On Becoming New Wineskins That Won’t Burst

We attended a marriage conference last week & the revelation we received was so great, that we want to share it with anyone who’ll listen. Even though the information was new & at times SUPER uncomfortable to hear, we’ve both put it into practice. The transformation we’ve experienced in just one week is astounding!

As I read Jesus’s illustration in Luke 5 about the dangers of putting new wine into old wine skins, it made me chuckle. I kinda feel like we are entering the “old” category of age.

What’s fascinating about the wine skin story is that Jesus isn’t just referring to age, but maybe a scientific principle.

Some Bible scholars believe that Jesus wasn’t talking about a fermented, intoxicating wine, but of “must,” a non-intoxicating beverage, which could be kept safely in new leather bottles.

If it was placed in old skins, which had previously contained ordinary wine, particles of albuminoid matter that adhered to the skin would cause fermentation. It changed the chemical composition of the new wine, resulting in gas to develop in the new wineskins which may make them burst.

Jesus’s teaching is fresh & powerful! It is not fettered by old laws or hampered with old traditions & rituals. The old wineskins of the Scribes & Pharisees could not contain the new revelation because their skins were not only old, but their strict adherence to the law stuck to their very core, making them unable to receive the Word without changing its composition or meaning.

Jesus is looking for simple, unrefined men 

who will receive his teaching like untainted children & then pass it on pure & unadulterated to other simple, earnest men!

One practice we learned was the idea of blessing each other’s spirits to lead. We are comprised of spirit, soul (mind, will & emotions) & body. Too often we let our thoughts & feelings lead our body, leaving the spirit trail behind. We are on a 30-day challenge of blessing each other’s spirits, calling them to attention to lead our soul & body into alignment with the Holy Spirit’s purpose for the day ahead!

Wanna join us?

Father, help us abandon old mindsets so we may become new wineskins to receive Your powerful Truth! Bless our spirits to lead!

#OneYearBible

March 23rd One Year Bible Readings

NUMBERS 36:1-13

DEUTERONOMY 1:1-46

LUKE 5:29-6:11

PSALM 66:1-20

PROVERBS 11:24-26

The Desert Life

A dry, desert moment or season in life doesn’t sound very appealing, does it? Spending time in an uncultivated, solitary place, lacking life, water & people can feel like punishment until we remember what it does provide:

Freedom from disturbance.

Jesus found the desert life not only to be appealing, but absolutely essential! Luke 5:16 tells us that He OFTEN withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. With the throngs of people following Him from morning until night, it was necessary even for the Son of God to make room not just for the urgent, but the most important: time to recharge his batteries with His Father.

The word withdraw comes from two Greek words & they are worth unpacking!

👉🏽hupo properly means to bring under authority; someone working directly as a subordinate

👉🏽chóreó & means to make room; to create space by going to a place to receive understanding or revelation

Think about this! If Jesus, the SON of God, made room for His Father by going to the desolate desert, how much more do we need the same?!

It is in those quiet, unpopulated, unwanted barren moments where we experience the richness of God’s Presence & provision!

The limiting scene of a desert-like surrounding provides fertile ground for our limitless Lord to reveal Himself!

The pace of our lives in the culture that we love is not conducive to creating space for Him. But remember this: if Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer, so must we!

My song for 2022 is called, “Make Room” by Jonathan McReynolds. The lyrics begin with,

I find space for what I treasure

And I make time for what I want

I choose my priorities and

Jesus, You're my number one

So I will make room for You

I will prepare for two…

Making “room for two” is easy when we realize our need of Him! As Savior & Lord over my life, I can only fully “come under His authority”  by making a space & place for Him to speak!

Father, we take time today to enter into the great exchange with You! Lead us to a space free from disturbance that gives us a quiet place to hear You & exchange our will & our way for THE Way! We are willing to enter a desert moment so we may experience the richness of Your Presence & provision!

#OneYearBible

March 22nd One Year Bible Readings

NUMBERS 33:40-35:34

LUKE 5:12-28

PSALM 65:1-13

PROVERBS 11:23

Following the Lord’s Lead Can Sometimes Feel Foolish

The first day of spring sprung yesterday & with it a question bubbled:

If I were to ask the Holy Spirit what He would like to spring forth in & through my life in this next season, how might He reply?

I did ask the question & to be honest, am not a fan of the answer. It would require a whole lotta faith & even more following the Father’s lead 😬

Today when I read about Simon (Peter) cleaning his nets (probably in a bit of frustration after a night of nil fish), the feelings I had towards the Holy Spirit’s answer resonated with Peter’s.

You see, he’d spent the ENTIRE night fishing and caught nothing. Now, in the wee morning hours while cleaning his empty nets, a man steps into his boat & begins to teach. It doesn’t say for how long, but it’s long enough for Peter to receive Jesus’s instruction to let down his nets again, as ridiculous is it seems.

Peter calls this carpenter, “Master” even though Peter was probably the master fisherman. He acknowledges that they hadn't caught a thing all night, but trumped that fact with a willingness to follow Jesus into what seems like tom-foolery. He proclaims his trust with a but: The fish have been few, “but if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”

Sometimes, the Holy Spirit, as our divine counselor, leads us like Jesus did Peter…back into waters that were wrought with lack only to be stunned with the provision that follows!  We just need a heart like Peter’s that simply says, “Well, if YOU say so, Lord, I’ll follow…even if it feels foolish!

Where is the Holy Spirit wooing you this spring? If you were to follow His lead, what sort of provision (for you or those in your circle) might spring forth? 

Father, following You can sometimes feel foolish. It might not make sense, but remind us that it doesn’t have to because You’ve got it all figured out…all we need do is follow your lead.

Give us a heart like Peter that acknowledges You as Master & Lord over our lives! Whatever it is You’re calling us to do, may we each proclaim in trust, “… if YOU say so, I will follow.”

#OneYearBible

March 21st One Year Bible Readings

NUMBERS 32:1-33:39

LUKE 4:31-5:11

PSALM 64:1-10

PROVERBS 11:22