I’ve been doing much thinking and meditation about change and new wineskins. As stated in my last blog, Jesus gave the “wineskin” illustration to us in reference to understanding new revelation and stewarding change. Therefore, lately there’s been much firing of my synapses concerning this matter. My problem is not receiving change (new wine) rather housing it (new wineskins). I believe here is where we seem to fail most of the time.
In my thinking, I believe that first of all, in building a new wineskin there has to be the willingness to think differently. There has to be a compliance to be reshaped, reinvented and recreated. The willingness to be reshaped is the means for a reformation. When that is established, then we can continue in our new wineskin construction process…
A new wineskin is a new culture. And in a new culture there are new operating practices, goals, strategies and distribution systems. All of these must carry elasticity in order to house the new. And these must be well defined as well in maintaining the new (wine) concept, direction, etc.
This is not an easy process. But when the Lord directs change in our lives, we must enact. All the heroes of the Bible had to do it… In order to go where God wants us to go and do what God wants us to do, we must be willing to embrace both the unknown and the uncomfortable. Noah built an ark when there had not yet been rain; Abraham went out not knowing where he was going and Moses chose to suffer with God’s people than to live as a prince in Egypt, for he saw something bigger and better for his life! I like what Pastor Craig Groeschel said, “In order to reach the people no one else is reaching we must be willing to do the things that no one else is doing.”
Anxious to read your thoughts,
Pastor Manny
