Modern examples of the Spiritually Gifted.

 Talking with a friend about Spiritual Gifts I thought about Corrie Ten Boom, Tamp for the Lord and Charlie Kirk, Stop in the name of God. 

I appreciate the question: Do I read what I believe, or do I believe what I read? When we stay anchored to Scripture, we stay grounded in truth. Lately I’ve been convicted that many of today’s false prophets are not Old Testament-style figures, but influential voices and entertainers who draw people away from God and exalt self, the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Christ has already given the church true prophets. Paul names them among the gifts Christ gives for building up the body (Ephesians 4:7–13; 1 Corinthians 12–14; Romans 12). The difference between true and false prophets is visible in the fruit of their lives.

False prophets operate under the spirit of anti-Christ. Their fruit is predictable. Death. Destruction. Debauchery. Delusion. Distance from God. Devil-worship. Addiction. Disorder. Their influence pulls people toward darkness, not toward life.

True prophets live by the Spirit of Christ. Their fruit is equally obvious. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control. Their lives and even their deaths point people to Jesus.

Corrie Ten Boom is a powerful example. In Tramp for the Lord, she describes visions, guidance, and miraculous provision that carried her far beyond the horrors of the concentration camp. Charlie Kirk offers another example in a different vein. In Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life, he shows how Sabbath rest is not outdated. It is an act of resistance against frantic modern life and an invitation back to peace, presence, and communion with God.

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Biblical References for the Ascension-Pentecost Prayer Period

 The Timeline and Command to Wait

Acts 1:3-5 - The 40-day period and command

"After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'"

Luke 24:49 - Jesus' instruction before Ascension

"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

The Promise of Power

Acts 1:8 - The purpose of waiting

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The Ascension and Prayer

Acts 1:9-14 - The Ascension and devoted prayer

"After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight... Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem... They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers."

Key detail in verse 14: "They all joined together constantly in prayer" (or "devoted themselves with one accord to prayer")

The Fulfillment at Pentecost

Acts 2:1-4 - The coming of the Holy Spirit

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

The Count: 50 Days Total

• Resurrection to Ascension: 40 days (Acts 1:3)
• Ascension to Pentecost: 10 days (Acts 1:3 + Acts 2:1)
• Resurrection to Pentecost: 50 days total (Pentecost = "fiftieth day" in Greek)

The 10 days between Ascension and Pentecost became the model for concerted, unified prayer in expectation of God's power—approximately 120 believers (Acts 1:15) waiting in obedience and prayer for the promised Holy Spirit.

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Practicing the presence of God (Philippians 4:6-8)

James 4:2 cuts through the noise. You lack because you don’t ask. We complain about what we don’t have while living in prayerlessness. We want breakthrough without using the access point God designed. Prayer isn’t ritual. Prayer is supply.

• Paul’s charge to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) isn’t nonstop talking. It is nonstop dependence. The early church called it “practicing the presence of God.” Prayer becomes atmosphere, not appointment.
• Jesus warned Peter, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). Prayerlessness doesn’t just starve blessing. It increases vulnerability. The willing spirit needs strength to overpower weak flesh.
• Simple equation: No prayer equals more pressure. When we stop praying, we carry what God intended to carry with us. We fight spiritual battles with human tools. Exhaustion follows.
• Christ’s yoke reshapes the heart through the Spirit, not self-regulation (Matthew 11:29-30)

Application: Identify your pressure points. Audit your prayer investment. Pressure often reveals lack of prayer, not lack of provision.

Thankfulness is a Guard
Philippians 4:6-7 gives you a pattern: prayer plus thanksgiving plus request equals guarded peace. “Guard” is a military term. Gratitude activates the garrison. Thanksgiving is spiritual defense. It anchors you in God’s proven record.

• Jesus modeled this. Facing the cross, He “gave thanks” (Luke 22:19). Gratitude flows from God’s character, not your circumstances. We give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18) because God does not change.

Application: Before asking, rehearse His faithfulness. Name three things He has already done. Gratitude resets perspective. Gratitude is armor.

Worry Is Misplaced Faith
Worry is faith pointed in the wrong direction. It trusts the threat more than the Throne. Jesus asks, “Who can add one hour by worrying?” (Matthew 6:27). No one. Worry produces nothing except depletion.

• Peter says to hurl your anxiety onto God (1 Peter 5:7). Forceful transfer. Why? Because He cares. Worry whispers that He doesn’t. Isaiah 41:10 silences that lie: God is with you, strengthens you, and upholds you.

Application: When worry surfaces, name the misplaced trust. Redirect it. This is not positive thinking. This is faith alignment.

Guard Peace to Hear God
Noise is not neutral. It is strategic interference. God speaks in peace. Chaos blunts discernment. Sheep recognize the Shepherd’s voice (John 10:27) because they dwell in His presence.

• Isaiah 30:15 links quietness and strength. Romans 8:6 ties Spirit-governed thinking to peace. Peace is the environment where you hear clearly.

Application: Protect your peace like an asset. Limit what disrupts it. This is stewardship, not selfishness.

Fear Breaks Connection
Fear and intimacy cannot coexist. Fear creates distance, distortion, and hiding. God’s most frequent command is “Do not fear.” Isaiah 41:10 grounds it in presence. First John 4:18 says perfect love drives out fear because fear expects harm. God does not harm His children.

• Psalm 27:1 reframes reality. No threat is greater than your Protector.

Application: When fear speaks, expose the lie. Replace it with truth. Truth displaces fear.

Peace Restores Spirit, Soul, and Body
God restores the whole person (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Peace integrates what sin and trauma fragment. Psalm 23:3 says He restores the soul. Peace is God’s healing agent.

Application: Treat anxiety as whole-person work. Engage spirit (prayer), soul (truth and counsel), and body (rest).

Hopelessness Is a Spiritual Attack
Psalm 42:5 interrogates despair. Hope is not emotion. It is warfare. Satan wants you to quit. Christ gives “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). Romans 15:13 says God fills you with hope by the Spirit. Hope is a divine infusion.

Application: When hopelessness hits, reject it as a lie. Declare resurrection truth. Worship. Hope is a weapon.

Breakthrough Requires Standing
Exodus 14:13 calls Israel to stand still. No scheme. No scrambling. Stand and watch. James 4:7 ties breakthrough to resistance. Jeremiah 33:3 ties it to calling on God.

Application: Stop striving in your strength. Plant your feet. Declare faith. Call on Him. Breakthrough meets those who stand, not those who panic.

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God's word brings persecution

Scripture shows a consistent pattern. When God’s Word is spoken, believed, and obeyed, opposition follows. Jesus said the world would hate His disciples because they have received His Word. The apostles were threatened, beaten, and imprisoned for preaching it. Prophets like Jeremiah and Amos suffered rejection because their messages confronted sin. Early churches endured hostility for holding to the gospel. Revelation describes believers martyred “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” The pattern is clear. God’s Word exposes darkness. Darkness pushes back. Yet every instance also shows God strengthening His people and advancing His mission through their perseverance.

This past Sunday, Troy presented "Devotion" | Acts 8:1-8. The early church grew because resurrection conviction, Spirit-powered transformation, and persecution created unstoppable momentum. Acts 8 shows God using pressure to scatter believers into new cities, jobs, and communities where the Gospel took root. Martyrs like Stephen strengthened the church’s resolve. Persecutors like Saul became trophies of grace. God sent people like Philip into hard places and turned barren soil into harvest. The mindset is simple. Be encouraged. Be flexible when God redirects. Be vocal, not silent. Be steady because joy outweighs suffering. Christianity has always advanced through adversity. The cross proves it. The empty tomb guarantees it.

Matthew 5:11–12

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”
Jesus ties persecution directly to loyalty to His Word.

John 15:18–20
“If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
The Word made flesh was opposed. Those who speak His words experience the same.

John 17:14
“I have given them your word and the world has hated them.”
Hatred rises because disciples receive and live out the Word.

2 Timothy 3:12
“All who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Godliness rooted in Scripture invites pressure.

Acts 4:17–20
Peter and John are threatened precisely because they speak “the word of God with boldness.”

Acts 5:27–33, 40–42
The apostles are flogged and ordered not to speak the word. They rejoice because the persecution is tied to proclaiming Christ.

Jeremiah 20:7–9
Jeremiah’s proclamation of God’s word results in insult, mockery, and attacks. Yet the Word is a fire he cannot hold in.

Amos 7:10–17
Prophet Amos is told to stop preaching because his words offend the king. True prophecy provokes resistance.

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16
The church receives God’s Word and immediately suffers the same persecution given to the prophets.

Revelation 1:9
John is exiled “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”

Revelation 6:9–11
The martyrs are killed “because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.”

Hebrews 11:35–38
Prophets and faithful servants suffer, wander, and die for holding to God’s promises.

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Peace comes through presence, not technique

Biblical peace is not the absence of trouble. It is the presence of God in the middle of it. Jesus contrasts His peace with the world’s, which depends on favorable conditions. Scripture anchors peace in a Person, not a circumstance, “He himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). The promise is that “the God of peace will be with you,” meaning peace is experienced through His nearness, not through escape or self-management. Our role is to let His peace rule our hearts, to silence the internal noise that competes with His voice, and to practice active surrender when anxiety rises. Peace is retained by returning to His presence, again and again. Ideas from Maintain Peace and Avoid Stress and Anxiety.

Peace is presence, not escape.

The world offers peace only when life behaves. God gives peace when nothing behaves. Jesus says, “My peace… not as the world gives” (John 14:27). The world removes trouble. Christ enters it. His peace is relational, not circumstantial.

Jesus is the peace.
Ephesians 2:14 is blunt. “He himself is our peace.” Not His gifts. Not His solutions. Him. This is why believers can stand in storms that break others. Peace is not found by escaping pressure. Peace is found beside the One who speaks to it.

Peace comes through presence, not technique.
Philippians 4:9 says, “The God of peace will be with you.” The promise is not peace delivered but God present. His nearness is the source. His companionship is the substance.

Practice it.
When anxiety spikes, we default to problem-solving. Scripture calls us to presence-awareness. Simple prayer: “You are here. You are peace. I receive You.” This shifts us from managing circumstances to meeting God.

Keep your peace.
God already gave it. The challenge is holding it. Colossians 3:15 commands, “Let the peace of Christ rule.” Rule means “umpire.” Peace should call the balls and strikes in your decisions and reactions. We must allow it to govern.

Noise kills peace.
A heart filled with hurry, anxiety, and distraction cannot hear God’s gentle arbitration. Isaiah 30:15 names the pattern: “In returning and rest… in quietness and trust is your strength.” Then the diagnosis: “But you would not.” The peace was available. The people chose noise.

Biblical stillness is active surrender.
Psalm 46:10 is not a spa verse. It is spoken while nations rage and mountains shake. “Be still” means stop striving. Stop self-rescue. Know He is God. Yield the controls you grabbed.

Practice it.
Do “peace checks” throughout the day. Ask: Is peace ruling or has fear climbed onto the throne? When you lose it, don’t just calm down. Return to God’s presence. Deep breathing steadies the body. Only God restores the soul.

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