Wednesday's Word-Can I have some wine with that?

I wanted to tell you about-and I'm going out on a limb here-MY FAVORITE VERSE. I know a lot of people have these so-called "Life verses" that they really relate to or that help them stay focused or keep their eyes fixed on Jesus. I have some of those, too. Don't get me wrong here, but THIS verse BLOWS MY MIND!

To preface this verse, I HAVE to tell you about some of the MOST AMAZING THINGS that Jesus did while he was "God made flesh." I don't mean to keep y'all in suspense, but we HAVE to take a look at a few miracles before we get to MY FAVORITE VERSE! And, unfortunately (for us all, because I LOVE this verse and can't WAIT to share it with ya), I cannot share this verse this week because there are MORE miracles to discuss before we talk about "the verse." This is NOT MEANT to frustrate you or keep you in suspense. (If you know me, you KNOW I hate secrets, suprises and suspense!)

MIRACLE #1:

I love weddings, don't you? SO much preparation! SO much decoration! SO much celebration! I think back to my "little" brother's wedding last summer. He and his wife, Katie, live in Texas, and the wedding was in Virginia at my parents' property. My mom is a fantastic designer and planner, so she planned every little detail and did a wonderful job! This planning took her months! And, the day before wedding day, she went a little bezerk (sorry mom). She was so stressed with wedding details, reception details, weather (everything was outside), and just making Josh and Katie's day extra special. And, she did NOT disappoint! Everything was wonderful...even the weather!

Each chair was perfectly positioned, and mom even left fans on each chair!

(It was August in Virginia, remember!)

Katie looked stunning after all the "prepwork" at the old mansion formerly owned by the Vanderbilts! Her makeup and hair were all professionally done, nails-perfect, too!

So many more details went in to this one day! Their reception was at a gorgeous winery nearby,and again, mom decorated beautifully. It looked lovely! No detail was left undone. And, her best friends were there to make sure everything went off without a hitch. The day prior, there were atleast five women at the winery decorating with her. And, this was just ONE...DAY.

In Biblical times, weddings were HUGE celebrations! Imagine my brother and sister-in-law's wedding...a WEEKLONG celebration, and that's what you would have experienced in Jesus's time. Imagine the amount of decorating, the amount of FOOD! And, now we're finally getting to the first miracle...the amount of WINE required for a party of that magnitude! Think nowadays. If you run out of drinks at a wedding, you probably run outta GUESTS at the wedding, right? And, NO ONE would EVER forget THAT wedding. Embarrassing!!! Multiply that by about 120, and you get the result of running out of wine at a wedding in Biblical times. I'm talkin' MAJOR PARTY FOUL!!!

We're in John chapter 2 (verses 1-11) today, and Jesus's first miracle ever. We're at a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus and His disciples, and at very least, His mom, are all at this wedding. His mom scampers over, "They have no more wine." I can imagine the desperate whisper! They ran outta wine...DO SOMETHING!!! If we stopped right here, I could totally go to town on this part...did Mary know something we don't? Did Jesus do stuff like this around their house growing up? Why did Mary run to Jesus instead of someone with enough money to go buy MORE wine?! Jesus politely tells His mother "it's not time yet." She sort of brushes this aside and says to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you." HAHA! Okay, Mary, mother of the Almighty. God made flesh is standing there telling you it's not time, but you know He will not disappoint! (I wish I had that much faith!) So Jesus tells these servants, "Fill the jars with water." The jars? Yeah, they held 20-30 gallons EACH. And, having worked in a winery in my younger years, I know it takes more than, say, five minutes to make wine. These servants filled these "jars" to the brim. Jesus simply says, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." Jesus had turned this water INTO WINE.

JESUS---TURNED WATER---INTO WINE.

NO GRAPES.

NO WINEPRESSES.

NO BARRELS

NO TIME---TO AGE THE GRAPE JUICE INTO WINE.

IN GOES THE WATER---OUT COMES THE WINE.

Some of us have read through this so many times we're like, Yeah, yeah, so then He turned water into wine...etc, etc, etc... THIS MIRACLE? RIDICULOUS!!!

The servants took this drink to the master of the banquet, who says, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." See, Jesus performed this miracle at a Jewish wedding. At this point, He could have boasted to all the guests about making that wine, but instead, the only people that knew this happened are: His mother, the servants, and His disciples. He saved this family from complete humiliation while proving to His closest followers that He was, indeed, worth following!

To sum this up, John writes, "He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him."

He "revealed His glory" through this miracle. Up until now, His disciples just knew He knew a lot about God. Some of them had heard John the Baptist say, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" And, they believed that they had "found the Messiah..." But, what exactly that meant, I'm not sure they understood yet. And, so with this miracle, we begin this wild journey with Jesus...

That's the miracle of the week!

Until next week...CHEERS!