by on

My Cup Overflows

This morning I woke up with a song by Robin Mark on my mind. The joy of the Lord filled my heart and tears welled up in my eyes before my feet hit the ground. There’s no better way to start the day than in the presence of Jesus. Those mornings when you get up and you’re immediately overwhelmed by his goodness. It’s in those moments that I’m reminded of the extent of God’s love for us.

Back in 2003 someone gave me Robin Mark’s CD, Revival in Belfast. I’ll never forget the first time I played it in my car. I was captivated by the sound of the bagpipes, chimes, and wind instruments that opened the first song, “Garments of Praise.” Halfway through the first verse the Lord came. He ministered to me in a special way as I drove that day. Actually, I had to pull the car over to the side of the road as tears streamed down my face and joy filled my heart. I sat there for 30 minutes and just praised him.

I call those moments being in the overflow of God’s presence. The Greek word περισσεία (perisseia) means: “superabundance; out of measure; exceeding normal expectations.” It’s related to the Hebrew idea the psalmist uses in Psalm 23 when he writes of his ‘cup running over.’ It’s the same word used to describe the leftovers after Jesus fed the multitudes in Mark 8.

A good English interpretation of the word perisseia is “overflow.” To live in the overflow means that there’s more than enough. It means that there’s so much more than I need that I have the responsibility to share. I like to say that living in God’s overflow means I have more than I need, more than I can use, and there’s more to come.

Throughout the Bible we are promised that God will supply us with an overflow of some amazing stuff. He promises an overflow of love, grace, joy, provision, gratitude, and so much more. You know, things money can’t buy. However, from my experience it seems that many people don’t really know what to do with the overflow. They fail to see it, much less live in it. We’re all guilty at times. We’re so busy trying to make our mark in the world, so busy trying to make a living that we fail to experience the overflowing presence of God.

There’s great peace in knowing that we’ll never run out of something. We experience that peace when we realize that we can’t do anything to exhaust God’s grace. That means you don’t have to store up anything for later; there’s always a fresh supply. The overflow means God’s love is fixed toward us. There’s nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make God love us less. His goodness never ceases to flow into the lives of his children.

When you learn to live in God’s overflow it becomes your overflow. When God’s overflow becomes your overflow it starts spilling out into the lives of everyone around you. As my friend Michael Perkins would say, you begin to drip Jesus.

Since that morning in 2003 there have been many days where God has visited me in a special way. When he shows up it’s obvious: no one shows up like God shows up. Often it happens when I’m driving. However, the overflowing presence of the Holy Spirit never stays in the car.

The song I woke up to this morning is a song that has become the theme of my life. This song will be played at my funeral. It’s called, “When It’s All Been Said And Done.” I’d like to share the lyrics with you today:

When it’s all been said and done

There is just one thing that matters

Did I do my best to live for truth?

Did I live my life for you?

When it’s all been said and done

All my treasures will mean nothing

Only what I have done for love’s reward

Will stand the test of time

Lord, your mercy is so great

That you look beyond our weakness

And find purest gold in miry clay

Turning sinners into saints

I will always sing your praise

Here on earth and ever after

For you’ve shown me heaven’s my true home

When it’s all been said and done

You’re my life when life is gone

(Sources: “When It’s All Been Said And Done” by Robin Mark; Michael Perkins)

by on

Blocking People

Pastoring over the years has taught me a great deal about social interaction. I’ve always felt that time is of the essence. Redeeming the time is something I take very seriously: every second of every day matters. Christ-followers have the most important mission in the universe. Thus, I don’t like to waste even a second.

We’ve all had people in our lives that are critics who love to steal our time by vocalizing their constant disapproval. As a pastor I’ve experienced it over and over. You see that certain person walking toward you in the sanctuary before the service and you want to run and hide because you know you’re about to be robbed. Pastors know exactly what I’m talking about. While there should be no limits to our compassion, there must be limits to the time we allow people to suck out of our days.

Once there was this guy who was determined to have his Christian band play on Sunday morning. Get this, his band was a Christian heavy metal band and he wanted me to give him a Sunday morning worship service. He also wanted a few minutes to share a message that ‘the Lord had laid on his heart.’

He came by my office several times a week to talk about it. He called persistently. He was determined to have his way. A few times when I pulled up to the church building and he would be sitting in his car waiting for me to arrive. He mysteriously showed up at restaurants where I’d be eating lunch. It became very odd, very fast.

I finally had to tell him candidly that his band would not be playing at church, ever. This caused him to become even more determined. He began talking to board members. He became aggressive toward my staff. He wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer. Finally, I had a meeting with him in front of a witness and told him that his antics were not going to be tolerated. He was negatively affecting a lot of people and that any further contact concerning this issue would be ignored. He was so angry that he about jumped over my desk.

After speaking with the church board and staff, we all agreed not to give him another minute to discuss his band playing on a Sunday morning. I guess you could say we ‘blocked’ him, which brings me to social media.

Social media is a strange beast. At times online interaction resembles a bar fight. It’s like someone having one too many drinks, developing an inflated sense of self-confidence, and deciding to pick a fight with the biggest guy in the room. There’s no denying that people say things online that they would never say in person. Social media is a dream come true for people like the guy who wanted his metal band to play at church. They can say whatever they want with no accountability.

I’ve always felt strongly about being who you are wherever you are. Don’t personify yourself one way behind the veil of a computer screen if you wouldn’t be same way in person. Of course, we all have relationships with close friends where one-on-one conversation can take on a different tone. Relationships based on personal history provide safer conditions to let your guard down. However, typing out loud while thousands of eyes read what you say must be done with discernment. I’m not saying you can’t be spirited; just don’t pretend to be something you’re not.

I don’t have specific rules for social media interaction. However, over time my list of blocked people has grown. It would be no different in real life. If you showed up at my office everyday criticizing, ridiculing, swearing, and trying to force your will on me, I’d block you. I wouldn’t take your calls, emails, or meet with you unless there was a newfound sense of civility in your approach. Yet, when people do these things online they act surprised when they get blocked.

Online negativity affects a lot of people. I’ve dealt with situations in churches where innocent bystanders get sucked into the pessimism of those who weren’t getting their way. Guilt by association is a real thing. It’s no different online. If you hang out with the critics, you may very well become one. I’ve watched people become so influenced by the faultfinders on social media that they began fighting their battles for them. It’s really sad to watch.

I’ve told people over the years that one of the greatest spiritual gifts we can develop is learning to kindly ‘ignore the naysayers.’ It’s a difficult lesson to learn, especially for pastors. We often have the personality that wants to win everyone. It’s simply not possible. No one can make everyone happy, not even Jesus.

I don’t enjoy blocking people. Actually, I’d like to think that I have a high tolerance level for Internet trolls. However, at the end of the day some folks deserve it. They take things far beyond civil disagreement. Love certainly isn’t their motive. In fact, I believe these folks are only interested in ‘being right.’ These sorts of interactions lead me to the conclusion that continued association with certain personalities simply isn’t worth it.

Going the extra mile to keep relational airwaves clear is an important part of the Christian walk. Yet, some personalities have the unique skillset of convincing me that never hearing from them again would add a great deal of joy to my life. While part of me feels like tolerating faultfinders is an honorable notion, logic always brings me back to reality. Even Jesus came to a place with his detractors where he said to his disciples, “Ignore them, they’re blind guides leading the blind… They’re all bound for the ditch…” (Matthew 15).

Life is too short and the mission is too important to endure relationships that constantly suck the energy out of you. Blocking people doesn’t mean you don’t love them. It simply means you’ve determined that further interaction isn’t constructive. Even Peter and Paul came to that conclusion. So, while it may be difficult to part ways, sometimes it’s necessary.

Again, time is of the essence. Redeeming the day and making every second count is essential. Advancing the cause of Christ is too important to waste a single moment. If these things are true, then distancing yourself from personalities that rob you of time is a necessary. With that said, it’s accurate to conclude: blocking people matters.

(Sources: Thom Rainer; Walter Hudson; Eddie Kaufholz; Relevant Magazine; Christianity Today; Conversations with various Christian leaders)

by on

No Reserves No Retreats No Regrets

In 1904, 16-year-old William Whiting Borden graduated from a Chicago high school. He was heir to the Borden family fortune. As a graduation gift, before beginning his Ivy League education, his parents sent him on a trip around the world. As he traveled through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, he developed a deep burden for the hurting people of the world.

William Borden wrote home about his desire to become a missionary. Some expressed skepticism that he would be wasting his life if he committed himself to the mission field. Many thought he should assume his place with the family empire. In response, Borden wrote two words in the back of his Bible: “No Reserves.”

Borden arrived on the campus of Yale University in 1905. His classmates quickly noticed something unusual about him and it wasn’t that he was wealthy. One student wrote: “He came to college far ahead, spiritually, of any of us. He had already given his heart in full surrender to Christ… We who were his classmates learned to lean on him and find in him a strength that was solid as a rock, just because of this settled purpose and consecration.”

It didn’t take long for Borden to notice what he described as “moral weakness and sin-ruined lives” at Yale. Surveying the faculty and much of the student body, Borden mourned what he identified as empty, humanistic philosophy. During his college years, Bill Borden made an entry in his personal journal; it said simply: “Say ‘no’ to self and ‘yes’ to Jesus every time.”

Borden started a small prayer group at Yale that ended up transforming campus life. This prayer group gave birth to a movement that rapidly spread through the student body. By the end of his first year, 150 freshmen were meeting weekly for bible study and prayer. By his senior year, 1000 of Yale’s 1300 students were meeting in prayer groups.

Borden’s ministry was not confined to Yale. He also cared about widows, orphans, and the disabled. He rescued drunks from the streets of New Haven and founded the Yale Hope Mission. One of Borden’s friends wrote that he “might often be found in the lower parts of the city at night, on the street, in a cheap lodging house or some restaurant to which he had taken a poor hungry fellow to feed him, seeking to lead men to Christ.”

Borden’s missionary call narrowed to the Muslim people in China. Once he fixed his eyes on that goal, he never wavered. One of his classmates said: “[Borden] certainly was one of the strongest characters I have ever known… There was real iron in him. I always felt he was of the stuff martyrs were made of…” Upon graduation from Yale, Borden turned down some high-paying job offers. In his Bible, he wrote two more words: “No Retreats.”

William Borden went on to do graduate work at Princeton Seminary in New Jersey. When he finished his studies at Princeton, he sailed for China. Because he was hoping to work with Muslims, he stopped first in Egypt to study Arabic. While there, he contracted spinal meningitis. Within a month, 25-year-old William Borden was dead.

When the news of Borden’s death was cabled back to the U.S., nearly every American newspaper carried the story. Sorrow over the loss of this amazing young man was felt around the globe. Many believed Borden wasted his life, arguing that he should’ve focused on the family business rather than becoming a missionary.

Upon receiving his things Borden’s family discovered that prior to his death, while laying sick in Egypt, he wrote two more words in his Bible. Underneath the words “No Reserves” and “No Retreats,” Borden wrote: “No Regrets.”

As a young man William Borden made a conscious decision to give up his wealth, influence, claim to the family business, and all the advantages that came along with it. So, was his untimely death a waste? No way. God used Borden’s story to call thousands of young men and women to give their lives to missions. Borden’s life became an inspiration to people around the world.

Many of us are tempted to play it safe with our life and ministry. We often retreat from difficulty. When we look back, we frequently have many regrets because we fail to live ‘all in’ for God. Let me remind you, Jesus never said it would be easy, but he did say it would be worth it.

So, live with no reserve. Whatever it is, or whatever you are facing, don’t hold back. You’ve only got one life; give it all you’ve got. Live with no retreat. Don’t take the easy path just because it’s easy. Move forward in what God is leading you to do no matter how difficult. Live with no regret. Follow Jesus wherever he leads without caution.

Like Borden, say ‘no’ to self and ‘yes’ to Jesus every time. Then at the end of your life, you too, will be able to say that you lived with “No Reserves, No Retreats, and No Regrets.”

(Sources: Mary Taylor; Howard Culbertson; Alan Taylor; Daily Bread 1988)

(Disclaimer: This encouraging story was shared with me over 10 years ago by a pastor via email; I’ve shared it many times in sermons and lessons, but am unaware of where this version originated)