And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?”  1 Samuel 17:29 (NKJV) The purpose of the gifts God has placed within you is to build His kingdom. No matter the natural abilities you have or the skills you’ve developed, they can be used somehow to populate heaven. That being said, what do you do when everybody around you isn’t living for Jesus’ cause or isn’t living with a “can-do” attitude of faith? David experienced this at 17-years-old when he arrived at the battlefield with his brothers’ lunch. Goliath was screaming profanities at the Israelite army, and it seemed that everyone had given up hope. David didn’t listen to the giant’s chatter, and he seemed to ignore the lack of faith he saw …

Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping. 1 Corinthians 16:13–14 (The Message)  God knew that you’d be arriving on the planet when you did. He knew you would be living where you are, with the social circle you have, doing what you do. He planned for you and has entrusted you with gifts and abilities He needs you to use for His cause. With that in mind, God needs you to fight the good fight of faith to keep developing and using the gifts you’ve been given. He needs you to keep building on those gifts: stone upon stone, one step at a time. When you’re building on the gifts God has …

Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts. People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith. 1 Timothy 6:20 (The Message) Do you ever hear things that threaten to get you off track from God’s call on your life? Have you heard, “Oh, you’re working too hard. You should slow down.” Or, “Everyone is doing it. What’s the big deal?” We’re always going to have chatter around us that threatens to make us become disillusioned with the gifts that we’ve been given and the call of God on our lives. This is why Paul felt it was crucial in the final chapters of his letter to Timothy to tell him to ignore the so-called …

O Timothy, guard most carefully your divine commission. Avoid the Godless mixture of contradictory notions which is falsely known as “knowledge”—some have followed it and lost their faith. 1 Timothy 6:20 (Phillips) Something has been committed to your trust. In 1 Timothy 6:20, Paul told Timothy to guard his divine commission most carefully. He warned Timothy to turn aside from objections and arguments that would arise from false knowledge. Something had been entrusted to Timothy that he needed to guard. One translation calls it a deposit; another calls it a treasure; another calls it a commission; still another calls it a commitment. The same is true with you. There are gifts you have that are needed by the body of Christ and your local church. …