Someone or Something is Lord of Your Life
Day 1—You are always worshiping. The question is who?
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” Mark 2:21 to 22
Psalm 126 brought up tears this morning.
Not sad tears only.
Holy tears.
The kind that comes when God reminds you He is not finished.
It also made me think about how underpracticed weeping is, especially among men.
Then I went over to Mark 2 and sat with a few verses that felt confusing at first.
Psalm 126 is the story of God restoring His people. He brought them back from exile. Their mouths filled with laughter, not because life became easy, but because God proved He is faithful.
Then the Psalm turns and says something shocking.
Those who sow in tears will reap with joyful shouting. Psalm 126:5
Tears in Scripture are often the language of hope.
Not hope in circumstances.
Hope in covenant.
God does not despise that kind of weeping.
He gathers it.
He redeems it.
He uses it.
Jesus is the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3). He sowed in tears and suffering. He secured the harvest through the cross. Because He rose, tears are not wasted. In Christ, suffering is never meaningless, and joy is never fragile. (Psalm 56:8, Hebrews 12:2)
Enter Wineskins
In Mark 2, the people ask why Jesus’ disciples do not fast (Mark 2:18).
They are watching the outside.
They assume fasting is the sign of being right with God.
John’s disciples fast. The Pharisees fast. So they judge Jesus’ disciples by appearances.
Jesus answers the way He often does.
With a picture.
He compares Himself to a bridegroom. Wedding guests do not mourn while the bridegroom is with them. When the bridegroom is taken away, then they will fast. (Mark 2:19 to 20)
Then He gives two illustrations.
A new patch on an old garment.
New wine in old wineskins.
What He is saying:
One, you cannot attach Jesus as a small upgrade to the old way
The old garment is a life built on external righteousness.
Rules without relationship.
Status without surrender.
Tradition without the living God.
The new patch is trying to add Jesus while keeping the old identity.
It is keeping self-righteousness as the foundation, then placing grace on top.
The result is a worse tear.
The gospel is not a patch.
Grace does not sit on top of works; it is the foundation.
Jesus did not come to polish legalism.
He came to replace it with Himself.
Two, the kingdom Jesus brings requires a new container
New wine is the life of the kingdom breaking in through King Jesus.
It spreads by the Spirit, not by appearances, control, or performance.
Old wineskins are rigid hearts.
Hearts trained to manage God instead of trust God.
Hearts that want religion, but not surrender.
The result is loss.
The wineskins burst.
The wine spills.
So Jesus says new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
Structure is not evil.
Tradition is not automatically sinful.
But if Jesus is not Lord of the structure, the structure becomes the lord of you life.
Fresh wineskins are a new posture of heart.
A new covenant reality.
A life that can stretch under the weight of the Spirit.
This is the promise God spoke long before Jesus walked the roads of Galilee.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. Ezekiel 36:26 to 27
I will put My law within them and write it on their hearts. Jeremiah 31:33
Jesus is saying, This is happening now.
Not through religious performance.
Through Me.
Then Jesus goes even further.
Right after this, He speaks about the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27
So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Mark 2:28
That means Sabbath, like every proper spiritual discipline, is a gift.
Not a leash.
Not a scoreboard.
Not a way to prove you belong.
It is space to remember who God is.
To stop striving.
To enjoy His presence.
To practice trust.
The disciplines do not earn salvation.
Christ does.
By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. (Ephesians 2:8 to 9)
The disciplines are how we train our hearts to live from that grace.
What this means for you and me today
Jesus is not an “add-on” to your old life.
He is Lord.
The Christian life is not try a little harder.
It is die with Christ and live by faith. (Galatians 2:20)
So the question is not, “How do I fit Jesus into my schedule?”
The question is, “Will I surrender and be made new so I can hold what He wants to pour out?”
Never Finished Challenge
Identify one old wineskin in you this week.
Examples
• I will follow Jesus, but I will not lower my “lifestyle” for the kingdom
• I need approval to feel secure
• I perform to feel clean
• I control outcomes because I fear trust
• I hide sin while keeping an image
Confess it to Jesus plainly.
Ask Him for help.
You will not overcome it by willpower.
Then obey the next nudge.
Pray when you would normally scroll.
Fast, specifically from food, as a way to hunger for God.
Repent to a brother.
Make the hard call of obedience.
Freedom is on the other side of surrender.
What does today say about God?
Immanuel.
God with us. (Matthew 1:23)
In this season, I am reminded of what must happen in my family and in me.
More of Christ.
Less of me. (John 3:30)
Not a religious life that looks right.
A surrendered life that actually holds Him.
You are not alone.
What a Father.
What a Friend.
What a KING!
Thank You, Jesus.