Pouring over

Have you ever been in a situation where the things you wanted to keep secret seeped out?

Maybe you got mad and said a word you normally don’t say out loud.

Maybe you have always felt a certain way about someone and your real feelings slipped out in a moment of anger.

Maybe the words to a song where you "only listen to the music" came flying out of your mouth.

It’s all about overflow. In moments of pressure, frustration, anger, and stress, the things that have been building inside of us overflow out of us. Jesus said, "out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34)

This is where being a follower of Jesus meets reality. Paul wrote the following:

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:15-20)

I don’t believe that the singing and thankfulness that Paul talks about at the end of this passage are commands. Rather, they are the result of a heart that is so filled with the Holy Spirit that it overflows. When we are filled with the Spirit, worship becomes an outpouring, not a task. When we are filled with Spirit, thanksgiving becomes an outpouring, not a forced response.

When we focus on being filled with the the Spirit instead of doing church, we will begin to overflow with the love of Christ. Drink up!

shine!
Jason