For me, craftsmanship would be a miracle!

The gift of Miracles

Primary Text: 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28

The gift of Miracles is the ability to perform supernatural acts as an instrument or agent of God which altered the expected course of nature; its purpose is to change or alter the expected course of nature in order to draw attention to God and glorify His name.

As far as I know, this one is even more rare than tongues. Yet, here’s a question for you: Have you ever prayed for someone who is ill or injured, someone who is going to die, and then they were suddenly fine? I recall years ago a time when my father in law was near death from cancer. The church prayed for him, and a couple of weeks later, for no particular reason that the doctors could identify, he was declared to be cancer free; what happened? In 1989, I found myself in the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning, and I awoke the next morning with the doctor just staring at me. When he noticed I was awake, he simply said, “I can’t find a single medical reason for you to be alive right now.” What happened?

Let’s not be any too anxious to try to paint God into a corner!

Cautions about this gift are, thinking that you were the source of a miracle, and drawing attention to yourself or taking any credit for what happened.

Possible evidence that you might have this gift would include God having used you in a healing, that you have extraordinary faith, that God has answered your prayers with miraculous results, and that you tend to be bold and convincing in matters of faith.

The gift of Craftsmanship

Primary Text: Exodus 31:3-6 (This could be a sub-gift of Service)

The gift of Craftsmanship is the ability to use your hands and mind to benefit other believers through artistic, creative or a wide variety of construction arenas; its purpose is to enhance the physical surroundings of the body of Christ in such a way as to be attractive, functional and a glory to God.

Cautions for this gift are thinking that a self-centered hobby is a spiritual gift, and protecting and valuing your work over people.

Evidence that you might have this gift might be:

•People ask for your creative input on church projects.

•You have unique artistic abilities that find their greatest value and application in the local church.

•You find great joy in using your hands to build and create for God’s glory.

•You tend to be resourceful and handy.

Next time, we’ll pick up with the gift of healing…