May 07

Daily Devotional

The 20 Gifts of the Holy Spirit:

The New Testament reveals that the Holy Spirit equips believers with diverse spiritual gifts for building up the Church: The body of Christ.

While Scripture does not explicitly number them as “20,” compiling the lists in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 yields approximately that total when distinct manifestations and roles are identified.

These gifts—manifestations of the same Spirit—are given “as he wants” for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:11 TLB).

Here is a compiled list of 20 commonly recognized gifts drawn from these passages:

1. Word of Wisdom – Supernatural insight or advice.

2. Word of Knowledge – Revealing facts or truths by the Spirit.

3. Faith – Extraordinary trust in God for specific situations.

4. Gifts of Healing – Supernatural restoration of health.

5. Working of Miracles – Supernatural acts altering circumstances.

6. Prophecy – Declaring God’s message.

7. Discerning of Spirits – Distinguishing spiritual influences.

8. Tongues – Speaking in unlearned languages.

9. Interpretation of Tongues – Translating tongues for understanding.

10. Apostleship – Pioneering and foundational leadership.

11. Prophet/Preaching – Proclaiming God’s Word powerfully.

12. Teaching – Explaining truth clearly.

13. Evangelism – Winning people to Christ.

14. Pastoring/Shepherding – Caring for and guiding God’s people.

15. Serving/Ministering – Practical help and support.

16. Exhortation/Encouragement – Strengthening and comforting others.

17. Giving – Generous sharing of resources.

18. Leadership/Administration – Guiding and organizing.

19. Helps – Assisting and supporting others’ ministries.

20. Mercy/Comfort – Showing compassion cheerfully.

Key Scriptures in TLB:

In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 TLB: “Now God gives us many kinds of special abilities, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all… To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; someone else may be especially good at studying and teaching… He gives special faith to another, and to someone else the power to heal the sick. He gives power for doing miracles to some, and to others power to prophesy… He gives someone else the power to know whether evil spirits are speaking… Still another person is able to speak in languages he never learned; and others… are given power to understand what he is saying. It is the same and only Holy Spirit who gives all these gifts…”

Romans 12:6-8 TLB adds: “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, then prophesy… If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If you are a preacher, see to it that your sermons are strong and helpful. If God has given you money, be generous… If God has given you administrative ability… take the responsibility seriously. Those who offer comfort to the sorrowing should do so with Christian cheer.”

Ephesians 4:11-12 TLB describes roles: “Some of us have been given special ability as apostles; to others he has given the gift of being able to preach well; some have special ability in winning people to Christ… still others have a gift for caring for God’s people as a shepherd does his sheep…” These equip “God’s people… building up the Church.”

These gifts are not for personal prestige but for unity and maturity in the body of Christ. Every believer receives at least one; the Spirit distributes them sovereignly. Discovering and using them fosters love, service, and growth. In a divided world, embracing this diversity mirrors the harmonious body Paul describes—each part vital, interdependent, empowered by one Spirit for God’s glory. Believers today are called to “try [their] best to have the more important of these gifts” while pursuing Love above all (1 Corinthians 12:31 TLB, leading into chapter 13). May we steward these gifts faithfully.

——————————————————————-

==========================================

If you have questions, please call the 24-Hour BGEA Prayer Line at:

(855) 255-PRAY.

CONTINUE:

Let us Praise Him Daily!

A good way to learn to Praise God is to memorize the first 6 Verses of Psalms 148:

1 Praise the Lord, O heavens! Praise Him from the skies!

²Praise Him, all His angels, all the armies of heaven.

³Praise Him, sun and moon and all you twinkling stars.

⁴Praise Him, skies above. Praise Him, vapors high above the clouds.

⁵Let everything He has made give praise to Him. For He issued His command, and they came into being;

^{6 H}e established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked.

PLEASE read the last 6 Chapters of Psalms: 145-150 so that you will learn how to Praise God like David did!

If you don’t want to get your Bible, Here they all are, just click on each Chapter and I will read them to you:

PSALMS 145 PSALMS 146 PSALMS 147 PSALMS148 PSALMS 149 PSALMS 150

Return to Table of Contents

JESUS IS:

THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH,

THE LEADER,

THE ORIGINATOR,

THE LORD & MASTER,

THE SUPREME LEADER,

OUR HOPE,

1ST BORN FROM THE DEAD WITH AN IMMORTAL BODY TO NEVER DIE AGAIN,

THE 1ST FRUITS OF THE RESURRECTION,

HE IS OUR FESTIVAL OF HOPE,

OUR PARDON,

GIVEN 1ST PLACE IN EVERYTHING,

HAS BEEN EXALTED AS SUPREME OVER EVERYTHING,

IS ENOUGH,

THE FULLNESS OF GOD DWELLS IN US THROUGH JESUS,

JESUS HAS BROUGHT US INTO HARMONY WITH GOD,

HE HAS BROKERED A PEACE TREATY BETWEEN GOD & MAN,

YOU WERE BORN ON THE WRONG SIDE, BUT BY ACCEPTING JESUS

YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT SIDE NOW,

YOU ARE BEYOND REPROACH,

JESUS WAS THE SOLUTION BEFORE YOU HAD A SIN PROBLEM,

NEVER GET OVER WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU!

NOW:

THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH:

TO TEACH US TO LEAD OTHERS TO CHRIST!

AMEN!

(You might want to copy those down and memorize them!)

Return to Table of Contents

DAILY BIBLE READING:

>1. Chapter for the DAY in Proverbs;

>2. PLUS: 1 NEW Chapter from the Old Testament AND

>3. PLUS: 1 NEW Chapter from the New Testament Daily:

Chapter 07 in Proverbs for today: (MAY 07 (MT) (ESV)

7 My son, keep my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you;
²keep my commandments and live;
    keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
³bind them on your fingers;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and call insight your intimate friend,
⁵to keep you from the forbidden^[a] woman,
    from the adulteress^[b] with her smooth words.

⁶For at the window of my house
    I have looked out through my lattice,
⁷and I have seen among the simple,
    I have perceived among the youths,
    a young man lacking sense,
⁸passing along the street near her corner,
    taking the road to her house
⁹in the twilight, in the evening,
    at the time of night and darkness.

¹⁰And behold, the woman meets him,
    dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.^[c]
¹¹She is loud and wayward;
    her feet do not stay at home;
¹²now in the street, now in the market,
    and at every corner she lies in wait.
¹³She seizes him and kisses him,
    and with bold face she says to him,
¹⁴“I had to offer sacrifices,^[d]
    and today I have paid my vows;
¹⁵so now I have come out to meet you,
    to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
¹⁶I have spread my couch with coverings,
    colored linens from Egyptian linen;
¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
    aloes, and cinnamon.
¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
    let us delight ourselves with love.
¹⁹For my husband is not at home;
    he has gone on a long journey;
²⁰he took a bag of money with him;
    at full moon he will come home.”

²¹With much seductive speech she persuades him;
    with her smooth talk she compels him.
²²All at once he follows her,
    as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast^[e]
²³    till an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
    he does not know that it will cost him his life.

²⁴And now, O sons, listen to me,
    and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
²⁵Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
    do not stray into her paths,
²⁶for many a victim has she laid low,
    and all her slain are a mighty throng.
²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol,
    going down to the chambers of death.

Footnotes

Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew strange
Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew the foreign woman
Proverbs 7:10 Hebrew guarded in heart
Proverbs 7:14 Hebrew peace offerings
Proverbs 7:22 Probable reading (compare Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac); Hebrew as a chain to discipline a fool

CHAPTER 5 IN ECCLESIASTES for today: (MAY 07 (TLZ) (ESV)

5 ^[a] Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. ²^[b] Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. ³For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.

⁴When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. ⁵It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. ⁶Let not your mouth lead you^[c] into sin, and do not say before the messenger^[d] that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity;^[e] but^[f] God is the one you must fear.

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

⁸If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. ⁹But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.^[g]

¹⁰He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. ¹¹When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? ¹²Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

¹³There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, ¹⁴and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. ¹⁵As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. ¹⁶This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? ¹⁷Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

¹⁸Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment^[h] in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. ¹⁹Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. ²⁰For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 5:1 Ch 4:17 in Hebrew
Ecclesiastes 5:2 Ch 5:1 in Hebrew
Ecclesiastes 5:6 Hebrew your flesh
Ecclesiastes 5:6 Or angel
Ecclesiastes 5:7 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verse 10 (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 5:7 Or For when dreams and vanities increase, words also grow many; but
Ecclesiastes 5:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
Ecclesiastes 5:18 Or and see good

Revelation 21

for today: (MAY 07 (NN) ESV)

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place^[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,^[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.^[c] ⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. ⁷The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. ⁸But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

⁹Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, ¹¹having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹²It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— ¹³on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. ¹⁶The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.^[d] Its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷He also measured its wall, 144 cubits^[e] by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. ¹⁸The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ¹⁹The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

²²And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, ²⁵and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Footnotes

Revelation 21:3 Or tabernacle
Revelation 21:3 Some manuscripts peoples
Revelation 21:3 Some manuscripts omit as their God
Revelation 21:16 About 1,380 miles; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters
Revelation 21:17 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters

——————————————————————-

Please Remember:

“CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS

AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD!”

Return to Table of Contents

The Steps to Salvation:

> Repent: Repentance means that you are turning away from sin to turn to Christ. It does NOT mean that you will be perfect.

> Believe/Receive: Salvation is through Faith in Jesus and by the Grace of God. Believing means putting your Faith in Jesus and receiving forgiveness of sin.

>Walk in the Newness of Life: Jesus died so that we might live. We walk in the Newness of Life being Born Again by His Blood.

Additionally, if you feel you need someone to Pray for you,

please call the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,

24 Hours/Day, at: 1+855 255 PRAY (This is the same as: 1+855 255 7729).

Return to Table of Contents

GOD THE FATHER IS THE SOVEREIGN KING
AND CREATOR OF THE ENTIRE
UNIVERSE AND BEYOND!

Return to Table of Contents