Is the Spirit still giving gifts?

As Paul continues his instructions to Timothy his protégé, he warns him not to neglect the spiritual gift that was given to him (4:14). It would appear that the Spirit had provided Timothy with the insight necessary to oversee and guide the church in Ephesus toward spiritual maturity. This gift came by way of prophetic pronouncement and was confirmed by the laying on of hands by the elders. Some have suggested from such texts as 1 Corinthians 16:10 that Timothy, being a younger man, may have been somewhat timid, and that was why Paul felt it necessary to encourage him not to neglect his gift.
    The subject of spiritual gifts is discussed in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, but at this point I want to reflect on the apostolic gifts and their exercise in today’s church. Many will shy away from the subject due to what they feel to be an over emphasis by the more expressive segment of the church at large. I once met a  young man who told me he was “going to the mountains” for a week or so to translate a certain influential French book of prayers into English. He admitted he didn’t know French, but was enthusiastic about the coming days when God would intervene on his behalf. We all fall somewhere along the spectrum from the super serious to the more emotional, so the emphasis on spiritual gifts in today’s church will depend somewhat on our place along that line.
    That the Spirit does grant spiritual gifts to the members of God’s spiritual family is perfectly clear from scripture. Whether the extent and nature of the gifts is limited to the experience of the young church remains to be seen. My view is that God did not decide somewhere around the end of the first century to stop given gifts. Yesterday I heard the gifted black tenor Wintley Phipps sing It Is Well with My Soul and it left my heart on its knees before the One who made it possible for me to sing, as the third stanza puts it,
         “My sin was – oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! –
          My sin, not in part but the whole,
          Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
          Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!”
Need we ask if the gift of sharing the wonder of God’s presence by song is still active today?
    Would you be with me in assuming that the Spirit of God is not limited by passing years and changing cultures? If so, then you and I are blessed not only by the gifts listed in scripture, but also by the gifts given us by the Spirit today as time moves us along toward an indescribably glorious future.