Feb 20 – GRAPE WINE !

“Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved” (Mathew 9: 17).

When Christ enters into the life of a person, he is made into a new creation. All the old things pass away and everything is made new. He is bestowed with new life, new strength, new grace, new friends to help him in the spiritual life. With everything made new, he should conduct himself as a new person.

There are many who try to stitch together an old garment with a new garment. This will only result in tearing up of both the garments. Similarly, if you pour new wine into old wineskins, it will damage the wineskin, and the wine will drain away.

When a person comes into Christ, he should forsake all his old sins, old nature, the lusts and desires of old self and have a robust fellowship with the Lord and the children of God. He cannot be double minded, with one foot in the river, and the other foot in the mud. He cannot travel on two boats at the same time. There is no communion between light and darkness. Similarly, there cannot be any fellowship between righteousness and lawlessness, or between Christ and Belial.

The new wine refers to the blood of Christ. At the start of His ministry, He turned water into wine. And at the end of His earthly ministry, He took the cup of wine saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood.” Grape wine indicates the new heart washed by the blood of Christ. Therefore, the container of the new wine – the new person in Christ, should also conduct himself as such.

Jesus turns the life of everyone into new wine, just as He turned water into wine, which was His first miracle. He is mighty to turn an ordinary man into a person with divine nature. If you walk with Christ and have a deep fellowship with Him, every day of your life will be sweet and pleasant.

Children of God, once you have tasted the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, you should never backslide and move toward worldly pleasures or friendship with this world. When the Lord has turned you into best wine, you should not still conduct yourselves in your old, sinful manner.

Verse for further meditation: “In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11: 25).