"Old Wineskins?"
I stopped and jumped up to my blog and I was amazed that my last post was so long ago! I have had such good intentions to keep up at least once a month and desirably once a week yet, here it has been so long. Have you ever had plans that seem to have been set to the side by such a busy schedule like this?
I can remember when I didn't have five children 3 years old and under. Well, actually I don't even know what I did with my time then! I use to think I was busy... so.... what did I know? I was busy then but now my life has changed so much from where I was to where I am today. It's been a great change but not always easy to do because it seems we can all get set in the 'tradition' of doing things a certain way. Those 'traditions' can become habitual and then, I have found, I sometimes even have difficulty finding out what 'tradition' I had created so I could let go of it.
This all makes me think about the scripture ,Mark 2:22, where the Lord tells us about 'old wineskin'. He tells us that you can't put new wine in old wineskins because the 'new wine' will cause the old wineskin to burst. Have there been things that seem to be bursting in your life? God is pouring out new wine and those old ways we all may have that we have been holding onto have become those old traditional things we think we need to continue to keep. Well, they are 'bursting' because of His 'new wine' and the Lord is removing those things and bringing in the new way of doing things HE has planned for us. That's what I have found He has done in my life, He has caused things in the natural to 'burst', and He has caused so many things to change for us and take on new direction. God is so good!
You ask, "What does that exactly mean?" Well, it certainly doesn't mean He has caused bad things to happen to bring new wine into our lives. It means we, for example, are bursting out from our seams! We are increasing and increase is not always comfortable. When you increase you will have to take what you have and allow provision for new to change the 'old way' of doing things. That's not always easy for us since we sometimes tend to act like flesh creatures.
For example, if you become a larger family you may quickly burst at the seams as we have and you will find you will have to believe for a new house. If your church Pastor, grows so quickly and you don't know where everyone came from or exactly when they got there, you will have to find a new building quickly! As with KICKS Club, we have grown so quickly that we are having to learn a new way of keeping up with our mail. Although packets may be slow at getting out, we are finding those 'old wineskins' have burst and the new is being ushered in and God is doing great things for us!
Growth and change, increase and being changed from glory to glory, is not always easy because you have to lay aside those old wineskins and take on the new. Old ideals, thinking, feelings, doing, seeing, and the more, are not always easy things to do get rid of, but be encouraged, the Lord has said in Isaiah 48:3,5,and 6,
"I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass... I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them."
Here the Lord is telling us that He declares the former things from the beginning therefore, out of His mouth He will also declare the new. He says He brought the former things to pass, and He showed them to us so that no man could say something He has done in our lives for us could be credited to other things other than our God. He tells us we can hear this new plan and direction and that we can see it, as well as declare it, because He has not only done the old things for us in the past, but He is showing us and doing NEW things that don't have to be hidden from us now. We can know His move and His doing and make it very different than those He was talking to in the book of Isaiah here and "know them".
Allow God to declare and bring those new increasing things in your life. It will cause the 'old wineskins' you may be holding onto to "burst", but go for it! God's new is great and we can declare it as He does 'show us' how to, when to, where to, and what to do with His gracious 'new wine' in our lives~
God's richest increase to you and your family,
Pastor Kim
I can remember when I didn't have five children 3 years old and under. Well, actually I don't even know what I did with my time then! I use to think I was busy... so.... what did I know? I was busy then but now my life has changed so much from where I was to where I am today. It's been a great change but not always easy to do because it seems we can all get set in the 'tradition' of doing things a certain way. Those 'traditions' can become habitual and then, I have found, I sometimes even have difficulty finding out what 'tradition' I had created so I could let go of it.
This all makes me think about the scripture ,Mark 2:22, where the Lord tells us about 'old wineskin'. He tells us that you can't put new wine in old wineskins because the 'new wine' will cause the old wineskin to burst. Have there been things that seem to be bursting in your life? God is pouring out new wine and those old ways we all may have that we have been holding onto have become those old traditional things we think we need to continue to keep. Well, they are 'bursting' because of His 'new wine' and the Lord is removing those things and bringing in the new way of doing things HE has planned for us. That's what I have found He has done in my life, He has caused things in the natural to 'burst', and He has caused so many things to change for us and take on new direction. God is so good!
You ask, "What does that exactly mean?" Well, it certainly doesn't mean He has caused bad things to happen to bring new wine into our lives. It means we, for example, are bursting out from our seams! We are increasing and increase is not always comfortable. When you increase you will have to take what you have and allow provision for new to change the 'old way' of doing things. That's not always easy for us since we sometimes tend to act like flesh creatures.
For example, if you become a larger family you may quickly burst at the seams as we have and you will find you will have to believe for a new house. If your church Pastor, grows so quickly and you don't know where everyone came from or exactly when they got there, you will have to find a new building quickly! As with KICKS Club, we have grown so quickly that we are having to learn a new way of keeping up with our mail. Although packets may be slow at getting out, we are finding those 'old wineskins' have burst and the new is being ushered in and God is doing great things for us!
Growth and change, increase and being changed from glory to glory, is not always easy because you have to lay aside those old wineskins and take on the new. Old ideals, thinking, feelings, doing, seeing, and the more, are not always easy things to do get rid of, but be encouraged, the Lord has said in Isaiah 48:3,5,and 6,
"I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass... I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them."
Here the Lord is telling us that He declares the former things from the beginning therefore, out of His mouth He will also declare the new. He says He brought the former things to pass, and He showed them to us so that no man could say something He has done in our lives for us could be credited to other things other than our God. He tells us we can hear this new plan and direction and that we can see it, as well as declare it, because He has not only done the old things for us in the past, but He is showing us and doing NEW things that don't have to be hidden from us now. We can know His move and His doing and make it very different than those He was talking to in the book of Isaiah here and "know them".
Allow God to declare and bring those new increasing things in your life. It will cause the 'old wineskins' you may be holding onto to "burst", but go for it! God's new is great and we can declare it as He does 'show us' how to, when to, where to, and what to do with His gracious 'new wine' in our lives~
God's richest increase to you and your family,
Pastor Kim
