The Overflow

The Overflow
“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34) It is with these words that Jesus rebukes the Pharisees. They claim that Jesus is doing miraculous things with the power of Satan, and not the power of God. But Jesus calls them to see to the core of what He is doing and how He speaks. Where is the heart of Jesus? Over and over in Matthew 12-14, Jesus directly quotes or mentions specific people from the Old Testament. With every sentence, we hear how Jesus has the Word of God embedded in His heart. The overflow proves it. Isaiah, David, Jonah, and Elijah are close to the heart of Jesus. He tells their stories as He calls men to see God at work. They are living examples of what God wants for His people.
As we embed the Bible, we do the same thing. We see the people of the Bible and learn from their lives with God. Reading the Bible is not just about getting a good story or finding a moral lesson. The Bible tells stories so that we can connect with the story that God is telling. God uses men and women, good and bad, right and wrong, to invite us into a life with Him. Just like the people in the Bible, we live lives that are sometimes great and sometimes not. The overriding story is one of forgiveness and redemption. A story of relationship and transformation. The story of people in the Bible is our story.
As you read this week, remember that you are watching Jesus. Just as the sower plants the seed deep in the earth, Jesus is planting Himself deep in your heart as you read. Fill up on Jesus, and discover what it means to live in the overflow.
1. Who do you most connect with in the Bible? Why?
2. How do they teach you to look like Jesus?
3. How does reading about Jesus fill your heart to overflowing? How does it flow out of your life and into the world?