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If giftedness is the vehicle, then passion is the fuel. First and foremost, your donor candidates are not looking at your personality; they are seeing your passion. They may not believe in what you are doing, but they need to be convinced that you believe in what you are doing. Passion reeks from deep inside you. Others can smell it in your countenance, your words, and your body language. You are not apologizing about what God is doing in your life; rather you are celebrating and looking for others who may want to join the party.
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You are having so much fun that you may have to start paying an amusement tax! Passion is contagious. While someone may not immediately jump on the band wagon, don’t be surprised that over time they may eventually join your team. God calls passionate, not passive, people to start and lead a ministry. Ministry rule number one: people follow passionate leaders. Passion, like love, “covers a multitude of sins”! (1 Peter 4:8)
- Have you seen yourself in these gifts? If not, look at some of the other spiritual gifts Paul describes in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4. When God calls you, He equips you. He equips you with the character necessary to handle the pressures and challenges of the situations He brings your way and the ability to make wise decisions in those situations. He equips you through experience. As you experience people, life, and failures, you are walking along God’s stepping stones of maturity. He uses your experiences to carry out His calling on your life. As He said to Moses,
- “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:10).
- He also equips you for His calling through the relationships He brings your way. He puts “Aarons” in your life to compliment you and to give you confidence. They compliment because their skill sets and perspectives fill in the gaps of your life. They give you confidence because you know you are not alone. Yes, God is present, but so are the people He brings along to listen, encourage, and hold you accountable. Discover your giftedness, and then serve Him out of this sweet spot!
- Mercy is the ability to extend grace to another at a point of need. Daily you have the opportunity to receive mercy from God for yourself and then extend that same mercy to those around you. Mercy is undeserved. It is love in raw form. When you forgive a debt, that is mercy. When you don’t give up on someone, that is mercy. When you give to a stranger, that is mercy.
- “. . . if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:8
- Jesus said that as you give mercy, you will be shown mercy. (Matthew 5:7) While this motivation is okay, an even better motivation is to express mercy cheerfully, expecting nothing in return by looking for opportunities to be an agent of God’s mercy. You serve with a deep joy because of what God has done for you through Christ. Today, set yourself on a mission of giving mercy, not receiving it, and revel in the smiles from your heavenly Father!
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