Strengthening those tired of just "holding on".

by Neil Anderson

NEW WINE 

Luke 5:38 

New wine must be put into fresh wineskins

Jesus taught that the forms of our Christian practice must change. In His parable of the garment and the wineskin in Luke 5:36-39, the garment and the wineskin are the external dress and the container, not the substance of our faith. They represent the religious customs, practices and traditions in which the substance of our faith is packaged.

 Jesus is stating a fact--the garment needs mending and the old wineskin is old! 

What worked before isn't working anymore. Times change, cultures change, and what worked 20 years ago may not work today. But what doesn't change is the object of our faith.

"Time-honored faith" and "long-established practice" blend together and become indistinguishable to the status quo. When someone advocates another form of practice, it becomes apparent that the security of the old wineskins rests in the long-established practice instead of the time-honored faith.

"Time-honored faith" and "long-established practice" blend together and become indistinguishable to the status quo. When someone advocates another form of practice, it becomes apparent that the security of the old wineskins rests in the long-established practice instead of the time-honored faith.

The reasoning behind the resistance is logical: "I came to Christ singing that song," or "It worked for me. I don't see why it won't work for my children." 

We have to ask, "Is it relevant? Does it relate?"

The older generation is the stable force in our churches. They are faithful and mature, and they represent the financial stability that every church needs. They also make up the boards and committees that determine the style of ministry, but they have a tendency to perpetuate long-established practices that are meaningful to them.

This problem is more sociological than spiritual. 

Because the contemporary ministry relates to the young and their style of music. It caters to their desire for expression and participation.

If we fail to provide new wineskins, we will be ill-equipped to serve the "new wine"--the next generation of believers. 

Prayer: Lord, help me never to cling to the old ways just because they make me feel comfortable.

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MODELING GROWTH

by Neil Anderson

James 1:22 

Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves

I am learning about pastors and missionaries across the country who are preaching against the very sins they are committing themselves. Nationally known Christian personalities who vehemently condemn immorality have themselves been found to be hiding an immoral lifestyle. 

Those of us who are called to preach or teach God's Word must put it on first. 

We must get on our knees before God as we prepare the message and say, "God, is this Scripture true in my life?" If not, we had better be honest enough to say to those who hear us, "I wish I were a better example of this passage than I am, but I'm still growing in this area." To proclaim the Word of God as if it were true in your life when it's not is a lie.

 Those of us who receive the Word are also vulnerable to self-deception if we fail to put it into practice. We hear a sermon or a lesson and say, "Wow! What a great truth!! and hurry off to share it with someone else without processing it ourselves and applying it to our own lives. James said that hearers of the Word who are not also doers of the Word deceive themselves.

Why are we afraid to admit it when our lives don't completely match up to Scripture? I believe it's because many of us have a perfection complex. We think we have to model perfection and not admit to something less. But we can't model perfection, because we're not perfect; we can only model growth.

The people around us need to know that we are real people in the process of maturing. They need to see how we handle failure as well as how we handle success. When we model this kind of honesty in the Christian community, we greatly reduce the possibility of the deceiver gaining a foothold.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for the times I have placed the quest for earthly perfection ahead of growth in You and Your Word. Help me model growth in my life today.