No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.
When we move into a new season, we should leave behind what belongs to the previous season. Otherwise, we would lose both new wine and old wineskins. We should not try to stick to old wineskins, when God is giving us new wine. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you; I've been thinking I chose to be set apart for God. But this morning He made me realize it was He who sanctified me, before I was born. Likewise, He knew you, and set apart for Him. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the Lord. There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased. I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. The news on what's going on in the world might trigger fear in the hearts of many. When I sought the Lord, He gave me comfort, reminding me how faithful He has been. And I came to read Psalms chapter 4, when I simply opened up my Bible. These verses came to me as His affirmation. I choose to put my trust in the Lord and offer the sacrifices of righteousness. I know I will lie down in peace and sleep, and He alone makes me dwell in safety. Hope this blesses and comforts you. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9) We may not know everything on our future, but we live led by the Holy Spirit. Now we do not know where He would lead us, but we know that He knows perfectly well, and His plan is always the best. He is a good Teacher and Guide. May we submit ourselves to the Lord in complete trust. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’
The servant said, "Your mina." No matter whether it's money or talent, it's not ours, but His. And Jesus paid a compliment to him for being faithful in a very little, not for how much he was given. From the outset, ten minas were not his. Jesus sees our attitude and our heart. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
Tonight, if the Lord would appear to you in a dream, and ask the same question, what would you say? :) Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.
Even our Lord Jesus didn't honor Himself, but our Father honored Him. We must be satisfied by and grateful for the fact that our Father honors us. He sees everything. We do not have to be seen or approved by men. We only need His approval. Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
Sometimes we may be deceived by what looks good to us, but our Father sees the hearts. The Pharisees in these days might be some of mega churches, Christian celebrities, Christian music, books or business, etc. that might be well thought of by many Christians. We must have pure hearts and humility before Him, as He sees our hearts, not appearances. Listen, O daughter,
Consider and incline your ear; Forget your own people also, and your father’s house; So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him. And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; The rich among the people will seek your favor. The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; Her clothing is woven with gold. The King's Bride is required to forget her own people, and her father's house. It is said that Issac and Rebecca are the types & shadows of Jesus and His Bride. Rebecca was not hesitant to leave her own family, to meet her bridegroom, Issac. We once belonged to the world. To become the King's Bride, we must forget the world and the things it can give us. The heart of the righteous studies how to answer,
But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. The heart of the righteous studies how to answer. The word, study in Hebrew is haga, and I found out it has a few other meanings, but like study, it means muse, meditate, devise, imagine. When we should answer, it must be our attitude to take time, not to be careless nor blurt out. |
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