New Wineskins
Do you have an appetite for spiritual things, or have you stuffed yourself with the ‘free chips’ of the world? In Isaiah 55, God makes a beautiful invitation to Israel:
1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.” Isaiah 55:1-3
That same invitation is the same to us today, but do we have any appetite left? If you’ve been to a stereotypical Mexican restaurant, you’re familiar with this problem. You walk into a Mexican restaurant looking forward to the burritos, the fajitas, the enchiladas. But before your main course comes out, they bring something out to you: free chips. You didn’t ask for the chips. You are under no obligation to eat the free chips. So what do you do? You eat the free chips! And when they check on you, you ask for another basket of free chips!
And if you’re like me, you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve said, moments before the main course comes out, “I’m full, I could go home right now!” You came for the sizzling fajitas, but you stuffed yourself with the free chips, killing your appetite.
It’s the same with God. He can satisfy our greatest needs and our deepest longings, but too many of us find that we have little to no appetite for God because we’ve stuffed ourselves with the free chips of the world (i.e. tv shows, sports teams, cell phones). If we’re looking for God to satisfy our deepest needs, perhaps we need to put the free chips down and develop an appetite.
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: What ‘free chips’ will curb your appetite for God if you’re not careful?
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