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 "And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” 

Mark 2:22

When we think of a grape vine, we know that it bears grapes. And what is the process of the grape? We could eat it as is, off of the vine, or we can press it to make juice, or we can make sweet wine.

To create wine, first you would need to grow the grapes, then harvest, crush, process, ferment, pressurize, filter...it’s a meticulous process!

The best wine is aged so you also need to add patience to the list of steps. Once you are done with this process, wouldn’t you want to protect this wine you just made?

Jesus says that He is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5).

When we bear fruit, we bear these grapes and God Himself takes the time to process us. Jesus states, "Why would we put new wine into old wineskins?"

Why would we take the chance of...

How do we overcome discouraging naysayers? 

1 Samuel 17:28
Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

Here we are in the story of David and Goliath.

David was sent by his father to take food to his brothers and found himself witnessing Goliath’s taunts. Curious, David begins to ask what is happening and here comes his oldest brother.

In this verse Eliab is upset with David and insults him, even tried to tell him his heart is in the wrong posture.

Imagine if David would have gotten dismayed by this and left?

This story would have turned out a lot different.

Often, we are sent on divine appointments to fulfill God’s purpose, but the enemy will use someone to discourage us or set...

There are 2 different instances in the Bible where we are being commanded to do good service as to the LORD and not to men:

Ephesians 6:7-8
"...with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free."

Colossians 3:23-24
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

How different would your perspective be if you saw each person as Jesus?

Would you be more willing to help? Would you then help with a smile?

How often do we mumble under our breath as we begrudgingly do something for someone else?

How often do we say, “They better not ask me cause I’m not doing it,” before someone even asks?

How easy it is to help when it's on our own terms?
What if God got up and looked at you...

One morning I was trying to pray but kept thinking of all the things happening in my life that were weighing on me. 

I kept getting frustrated as I was trying to pray about each situation, but you know how one thought leads to another, then to another, and then you’re playing out scenarios in your head and find yourself not praying at all? That was me.

I would catch myself and start praying again, only for it to happen a few more times.  I found myself apologizing to God each time. 

Suddenly, I had a vision.

I was at the altar and I had a bunch of bags with me. As I was kneeling there, I was not praying, but instead I unzipped the bag and removed what looked like coal or rocks.

I took out the dirty coal and placed it on the altar. 

As soon as I placed it on the altar it turned into a flower!

When I picked it back up to look at it, it was a coal again.

I smiled as I realized what was happening and continued to take them out of my bags and place them ALL...

"Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved."

John 13:23

If you read the Gospel of John, you'll read on 5 occasions John referring to himself as "the one whom Jesus loved."

If you're like me, you're probably thinking, "John, what is your deal? He loves everyone, doesn't He?"

Well, God took me on a personal journey that brought some clarification to this question.

When I renewed my faith in God, He took me to a place of solitude. I wasn't working, I lost the relationship I was in, I wasn't hearing from friends or family, my mom ended up in ICU and eventually passed, and I was going to church, but no one was really talking to me.

No one knew what was happening in my life.

In hindsight, people tell me at that time that they tried talking to me or they just didn't know how to approach me because I looked so serious or stoic.

But I wasn't! See, God had put me in a cave for a reason.

At that time, I asked God, "What's the deal here? It's like I'm...

'Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”'

Genesis 18:11-14

What a question!

How easy it is to preach faith and speak faith to others but how hard it is to apply that same faith to our own lives?

When God speaks huge things over us we get think, "Surely that was not for me. I'm too old, too young, too broken."

We easily convince ourselves it is impossible.

How easy to believe in our own strength and what we cannot do and doubt what HE can do!

Sarah, an old barren woman, literally laughed when God spoke she would have...