Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Part 11: Bubbles of Hope (Luke 5:37,38)

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. (Luke 5:37, 38 NASB)

Reproduction is the first major task of the yeast. The second major work (the one we generally consider yeast work) is turning the sugar in the grapes into alcohol, which preserves the juice. Once the alcohol is produced, the juice of those grapes can not only be preserved, but, stored correctly, will only improve with age. 

As the yeast breaks done the sugars, the byproduct carbon dioxide is produced. This breakdown is an opportunity to see chemistry at work! The carbon dioxide is a gas. The yeast is working at the bottom of the vat. The carbon dioxide gas is, of course, lighter than either the liquid juice or the solid pulp/seeds/skin, so it does exactly what gases do. It rises. The very exciting part of the carbon dioxide is that it breaks the surface in the form of tiny gas bubbles! If you watch the surface of the wine, you can see the little bubbles,  and they provide assurance that fermentation is underway. The bubbles tell you that the yeast is doing it's job. 

In much the same way, the action of the Holy Spirit on the heart of an individual is not visible to the naked eye. As the work progresses, however, you may begin to see some "byproduct bubbles", such as a change in friends, different vocabulary or activities, more time spent at home. Of course, in the lives of our loved ones, the "bubbles of change" will vary, but one thing is sure. They show us that God is at work and provide encouragement as we wait to see what God will do in those we love. 

As you pray for our loved ones today, look for those "bubbles of change" that show us God is on the move, and be encouraged by them. Pray today that the work of the Holy Spirit will continue until all the work is done. 

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