Thursday's Thoughts ~ Patches and Wine Skins

While enjoying the beauty of Lake Tahoe, I got to linger over passages of scripture and practice listening to the Lord.  He spoke some pretty profound words to me - about myself, about my life and about His Word.  I'm hoping to share a few of these with you very kind people who take the time to read them.

I have read this passage many, many times, but never really slowed down to ponder it.

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.  No one puts new wine into old wine skins, otherwise the wine will burst the skins and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wine skins." 

Mark 2:21-22

Things were changing.  The newness - the Promise has arrived.  The old ways were not going to work anymore.  There was a better way.

Jesus brings new life . . . new ways and a new freedom.  He is not a patch over my old life.  He is not a refill into my old self.  In fact, if I try to make Him a refill for my old, empty self, I will simply burst open!

He is NEW and He can not be contained and He can not be used.

It's not about accommodating Jesus and simply slipping Him comfortably into my life.  It is about shedding that old garment and replacing it with His robes of righteousness and garments of praise.  It is about discarding those old cracked wine bottles and being filled with the living water of the Spirit.

As long as I try to contain Jesus and remain in my old ways, my set ways and my preconceived notions of Who He is and what my life is to be, there will be a tearing, bursting, leaky, Spiritless dribbling life.  

I do not want that.

I always want to be open to the newness of Him - the newness of His purposes - the newness of His Word each and every day.

There is such freedom in letting go of the old and embracing the new.  There is freedom in continually being open to change - to listening for those whispers of direction, guidance and opportunity.

There is a peace that surpasses all understanding when you look ahead, knowing that He walks before you, beside you and behind you.  

He hems me in.

Holy Spirit ~ Fill me up and 
may I only leak 
the things of Jesus.