activity at those exact times. I think I would rather have passed up any knowledge of the special gifts of rabbits than to wantonly kill little bunnies for no particular reason. -- jcpatilla ..{seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!aplcen!osiris!jcp "Makes your bread dance and your cakes sing doo-dah !"