Christianity

After Paul wrote about the varieties of the gifts of the Spirit and of the varieties of ministries, he wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:31 that we should earnestly desire the greater gifts. He then wrote, ‘And I will show you a more excellent way.’ That more excellent way was faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. So we are not to SEEK gifts of the Spirit; we are to DESIRE them. And our desiring them should be filled with godly love for others. There are two reasons one would want the greater gifts and one is that he might use them to help people because of his love for them. This is how Jesus used His gifts, through love for their beneficiaries. The other reason one would want the greater gifts is because of selfishly wanting the power.

In the world today there are several people who heal and work miracles without the love of Jesus within them. For instance, there is a man who tells of lying beside the grave of Kathryn Kulman in an effort to receive some of her power. He uses the name of Jesus, but I don’t believe he is a Christian. A true Christian would strive to get closer to Jesus and receive His love for all.

The entire Bible testifies of Jesus. Let us approach it as such, rather than approaching it as a book that gives us power to heal and work miracles, etc. We are not to chase or seek specific gifts; we are to desire them, and leave the distribution of them to the Holy Spirit. We are first to seek our Father and His only begotten Son with all our heart, and, in so doing, we will find Jesus who is our friend, and God who is love. Then, and only then, will we be in a position to be trusted with things of importance.

Christianity is not a new state of mind we can jump into and begin choosing what gifts we want and what promises we want. Christianity is a kingdom ruled by God wherein we are to humble ourselves and do His will, not ours. Christians are new creatures who were raised up with Jesus into the heavenlies, and there they walk in and by the Holy Spirit who leads and guides them in the will of God. And the will of God is that we surrender to His Son and to Him, in order that we might be filled with their love for everyone.

I love each of my friends, and, God is my witness, I love each of my enemies as well.

In Jesus’ name,

Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant