And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)

Compound interest is a financial principle that either works in our favor or works against us; it can seem very confusing at first. Wikipedia defines compound interest as the concept of adding accumulated interest back to the principal, so that interest is earned on interest from that moment on.

This works in our favor when we follow healthy models of financial planning and regularly set aside money in a savings account. Interest earned on our savings becomes a part of our savings and earns interest and so on. Returns are small at first, but as the balance grows compound interest begins to make more and more impact. Setting aside money in an account that leverages compound interest is much more beneficial in the long run than saving in jars or under the mattress.

In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul’s instruction to Timothy works a bit like compound interest. Teaching one person to teach another person, and so on, begins to yield a higher rate of followers of Christ impacting their world than does one person teaching a few. As Christians, our goal is to see a sort of compound discipleship occur as we learn and grow and use that learning and growth to lead others to learn and grow. It may not seem like much at first, but the multiplication of disciples has far greater impact as time goes by.

Today, ask yourself who you are learning from and how you can teach others around you. We all have a part to play in spreading the love of Christ, learning and growing in Him. Ask God to place reliable men in your life to increase your impact and bring the principle of compound interest alive in your Christian walk.

Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:3)

It’s easy to overlook people, to judge or categorize them based on outward physical appearances. We live in a world that almost entirely assigns value to a person, place or thing based on the way it looks or appears. It’s easy to assume that those things or people that do not fit our views or live up to our expectations have little to no value to the greater whole.

Take the recent pop-culture example of Susan Boyle, a quiet, 47-year-old, unemployed Scottish woman who by most worldly standards is a homely looking woman and appears very unassuming. As she walked onto the stage of a European talent show, her looks and outward appearance elicited laughs and verbal harassment from the audience and panel of celebrity judges. But as she opened her mouth and began singing, something happened. Her vocal gifts and talents overshadowed her outward appearance and the whole world has been captured by Susan’s story and voice; a lesson to all in misplaced values.

For you, it may be easy to think you have no contribution to make to the church or greater good. You may erroneously think that because you don’t sing well or feel comfortable teaching in front of groups, you don’t have much to offer. You may even live with the wounds and memories of being deemed of little value in your past. This week is all about learning that as a follower of Christ, you have been given gifts to share with others through the context of the local church. You have been uniquely created and called to be somebody in the kingdom of God.

Today, ask God to reveal His plan for your impact on others. Take an online spiritual gifts assessment at TheMETonline.org/
spiritual-gifts and begin to understand what you have to offer in your love of Jesus, as Mary did in John 12:3; become a sweet smelling fragrance for others to enjoy. 

Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit {as judge} and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?” (Exodus 18:14)

No one would disagree that Moses was a great leader. Under God’s constant direction, he led the Hebrew people out of the safety of Egypt and into some of the worst desert in the world. He had to find food and water. He ultimately led these people through the desert for 40 years. There’s no denying God’s direct influence; but in human terms, Moses relocated a nation of over two million people to a land they would need to take by force with nothing but what they could carry. That takes a great leader; but as good as Moses was, he could not do it alone. Soon, his father-in-law Jethro sat him down for a little heart-to-heart talk. He explained to Moses that he would burn out if he kept trying to do all the leading by himself. The solution was to appoint leaders over groups of 1,000 people, groups of 100 people and so on. Together with these new leaders, Moses could get the job done. Jethro used his own leadership experience to help Moses grow in his.

The church is like that today. No pastor can ever get the work done alone. God never intended for a few people to do all the work. That’s why the Apostle Paul tells us in the Bible about the gifts the Holy Spirit gives to every follower of Christ. Moses selected men who were qualified to be leaders. God only wants our willingness to obey and use our gift. Together with God, the church can do some amazing things.

What about you? Pray and ask God to show you where He wants you to serve with your gift. If you don’t know what your gift is, visit TheMETonline.org/spiritual-gifts. 

So the people shouted, and {priests} blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city. (Joshua 6:20)

When the nation of Israel first entered the land God had given them, they were assigned the task of conquering the city of Jericho. There were a few problems, though. A huge wall surrounded the city, the people in Jericho would fight back and the Israelites were not skilled in war, yet. God gave everyone their own job in the battle and gave the leaders some very specific directions. While God’s directions more than likely didn’t make much sense to some of the people, they had already seen God do some pretty amazing things; they knew they could trust Him. So each person did their part and God gave them the city of Jericho. It is important to mention that the only things the Israelites brought to the battle were swords, spears and horns. They didn’t have any ladders, siege towers, elephants, dynamite, bombs, tanks or bulldozers. They did have what mattered; they had the blessing of God and His promise of success if they followed His directions. By God’s power, all of the Israelites accomplished much more together than any one person could have done alone.

The church is like that, too. God has commanded us to tell the world about Him and teach people what it means to follow Him. He has given us each gifts to do His work. His plan is for us to each do our part; work as a team. God promises blessing and success when we do it His way. Everyone will accomplish much more together than any of us can do on our own.

Visit TheMETonline.org/spiritual-gifts to learn how you can discover your gift and find ways to use it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:27)

Think about where you live. It does not matter if you live in a mansion, a big house, a small house, a new house, an old house or an apartment; they all have the same parts. There is the foundation, the walls, the roof, the plumbing, the electrical system, the furnishings and in Texas, the air conditioning system. All of these contribute to making a place where people live. They are all important, and they all help each other. The foundation is the least visible, but without it, there is no point building anything else. The parts of a home were designed with a specific purpose in mind. The electrical system is for getting power to every place in the home where power is needed, but all of that wiring and plugs would make a very poor air conditioner. For the house to be a house, every part needs to be in the right place and in use.

Jesus Christ is the foundation of His church. The Bible says if you are a follower of Christ, you have been given gifts from the Holy Spirit. The reason you have these gifts is to use them to do God’s work, through the church. Compare the Kingdom of God to the home described earlier. The pieces and parts it takes to build a home are similar to the followers of Christ. Each one is important, and they all help each other. Each spiritual gift is also designed for a specific purpose, and for maximum impact each gift needs to be used according to its design.

What about you? Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Pray for God to show you your unique contribution to His cause. Using your spiritual gifts in the way and place God intended is very exciting and fulfilling.

Visit TheMETonline.org/spiritual-gifts to see how you can discover your spiritual gifts.