Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.
1 Thessalonians 3:11-12
There come points in my walk when I say, ‘You know, I’m doing pretty good.’ I get comfortable as apathy begins to creep into my heart. And the Spirit, speaking through Paul, would give this exhortation to me: ‘Jon, the Lord make you to increase. I rejoice in what’s happening in your life, but may your love for Me grow to an ever-deepening measure.’
‘Moab hath been at ease and settled in his lees. Therefore I will pour him out from vessel to vessel,’ saith the Lord (Jeremiah 48:11).
The reference is to the way wine was made in Jeremiah’s day whereby the winemaker would pick grapes, put them in a vat, stomp on them to get the juice flowing, and then pour the juice into a vessel, wherein the wine sat until the lees, or dregs, settled to the bottom.
The winemaker would then pour the wine into another vessel, leaving the dregs behind, where it would sit while more dregs settled. This process was repeated up to six times, until the end result was wine without any dregs — wine which was pure and sparkling.
"I was just getting comfy," we cry, "when my:
Boss said, ‘You’re through,’
Girlfriend said, ‘Goodbye,’
Coach said, ‘On the bench.’"
‘Great!’ the Lord says. ‘I want to refine and use you as the wine of My Spirit flows through you. But for that to happen, there will be regular seasons where you are poured. Otherwise you’ll become cloudy and dull, as you settle in your lees — and I love you too much for that.’
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