It is so easy to be delighted with a new puppy.  He is so cute, soft, cuddly, and eager to please. His tail is wagging and he is so happy to play with his new family.

He is given dishes of fresh water and puppy food, toys, and his own place to lie down.

All is going very well for a while, but the puppy has not yet learned his boundaries, or the rules of the house.  Before long, there are piddles on the kitchen floor and carpet, and chewed up shoes strewn about the bedroom. He has developed a pattern of barking at anything and everything at all hours of day and night.

Now the mood in the house has changed. The puppy is not so appealing anymore, and may even, after a time, be considered a nuisance and not worth the trouble.

Prophetic Puppies
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In life, everything we are skilled at has come through trial and error and many times of practice.  We learned from our mistakes, perhaps, asked for help from another person, and tried again.  After a period of time, we learned how to feed ourselves, or read, or ride a bicycle, or give a talk, or play an instrument, or any number of skills.  Even when born with a gift for singing or athletics, that gift could be honed into a greater effectiveness than just raw talent alone.

We did something with the basic material we had been given.

However, a strange mindset often is present regarding the ministry of spiritual gifts. Somehow, even though, we expect the pastor to have studied and prepared how to deliver a sermon on Sunday morning, and we expect the choir and musicians to have spent time preparing the music, it is somehow not expected that any study or training is beneficial or even necessary for ministry of the gifts of the Spirit. Continue reading →