New Wine

New Wine

The Law of Process says that leadership develops daily, not in a day. This truth is sometimes hard for us to swallow because we are accustomed to instant gratification in our everyday lives. We eat fast food, we have instant answers to questions with our friend Siri, and we can shop at the click of a button. Bottom line, our modern-day culture has made us expect instant results and a quick, easy fix to our problems.

Most of us assume growth will happen that way as well, instantly. But, unfortunately, that isn’t how life works. True, lasting, kingdom change happens over time. It’s a process, a process that involves patience, as well as a willingness to let go of the old so we can embrace the new.

Jesus taught on this idea in Luke 5:37: “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.”

If you’re familiar with making wine, when the grapes go through the chemical process of fermenting, it causes the liquid to expand. If you put new wine into an old wineskin that had already been stretched to its limit, it would burst. People living in the culture that Jesus was teaching to when he told this parable would clearly know that if you tried to reuse an old wineskin it would end in disaster.

Jesus was trying to tell us that He wants us to be willing to go through a process in order to be made into new wine. He wants us to ferment and expand in our knowledge of Him.

Part of this process and the secret of our spiritual success is found in our daily discipline: being in the Word, being involved in prayer, spending time alone with God so we can hear what He is speaking into our lives, giving the Holy Spirit a chance to be heard. God desires us to enter into and trust the Law of Process so we can develop and mature daily.

The biggest struggle most of us have with this process is patience. We think we should be farther along than we are, so we get discouraged and give up. We lose sight of the fact that spiritual strength does not develop overnight but is deepened over time.

And in order for the process of our spiritual growth to not end in disaster, we have to throw away the old wineskins, the ways that don’t work. We have to remain pliable and open to the life-changing message Jesus has for us. We have to keep our hearts from being rigid like old wineskins, unable to accept a new way of thinking.

If we endeavor to live a life of honesty but still tell those “little white lies,” we are not releasing the old wineskins. If we dig in our heels and don’t accept discipline from God, our hearts are not pliable and willing to expand and grow.

I will be the Voice with Women of Faith Ambassadors for the month of June. We will be digging deep into the subject of New Wine. We will look at the ways God wants to deepen our faith and our influence by inviting us into the process. The Good News is, God is ready and willing to pour His new wine into us. Our job is to simply be ready and willing to receive it by trusting the process!

My prayer is that by the end of the month we will identify the old wineskins in our lives and throw them away, that we will become open vessels for God to pour into.

Let’s become New Wine together!  Please join me as a Women of Faith Ambassador!

Hugs and love

 

Jill Miller

Voice with Women of Faith

 

 

A living “Energizer Bunny,” Jill has a zest for life that is contagious! With humor and honesty, she shares her personal struggles and how God showed up in the midst of them. Through her songwriting, speaking and writing, she is simply a friend telling her story, hoping it will touch your heart, encourage you in your struggles, and inspire you to keep reaching for your full potential. Her spiritual insights are relatable, insightful, and can be practically applied to your life.

Jill realized a dream when she was named one of the new Voices with Women of Faith and serves the ministry by leading worship, teaching, speaking, and writing.

Jill is a Nashville recording artist and recently released her 6th CD entitled “Twelve, the Freedom Soundtrack.” She has opened for the legendary Loretta Lynn and Brian Littrell (of the Backstreet Boys), performed a duet with NewSong, and sang the national anthem for President Bush and 11,000 people when he was in Sioux City. Jill has also performed at the legendary Bluebird Café in Nashville.

Jill is also a certified speaker, coach and teacher with the John Maxwell Team and has written the first ever theme song for the John Maxwell Team.

Jill also writes a weekly blog and has written her first book, “Grace Finds Wings – A Journey in Song.” In her book, Jill shares the stories behind the songs on her CD, “Grace Finds Wings,” and finds ways to touch your heart and help you discover grace in things like infertility, adoption, divorce, financial struggles, marital infidelity and loss.

Jill and her husband, John, have four grown sons and live in the cornfields of Iowa with their two male rescue dogs. Jill is anxiously waiting for some daughters-in-law and grandbabies so she can get a little estrogen in her family!

 

MAKE YOUR INBOX HAPPY

STAY UP TO DATE WITHĀ ALL THINGSĀ WOMEN OF FAITH

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER, TO BE NOTIFIED OF NEW RESOURCES, CLASSES, SHOWS, BOOKS,Ā RELEASES, SPECIALS, EVENTS AND UPDATES.

Be coached and equipped to boost your spiritual strength, experience real relationships, and be the life leader you Are.

LIVE IN VICTORY... Across our various Women of Faith offerings you'll find tools to help you grow in spiritual strength, real relationships and life leadership, all in one place! Alita Reynolds, President and Foundational Voice invites you to share your experience of how God is transforming your life and we will coach and equip you to guide others toward victory too. Women of Faith is a global ministry, specializing in the use of all forms of media & technology, as a conduit to connect people to people and exponentially grow friends and community globally and to create disciples 24/7, 365 days per year.  This allows Women of Faith to reach more people and to have more impact in growing God’s Kingdom. Women of Faith is also committed to carrying the legacy of wisdom, story and authenticity, by providing various media, initiatives, resources, events, courses, studies, partnerships and programs. These are utilized to encourage and equip women to experience a deeper relationship with Jesus.

 

ABOUT ALITA REYNOLDS: Alita Reynolds is the President of Women of Faith, host of the Women of Faith Show with Alita Reynolds, a Certified Master Christian Life Coach (CMCLC), and a sought-after speaker. She and her husband, GJ, are the Visionaries of Women of Faith, a global ministry equipping women to live victoriously with Jesus. In addition, she serves the International Christian Coaching Institute (ICCI) by leading the Women’s Life Coaching model, where she trains and mentors women’s life coaches.  Alita believes in Life Leadership. Coining this term, Life Leadership, as leading yourself well and elevating all areas of life: spiritually, emotionally, mentally, financially, physically, and relationally so that everyone can influence those closest to them toward Jesus. Her heart is for Women of Faith’s 5+ million followers on various social platforms to join her in rising up as Life Leaders. She deeply desires to lead and strengthen their “March 2 a Billion” movement and radically impact the world for the kingdom.  Alita’s life purpose is as simple as her upbringing was on a Nebraska farm. She passionately inspires others to find Jesus by bringing out God's beautiful story in their lives. Alita creates opportunities to encourage everyone to find their God-given purpose, live a life of excellence, and lock arms together to Be the Light!  She simply loves to be with her husband, GJ, Logan and Hannah, Rees, and Lexi, her three adult children and daughter-in-love.  For more, see https://www.womenoffaith.com/alita-reynolds

NOTICE: The information contained in this resource is general in nature and is not intended to provide or be a substitute for advice, consultation or treatment with a duly licensed mental health practitioner or other medical professional. This resource is intended to provide practical faith-based guidelines for balanced living and is not a replacement for medical advice. Professional services should be pursued whenever necessary and/or appropriate. By utilizing this resource, individuals acknowledge that Women of Faith is not providing direct clinically-oriented mental health treatment or therapy, and that it does not create a therapeutic relationship between any individual and Women of Faith.  Individuals who use this resource also agree to indemnify and hold harmless, Women of Faith, its licensees, affiliates, and assigns, as well as the officers, agents, and employees of Women of Faith and its licensees, affiliates, and assigns, from and against any and all liability, loss, damages, costs, charges, legal fees, recoveries, judgments, penalties, and expenses, which may be obtained against, imposed upon or suffered by Women of Faith.Additionally, certain views and opinions expressed in this resource may be those from sources other than Women of Faithand do not necessarily represent the views of Women of Faith, nor imply an endorsement by Women of Faith. All rights are reserved worldwide and no part of this resource may be reproduced in any form (print or electronic) without the expressed written permission of Women of Faith.