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The Overflow

1 Chronicles 29: 11-13 (AMP) Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion and kingdom, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might; and it is in Your hands to make great and to give strength to everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

I finished reading 1 Chronicles yesterday, in my daily readings for the year. I try to read at least five chapters a day but making it important to take notice of what God is saying as I read. Our daily reading should not be to check off our to do list, it should give us an opportunity to seek His face. So do not rush it. As I was finishing up this book of the Bible, I could not help but notice David’s heart of praise. He was in awe that God would even choose him and his family. He was in awe of how far God had brought him. David was in awe of all that was available in his hands to put together such a plan for his son to build the temple.

When was the last time we stood in awe of God? Even in the offering of the people, he was in awe of who’s hand it came from in the first place. He did not puff up his kingdom nor himself of the wealth they attained, it was all for the glory of the Lord. Without God they would be nothing.

1 Chronicles 29:14 (AMP) But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.

1 Chronicles 29:16 (AMP) O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy Name, it is from Your hand, and is all Your own.

It is just a good reminder of keeping our hearts pure with whatever we have been given to work with. That is what is important to remember about the parable of the talents. You can read it entirely in Matthew 25:14-30. What is put in our hands is not ours, but we have been trusted with it to build up His kingdom. Yes, it is to be used to take care of our practical needs, but where does our true treasures lie? Only caring about yourself is like the servant who was given the one talent and buried it.

Philippians 4:17 (AMP) Not that I seek the gift itself, but I do seek the profit which increases to your [heavenly] account [the blessing which is accumulating for you]. 

Mark 4:26-29 (AMP) Then He said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who throws seed on the ground; and he goes to bed at night and gets up every day, and [in the meantime] the seed sprouts and grows; how [it does this], he does not know. The earth produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head [of grain], then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop ripens, he immediately puts in the sickle [to reap], because [the time for] the harvest has come.”

Money is not the only thing we are to sow. We all have been given time, resources, talents, and the best gift of all, salvation. Your redemption was not meant to be kept to yourself (2 Corinthians 5:18, 20). You are to cultivate it and share it. As you grow, you help others grow. We have a God of abundance. Do you know why I spend so much time in the Word every day? He is planting more of Him inside of me to share. It is the overflow of His Presence that gives me strength and joy.

When Paul stated that he could do all things through Christ who strengthens him he was not trying to master a great feat. Paul was living a life of abundance in Christ. He was in awe of the revelation knowledge he was able to share. He was in awe of the people that God entrusted into his care. He did not take any of it for granted. It was through Christ he was able to travel as far and speak to as many leaders for His glory. Verse 14 of chapter 4 of Philippians is just so important, nevertheless it was right for others to share with him in his difficulties. People are important. He did not use them up and throw them away (as become our custom in a self-seeking world). He did not move on to the next group that would bring him to his next level of elevation. Verse 17 as shown above, he sought the profit, the heavenly benefit for them. He wanted the ability for them to know the life of abundance in Christ by doing what should come naturally to us. Using whatever we have in our hands to build His Kingdom.

This is my prayer before I leave the house every day. “Thank You Lord for giving me another opportunity to glorify You today. Let me honor what You honor. Let what I have be used for Your glory, it is all from You and for You.” I hope this blesses you and reminds you to keep a heart of praise and thanksgiving as you go about your day.

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Without a Doubt

Matthew 7:7-8 (AMP) Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened.

My husband and I have been in a series called Relational Maintenance for the past year it seems. We minister together, not that I asked to, it is because with topics like this I would bring something to add. This Sunday I added a perspective of Job and how the vocabulary of our minds will influence our expectations. Job was a righteous man. “Consider my servant Job,” is what we are reminded of as to why he was chosen for this test. Another comes to mind, “For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, and that of which I am afraid has come upon me (Job 3:25).” What had Job feared? We can see that in Job 1:5, “When the days of their feasting were over, Job would send [for them] and consecrate them, rising early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did this at all [such] times.”

Psalms 111:10 (AMP) The [reverent] fear of the Lord is the beginning (the prerequisite, the absolute essential, the alphabet) of wisdom; a good understanding and a teachable heart are possessed by all those who do the will of the Lord; His praise endures forever.

What are you seeking God for? What is your expectation when you come into the community of your church? I have been praying Colossians 1: 9-10 over my church: “I do not cease to pray for Connect Church and to ask that they may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that they may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing to all, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God (MEV).” This is the same prayer I have for my children. I want them to have health, a family of their own and a happy life, but none of that compares to their relationship with Christ. Wisdom is far more precious than any wordly experience they can have. Why grasp for anything that is not centered on Christ? Wisdom is not just smarts or head knowledge. Christ was full of compassion, mercy and loving kindness and was known for His wisdom. They even called Him great teacher.

Philippians 2:5-11 (AMP) Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility], who, although He existed in the form and unchanging essence of God [as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes—the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it]; but emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man]. After He was found in [terms of His] outward appearance as a man [for a divinely-appointed time], He humbled Himself [still further] by becoming obedient [to the Father] to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.

Job made it all about his kids. We can do the same. We can go to the Father and make it all about what we would like for our lives to be like. Jesus did not model this. So why are we modeling that in our churches and in our families? We should be known for our generosity to the world. We have in an inheritance through Christ and we should be grateful and full of gratitude. Solomon was given the task of ruling all of Israel. Solomon prayed for wisdom (1 Kings 3), this pleased God because he did not ask for a long life, wealth or to conquer over his enemies. God heard his prayer giving him wisdom, but also wealth and honor. Kind of like what Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.” God’s character did not change, our empowerment did with the Holy Spirit.

James 1:5-6 (AMP) If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind.

It was a faith issue with Job. He did not make the list of the great men and women of faith as listed in Hebrews 11. You can tell that by what he feared and how he tried to compensate for that fear. My children attended public school. Why do I know that was a good choice for them? It goes according to the mission we set as a family. They are not of this world, but that does not mean they need to be taken out o f it. We are called to go into all the world and to spread the gospel. Our mission field is our community. They have served in the community that they are planted into (we have to model and teach empathy). Jesus came to serve. We are not better than anyone, and we want to see the best for others. We are not self seeking, so it is not about us grasping for success. God is our fortress, not our brick and mortar home. God is their protector, not mom and dad. They have the mind of Christ and are filled with the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead. They dwell in the shelter of the Most High and they are secure in Him (not in man). Even if they walk in the valley of the shadow of death, they shall not fear (and neither shall I), for they are protected by the Great Shepherd and they have the wisdom to listen to His guidance. My husband and I have been charged to train them in the way they should go, and that is to Christ. I cannot manipulate God to protect my family. I have to surrender them to Him. I have to live surrendered too. My identity is not found in my husband and kids, it is found in Christ. Who would I be without them? I would still be His. I cannot doubt God. He cannot lie.

God, our Father, our Shield and our Banner, we want to glorify You today with every thing that is within us, including our thoughts. Thank You for Your Son, who paid the price for our freedom. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, who is our Counselor and Teacher. Thank You for being our High Tower, for being our Peace and for Your Mercy and Loving Kindness. We repent for doubting Your Goodness and Grace by keeping control of areas of our lives. We repent for not being enveloped in the fullness of Your Love, by allowing fear to rule our minds. We surrender everything back into Your will. You are the Great Shepherd. Lord, we pray for wisdom. Wisdom in raising our families, wisdom is making good financial choices, wisdom in how to lead well in our community. We do not take the task of the Great Commission lightly, and we repent for limiting the spectrum of influence that You have mapped out for our mission. We choose to forgive anyone that has made a stumbling block in our lives to fulfill what You have called us to, the ministry of reconciliation. We repent for taking any bait of offense and allowing roots of bitterness to be planted. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.