Now that I am a Christian...which life style do I live?

Ever felt confused ! Following Directions is a Pain !

I am one that simply hates following instructions. It always seems best to leap out on my own and simply get it done, whether it is putting together a bike or figuring out how to build something. But, there is the consequence of not following directions when I have to start over and correct the mistakes. So, what should I do? Perhaps follow the instructions given by the one who knows what is right !!

• Luke 5:36-39. "Why Can't I have my wine the way I want it ???"

Jesus is speaking:.... "No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. Otherwise, not only will he tear the new, but also the piece from the new garment will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will spill, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine should be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine, wants new, because he says, 'The old is better.' "

In simple words....... You are new container. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (King James Version)
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

So now what? The sign post is very clear. That sign post is the Word of God. It says that you should not try to take the new life in Christ and put it in your old ways. The people of the era of Christ knew that one could not add new wine to an old wine skin. Why? Because that old wineskin was generally dried up and when the new wine began to ferment it would burst that old wineskin and the new wine would be lost.

In like manner......... you simply cannot put your new life in Christ into your old ways. You have a new life to live and it has to be placed in new ways of living. Consider the way you lived before Christ. Dried up and harsh. Without the life of God. So how can you expect to take the New Wine ( the work of the Holy Spirit ) and place it in the same old patterns of living. You cannot. And that is why you are struggling when you seek to live the same old ways. Because your heart is filled with Christ and that new heart cannot live in the old ways.

It really is not the question of which Life Style, is it? It is turning down the right path.....following the instructions,,,,looking at His Plan.......because if you do not you will simply live a miserable life wondering when am I going to burst. This is where the last part of the passage stands out.... " and no one, after drinking old wine wants new, because he says, the old is better."

The old ways are easy. There is no responsibility to live according to God's plan. There is no change. Just life without the newness of Christ.

Here is another sign post that says you can live according to God's directions. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

So, which Life Style? It is the one that Christ helps you live. Remember you are New Wine and that wine has to be put in New Wine Skins.