Old Wineskin
In Matthew 9:14-17 AMP, the disciples of John the Baptist had noticed that Jesus’ disciples were not doing the religious fasts and Jesus took the time to educate them on why His disciples didn’t fast. The 17th verse reads, “Nor is new wine put into old [b]wineskins [that have lost their elasticity]; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the [fermenting] wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, so both are preserved.” Jesus was alluding to the fact that He (Jesus Christ) was here to do something totally different and new so if they were trying to make sense of the NEW things that were happening, through a lens of old expectations and processes, then they were going to miss the wondrous things that were happening.
I’ve been ruminating over this scripture for the past week and making some personal analogies. If God is doing a NEW THING in our lives, then we cannot enter the NEW with our old self, mindsets and processes. The old has a way of corrupting the new. It dwindles your expectations and causes you to miss out on what God is doing. Imagine if you have experienced failure in an area of your life for a long time and suddenly the power of God comes in and the situation changes. With glee you jump into the new found success but if the old mindset that is used to failure is not renewed and transformed, you will be operating in a successful atmosphere with a failed mindset. It won’t be long before you fail again.
Are you stepping into your NEW with your old self or a transformed man?
XOXO
Lady Abena.
What Do You Have In Your House?
In 2 Kings 4:1-7 KJV, the prophet Elisha encountered a widow with Two (2) sons who was up to her head in debt and her debtors were about to take her sons into slavery as reimbursement. Let’s just say that we have come quite far from the 9th Century BCE because in this part of the world, you’re welcome to freely owe the bank or credit card companies and they will not come for your children to enslave them. It’s also sad to note that there are parts of the world that still experience this kind of thing. Poverty and hardship is real and if you haven’t been there before, it can be a bit hard for you to fathom that something of that nature can happen.
When she ran to the prophet for help, Elisha asked her a very simple but powerful question, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” 2 Kings 4:2a KJV. The Amplified Bible expands on it by asking, “.. what do you have [of value] in the house?”. The first time I read this scripture I said to myself, “dude, if she had something of value wouldn’t she sell it already to save her dear life and her children from these debtors?”. Then the Holy Spirit assisted me in understanding this a bit better. The widow told Elisha she had olive oil in her home, correct? So, obviously, she had something that God can use to get her out of the rut she was in. That seems to be most of us - when situations overwhelm us, we fail to see the vessels that God can use to bless us. He has bestowed gifts, talents, skills and opportunities in us, around us and through us. He meticulously gave us all these because He knows that there will be times in our course of life that we will need these gifts, talents, skills and destined people to survive.
Here’s where I stand, if you’re always praying to God to bless you or get you out of some situation, have you presented anything before Him yet that He can use to bless you or work through that to get you into a better place? It can be anything you have that is of value to you and to God. It can be the people in your life that you keep ignoring because you don’t see them with Angelic wings flying around. God blesses men through men and that systemic order will never change. Every person you meet carries a grace that you do not see. Your part in this is to be spiritually sensitive and discern when and what He is using to bless you.
XOXO,
Lady Abena.
Little Miracles
The Oxford Language dictionary defines a Miracle as “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.” Such an apt definition isn’t it? The bible refers to ‘Miracles’ as signs and wonders. They are inexplicable yet tangible. It is visible for ALL to see.
Whenever I am studying the bible and I come across all these amazing and wonderful things that God did, which were so visible to the human eye, I wonder at what point did we humans start to not believe in miracles any more? From Genesis to Revelation, there is not a single book of the bible that you will not be able to see a miracle that was performed or happened. This is evident that Miracles are ordained to happen in our lives daily. We shouldn’t live our lives hoping that good things might happen. We should live knowing that good things WILL happen. Even the impossible situations can become possible. Luke 1:37 AMP was very clear, “For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.” Whatever seems impossible on the human level is ALWAYS possible with God. A great man of God chants this slogan that “Whatever God cannot do does not exist”. I believe that with all of me. I have seen Him do the impossible and step into situations that people thought were going to be the end of them.
Every day and every night, there are a million little miracles flying in and out of our lives. Have you taken a moment to discern and recognize them? The same grace that has carried you from birth until now is still carrying you. You’re still standing no matter what life has thrown at you aren’t you? That alone is a miracle that you can believe in.
Expect a miracle, big, small or grand. Expect it daily. Expect favor and blessings even when you think you don’t deserve it. Expect the Lord to bring you little drops of miracles every day!. I declare it is so and so it is in Jesus’ name. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena