New Wine Skins
A Reflection
The mission team was on our way to a yoga retreat for outreach. I was in the back seat of the car. I had an all encompassing image of what I can best describe as tissues or muscles being stretched. I asked the Father, "What is this?" I heard, "new wine skins."
This resonated because I'd been having a sense that I was in the process of expanding so I could receive a greater infilling of grace.
When Jesus walked the Earth, grapes for wine would be harvested and then crushed in large stone vats, first with people stomping barefoot, followed by more pressing that used a wooden plank weighted with stones. The new wine was left in the vat to undergo the first fermentation. Because the new wine continued to ferment and emit gas inside its container, it was crucial for it to be stored in new wineskins. That way, the flexible nature of the wine container would allow it to expand and stay sealed as the fermentation process progressed. The idea of putting new wine in an old, inflexible wineskin would’ve been regarded as foolishly wasteful because the old, dried-out wineskin would simply crack and drain out all of the new wine.
I thank you Father for making me new, for increasing my faith, and capacity for you and your grace. I accept the challenges before me as from you and for you and I turn to you saying "you can do all things."
How might Jesus be expanding you? What has He shown you to be new and you must respond in a new, creative way?
The picture above is cardiac tissue from the heart muscle under a microscope. It's close to what I saw. I saw more of a dynamic stretching and pulling apart.
About the Author
Nova worked inside church walls, evangelizing and building programs for those in the pews, for 12 years. In 2022, she followed Jesus into the nucleus of the New Age people group. She realized they are seeking Jesus and understood His great love for them. She is now developing a ministry to the New Age.
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Nova is a pseudonym that signifies a new, bright star. If you would like to be invited to the private blog, see pictures from the field, and hear more stories, please fill out this short form.
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