Communion

Communion

9/4/22

Today during Sunday service, we practiced communion in a way I never had before. We read 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 and obeyed the passage. In this passage, Paul says; “So then, whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.” What Paul is saying here is that before we partake in communion, we must examine the Lord and His body as well as our own, that we must acknowledge our sins by seeing ourselves right, bring them to the Lord and allow Him to wash us clean as we see Him right. We then took our time, sitting with the Lord and examining ourselves before going up to partake in communion.

As I sat there before the Lord, looking at Him and looking at myself, I saw a woman running in the night, she had sores and cuts on her feet, it was dark and she was scared. This woman was running from the one who loved her, and in the process, she was hurting him and herself. As I continued to look, I saw the man that loved her. He invited the woman out of the cold rain and fears of the night and into a warm cabin, a light in a dark place. I watched as the man provided a safe place for the woman to rest and gave her nourishing food to eat. And then I watched as the man kneeled before the woman, at her feet, and tended to her wounds. Gently, he washed her feet and wrapped bandages around her cuts and sores. The very two feet that ran away from him, he held them and he healed them. The man did not ask for an explanation, he simply cared for the woman and smiled at her because she was home. I do not deserve the Lord.

I am not worthy of His love or the sacrifice He made, giving himself up for me. I have run away and I continue to run away and turn my back on Him and hurt Him and hurt myself in the process. He has all the reasons to turn me away, but He doesn’t. Instead, He invites me to come back home, provides a place of rest and nourishment, and loves and cares for me. As I sat there at the feet of Jesus, I wept. All I could do was thank him. I’m not sure how long I sat there but I eventually got up to receive communion. As I sat back down, holding the blood and body of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I thanked Him and I ate and drank. As the drink was running down my throat and into my whole body I remembered the power of His blood and how it washes every sin clean. As far as the east is from the west, so far He has removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12). I am whiter than snow (Isaiah 1:18). At this moment, as I examined myself and the Lord again, I saw a little girl in a white dress. The girl was holding the hands of her father who was spinning her around in a grand meadow. With joy upon their faces, they spun around as if they were dancing. The sounds of birds chirping, the warmth of the sun on their faces, and the afternoon breeze running through their hair. The little girl loved her father and her father loved her. As he spun her around I could see her feet, they looked as if they had never touched the ground. As I watched the girl and her father spin around I could almost hear a voice say, “This little girl is you, you are my daughter, you are mine”.

The Lord is so kind. How could I ever be worthy to receive His love? I never will. But because of who He is and what He has done, I am able to be restored to the child I was created to be (John 1:12, Mark 5:34). His daughter, running free, secure because she knows her father loves her. What God has done for me, He has also done for you. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Read the Bible, even the greatest people and prophets and kings fell short. None of us were or are or will ever be perfect enough to even be in the presence of our Holy Holy God. But, because God chose to come to earth, to suffer for 30 years and die on a cross, to take our place even though He was the only innocent and perfect one, we now get to not only be in the presence of God but to have the Holy Spirit- Gods Holy Spirit- live within us and never leave us (Romans 8:16, John 16:7, John 14:15-16 +26). As you drink His blood and eat of His body, as you examine yourself and him fully and accept the invitation He has for you to come home, you become a part of Him (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). His Spirit comes to dwell within you and you are now a part of His family. His spirit becomes your Spirit and His blood, your blood. God is enough, and you will never be. So if you are trying to make your way into His presence or to win his approval, or even if you are running away right now, I encourage you to stop and sit at his feet. Ask Him to show you who you truly are, who He truly is and who He has created you to be.

1 Corinthians 11:23-32 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. So then, whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far he has removed our transgressions from us.

Isaiah 1:18 “Come bow, let us settle the matter,” Says the Lord. “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

John 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Mark 5:34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God

Romans 8:16 The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children

John 16:7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away because if I don’t, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you

John 14:15-16 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all the things I have said to you.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We are all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We are all given the same Spirit to drink. So the body is not made up of just one part, it has many parts.

Ephesians 1:5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will

Ephesians 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.