Generational Awareness of the Human Spirit & its Importance:

I asked my granddaughter and her husband to share their awareness of their human spirit. It blesses my heart to know that this knowledge is being passed down in our family from generation to generation. 
Ken.

My name is Katie Davis. I am Ken’s granddaughter. I married my husband, Darryl, 10 years ago. Darryl and I have four children together aged two, four, six and eight.

I grew up with the knowledge of having a spirit and what that meant. I also grew up knowing my spiritual motivational gift. I have always found it helpful to know my family and friend’s spiritual gift. Helpful, because it is so much easier to understand where they are coming from or why they are doing what they are doing. It helps me to have compassion and understanding.

I have found this to be even more helpful when it comes to raising kids. I can’t say with 100% certainty what my kid’s spiritual gifts are, but I would say I have a pretty good guess. Knowing how God created them to operate in the body of Christ and what motivates them is invaluable. I can parent them with intention, knowing what will motivate their spirit. When they are sad or crazy or misbehaving, I can use the principals of their gift to guide my parenting. 

My name is Darryl Davis. I grew up in a “Christmas/Easter Catholic” family with very little scriptural knowledge and no knowledge of spiritual gifting. It’s safe to say that I knew so little about the spiritual gifts, that when I was dating Katie, both her and her mother, Denise, knew my gift before me. I’ve now been married to Katie for 10 years and my knowledge of the spiritual gifts has grown greatly.

My ever-growing knowledge of the spiritual/motivational gift has been absolutely imperative when it comes to raising our children. Katie and I have four children and all of which are oozing with personality. This makes for a loving, fun, lively and goofy home, but with it comes our fair share of chaos and conflict. In both the fun times and the times of conflict, knowing our children’s motivational gifts has proven invaluable to identifying the driving force behind their actions, as well as possible emotions they might be feeling at the time. This enables us to meet our children where they are and speak to them in a way that ministers to their spirit. This has also shown us that parenting different children with different motivational gifts is not a “one size fits all” approach. 

When I see/learn something new in the Bible that touches and grows my spirit; it definitely causes my “cup to run over.” So, I just had to share it with you!

My Contemplations

The book of Acts begins by reporting on Jesus’ resurrection. It tells of Him spending 40 days with the disciples. They’re with the first man who pronounced before His execution, that He would be executed and then return from the dead. And they were actually in His presence. Can you imagine them not being able to take their eyes off of Him; unable to mentally turn loose of being amazed, fascinated, astonished, about what’s actually happening!

Talk about Him and God being premeditated

Acts 2:23 tells us that Jesus’ death plans were foreknown, and John 10:15, 17 and 18 tell us, “15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My [very own] life [sacrificing it] for the benefit of the sheep. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back. 18 No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down voluntarily. I am authorized (by God) and have power to lay it down and to give it up, and I am authorized (by God) and have power to take it back. This command I have received from My Father.” (Parenthesis mine.)

Examples of premeditation

Reading the Gospels (especially John’s), how many times did those in leadership (supposedly those were to be representatives of God to the people) get so irritated with Jesus that they wanted/plotted to kill Him? Why were they so irritated? Because He was explaining to people everywhere (including us) and even in the temple, specific instructions about Who He is and what’s necessary to become a member of the Kingdom of God.

Surely you recognize that Jesus would not change the message that He was sent to proclaim to everyone, even though He knew He was irritating and provoking the priests, right?

Acts 2:23-24 (AMPC), Peter (who’s there in Jesus’ company proclaims, “23 This Jesus, when delivered up according to the definite and fixed purpose and settled plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and put out of the way [killing Him] by the hands of lawless and wicked men. 24 [But] God raised Him up, liberating Him from the pangs of death, seeing that it was not possible for Him to continue to be controlled or retained by it.”

Then, pay special attention to this

Now, put yourself in that room with the Apostles, and imagine what your emotions would be when you hear Jesus announce in Chapter 1 verse 8 (AMPC), “But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.”

WOW!!! receive the Holy Spirit!!! Again, continuously staring at Him, unable to mentally turn loose of being amazed, fascinated, astonished…but what’s the Holy Spirit thing?

Here's what occurred to me. If at that time the Apostles didn’t even know what the bounds of the earth were, and are all dead now, how would they accomplish that prediction. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was holding in my hands “the Apostles” because they were represented in their books — the Bible. They are indeed fulfilling Jesus’ announcement.

Is there no end to the thrill in messages contained in God’s word? No! 

You think He’s not aware of us and prepared to direct us and our future if we yield to Him?

A man after God’s own Heart?

After reading 2 Samuel 11, I have to ask, why would God (in Acts 13:22) have called King David, “a man after My own heart?” Wouldn’t we all like to have God say that about us? I sure would! So, what will it take?

Was it because David’s life included normal-to-man, selfishness, and immorality which in David’s case led to a murderous act? No, of course not. I think the answer is explained in the book of Psalms. 

Here’s what I believe. Because God is the only Creator, we need to recognize when we consider all the things that He has created, there wouldn’t be such a thing as emotions if God hadn’t created them. He also gave each emotion a name. Here’s how I reflect on that: Because God created everything, He is totally, emotionally operational. 

And yet, surely, you’ve noticed that the average man is emotionally dysfunctional, inadequate for relating to his wife and sadly is nearly, if not fully, proud of it? That’s why in the Christ Quest Institute we teach men God’s specific purpose for emotions.

Still, how could a person reading the book of Psalms not recognize the overpowering emotions David continuously expressed throughout his writings. 

Oh, ok, now I see it. That’s why he was a man after God’s own heart. Not because he acted godly, but that he was able to operate profusely in the emotional realm — like God does. 

Incidentally, the word “heart” in Acts 13:22 is from the primitive Greek word kar meaning: the thoughts or feelings. 

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if all of us men could be like David? A man totally, emotionally operational, so we too could be a man after (in line with, like) God’s own heart!?  

Incidentally, have you noticed that all of the Fruit of the Spirit are emotions? But that list is just the beginning. Then too, how would an emotionally dysfunctional man be able to acquire/experience them?