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In our own lives, we try to add Jesus to what we already believe. Our culture loves its cafeteria, buffet style religion, where people pick and choose from an array of beliefs and plop them all together on one plate, merging together into one tasteless mass. Jesus is something completely new that can't be merged together with the old. He has opened a new dining establishment. This one is different from the worldly fare we are used to; it's a feast our taste buds have waited for our entire lives. Because once we take that first bite of grace, we'll never want to go back.
The question for us as we consider putting new wine into old wine skins and patching old garments with new patches, is how often do we try to tack Jesus on to our lives? How often do we try to maintain the old ways of this world while still including Jesus on the side? How often do we sing Amazing Grace yet still live as though it's all up to us?
Jesus didn't come to simply patch up our tattered lives; he came to give us completely new ones. As it says in Ezekiel, we don't just need band-aids to fix our hearts, we need brand new hearts altogether. "And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh" (11:19).
Christina Fox...
The question for us as we consider putting new wine into old wine skins and patching old garments with new patches, is how often do we try to tack Jesus on to our lives? How often do we try to maintain the old ways of this world while still including Jesus on the side? How often do we sing Amazing Grace yet still live as though it's all up to us?
Jesus didn't come to simply patch up our tattered lives; he came to give us completely new ones. As it says in Ezekiel, we don't just need band-aids to fix our hearts, we need brand new hearts altogether. "And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh" (11:19).
Christina Fox...