Sunday, December 31, 2006

New Wineskins!

You know, I think God just spoke to me just now!

I was reading my Bible, when I read these verses from Mark 2:
"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."


Somehow these words really captured my attention. I felt this prompting in my heart to think further on these words...

Something I realised is that there is nothing bad with those old wineskins. But these old wineskins are not useful or effective for storing new wine. Old wine belongs to old wineskins, and hee, doesn't old wine taste better than new wine? :)

But if you want to have more wine, you obviously need new wine! And how are you going to store new wine? Why, new wineskins of course. :)

Think the old wineskins mean the old ways of thinking and serving and how I see and do and understand things in the old uni ministry. But now that I'll be going over to the new Adults ministry, and a new phase of life, I realise that God wants to tell me that there are some old wineskins I'm still holding onto, trying to shoehorn new experiences into old wineskins.

In fact, I have already been doing that in the NUS ministry, and that caused me a lot of discomfort and struggle during those times, when I was having my old ways of thinking. But really thank God for Weizhu and Peter who helped me change my mindset in many ways. :D

But not just so, this doesn't only apply to ministry-wise. I think God wants to tell me that, for a very long time, I've been holding on to some old, old mindsets and perceptions of myself that He wanted me to throw away a looooong, looooong time ago.

(And they're starting to smell a bit too. :P)

Just like what 1 Cor 13:11 says,
"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."


OMG. This is a revelation, an eye-opener. Why didn't I see this truth earlier?

I jotted down some "old wineskins" in my life.
1. The way that I see myself.
2. The way that I relate with people, including my crushes. :) old, old stuff indeed.
3. The way how I perceive God.
4. The way I perceive others.
5. The way I show love.
6. The way I serve.
7. The way I handle my emotions, especially when fearful and insecure.

I think God wants me very much to really be joyful in this last few weeks of uni ministry. And to be equally joyful in the next ministry. To push on to the very max, joyfully giving my very all to Jesus.

I'm also reminded of what one of the Adults CLs had shared with me some months ago. She shared with me that being willing to change mindsets when we enter the Adults ministry is very important, 'cos there have been members, and even leaders, who couldn't take the transition, because they were unable to adapt successfully.

What works in today's phase of life may not necessarily work for tomorrow's phase.

I think He is telling me even now, encouraging me not to dwell in melancholy, but to entrust all my old wineskins into His hands, and prepare the new wineskins for the fresh new wine He'll be pouring into my life very soon.

Wow! :D Thank God, so refreshed and encouraged by this verse... felt my spirit, after many days of tiredness and melancholy, very lifted up by this word from God! :D

Praise God! He is so so so good! :D
Praise Him Praise Him
Praise Him Praise Him
Praise Him in everything!

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