Wine Mixed With Water

Within biblical context, wine is a representation of joy, celebration and festivity, expressing the abundant blessings of God. For the sake of this verse, the joy aspect will be the main focus. First of all, what is joy? Joy is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness, but in biblical terms it is something so much more. Happiness and great pleasure come out of circumstance, but we all know that those circumstances aren't always around when we need them to be. When we are afflicted, how can we be happy? When our hearts are hurting, where is that great pleasure? It is nowhere to be found. This is because true joy flows only from the Lord. Joy is something we either have or we don't have, and it's all dependent on our relationship with our Father. When we are rightly related to Him,abiding in Him as the branch abides in the vine, we will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, one of which is the fruit of joy. It's something natural that grows within our life when our minds are set on the Spirit. Joy is what helped Christ to endure the cross, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2) Joy is what will get us through our afflictions as James says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” (James 1:2) Joy is what’s acquired by the anticipation, acquisition or even the expectation of something great or wonderful. Joy is knowing that what lies ahead, the glory which shall be revealed to us, the heaven that awaits us, is so much greater than the trial we face now. The joy of the Lord is literally our strength to get through anything.  As Nehemiah said, “...do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

We understand what joy is now, how we make it our own, but what takes it away? If we are living joyless today, especially in our dark hours, how come we have lost that joy? There can be a number of things, but from my own experience I would like to share. In John 16:22 Jesus says something interesting, and seemingly contradictory “...no one will take your joy from you.” Well then where is my joy? No one took it from me, therefore there's only one way I lost it… I lost it. By my own doing I have lost my joy. Has the joy been magically evaporated, never to be found again? No. I simply have to go back and find out where I left it and put it back on. When we lose our joy, it can be a number of things, but it boils down to one thing, we took our eyes off God. We stopped intentionally focusing our gaze upon Jesus and His goodness and started looking to our own troubles, fears, unhappiness and pains. I love the way Paul puts it when he says “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6) When our mind, our heart, our soul is set upon Jesus, we will experience life and peace. The things of this world are so trivial, so passing, and we do wrong to set our minds upon them. Surely we have responsibilities, but it becomes an issue when we are looking more at what we have on our plate, rather than who we are in Christ.

Let us not mix our wine with water. Water serves only to dilute that which we are meant to take in its fullness. At a certain point, we can have so much water in our life that we won't taste the effect of the wine! What water are you mixing with your wine today? There is something that is diluting your joy, somewhere you left your joy; remove the things which dilute, go back and find the joy. It make take time and discipline, and the longer you've been missing your joy, the longer it would take to regain it, but spend time meditating upon the word of God. Remembering His promises and implanting His goodness in our hearts is the quickest way to fullness of joy.  

Living and Walking

Galatians 5:25

NKJV

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

The “if” in this is not just a hypothetical thing for those who are in Christ, it is a realized thing. We can interpret it more in the way of “since we live” because Christ has given us His Spirit. Jesus said that it is the Spirit which gives life, and that the flesh is no help at all. This is so important to remember as we come to the Lord each day, because we are easily tripped into relying on other things for our life. Our lives are now hidden with Christ, and we are primarily spiritual beings before we are carnal; we are new creations in Him. Paul says in Ephesians 2:6 “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, we truly have lives marked by the Spirit of God, and every aspect of our lives is brought into the spiritual realm.

Since we understand that Christ has raised us up with Him to sit in heavenly places, and we live our earthly lives in the power of His Holy Spirit, what do we then do? How are we called to go about our day? What manner of life are we to lead? First of all, we aren't meant to lead. We are meant to follow. “Follow me” is what Jesus so often asked people to do, and that command has not changed. We are made to be led, even if we have leadership skills. Ultimately our leading comes from the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ and He beckons us to follow Him wholeheartedly. Secondly, Paul is asking us to walk in the Spirit because we live in the Spirit. Walking can mean so many different things though, and to get a proper understanding we need to know what Paul’s original intent was. The word “walk” in the Greek means, in this context, to walk in a straight line and to conduct oneself rightly. Translated into the verse, it then says this, “let us walk in a straight line and conduct ourselves rightly in the Spirit.” Such a wonderful picture of the life of a Christian this paints! Once again I'm reminded of God’s call to “be holy, as I am holy.” We are not left without the ability to do so! Jesus has given us His Spirit to walk in this way. So today, as we walk with Jesus, as we strive for that divine holiness of life, let us not do it in the flesh, but by the Spirit of God.

Keeping The Heart

Psalms 27:14

NKJV

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

How do you hold up when the trials press down? When strength wavers, and our hearts droop, what do we look to for refreshment? Recently I've been blessed to have endured a trial that the Lord used to chasten my heart. God has shown Himself to be a jealous God (Nahum 1:2) and will not allow His children to hew out broken cisterns when He has an overflowing fountain available for them. I'm thankful for the ways and works by which God directs our affections to Himself, firmly, but also gently.

Many of us can relate to drinking drips from the broken vessels of this world. We all know what our flesh reaches out for to gain strength, comfort, relief or healing. Even more so we know how they never satisfy. This week I've been shown where true sustenance lies, in a way that I can proclaim that I've tasted and seen that the Lord is good. The Lord had allowed sickness to come upon me, and while for many reasons, one stuck out the most, and that is why I've chosen this verse. Throughout the entire time I was sick, the Holy Spirit had this verse ringing in my ears. I can confidently say that man does not only live by bread alone but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God. Gods Word gave me the strength I needed to press on through the trial, and come out the other side in closer communion with Him. There is something so wonderful about the dark days and how the light shines so brightly for us. We can truly understand when the Psalmist writes that “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me,” it is a reality for us.

The most difficult thing was not the sickness, but maintaining my mind and hearts posture towards the Lord through it. It's so easy to fall into wrong thoughts about God and ourselves, and so hard to say “Bless the Lord!” Job gives a wonderful example of suffering to us, how he didn't lose faith in his God even though he lost everything else. He could not be brought to curse God because of his circumstances, and so the Lord desires of us that same heart. Those moments where there is no way out but waiting are crucial for us to maintain our hearts, to keep the loins of minds girded up. Once even the smallest foothold is given to Satan through the thoughts he sneaks in, he creeps in deeper and deeper and we find ourselves trapped in our own minds. Every thought must be taken into captivity under the name of Jesus. Otherwise, we are an open target, fresh bait just waiting defenseless for any work of darkness to make us it's slave. Check your heart when you're in the trial, ask the Lord for Scripture to lean upon, and don't let a single thought take root without it first being taken into the captivity of Christ.

Thirst

Psalm 63:1

NKJV

“O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.”

At one point or another in our life, we will know what it feels like to be parched. A thirst beyond thirst, where every fiber of being longs to be satisfied with even the smallest drop of sustenance.We may look around, high and low, near and far to gain this relief. Some may even find it, but it's only temporal. When in a dry and thirsty land, the resources are so limited. From horizon to horizon our eyes only behold the dryness of the desert we've ended up in. We wonder achingly whether or not help will come, or a spring will rise up from the earth, or water pour out of the rock like it did for Moses. When it gets to this point, without being rightly related to God, we lose hope. Before coming to God with our thirsts, our parchments, we must go through Christ and be washed in His blood. None can enter the throne room of God without purity, purity which comes only by Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. Once we have walked through the door that Jesus has opened for us, we can begin to cry out for our God to quench our thirst.

God does not use the water of the natural world to satisfy our thirsty souls. Sooner or later, earthly water will need to be provided again, or we could find ourselves dead. We can correctly relate the world we live in to be this earthly water, which never fills that hole inside of us. So many things cry out to us like harlots on street sides, seducing us into thinking eternal satisfaction lies in the pleasures of life. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are nothing to joke around with. They are dangerous, even to the life of a believer. If Peter warned us in his first letter to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, (I Peter 5:8)” then how serious it is that we do so! This is where death lies in wait, when we are least expecting it, when we stop being watchful for it. The wages of sin are death, and everything the world has to offer us is sinful in its very nature, for it resists the things of God and chases towards it's own desires and lusts. Greed, hatred, deceit, immorality, pride, striving, lusting, idolatry, all these are trademarks of the world we live in. This world is the dry and thirsty land where there is no water. Since a human can't last more than a few days without water, how can we expect to truly live off the false sustenance the world gives us? We can't, but there is One who can give us just what we need to live again.

The water God provides us is living, and is offered to us through the living Christ. For life to be given, there has to be life to give away. Since our God is limitless, and does not know anything but overflowing abundance, we can trust our Source to be faithful all through eternity. At one word He created all the waters of the earth, breathed life into Adam, fashioned the stars we look at during the night. Similarly, with one word He can pour out the living water we need to sustain us and bless us in our temporal abode. We can receive rest for our souls, peace in our hearts, and joy in every fiber of our being. This is a reality for some Christians, and yet for others it's not. Why? I'm learning this still, but I've come to know one thing about why; we are unwilling to yield everything to Christ. Gods perfect peace is only attained through surrendering every minute detail of our lives to Him, and then trusting Him to keep us in fellowship with Him. We were not saved by works, and we certainly aren't expected to maintain by works. Even our Christian walks are deeply fed through the grace of God, and if we want the life God has for us, well, it all begins with surrender. Let us always seek our Father earnestly, desiring to know where and how we can more fully surrender ourselves to Him, and then let us wait upon Him to follow through with His abiding presence.

Following Mercies

Psalms 23:6

NKJV

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Gods mercy follows me, for all of the days of my life. Both those days where I walked not with Him, and while I now do. His mercy has gone after me and covered all those things which I have done out of the evil of my heart. I have no reason to fear that what I have done in the past will bite and devour me in the present or future. God's mercy has covered it in the blood of Jesus. Had God not been merciful, I would not have ever received salvation. God's mercy is pivotal to my life. I have not received that which I deserve because of it, but rather I've been given abundantly more than I deserve. This abundance is a declaration of God's goodness. When I look back at the things Jesus has covered in His blood, I can clearly see the goodness of the Lord there too. Others will be able to look at my life and hear my testimony and glorify God because of who He is and what He’s done. From the perspective of a sheep, as this is written, they are able to look back in humble adoration of their wonderful shepherd who has always been there not only to help and heal, but forgive, bless, and to show compassion. They have the confidence of blessing in this life and the next, for they know that they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

His mercy also goes before me, for my Shepherd leads me and He is merciful, preparing the best and safest way for my passage. Whatever I'm fearing in the future where I'm in need of mercy, I can rest assured that I’ll meet it there. I can have faith, the assurance of things not yet seen. Though I don't see it now, I can believe and trust that it's already taken care of. There are so many thoughts to take captive into the obedience of Christ each day, and fears of the future are one of them. God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, and we can be sure that Gods goodness and mercy is greater than our fears of the future. Lately my vision of our God as a Father has been growing, and I'm learning to appreciate more and more his role as a Father. Psalms 103:13 says “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.” This is a wonderful promise, and by Gods grace we can attain and claim it as our own, and become children of God who fear Him.

The feelings of fear of the future which we harbor in the docks of our heart can be paralyzing in our walks with God. Let us take encouragement from this “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalms 27:14) While the waves crash, rest in the fact that our beloved Saviour is walking on the water towards us, and the word will soon be spoken to calm our tempestuous hearts.

Love will never let us go. God has a firm grip on your life and mine, His love will never fail us and His mercy joyously follows us! Praise the Lord!

The Good Shepherd

John 10:11

NKJV

“I am the good shepherd…”

The ministry of the good shepherd has so many wonderful aspects to it. Instantaneously one may think of Psalm 23 when they hear of God being our shepherd, and they are not wrong. Psalm 23 is full of wonderful analogies that can bring the deepest and greatest comforts to a Christian at any period of their life. However, there is also what Jesus has to say about His role as our good shepherd, and this is what I would like to expound upon a bit this time around.

First off, our good shepherd is not a thief nor a robber. He does not come in unannounced, forcefully, or in the dark. He is not overcome by an evil desire to scatter the sheep, to steal them, or to kill them. His presence in the night does not cause us to fear, as a thief would. Rather, He comes in through the gate, and we know it is Him because of how He comes. The gatekeeper will only open at the voice of the shepherd of the sheep. Jesus comes to us through the gates of His Word and prayer, and that is how we can know it is Him and not a thief or robber. How else do we know it is Him?

We can know whether the voice we hear is our good shepherd by two simple things, a voice and a name. Jesus says that “the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name.” (John 10:3) When we are God's children and we are counted as sheep among His flock, we will know the voice of Him. His voice is unlike any other, in that it's gentle, quiet, comforting, truthful, and it overpowers all the other voices in our heads. When we hear it, we are put at ease, and it's sound calms the raging sea inside of us. At one word from our shepherd, the wolf will flee, the sea calm, and the clouds give way to beautiful sky. Anxiety, fear, depression, self-consciousness, self-pity, anger, confusion, all goes when we hear His voice! Not only this, but He also calls us by name! Our God, the one who created the heavens and the earth, time and space, matter and atmosphere, knows me by name. He knows you by name. Think about those you love, those you would die for, those who have been by your side and you trust. You know their name don't you? Chances are you know their whole life story. Well, God is the same. When He knows our name, it means so much more than a name. That name is simply an identifier for one of His beloved children, and it's a name He can never forget about because it's engraved upon the palm of His hand. We can trust Him because He knows our name, and thus He knows our needs, our stories, our strengths and weaknesses.

Lastly, our good shepherd leads us out and when he has brought us out he goes before us. The only way someone will follow is if they trust the one who leads. A sheep fully trusts it's shepherd, and thus is willing to follow after his voice, and will by no means follow the voice of a stranger but rather flee from it! This opens up a deep question for each heart that follows Christ: do you really trust Him? We all know what it's like to hear and feel the nudge of the Holy Spirit to act or speak in love. We have all heard the Shepherds voice leading us out. But, we don't always follow it. Perhaps we hesitate, or put a carnal spin on it, or don't listen at all. Why is this? We lack trust. We would rather lean on our own understanding than trust in the Lord with all our heart. How do we solve this issue then? Jesus has an answer for that as well. When the disciples couldn't cast out a demon, they asked Jesus why they couldn't. His response? They had little faith, and faith is trust!! Jesus went on to tell them that it can only come out through fasting and prayer. And that is what we must do if we ever wish to be freed from the chains which hold us back from following the voice of our Good Shepherd. The gravity of the calling does not matter, what matters is our trust in God. A sheep who trusts his shepherd will go anywhere with him, will we do the same with ours? When He calls us, especially with the hard sayings, the places we want to avoid, the situations we would like to shrink back from, the callings we fear because of uncertainty, let us trust the One who has gone before us and loves us.

The Lord is With The Righteous

Proverbs 15:29

ESV

“The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”

The thing that turns off Gods leading in our lives is disobedience, sin. Our God will always be next to us no matter where we go, but there's a difference to being next to and being with someone. The Psalmist has said in Psalm 139:8 “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” When it is said of someone that God is with them, it means that they have the Lord on their side. God is an ally to those He is with. God will incline His ear and listen to the prayers of those who live righteously, who follow His commands and walk in His ways. God is proud to be seen with His righteous ones, and loves to listen to their prayers and answer them.

When God is next to someone however, it's similar to what the Psalmist says “If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” God does not support the conduct of the wicked and the fact that they purposefully dwell in hell. In fact, He despises it. Nevertheless, He is always there, whether we acknowledge it or not. He loves the sinner, but abhors the sin. What then is meant by Him being far from the wicked? Well, let's remember that God is light, and more importantly that in Him is no darkness at all. The two can have absolutely no fellowship together, because darkness is the absence of light, therefore they can not be intermingled. However, they can be beside one another. A shadow only casts when light is present. When you look at a shadow, the distinction between the light and the dark is undeniable. God and His relationship with those who make their bed in hell, who follow wicked ways, and deny Christ, is the same way. Though they are polar opposites, they can exist right next to each other, yet it remains the farthest distance in the world.

So if those who are wicked are far from God, then those who are righteous couldn't be any closer! Christ is our light, and when we abide in Him, we abide in the light. As a child of God, my days get to be spent in the freedom of light, and in fellowship with my Father. There is no longer anything or anyone to fear. Those who live in the dark are in a constant state of fear, but for us who have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead, we've been given a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. For a long time I thought that because I have the Holy Spirit I shouldn't be subject to troubles and trials, that there shouldnt ever br spiritual battles. No, we have the Holy Spirit to give us power, love, and sound minds to get us through those hardships. I just love how Peter puts it in his first letter, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 1:6-7) That is why God allows our sufferings! Job faced the same thing, we all do. We go through immense battles with the world, ourselves, and the Devil as a Christian, and we must take comfort knowing that God is intimately involved in all of it. Our faith is being purified, our hearts conformed to Christ, and our minds are being renewed through every difficult hour we face. God didn't give us His Spirit to deliver us from trouble, He gave it to deliver us in trouble. We have a promise that as we live in the light as He is in the light, He will never fail hear our prayers nor will He leave us to fight our battles alone.