Talents Archives - Revolution YOU.

Use Your Talents.

April 18, 2013 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Something hit me this morning.

Randomly, as I was driving to work, I started thinking about the parable of the three servants in the Bible. You know, the one where their master goes off on business, leaving them each with varying amounts of talents [or gold coins/money], along with specific instructions regarding the use of said talents. He wanted the servants to do something with the money given to them—something that would benefit him upon his return.

When the master arrived home after his travels, he was pleased with the first two servants because they wisely chose to invest and grow the amount of money given to them. So, in reward for their services, the master put each of them in charge of even more money. However, the third servant chose not to do anything with the money given to him. He was afraid of the master, and chose to hide the money away so as not to lose it. The master’s money was safe, but nothing had been gained or accomplished from the servant possessing it. This made the master angry, and he threw the third servant out of his home.
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Choices.

October 31, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Good Morning, and Happy Halloween! I doubt we will get many trick-or-treater’s seeing as we live on the third floor of a gated apartment complex, but oh well—I’ll just have to eat all the candy myself. Ha. Just kidding—kind of. Anyways…

I was reading about the parable of the king and his servants in the book of Luke this morning, and the words of Jesus hit me in a different way. Let me give you a little background information. This is the parable involving a king who, when going away on a trip, decides to leave three of his trusted servants with three different sums of money. To this first he gave ten units, the second received five, and third one. On the kings’ return, the first and second servant both presented him with double what they had been given, and were each rewarded accordingly for their efforts. On the other had, the third servant had not doubled his allotted money. Instead, he had hidden the money away out of fear, and had nothing to show for his efforts when the king returned. Needless to say, the king was a bit upset, and he took the money away from the third servant and gave it to the first, who had originally been given ten. Following the parable, Jesus said this…

“I tell you to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.”

Luke 19:26

I always thought this sounded a little harsh…I mean, come on right? Give the guy some slack! But when I read these words this morning I saw them in a different light. We are like the servants in the story, and God is the king. While we may not be given money with the clear task of multiplying it, we are each given unique gifts and talents to use. With these talents, we are also given a choice. We can use them selfishly for our own personal benefit, not use them at all, or use them as God intended—to help his kingdom grow here on Earth.

Like I said, it’s our choice to with them what we will, but ultimately we should want to choose the third choice. We should want to use our God-given talents to serve him, and further his kingdom here on Earth. I mean, what other purpose can you possibly imagine that would be greater? I can’t think of any.

What are our gifts and talents? Are you using them in a way that glorifies God?

Hope you all are having a great day! God Bless:)

The Danger of Pride.

October 26, 2012 By: Sarah Leff2 Comments

Hello, Hello and Happy Friday! It is a chilly morning here, and I am loving it. I’ve been feeling a little homesick over the past few days, but this weather reminds me of Michigan fall, so it’s helping…a little bit at least. I was going to go ahead and do a list of Friday Favorites for the week, but as I was reading my Bible this morning, I came across a passage I thought I should share.

“Master,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

“Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Luke 9:49-50

So, the disciples ran into a man who was driving out a group of demons from another person in Jesus’ name, and they told him to stop. They were under the impression that only they—the twelve disciples—were able to drive out such demons. They were being prideful, and they didn’t want this ‘nobody’ getting in the way of what they were doing.

But, Jesus told them that they were wrong in telling the man to stop—anyone who was sincere in following him could drive out demons in his name. If they weren’t against him, then they were for him. Simple as that.

You see, the disciples had just come from a situation where nine of them had tried to drive out a single demon from a child, and because of their lack of faith they had failed in doing so. When they saw this ‘nobody’ successfully driving out a group of demons, their pride was hurt. This man was succeeding at the very thing they had only just failed in doing, and they allowed their pride to get in the way of accomplishing God’s work.

We should never be so prideful that we allow something like this to get in the way of doing God’s work. We all have different gifts, strengths, and talents, and God has a purpose for each of us. There is no use in allowing our pride to be hurt if someone succeeds in a place where we were unsuccessful. Instead, we should focus on the good that was accomplished, and encourage our fellow believers in the work they are doing to further God’s kingdom.

Don’t let pride get in the way of what you are doing for God here on earth.

Anyways, hope you all are having a great Friday so far, and have an excellent weekend planned! Stay warm with these cooler temperatures coming our way, and God Bless!

Use It.

October 11, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Hello and Happy Thursday!

Throughout the past couple of weeks, I have been reading the book of Matthew. One of the things I love about this book, along with the other gospels, is the large amount of parables included within.

One parable I read this morning was entitled, “The Parable of the Loaned Money”. In this parable, there is a master and his three servants. The master decides to go away one day, and leaves each of his servants with some money to invest with while he is away. The first servant receives 5 talents, the second 2, and the third 1. The first and second servant make use of the money while their master is away, and end up being able to double the amount they were originally given. The third servant however, takes the 1 talent he was given and hides it in the ground because he was afraid of what his master would do when he returned. When the master returned, he was very pleased with the first two servants, placing them in charge of much since they were faithful with the little that he gave them. But, when he found out what the third servant did, he became very angry. He punished him for not being a good steward of what was given him, and for hiding it away when he could have invested it and used it for gain.

“So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”

Matthew 25:25

The cool thing about parables is that they can be related to real life circumstances. In this case, we are like those servants in the story, and God is the master. He gives each of us unique gifts, talents and abilities for a purpose—to use them in furthering his kingdom on Earth. His desire for us is to behave like the first two servants—using our talents for the greater good, and multiplying what has been entrusted to us. But, so often we behave like the third servant. We see the gifts and talents that we have, and instead of using them to glorify God, we use them for personal gain—or maybe we don’t even use them at all. We become selfish with our talents and abilities, and choose to ‘hide’ them from the kingdom of God. When we do this, we are not able to fulfill our true purpose and calling in life. Instead, we end up living a half-life—full of selfishness and bitterness. God has given each of us special and unique abilities for a reason. It’s our job to use them in ways that are glorifying to him, and assist in furthering his kingdom here on Earth.

What about you? Do you have a God-given talent that is being used only for personal gain? OR maybe you have a talent that isn’t being used at all. God wants to use you and your talents to further his kingdom, and reach the lost—are you ready and willing to let him in?

Hope you all are having a great week so far! God Bless:)

His Ways are Higher

August 8, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Hello and happy gorgeous Wednesday! It is a beautiful day hereJ I was reading from Isaiah out on the deck this morning (yay) and I came across this familiar passage…

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heaves are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

I know I’ve read this passage before, but it really stuck out to me today for some reason. Lately I’ve been struggling with discerning God’s plans from my own. It’s hard sometimes to differentiate between the two. This passage reminded me how important it is to truly seek out God’s plans for our lives and diligently follow those plans always. The footnotes for the scripture say it best. “It is foolish to try and fit God into our mold—to make his plans and purposes conform to ours. Instead, we must strive to fit into his plans.”

So true. No matter how hard I try, my plans are never going to work out as well as God’s. This can be a difficult thing to admit, especially for someone like me who always loves to have a plan. But it’s crucial to do so if we ever want to get where we are supposed to be in life. His plans are perfect, while ours are nowhere even close.

For me, I need to focus on trusting him to reveal his plans to me by learning to be patient, and by following the passions he has placed in my heart. I truly believe that God gives us ideas, passions and talents for a reason. He wants us to do the things we love because he is the one who placed those passions within us in the first place. Making the connection between his plans for our lives and the passions he has placed in our hearts is critical to fulfilling our purpose in life.

Is there something you are passionate about that you feel God calling you to pursue? Don’t wait any longer. Trust that he has a perfect plan for your life, and follow the promptings he places in your heart.

Hope you all are having a great week so far! God Bless J

Practice, Practice, Practice.

July 19, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

So I feel like I’ve definitely been on a ‘finding your purpose’ theme lately. It’s strange, but as I read my Bible each day, those are always the verses that pop out to me. I imagine this is because God is trying to teach me something, and I am hoping that this is a topic you all are feeling the same way about…because that’s what I’m going to be talking about. Again. It’s funny how God will highlight certain verses in certain seasons of our lives. I guess this season for me (and hopefully for many of you as well) is about finding purpose in life.

That being said, one of the verses that stuck out to me in Proverbs today was this…

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.”

Proverbs 21:31

It took me a little bit to figure this one out. At first I almost skimmed over it, thinking that it just had to do with war or preparing for a literal battle. I don’t think this is what the verse is implying though. You see, God has a unique plan and purpose for each one of our lives. Now, we can plan all we want on our own, but our efforts are useless without God. That being said, we are not completely off the hook. We can’t just sit around and wait for God to do something miraculous in our lives. It just won’t happen that way.

Think of it like this. Say you are a really amazing basketball player, and it is your ultimate dream to be in the NBA. You can sit around a dream about it all you want, but that’s not what is going to help you obtain your goals. Practice, and a LOT of preparation is what’s going to get you there. It’s the same thing with God and following his plan for our lives. He has a specific plan and purpose for us, but we have to do our part in preparing for that plan in order for it to be completed. God may have called you to be a powerful worship leader, but you’re going to have to learn how to sing and probably play the piano first. If you don’t, you won’t end up fulfilling God’s call in your life. It’s that simple. God will accomplish his purposes through us if we are willing to do our part and become well prepared for doing his work.

Is there something that you feel God calling you to do? If so, what sort of things can you do to become well prepared for the task? Or maybe you don’t feel called to anything in particular. It’s okay. Seek God in prayer and ask him. He will show you want you need to do.

Guard Your Heart.

July 15, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

If you’re anything like me, you sometimes get easily distracted. And when I say sometimes, I mean quite often. Not in the sense where I’m unable to focus on what someone is saying, but more so that I struggle staying on task. Let me explain. When I was younger, I wanted to try everything. I dabbled in pretty much every sport possible in middle school, tried downhill ski racing, rode horses competitively, and was a slight band nerd throughout high school. In college I got into sailing, running, and changed my major four times. I was always the kid who was “sort of good” at lots of things, but was “really good” at very little.

You see, I am quite indecisive when it comes to making life choices and deciding what I want to do with my life—hence changing my major four times. Actually, I am indecisive about everything. What I wear, what I eat, what I choose to do with my day…I could go on and on. I guess you could say it was tough for me to really figure out who I was and what my strengths were—especially as a younger person. It seemed to me that I tried everything, and nothing really seemed to fit. I remember feeling discouraged, even lost sometimes in college as I desperately tried to figure out what I wanted to be “when I grew up”. I ended up getting a degree in communications and business, which I enjoy, but it still just doesn’t quite seem to fit.

The way I see it, God has a special plan for my life—one that doesn’t really involve a traditional career. I’m not saying that I regret getting a degree. I use the skills I learned in college pretty much everyday. But sometimes I get too hung up on the things that I could have done, or the careers I could have pursued. Know what I mean? I think about what my life would be like if I were a teacher, a doctor or a nurse, and I forget to live the life that God has called me to live. I forget that he has directed me along this path for a reason, and that this is the road he has chosen for me. Those other options? They are there to distract me, and keep me from fulfilling my true purpose in life. I won’t be able to do the things God has planned for MY life if I am constantly trying to be someone else. It’s time that I accept the path God has chosen for me, embrace it, and stay focused on the task at hand.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, especially as James and I are in a season on transition. It’s funny how God will place verses right in front of you exactly when you need them. Example. This is one of the passages I read in my daily Bible reading yesterday…

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; keep your foot from evil.”

Proverbs 4:23-27

Umm…yeah. Pretty crazy huh? “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” Definitely something an indecisive person like myself needs to work on. You see, God has a specific plan and purpose for my life, just as he does for yours. But, this plan can be sidetracked and sent on detours by our own selfish desires, which will eventually lead to sin. Proverbs is pretty clear here. Keep your eyes fixed on the task ahead of you while staying focused on God’s plan for your life, and you will be on a firm (right) path. We need to focus on guarding our hearts against the things that would distract us, and keep us from becoming the people God has called us to be.

What about you? Is there anything in your life that is keeping you from the path God has called you to walk? Or maybe there is something you know you need to be doing, but aren’t. Either way, put it before the Lord in prayer, and he will guide your steps.

Hope you are all having a great weekend! God Bless J

Finding Your Passions.

June 28, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

What a beautiful day! I know it’s supposed to be REALLY hot later on, but right now it’s not so bad. I’m enjoying a few restful days at my parents’ house in Michigan this week. I always love coming up here…especially since they built an awesome new deck…and put a hammock on it. THE best. Needless to say, I did my daily devotions from said hammock this morningJ

I even had some visitors!

It’s a little hard to see…I didn’t want to move too much for fear of disturbing them. Mama and two babies!

Anyways, I read another all too familiar verse this morning. And, per usual, I received fresh revelation from what I read. Crazy how you can read the same thing over and over again, but yet get something totally new out of it every time. Love it.

“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Psalms 84:10-11

Okay. If you’re anything like me, the common worship song, “Better is one day in you courts, better is one day in your house” was probably going through your head as you read those words. Like I said, a very familiar verse. But, it was the second verse that really stuck out to me this time through. Sometimes when I read a familiar verse I tend to ignore the other verses surrounding it, even though they are probably just as important. I don’t really know if I had ever even read verse eleven before. I know I refer to the footnotes in my Bible a lot, but the notes for this verse were what really intrigued me, so I am going to share them…

“God does not promise to give us everything we think is good but he will not withhold what is permanently good. He will give us the means to walk along his paths, but we must do the walking. When we obey him, he will not hold anything back that will help us serve him.”

Interesting, huh? Just because we think something is good, doesn’t mean we are going to get it. Even if we were able to be completely perfect people, we still wouldn’t receive everything we deemed to be necessary and good. God is the ultimate judge of what is “good” for us, and what is not. He has a specific plan for each one of our lives, and if there is something we need in order to carry out that plan, he is more than willing to give it to us. He will provide us the means to do what we are called to do, but we are the ones that actually have to do it. It’s like hiking. You can have all the best gear and be totally prepared, but if you never plan a trip or get out into the wilderness, you’ll never get the chance to use your gear. God equips us with certain gifts and talents. He puts passions in our hearts, and fills us with a sense of purpose and fulfillment when we participate in certain activities. But if we don’t get out there and do it, we’ll never get the chance to use those gifts and passions. “He will give us the means to walk along his paths, but we must do the walking.”

For me it’s writing. And helping people. Especially young women who are struggling to find their purpose in life. Trust me, I’ve been there. I have a passion for writing, and when I write I feel purposeful and fulfilled. I know God gave me this talent for a reason, and it would be silly not to use it. I don’t know where writing will take me, or what God will have me do in the future, but that is not what matters. What matters is that I am doing the walking, and using the gifts God gave me to do so.

What about you? What gifts and talents do you have? What are some things that you are passionate about? I guarantee God gave you these gifts and passions for a reason. Seek his face, and ask how you should use them…I promise you won’t be sorry.

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