“New wine in old wineskins"

 

“New wine in old wineskins" is a phrase from the Bible that refers to the idea of trying to fit new things into old structures. It can also refer to the idea that new and old are incompatible. During the time of Jesus, the Pharisees (Jewish religious leaders) were the people of the Law who did a lot of good things outwardly, but many were prideful with hardened hearts. They were the religious people who attacked Jesus often and tried to find fault with Him. The Pharisees were threatened by the popularity of Jesus and His teachings which they assumed was against the law, but it wasn’t. Jesus while teaching His disciples said, "And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”  

It is hard to see true, genuine change in people. They deceptively change based on circumstances to gain popularity. They follow ritualistic habits of visiting religious places, practicing strict spiritual discipline with no genuine change of heart. Their hurtful thoughts, behavior and action towards people remain unchanged. Jesus in His time on earth revealed that the Savior of the world is right in their midst and all religious rituals are of no use. He was hated for stating the same. Jesus provides insight by asking us to prioritize having a relationship with Him rather than depending on ritualistic habits which don’t change us. We have everything in Him, and our works will flow out of our love for Him.

It is only relationship with Jesus Christ that will transform our character, impact our behavior, and urge us to forsake our wicked thought processes. Jesus constantly emphasized on repentance. Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in actions. It's a turning away from sin and a turning toward God. John in the gospel states this, when it comes to repentance. “Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance…”. True repentance has an impact on our thought process and action and is a total change of direction that comes from the heart and is genuine.

When there is no change, our evil self keeps ruining our desire to become a new creation like adding new wine to old wineskin which alters the fine taste of wine and affects the wineskin. Let go of the scars, shame, dirty habits, harmful relationships and ask Jesus to transform you. When Christ transforms a person then the changes are not temporary. They are permanent and impacts every area of our life. You experience true contentment and don’t find the need to deceptively change for people’s approval. You try to please God always. 

You can follow us on Twitter

 

Resources:

Knowing the Saviour 

THE FOUR

When longing for Love increases!

Love, the supreme of all emotions is ascribed to God. When it relates to humans it takes different forms and connotations based on our desires. We try to find love everyday through different means. Love fills our hearts and when the heart is deprived of love, it starts looking for in both good and bad places. Momentary love pursuits leave a greater vacuum in the heart.

Author Bruce Marshall once said, “A man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God.”. This statement has always reminded me of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, in which He used her love to introduce her to living water. The Gospel writer in the Bible records this fabulous incident of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman near the well. Jesus rests near the well after a long trip and wanted a drink from the Samaritan lady who had come to draw water from the well. During the conversation with her, Jesus claims that the water He gives will not make her thirsty again. This is the quote of what Jesus said. “But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again.”  Surprised by what Jesus said, she wanted to claim the offer from Jesus hoping that she need not come and draw the water from the well anymore. But Jesus was referring to the longing of her heart. And now comes the interesting part of the story. He asks her to call her husband to which she said that she doesn’t have a husband. Jesus immediately narrates the fact of her life by saying “You have correctly said, I don’t have a husband, for you had five husbands and the man you now have is not your husband.”. The lady was stunned at His awareness of the facts of her life and encounters Jesus, the embodiment of love. The conversation she had with Him was satisfying and promising. It is further recorded that she runs to the village to introduce Christ to them and brought the whole village to Him.

People yearn and pursue love in different places only to get stuck in the pit of loneliness. The law of pleasure states, that every time one goes to find pleasure in wrong places, the yearning becomes more but less satisfying. When your heart is empty of love, you don’t find the purpose of living a meaningful life. Man’s purpose is designed by God who is full of love. The Bible tells us that “This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts…”. The destination for love is Jesus. His sacrifice through which we find forgiveness from our sins and hope to live are worth experiencing.  

Sinful pleasures are always inviting. We give into them and are later filled with a trail of regrets. Garett puts it so beautifully, ‘Before sin, Satan is the tempter who whispers, “You should do this!” After sin, Satan is the accuser who whispers, “How could you have done this!” Satan kills through temptation and buries with guilt.’. He pushes us into a greater vacuum of desperation and longing. We fail to realize it is God who can bring about a calm in our stormy soul. George MacDonald states, ‘The cry of the deepest in man has always been to see God’ and when this is unfilled the longing for true love increases. Jesus Christ came into this world to assure us of this fact that only He can fill the vacuum and has the power to save us from this toxic cycle of sin. He died on the cross to break the cycle and fill our hearts with love. When you commit to know Him and follow Him your soul is satisfied and rests.

You can follow us on Twitter

 

Resources:

Knowing the Saviour 

THE FOUR

Doorless windows and boltless doors!

 

Now that we have ushered in the New Year, we feel a little relieved that it has finally come and take a break from all the hype it created for the past few days. Some of us may have done our retrospections, made some commitments and taken some crucial decisions. However, one thing that needs to stay strong and consistent are our heart and mind. Now why do I say that? It’s the fullness of the heart that overflows to our mind. 

 

If we look at the world around us, we all agree that its growing darker and wicked by the day. The heinous crimes are only increasing. Some are senseless murders, beautiful lives cut short because someone took it in their hands to finish a person’s life, gruesome rapes as one decided to strip the dignity of a person to satisfy their own carnal desires. If we have a microscopic view of these sins, it boils down to the decision of an individual. Even crimes committed by mobs are a collective decision of individuals. The Bible says, “A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart..”. All evil work starts with the heart, gets its form in the mind and results in evil actions. 

 

When we give into our carnal or wicked thoughts, we are like the homeowner of the house which is well built with doorless windows and boltless doors. The house seems safe but without proper doors for windows, we are open to the strong winds, dust, and pests. Without a bolt for our doors, we expose ourselves to thieves invading our home. We are careful enough to secure our earthly homes, but we fail miserably to follow the same principle when it comes to our heart, mind and soul which are bound for eternal life. The Bible says, “But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into.”. We hardly stay alert and careful of what we see with our eyes, what we feed our minds and allow our hearts to desire. Like a house with doorless windows and boltless doors, anything and everything that our eyes see, our mind thinks and fulfills our heart’s desires becomes our necessities.

 

We fail to understand that we need a point of reference for morality and purity of heart. We need a God who is pure, faultless and faithful. We can find this in Jesus Christ who though lived a life of a human yet overcame temptations and lived sin free. It was not because He was God in human form, but He was in close relationship with the heavenly father all through His earthly life. He filled His mind with the teachings and word of God that filled His heart and refreshed His soul. He understood our weakness to sin and came to earth to save us from it. He went through an excruciating death and rose again so that you and I can live this sin free life. Apostle Paul in one of his letters says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” It is only through knowing Him and having a relationship with Him can we be set free from our sinful thoughts and be filled with peace. Let your desire this new year be to know Him personally and receive new life, as the Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”.

 

You can follow us on Twitter

 

Resources:

Knowing the Saviour 

THE FOUR

What are you pursuing in 2025?

 

Failure is always considered temporary and a passing phase. What we don’t realize is so does success. Henry Kissinger an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States Secretary of State said this, “Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem.”. This statement captures the essence that all achievements and accomplishments are temporal and reaches it expiry date.

Everything needs an upgrade including your success. Instead of chasing success, pursue the pathway of doing things truthfully with authenticity before God and all things will fall in place. New year brings with it the excitement of commitments, relationships which are new but lose their sheen overtime and familiarity. Priorities are dictated by context, situational pressure, environment, work culture and so many other factors.

It’s a good time to ask ourselves the question, ‘What am I going to pursue in the year 2025?’. Our definition of success is confined to lucrative career, more wealth, luxurious possessions unrestricted power and influential connections. Yet are these the only factors that define our existence? These dictates of the world have a satisfaction limit and become a heady intoxication overtime, asking for more. However, staying humane with sanity, respecting without prejudice, loving one another have all become just slogans on T-shirts but hard to find in the character of people. 

The greatest purpose in life is to know God, worshipping Him and having fellowship with Him. We can argue that the purpose of life is to be happy. However, happiness is not an end in itself but being happy in God is the greatest form of happiness. He wants to pour out the deepest form of joy in us through our close relationship with Him. True joy in God makes us want to obey God and makes us long to share our joy with others. God’s purpose for us is to love Him – and each other. In the Bible books of Mark and Luke, Jesus Christ was asked what the most important things a person should do. He replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength…(and) love your neighbour as yourself’. 

In the book of John, Jesus Christ said, ‘I have come that they may have life and have it to the full’. Following Jesus Christ makes life immeasurably better creating a unique perspective that one’s time on Earth is a small part of his/her eternal existence. He/she enjoys a greater sense of security, purpose and self-worth. Having a close relationship with God enables hem/her to face challenges in life such as loss or bereavement. They move on from the things they have done wrong because they have the assurance they are forgiven. If you want to know Jesus Christ, please read the book of John in the Bible to experience the true joy giver, who can give you that contentment you are looking for.

You can follow us on Twitter

 

Resources:

Knowing the Saviour 

THE FOUR