Out With Old, In With New
One of the hardest things when being a born-again Christian, or if you're new in your walk with Christ, are the changes we have to make within and around ourselves. Some of these changes include the way we talk, the people we hang out with or relationships we're in (Ladies, if he doesn't roll with Christ, don't let him roll with you! Guys, vice verca), the music we listen to and even the places we go. Of course we KNOW this is required of us as Christians but we don't always find it be so easy to make these changes which results in us holding onto so many things of our past that are "a part of us" or something "we can't let go of."
This is something I have, and do struggle with! One of the major areas that I battle are friendships! These are people who I've known almost all of my life and have been through so much with me, yet their lifestyle and choices are not the best influence, especially since I've given my life to Christ. In knowing this, I make excuses for them. Sometimes they sound a little like "Well, we've been friends for years, I can't just drop them!" or "They need me! I can't leave them because then they'll have no one!" Here are the two things that God has revealed to me to help me fight this battle and win:
1) When God wants you to leave a friendship or circumstance, and you choose to keep the friendship or stay in the circumstance over pleasing God, then that friendship/circumstance becomes your God! And besides, why can't I drop someone who isn't trying to encourage me to strengthen my relationship with God? Isn't that what REAL friend would do?!
2) If you have a friend/spouse who you feel needs you or else they'll have no one, the best thing you could do for that person is lead them to Christ! The truth is that they don't need YOU, they need HIM! And to say anybody could ever be left with "no one" is a lie because God NEVER leaves us nor forsakes us!
As Christians, our #1 priority should be to please Christ, whether that include loving a friend from a distance or breaking up with that spouse who you KNOW isn't any good! To break off ties of the past seems like a very difficult task to us, but is it more difficult than standing before God one day and having to answer His question of "Why wasn't I more important to you than the things of the world?" My answer is no way!
In the book of Luke chapter 5, Jesus gives an analogy to the Pharisees for how we as Christians should view "newness" while they were discussing fasting.
36 He told them this parable: "No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better."
For those reading this who didn't quite understand that analogy, Jesus basically said that as long as we're using old resources (friendships, mentalities, activities), the new resources will never work for us; therefore we won't ever become the new creatures Christ longs for us to become and we'll continue to do/say/be things that break His heart. As long as we "drink old wine" we'll never desire to have new wine in a new wineskin. The longer we stay around the same group of friends that influence us to be in mess, or the longer we stay with our boyfriend who tempts us to have sex, the harder it will be for us to become new! If we strive to be new but stay around the same things and people, we'll buckle down and give in to the old every time. That's what Jesus meant by "No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise , the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined."
If we really want to be serious about God and take our walk seriously, that means we have to make sure that God approves of every single aspect of our lives. We can't claim that our Savior has made us new creatures but nothing about us is different! We have to be willing to make big changes for an even bigger God! He's SO worth the daily battle with ourselves and Satan because in the end WE WIN!
So the next time you question why you seem to continuously seem to be in mess or in situations where you make the same mistakes over and over again, ask yourself "Am I pouring new wine into old wineskins?"
ALWAYS remember..
You're so loved,
Erica Xx
This is something I have, and do struggle with! One of the major areas that I battle are friendships! These are people who I've known almost all of my life and have been through so much with me, yet their lifestyle and choices are not the best influence, especially since I've given my life to Christ. In knowing this, I make excuses for them. Sometimes they sound a little like "Well, we've been friends for years, I can't just drop them!" or "They need me! I can't leave them because then they'll have no one!" Here are the two things that God has revealed to me to help me fight this battle and win:
1) When God wants you to leave a friendship or circumstance, and you choose to keep the friendship or stay in the circumstance over pleasing God, then that friendship/circumstance becomes your God! And besides, why can't I drop someone who isn't trying to encourage me to strengthen my relationship with God? Isn't that what REAL friend would do?!
2) If you have a friend/spouse who you feel needs you or else they'll have no one, the best thing you could do for that person is lead them to Christ! The truth is that they don't need YOU, they need HIM! And to say anybody could ever be left with "no one" is a lie because God NEVER leaves us nor forsakes us!
As Christians, our #1 priority should be to please Christ, whether that include loving a friend from a distance or breaking up with that spouse who you KNOW isn't any good! To break off ties of the past seems like a very difficult task to us, but is it more difficult than standing before God one day and having to answer His question of "Why wasn't I more important to you than the things of the world?" My answer is no way!
In the book of Luke chapter 5, Jesus gives an analogy to the Pharisees for how we as Christians should view "newness" while they were discussing fasting.
36 He told them this parable: "No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better."
For those reading this who didn't quite understand that analogy, Jesus basically said that as long as we're using old resources (friendships, mentalities, activities), the new resources will never work for us; therefore we won't ever become the new creatures Christ longs for us to become and we'll continue to do/say/be things that break His heart. As long as we "drink old wine" we'll never desire to have new wine in a new wineskin. The longer we stay around the same group of friends that influence us to be in mess, or the longer we stay with our boyfriend who tempts us to have sex, the harder it will be for us to become new! If we strive to be new but stay around the same things and people, we'll buckle down and give in to the old every time. That's what Jesus meant by "No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise , the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined."
If we really want to be serious about God and take our walk seriously, that means we have to make sure that God approves of every single aspect of our lives. We can't claim that our Savior has made us new creatures but nothing about us is different! We have to be willing to make big changes for an even bigger God! He's SO worth the daily battle with ourselves and Satan because in the end WE WIN!
So the next time you question why you seem to continuously seem to be in mess or in situations where you make the same mistakes over and over again, ask yourself "Am I pouring new wine into old wineskins?"
ALWAYS remember..
You're so loved,
Erica Xx
