new wine

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, all too often we try to house the new work of the Spirit in old wineskins that cannot possibly contain it.  Help us to know what it looks like to create new wineskins that will enable the work of the Spirit within and among us to grow and expand and flourish.  Amen.

Scripture: Mark 2:18-22

Journal: What new wine is the Spirit cresting in you these days?  How are you trying to hold it in old wineskins?  What would it look like to create new wineskins in order to make good space for that work of the Spirit to grow and expand and flourish?

Reflection: All too often I find that the new life God is trying to grow within me simply will not fit into the same old containers I try to put it in.  The life of the Spirit is dynamic, not static, and our practice should be the same.  Oh that is not to say that old practices aren't useful in the life of the Spirit, because they definitely are.  In fact, some of the best ancient practices have not been practiced for so long that they have a lot of new life to them. 

     What Jesus seems to be saying here is that our practice should always be determined by the life and movement of the Spirit, not vice versa.  The practices of the faith (or the spiritual disciplines, or means of grace, or whatever you want to call them) are intended to make space for the Spirit to move, not to constrict or control it.  Therefore, it seems that our spiritual practice must be constantly adapted to what God is doing in our souls and in our community.  Holding on to old, lifeless, duty-filled, performance-based forms of spiritual practice (as in Mark 2:18-22) does not give the room that the new, vibrant, growing, expansive, spacious work of the Spirit requires for the current season.  And when we hold on to ritual, simply for the sake of ritual, it is like putting new wine in old wineskins.  When we are hell-bent on always having to do the same old things the same old ways, the soul actually begins to shrivel and die.  It becomes more about what we do than about what He does.  Not that these practices and rituals are always bad, there will probably be a season in the future where they will serve us well once again--or should I say where they will serve God well as he does his work within us.  Therefore, we must constantly examine our souls and our practice to try and make the best possible space within us for the Spirit of God to do his work. 
     What is the state of your soul these days?  What is God's Spirit doing within you?  What is the state of your current practice?  Is it producing good fruit?  Is it making good space for the growth that is going on within you?  If not, what will make good space for the movement of God's Spirit in your heart and life?  And how will you make those things a part of your normal rhythm and practice? —New Wine by Jim Branch

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Forgive us, Lord Jesus, when we try to put the new life of the Spirit in the same old containers.  Give us new wineskins that can make room for all the life and the fullness and the vitality the Spirit desires to bring to us.  Amen.