I read a quote from my neighbor this morning that said, “Whatever you are overflowing with will spill out when you are bumped (Ravi Zacharias).” This made me think because as Christians, I would imagine that whatever we are filled with will spill off on others when we bump into them or are in their presence, right? So I ask the question, “What are you filled with?” If you are filled with anger because your spouse made you mad on the way to church, then you give off anger to your fellow church members for Proverbs 29:11says “Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.” But, if you are filled with love because that’s the way you are supposed to be, then you give off love when you mingle with folk for John 13:34 says “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
Philippians 1:9-11 says “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”Now salvation is defined as the act of saving or protecting from harm, risk, loss, destruction; and God does this for us, so he is filled with salvation. Then he fills us with this salvation, when we accept him into our lives, in order to save and protect others who have not accepted him yet. But if I am a sinner and every time I walk by you and you are complaining, why would I accept what you are offering? If I am a sinner and every time I bump into you and you are gripping because you don’t have money, then how can you tell me that God is a provider and make me believe it? If I am a sinner and every time I talk to you, you have gossip on your lips about your brothers/sisters, you are supposed to love, how can you tell me that God wants us to love one another? If I am a sinner and every time I see you, you are complaining about the sickness in your body, then how can you make me believe that you have faith in God’s word? You have to be overflowing with the love of God and his word in order to spill it into other folk’s lives because for the most part, the closest a doubter, sinner or backslider gets to God is through you. But if the stuff that you’re filled with smells and sounds like garbage when it overflows, then you will probably only have those around you who smell and sound like the same thing, which means you are conforming to the world instead of having the world conform to you. Through salvation you gain strength and through strength you get saving power and this power gives you purpose and this purpose gives your life meaning and through meaning you get mercy and with mercy comes grace and grace, God’s grace is more than enough.
But if you can blend so easy into the world, like a chameleon blends into their surroundings, then you may need to read your bible more. When you become filled with worldly stuff, then God’s business gets pushed to the back. 1 John 2:15 says “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”You’ve know that when you try to provide the same amount of attention to 2 things at the same time, one will suffer. It’s like you trying to blow air into 2 balloons at the same time. When you take your mouth off of one, the air releases so the only way for you to get one the size it needs to be, you have to continue to blow into it, which means the other one will be left out; at least until you finish with the first one. This is the same way with trying to serve God and the world. When you focus on the world, then God’s plan for your life is placed on hold until you are finished but will you finish in enough time to go back and get God and if you do, will he still be in the same place you left him? 2 Corinthians 13:5 says “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” How do you examine yourself? You have to do the will of God and follow his commandments. When you go even when you don’t feel like going, you’ve passed the test. When your friend calls with problems and you pray for them instead of gossip and you don’t tell their business, you’ve passed the test. When you do God’s will because it’s what you’re supposed to do and not for recognition, then you’ve passed the test. When your money runs out and your faith doesn’t waver and your knees don’t buckle under the pressure because you know that God will do what he said he would then you’ve passed the test. After passing the test, you are rewarded and God’s reward is much more than man can offer, so you have to be careful what you allow yourself to be filled with. If you leave garbage in your house for too long, eventually you’ll start smelling it in every room. Well if you leave hate on the inside for someone, bitterness over something that happened and malice towards someone who hurt you, eventually these things will begin festering inside of you until they consume your insides and then your overflow will be tainted and who wants to be around a bad-smelling person? Folk will avoid you like you have a contagious disease and if the room suddenly clears when you walk in it, then you need to fix what you got coming out of you. Being around a person whose overflow is tainted is like spilling red wine on your white shirt, it creates a mess. You have to be aware of the things that you’ve allowed to consume your insides and let them out. The same way your body gets rid of waste daily should be the same way you get rid of worldly waste from your life. You’re able to do this by praying for your enemies, letting go of hate, stopping spreading gossip and lies and becoming a better soldier in God’s army.
I pray for you my brother and my sister daily. I don’t have to personally call your name and your situation because God knows all. In Ephesians 3, Paul talked to the Gentiles about the purpose that God had given him, which was to minister to them the word of God. See, Paul didn’t think he was worthy of the position, but God did, so Paul was obedient. In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul offered a pray to the people and even though I am not Paul, I, too, don’t feel worthy of this gift, but God did, so I must be obedient to him and his will. This prayer fits so perfectly for what I want for each of you so I have to share it. God wants us to love one another because if we love each other then we can love him. We have to fill ourselves with the word of God along with faith so that when someone bumps into us that may be having a bad day, week, month or year; it’ll spill onto them and make them well. When we fill ourselves with God, all we have to offer is love because God is love. Overflow with God so that your face may always have a smile, your walk may always have joy, and your hands may always offer help and your heart may always show love.
(Paul’s prayer which is my prayer to you)
“My prayer for you, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen”
Lakisha, the Author 