Make Some Room
A Stand Alone Communion Meditation Before Lent
The BIG Idea
How is that New Year’s Resolution for 2022 going for you? Maybe you’re wondering why you haven’t been successful in meeting that goal. Before we ask God why something is not working or why God doesn’t seem to be speaking to us, we must ask ourselves if we have left an inch of vulnerable real estate in our hearts and minds where a holy word from the Lord may take root. Life is all about a joyous relationship with Jesus as He transforms us!
The Pharisees were concerned with ceremonial cleanliness; Jesus cared more about a transformed life.
Jesus refused to be a patch on the old traditions of the Levitical Law. He is the NEW Covenant and offered a transformed life.
We often hold on to a habit or belief, even if there is a better way in life.
New wine requires a new vessel, not just a resolution.
If we really want “new,” we must make room for it.
Jesus came to re-make us in the likeness of God that was lost when sin entered the world in Genesis.
The new wine of Jesus’ teaching requires new wineskins in which to dwell.
Our human nature causes us to be confident in ourselves rather than Jesus (Matthew 5:3), when we wish to be comfortable rather than comforted by Jesus (Matthew 5:4), when we resist identifying with Jesus in His persecution (Matthew 5:10-12), we become brittle (as well as lose our saltiness; see Matthew 5:13).
When this happens, we become like old wineskins that cannot be stretched anymore.
We cannot get “new results” with “old behaviors.”
The “new wine” of Jesus’ Kingdom burst the old wineskins.
Jesus will never call us to something “new” that goes against His teachings, His ways, and His life.
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. – Colossians 2:8 (NLT)
A new wineskin will come when we totally submit to Jesus and let go of our old nature and views that often create anxiety and fear.
How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? – Galatians 3:3 (NLT)
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. – Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)
What do our wineskins look like? Are they old, cracked, and brittle? Are they new, supple, and pliant with what Jesus is seeking to do with our transformation?
The message of Jesus isn’t about mixing new ideas or resolutions with the old – it was and still is about moving forward, grasping the transformational truth of what God has done and is doing.
Questions for Reflection:
What is the parable of the old and new wineskins all about?
Why do we need to pour the “new wine” into a “new wineskin?” How do we relate this to our lives?
What is the impact of “change” when it comes to “transformation?” How do we relate this to the Body of Christ today and in our personal lives?
Can we get new results with old behaviors?
Are you ready to “make some room” for the transformation Jesus is leading you to for your life?
How is that New Year’s Resolution for 2022 going for you? Maybe you’re wondering why you haven’t been successful in meeting that goal. Before we ask God why something is not working or why God doesn’t seem to be speaking to us, we must ask ourselves if we have left an inch of vulnerable real estate in our hearts and minds where a holy word from the Lord may take root. Life is all about a joyous relationship with Jesus as He transforms us!
The Pharisees were concerned with ceremonial cleanliness; Jesus cared more about a transformed life.
Jesus refused to be a patch on the old traditions of the Levitical Law. He is the NEW Covenant and offered a transformed life.
We often hold on to a habit or belief, even if there is a better way in life.
New wine requires a new vessel, not just a resolution.
If we really want “new,” we must make room for it.
Jesus came to re-make us in the likeness of God that was lost when sin entered the world in Genesis.
The new wine of Jesus’ teaching requires new wineskins in which to dwell.
Our human nature causes us to be confident in ourselves rather than Jesus (Matthew 5:3), when we wish to be comfortable rather than comforted by Jesus (Matthew 5:4), when we resist identifying with Jesus in His persecution (Matthew 5:10-12), we become brittle (as well as lose our saltiness; see Matthew 5:13).
When this happens, we become like old wineskins that cannot be stretched anymore.
We cannot get “new results” with “old behaviors.”
The “new wine” of Jesus’ Kingdom burst the old wineskins.
Jesus will never call us to something “new” that goes against His teachings, His ways, and His life.
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. – Colossians 2:8 (NLT)
A new wineskin will come when we totally submit to Jesus and let go of our old nature and views that often create anxiety and fear.
How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? – Galatians 3:3 (NLT)
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. – Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)
What do our wineskins look like? Are they old, cracked, and brittle? Are they new, supple, and pliant with what Jesus is seeking to do with our transformation?
The message of Jesus isn’t about mixing new ideas or resolutions with the old – it was and still is about moving forward, grasping the transformational truth of what God has done and is doing.
Questions for Reflection:
What is the parable of the old and new wineskins all about?
Why do we need to pour the “new wine” into a “new wineskin?” How do we relate this to our lives?
What is the impact of “change” when it comes to “transformation?” How do we relate this to the Body of Christ today and in our personal lives?
Can we get new results with old behaviors?
Are you ready to “make some room” for the transformation Jesus is leading you to for your life?