Monday, November 16, 2026

Bible in a Year Reading Plan: Hosea 8-14 | John 21

One time after a Wednesday night prayer service, I was taking down chairs and hauling them back to the auditorium for Sunday services. After excusing myself for the fifth time through the same groups of people who were standing around talking, I asked Lee Powell, CedarCreek’s founding pastor, “Why don’t these people pitch in and help? Then we could all stand around and talk!” 

Lee replied with an observation that has impacted my leadership ever since: “Lauri, not everyone has the same gifts as you. They don’t see what you see. If you ask them, they’ll be more than happy to help you.” 

He was right. Lee was an inspirational leader because he helped others see what they couldn’t see in themselves, and then he made space for them to develop those gifts. 

Now I can appreciate the fact that God gives each of us several spiritual gifts when we submit our lives to Christ. He has ordained that every gift is vital because we need what everyone has to offer. 

Some are up-front gifts, like teaching or leading worship. Some are behind-the-scenes gifts, like hauling chairs or cleaning toilets. All are necessary for the church to function properly. 

God didn’t give us these gifts to keep for ourselves. He wants us to use them for something bigger! Organizing 500 baptisms one Sunday afternoon with my team was one way I saw this in action. Our gifts, like faith or administration, are meant to encourage and build up those around us, because they’re most meaningful when we use them to make a difference in someone else's life. 

1 Peter 4:10
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

Last weekend At the Movies, our heroine, Katherine from Hidden Figures had unique gifts that were cultivated and valued despite racial and cultural challenges. Once her boss realized her capacity, he chose to tear down the barriers that prevented her from fully using her gifts and being the most effective. 

Lee Powell was that person for me, and I pray that God has used me to be that person for others. Although careers come and go over our lifetime, our work for God’s Kingdom is never done. As it says in Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, whenever we have opportunity, we should do good to everyone - especially to those in the family of faith.”

Questions: 
Do you know what spiritual gifts God has given to you? Are you using them to promote the work of his church?

Next Steps: 
Take a spiritual gifts assessment. If you’ve already gone through GrowthTrack and forgotten your gifts, you can find them on the “More” tab of the CedarCreek App under “My Assessment Results.” Once you learn what your gifts are, take some time to explore how they can be used to impact your church and your community. Then jump in!

Or, take your next step by attending Your Purpose at GrowthTrack, a three-weekend, in-person experience that will help you see how your unique place, personality, and passions come together to reveal the purpose God created you for.

Prayer: 
Father, I thank you for continuing to teach me! Help me have a teachable heart. Give me the desire to use my gifts in new ways, to increase the church and inspire others with your creativity! Help me to cultivate my gifts as I honor the gifts you have chosen for others. Help me to remember that everyone is not like me (thank you, Jesus!) and to appreciate their unique contribution to the mission of your church. In your beautiful name I pray, amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Acts 17:28
For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

 Written by Lauri White, a regular contributor to the Daily Devotional.