A bottle in the smoke

For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes. Psalms 119:83

I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment (thy Word) is exceeding broad. Psalms 119:96

The wine bottles of old, were not glass like they are today. They were made out of animal skins, most likely goatskins and were more like our modern day bota bag. Jesus taught that "no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better." Luke 5:37-39

When they hung the wine bottles over the fire - the smoke of the fire would harden the skin and render the bottle useless and also cause it to break or leak. But when I first read that verse in Psalms 119 about a bottle in the smoke, I thought about our bottles. If you have ever seen a bottle that has been in a fire - it is covered in this black coating that reminded me of the world and the filth of the world. If I am a bottle in the smoke, then the Lord Himself has had to take the time to clean all the filth of the world off of me before I can see clearly. I must also be willing to taste the new wine and not cling to the old.

I have tasted the new wine. I have been made new. The Lord has shown me a tiny glimpse of something so spectacular that it has changed the way I see everything. Reading the Word has a whole NEW meaning now, and I can't unglimpse it. This is my testimony that I want to share with you, but it is so huge that I cannot even begin to tell you in one tiny post. The Lord has filled my veins with fire and if I were to shut my mouth my entire head would explode just like in the movie Scanners. (Scanners was the very first movie to have a real live head explosion. But now, meh, happens all the time!)

I realized that every single minute, every trial, every temptation and every hardship had brought me to this moment. Not just since I started this journey in 2008, but my whole life was getting me ready to see the Lord bigger than I ever had. It isn't even about me. It's about God and His mighty and amazing plan of redemption.

I saw a brilliant rainbow today. The colors were amazing - bright blue, deep purple, light yellow, but when I tried to take a picture of it, it was dull. The camera was unable to capture the brilliance I had seen with my own eyes. I fear that I will be unable to convey with mere words the amazing and unimaginable glory that is my Heavenly Father and His great Love and Mercy for this fallen world and my fellow brothers and sisters.

Maybe you will not understand? Maybe you will stop following my blog and think me a heretic? Maybe I have gone insane? If this is craziness I want MORE! And I never want to go back to sanity.

I started this post at 10am this morning - but got called away from the computer. Now it is 7:30pm and I have had a long day and cannot say the things I wanted to earlier. I will have to start again in the morning.

Seek the Lord my friends and LOVE Him with your whole heart and soul and mind and strength. He loves us more than we can even imagine and His mighty arm is stretched out still. He sent His son Jesus Christ to be the ultimate sacrifice, to take away the sins of the world and to destroy the works of the devil.

Sorry, I am so tired now and have to go to bed. I will attempt tomorrow to finish what I have to tell you. Love you my friends!
Linda