You matter to God! For believers in particular, God has gifted each one of us with at least one gift, or more, for us to use in service to Him. He has given us those gifts for His purposes. Numerous chapters discuss the way those gifts work, with perhaps 1 Corinthians 12 being the best known chapter on the subject.
But, it is one thing to know what that chapter says; it is another thing to truly believe it, and to know that it is true, that God is indeed operating in our lives and working through us. For me, I’ve always struggled with not being an evangelist, a gift that was often presented to me as being the most important spiritual gift in existence. Especially since sight loss, that is something I’ve struggled with. As my visual world extends out only a few feet—even less than what is required for social distancing—I often don’t even know who I’m talking to. Under some circumstances, I may not even recognize close friends.
This past Sunday at Faith & Reason Ministries, I was preaching the introduction to 1 & 2 Thessalonians, the books we will be covering next. One of the things I mentioned in that introduction was that Luke was with Paul and Silas at that time. It dawned on me that we don’t hear of Luke doing any personal evangelizing in the Scriptures. But, God, through Luke, gave us both the Gospel of Luke, and the book of Acts. We know much about Jesus’s life, and especially the very early church, through those writings.
God really got my attention regarding my own life as I was preaching. It is true that I may not be an evangelist, but God has used me to write two books—the second one hopefully out sometime in late November—both of which are important. By faithfully writing, and just as importantly, writing faithfully about the Scriptures, by God’s grace I am exercising gifts He has given to me, and being used by Him in ways that are pleasing to Him. The blog writing figures in as well.
It is so easy for us to focus on what we don’t have, the things we cannot do. It is so much better to concentrate on using the gifts God has given to us, and to use those for His glory. You truly do matter!
Good Friday
Dr. James W. Walraven
4/3/2026
Some Thoughts on Christmas Day
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/25/2025
How to Have: the Best Days of Our Lives
Dr. James W. Walraven
6/23/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 17
Dr. James W. Walraven
2/7/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 16
Dr. James W. Walraven
2/3/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 15
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/31/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 14
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/29/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 13
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/27/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 12
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/24/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 11
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/22/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 10
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/20/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 9
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/17/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 8
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/15/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 7
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/13/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 6
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/10/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 5
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/8/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 4
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/6/2025
How Are We Doing, Part 3
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/2/2025
How Are We Doing? Part 2
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/30/2024
How Are We Doing? Part 1
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/28/2024
Christmas Day
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/25/2024
Advent, Part 6
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/21/2024
Advent, Part 5
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/16/2024
Advent, Part 4
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/14/2024
Advent, Part 3
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/11/2024
Advent, Part 2
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/6/2024
Advent, Part 1
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/3/2024
We Have No King but Caesar
Dr. James Walraven
1/12/2024
Asbury, A Clarification
Dr. James Walraven
3/18/2023
Thoughts on the Asbury Phenomena, Part 6
Dr. James W. Walraven
3/6/2023
Follow-Up on Today's Post
Dr. James W. Walraven
3/3/2023
Thoughts on the Asbury Phenomena, Part 5
Dr. James W. Walraven
3/3/2023
Thoughts on the Asbury Phenomena, Part 4
Dr. James W. Walraven
3/3/2023
Thoughts on the Asbury Phenomena, Part 3
Dr. James W. Walraven
2/27/2023
Thoughts on the Asbury Phenomena, Part 2
Dr. James W. Walraven
2/24/2023
Thoughts on the Asbury Phenomena, Part 1
Dr. James W. Walraven
2/23/2023
Be It Resolved? Part 8
Dr. James Walraven
2/20/2023
Be It Resolved? Part 7
Dr. James Walraven
2/17/2023
Be It Resolved? Part 6
Dr. James Walraven
2/15/2023
Be It Resolved? Part 5
Dr. James Walraven
2/13/2023
Be It Resolved? Part 4
Dr. James Walraven
2/10/2023
Be It Resolved? Part 3
Dr. James Walraven
2/8/2023
Be It Resolved? Part 2
Dr. James Walraven
2/6/2023
Be It Resolved? Part 1
Dr. James Walraven
2/3/2023
Be It Resolved? Part 3
Dr. James Walraven
1/27/2023
The Danger of Unrepentant Sin, Part 7
Dr. James Walraven
12/23/2022
The Danger of Unrepentant Sin, Part 6
Dr. James Walraven
12/22/2022
The Danger of Unrepentant Sin, Part 5
Dr. James Walraven
12/20/2022
The Danger of Unrepentant Sin, Part 4
Dr. James Walraven
12/19/2022
The Danger of Unrepentant Sin, Part 3
Dr. James Walraven
12/16/2022
The Danger of Unrepentant Sin, Part 2
Dr. James Walraven
12/15/2022
The Danger of Unrepentant Sin, Part 1
Dr. James Walraven
12/13/2022
A Change in Direction
Dr. James W. Walraven
3/24/2022
An Unexpected Lenten Journey
Dr. James W. Walraven
3/7/2022
Thoughts for 2022: How Will We Treat Those Who Persecute Us?
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/10/2022
Thoughts for 2022: What Will We Focus On?
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/7/2022
Thoughts for 2022: What Will We Think About?
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/5/2022
Thoughts for 2022: Will We Live in the Truth?
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/31/2021
Thoughts for 2022: How Will We Regard Others?
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/28/2021
Merry Christmas!
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/22/2021
Second Sunday of Advent: Preparing for Christ's Return
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/4/2021
The Importance of Forgiving Others
Dr. James W. Walraven
6/28/2021
Good Friday
Dr. James W. Walraven
4/2/2021
Our Security in Christ
Dr. James W. Walraven
1/16/2021
What Do We Make of 2020?
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/31/2020
The Miracle of Christmas, part 3
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/16/2020
The Miracle of Christmas, part 2
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/14/2020
The Miracle of Christmas
Dr. James W. Walraven
12/9/2020
You Matter!
Dr. James W. Walraven
9/8/2020
