Whatcha Got?

Whatcha got?  Strange title.  Strange way to start a blog post  I admit, but it seems to be what is resonating within me.  The more I dive into ministry the more I see people with wonderful gifts wondering how God could possibly use them for His purposes.  As someone who loves diving into peoples lives and seeing the change happening that only God can do, I am daily reminded of how exciting it is to see people get (understand) what they got (gifts) and beginning to tap into them.  The excitement that people feel as they realise that they can be used for God is such a cool experience.

An experience that I was able to have many years ago illustrates this.
In the summer of 1998 I was given the opportunity to go on a sports missions trip to the British Isles where we used sports as an opportunity to meet people and then share with them about what God has done in our lives.  After one particular game of basketball I was particularly bummed out as I had a really poor game and was very annoyed with my performance.  As I wore this on my face/body language one of the other ball players approached me and we talked about my attitude.  He then told a story of a boy who had a very close relationship with his dad as his father attended every basketball game.  The story went on to tell of how this kids father passed away before his championship game and how he was not sure if he would play in this game or not.  As he considered this further he was approached by someone who gave him this thought;  "Play every game for your father as it was his work that gave you this gift."

He then said to me, "Scottie, use your gift as if it's for your (Heavenly) Father who has given you the gift no matter how great or small.  If you have a good game or a bad game, give your Father glory."

So my question is this... "Whatcha got and how are you using it?  How are you using your gifts to give your Father glory?  Don't have any gifts you say?  I call false on that and say let's sit for coffee and figure out what your gifts are because the reality is that we all have something and they all have a purpose.  My gifts are not your gifts and yours probably aren't mine, but we all have something.

One of our ministry locations for Boaz is seeing this happen in a small degree, but it's been an amazing thing.  Some of the mom's love to cook and have a talent for finding the best deals in the grocery store.  So we made the trek and they made some incredible food.  Reality is that was them using their gifts to bring our Heavenly Father praise.  It's an awesome experience when people see what they have as a gift and that there is a purpose for it no matter how great or small.

So once more I ask... Whatcha got cuz we don't got to do anything for God as if He needs us, but we get to  use our gifts for God in changing this world as He allows us to be a part of His story.

Feel free to connect with me and message me at anytime if this strikes a chord with you and you want to tap into your gifts and be used.  I'd love to help in that process.