Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Psalms 114-116
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Luke 5:34-39
Jesus: Imagine there’s a wedding going on. Is that the time to tell the guests to ignore the bridegroom and fast? Sure, there’s a time for fasting—when the bridegroom has been taken away. Look, nobody tears up a new garment to make a patch for an old garment. If he did, the new patch would shrink and rip the old, and the old garment would be worse off than before. And nobody takes freshly squeezed juice and puts it into old, stiff wineskins. If he did, the fresh wine would make the old skins burst open, and both the wine and the wineskins would be ruined. New demands new—new wine for new wineskins. Anyway, those who’ve never tasted the new wine won’t know what they’re missing; they’ll always say, “The old wine is good enough for me!”
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
We get really comfortable with old things, don’t we? We keep that old, worn out pair of shoes because they feel so good. We hang on to that thread bare pair of jeans because they have shaped themselves to our bodies over time and we just can’t part with them. Or that recliner that doesn’t look so good anymore, but it sure fits well when you sit in it after a long day. All the cushions are broken in just right and you can nap in it so well. You can’t let it go no matter how rugged it looks now.
We do it with our health, too. The lab tests tell us we need to change our eating habits to avoid diabetes or heart disease in the future, but do we change? No. We are too comfortable with our old eating patterns and just keep eating the same stuff, refusing to exercise, doing the same bad things we did before. We know a healthier life style would be better for us, but we’re comfortable with what we know, so we just don’t change.
Sometimes we do the same thing with old habits in our religious life. That’s the problem Jesus addressed with the Pharisees that day in Galilee. We get comfortable with the way things have always been and just don’t want to change whether the change is for our good or not. We do the same things. Read the same words, sing the same songs, go through the same rituals, and we let them slip by us because they’re comfortable.
Jesus had a new message for those who would listen to Him. He brought a new covenant to all people. The days of animal sacrifices for the atonement of sins were over because He would be the perfect sacrifice for all of us. The misuse of power through the priesthood and the misunderstand of their role was over as each individual could have a personal relationship with the God of the universe through His Son, Jesus, the Messiah, and Savior of all humankind.
He had something new for all of us. New life. More abundant life. Everlasting life. But unless we let Him change us, we will never experience it. Unless we are willing to give up the old life and let Him live in us, we will just stay comfortable in the world we live in and lose the way to His kingdom and His promises. We must be willing to try something new to enjoy what He has in store for us. And it’s not always comfortable.
This new life, new covenant, new path takes courage, though. It takes giving up yourself. It takes doing what we often find difficult. Letting go of the comfortable and taking on things that the world will tell us don’t make sense. But if you never take your first step, you’d never learn to walk. If you never got on a bicycle for the first time, you’d never know the excitement of riding faster than you can run. If you never got behind the wheel of a car for the first time, you’d never learn to drive. You get the idea. Everything you do starts with the first time you do it.
The same is true with following Jesus. It takes that first acknowledgement that He is God’s only Son and died for you. Then every moment of every day, acknowledging that truth is still alive and real in your heart. It’s first giving Him Lordship of your life, then every moment keeping Him in that place of Lordship, saying yes to His commands whenever He gives you something to do. It is something new. But if you never try this new life, you’ll never know what you’re missing.
So are you ready to try something new? Are you ready to enjoy the new life Jesus can give you? Are you ready to experience what millions have enjoyed through the centuries since He died for you? You can. But you must take that first step. Say yes to Him. Let Him be Lord of your life. You won’t be sorry you took that first step.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.