I am not a young woman and I have been living for Jesus for some years now. Though I am not now active in any particular church ministry, I have spent many years being highly active and have worn many hats. During that time, I served in many different ways and when I was dependent upon God for empowerment to fill those positions, He gifted me through the Holy Spirit that I might be fully equipped to do the work that He intended. Now the work He calls me to do is mostly outside of the organized church and yet, He still empowers me to serve Him in my everyday life.

In my lifetime, I have sat through many teachings on spiritual gifts. I have even been tested (which in reality was a personality test) and told that my gift is the gift of mercy. I have also been taught that the Pastor or Preacher is the equivalent of the modern day prophet or Bishop and that the words he speaks ought to be by the Holy Spirit. I am not sure that any of that is really true. Most of the preaching I've heard has been more contrived than Spritually led. The Bible also does not say that a preacher is the same as a Bishop nor that deacons are the same as elders. I have heard the Catholics derided for their unbiblical structure when in truth, my denomination's leadership is not ordered according to the blueprint laid out in scripture either. I've heard the excuse that Bishops are to be appointed by God, as the apostles were and that it is too hard to tell whether a man is appointed by God or not. I conclude that they must also not be able to discern what my gift is for I do not read in scripture that the gift of mercy is any kind of spiritual equipping. Mostly, the spiritual gifts are taught on with great emphasis as to the gift of tongues being that of real languages so that we might not be led away into what is considered the false usage of the gift of tongues by those who are called Charismatic. Someone new, from a Charismatic background, claiming to speak in tongues, is usually what precipitates such teachings then we go on as before with little thought by most as to whether we are spiritually gifted for the ministry we perform.

I have also seen the other extreme where the people are taught that they can't possibly be saved if they don't speak in tongues. Those tongues are generally what is called the language of angels and is unintelligible both to the hearer and the speaker. I have also seen those who claim to be healers but most of it seems to be a show by people who need miracles, some magic, in order to believe that God is real. This kind of giftedness does not appear to me to be genuine either as it seems to shout, "Look what I can do in your Name, Lord!" and does little to glorify God. These are people pressured by their leaders to exhibit some sort of spiritual gift to prove their standing with God just as people in my denomination are pressured to suppress all spiritual gifting so as not to appear as being a Charismatic.

Both of these are extremes and Biblically incorrect yet, they are readily accepted because this is what we are used to. I think, in general, that most of us scratch our heads and tend to think of the spiritual gifts as many of us do about the miracles of Jesus, that they were intended for another time and we return to practicing our faith in a way that can be tempered with the fear of displeasing those of the statice quo and also very mundane and completely void of Spiritual empowerment.

As a woman practicing now to be old, I have come to the conclusion that it matters not if I am gifted as a teacher, or a prophetess, as an evangelist, or an encourager, nor if I am gifted with supernatural ability to speak in the unknown language of another. Yet, I have experienced empowerment by the Holy Spirit in every way that I have served Him. I believe that God gifts me to do whatever He puts in front of me to do and that my spiritual gifting is not static but situational and according to God's purpose. It really does not matter what the preacher or other Christians think that I am or that I am not. What is important is the work of the Great I AM and His enabling of Christ's church to perform that work during this present age of Grace. In whatever place I find myself in life, I am to abide in Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit. I am able to glorify God as that abiding keeps me humble, keeps my own ambitions laid low, that Jesus in me might increase and in whatever situation I am placed, in each specific moment, the Holy Spirit might enable me to speak and to act in accordance to Christ.

I am not able to discern for certain the spiritual gift of another nor even if they truly are in Christ. I have only their own assessment of themselves to know them by for I can't look into their hearts as God does. I can however inspect their work and measure their words and their actions by Jesus and know that which is of God and that which is of the man or woman. It matters little what they should call themselves for it is the meat of what they offer as ministry that glorifies God. Also, no matter what they call themselves, I will not follow them, but Christ alone and they only as they follow Christ.

In all things, those of us who serve Jesus Christ are empowered by the Holy Spirit and given discernment by that same Spirit that we need not fear being led astray. Neither do we need to convince others of our calling for our true calling is not of ourselves and not truly, of any importance. Every Christian is called to glorify Christ Jesus by submitting ourselves to Him as His Life is lived out through us. Every Christian who serves, whether it be within the institutionalized church or the everyday world, does so by the authority of God through Jesus Christ. There is however, one office that none of us are gifted for and that is the office of Judgement. That office is for Jesus Christ alone at the end of time and not during this present age of Grace.

May each of us who are called according to His purpose become myopic in our focus upon Him and cease in being myopic upon ourselves that in all that He sets before us to do, Jesus Christ would be glorified and fully revealed to all of mankind.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!