What does effective Christian living really look like? My first two chronicles this month underscored the important balance of knowing the power of the Holy Spirit as well as the Word of God, and that we are a Three Day Church, embracing the whole counsel of God—milk for babes, bread for children, and meat for men (1 Jn. 2:12-14).

Psalms 104:15, KJV And WINE that maketh glad the heart of man… (compare Joel 2:24-25; 3:18); Zech. 9:15-17).

In the Scriptures, WINE can represent the joy of the Lord we receive through His Word as anointed by His Spirit. The "NEW WINE” of the Kingdom is the truth of the Kingdom, His new life poured into us and through us (Prov. 3:10; Isa. 65:8).

Luke 5:37-38, KJV And no man putteth NEW WINE into OLD BOTTLES (WINESKINS – NIV); 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.

The burden of the King of glory was that BOTH the WINE and the WINESKIN be "preserved” (kept safe). The WINE is the Word, the truth, the effervescent joy of His life. The WINESKIN is the container and vessel through which that life is poured forth. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, jars of clay (2 Cor. 4:7).

Isaiah 65:8, KJV …the NEW WINE is found in the CLUSTER (a bunch of grapes)…

There are three basic CLUSTERS or WINESKINS for the wine:

1. The INDIVIDUAL.

2. The HOME and the FAMILY.

3. The LOCAL CHURCH.

Individually, our own spirit, and soul, and body are clustered together to be His

instrument of witness. Domestically, our spouses and children are the credentials we bear before the world. Ecclesiastically and practically, how can one be a vital part of His body without being an active part of a body of believers in a given locale?

Character cannot be imparted through the laying on of hands. Character is what we are under pressure. Character is what we are all day long.

A big shot is a little shot away from home.

The local church is the proving ground of all legitimate ministry. The Kingdom is God's immutable purpose, but the Church, universal and local, is His instrument.

There is plenty of WINE in the earth. In what shape is your WINESKIN?

FURTHER RESOURCE: My book, The Importance of the Home and Family, available at http://www.kvmonlinestore.org/.