Whenever there is a special occasion in our family, I bake this cake. In my Betty Crocker Cook Book, it's simply called, "Chocolate Chip Cake". My younger son Devon, however, calls it "Chocolate Chip Cake with Butterscotch Filling and Chocolate Glaze on top". And that pretty well says it all for him.
I make that cake with my own hands (it's actually quite easy) and I get all kinds of praise for it. On the basis of that one cake, I've been told I should start my own Bakery. I was quite tempted at one time, but then I realized that the reason I'm getting the praise and the glory is because Betty Crocker wrote the book. She baked the cake first.
I'm always told that my cakes are so moist. Well, here's the secret. After baking, turn the cakes out onto a plate, cover with a clean dish towel, then saran wrap to cool. Boy, have I received praise and glory for that! But, I've a confession: My Mom showed me how to do it. It was hers first. She gave it to me.
So it is with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. With one difference: The gift is not there if He is not.
When we receive a gift from someone, they give it to us. And then they leave, and we still have the gift in our hands. People admire it, and we say, "Yes, it's a gift from my husband." Or, we just say, "Thank You". The gift is ours, whether the giver is there or not.
Not so with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are gifts of God's Presence, not gifts from His Presence. He doesn't leave in the giving, and when He's not giving, we don't get.
In my experience, it has always been this way: When the work that God is doing is being done - whether a miracle, a healing, a prophetic word - I feel very human, devoid of pride, simple, like a child. And after the work is done, I feel the same, very human, devoid of pride, simple, like a child. And those who look at the work, the healing, the miracle, the Word, do not see me. They only see God. And this is the way it should be.
The Gift is Himself.
The Gift is Himself.
If God, alive in the flesh in Christ Jesus,
Could put aside His Divinity,
To live and experience the things of humankind;
Surely man, alive now in Jesus Christ,
Can put aside his human understanding,
To live and experience the things of God.
Excerpt taken from:
The Unquenchable Fire and Streams of Living Water, a journey in faith
Chapter 3. The Gift, Himself
Book 1 in the series
