Then they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." Luke 1:62-63

There was a herald to the coming of the Messiah. This herald was John the Baptist. Even before his birth, his spirit recognized the Spirit of God. From the beginning, he was set apart from other men. He was different. Later, in his early 30's, he would wander the desert in rough clothing eating locusts and honey. John, unlike Jesus, was not perfect. He easily could have chosen another life, and easier life. But he chose to stay true to his calling of being a herald for the Lord.
What has God called you to do? Are you following His Direction, or have you lost the Vision? Or, do you not have any idea of what He wants you to do? Each one of us has a job to do in the Kingdom, and for the Kingdom. What may seem like a natural desire to do something may be, in fact, the Holy Spirit's passion flowing out of you.
I write. It is my way of spreading His Word and encouraging the Body of Christ. It is my hope that God uses me to reach out to people who need to hear from Him. I am not especially good at person to person witness. I do not know how to open up a conversation about the Lord. Unless it is a natural occurance, I do not know how to steer a conversation away from say, football, onto the Lord. This really bothers me. But I can witness in my writing. It flows out of me. This is where I belong. This is my heralding of the Kingdom. But I also have a choice whether I want to exercise this gift. Sometimes, I do not want to. Sometimes, I feel uninspired. Sometimes, I simply feel too lazy. But I know in my heart of hearts, this is my herald to the Kingdom. What is yours? Do you know? Are you willing to exercise it? Let the Spirit lead you. You, too, are a herald of the King of Kings.

I think in many ways when we find what God has called us to do, what God has gifted us to do - and we do it. It brings energy, life, satisfaction and purpose to our lives in a way that running from our gifts and our calling would never bring. I think this is true no matter our gift. I have a dear friend at church whose gift is the gift of hospitality. Don can cook like few I know and yet what I love most is the great big bear hugs I get from him when I show up at church. I just love him so much! And that's true concerning so many at my home church of faith fellowship (San Leandro, CA). I live a long way away from them now and only get to see them once every few months. But its like a drink of cool, clean water when I get 'home' for a visit. I get a kick out of it when they say they're so excited to see me and hear another one of my sermons. When in fact I'm the one blessed just to be back home.

We each have our gift(s) from God and it's an honor to use them in His name. I pray that each one here finds their special gift that God has given them and then uses that gift to bless the world around them.

1 Cor 13:13 (NLT)
"and the greatest of these is love."

Thanks Blyth for being the Herald in the (devotion) writings.
It helps to reflect on Him and His calling as an extra reminder & confirmation for my life.
I'm sure it is a blessing, reflection & encouragement for others too.

God bless you Blyth. Have a blessed Christmas in company of your loved ones.

Dot.

I just want to echo Doth's reply. I look forward to daily reading your devotions.