3. Open your heart to praise the Lord
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
Psalm 5:11
“Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sin to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gift to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."
Well, Jesus has his own time table and own way of doing things. Do you think other people understand? No, that's why even the disciples of John the Baptist wanted to question him.
Bishop N.T. Wright says :
The times were indeed changing. God's new world was being born, and from now on everything would be different. The question for us is whether we are living in that new world ourselves, or whether we keep sneaking back to the old one where we feel more at home.
N.T. Wright. Matthew for Everyone, Part 1. Louisville,KY:Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.103.
Do you understand that following Jesus is like pouring new wine into new wineskins? What is the new wine? What is the new wineskins?
The answer is already in the previous two passages. Just like the paralytic and Matthew, they are the new wine, being resurrected by Jesus. They could not stay in the old system with those teachers of the law and the Pharisees because they were the old wineskins. They needed to follow Jesus as their Lord giving them new way, new being, new doing and new standard. Yes, we as new wine need to be poured into new wineskins.
What I got from Jesus today is a check point of two things:1. Are you new wine? Have you been resurrected by Jesus? If you have, then you are the new wine.2. Are you in the new wineskins? What kind of church do you belong to? Is your church a kind of new wineskins or an old wineskins? Do you know the difference?
Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to experience a continuous renewal that we can become the new wine and that we can be able to enter into your preparation into new wineskins. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
2. How can you bring to your family new ways and new changes because of your new transformation?