No Squatters Allowed

Here's a quote I came across while working on the book for Paul. It keeps coming back to me, so I thought I'd share it with you.


"In the Bible times, wine was purified by letting it sit in a vessel until the dregs had settled to the bottom. Then it was poured into a new vessel and allowed to sit so that the remaining impurities would settle. This was repeated until all the impurities were removed from the wine. The Lord contended that Moab, an area of land directly east of the Dead Sea, had never been emptied into a new vessel; it maintained its dregs and was not pure. It is the changes in our lives that help to free us of the bondage to the familiar and keep us dependent on the Lord instead of on our environments.

Our spiritual lives are purified in this same manner. The Lord allows us to remain in one place until the dregs in our lives settle. Then He pours us into a new vessel – a new situation or environment. This new situation could be a different emphasis in the teaching He is giving us. He may move us to a different congregation or give our congregation new leadership, thus giving us a new job or new supervisor. Change is crucial to maintaining purity in our lives. We are called to be spiritual sojourners, not squatters."