2014-11-21
Good Morning Dear Ones,
For the last couple of weeks, I was led to write about Communion. We looked at the importance of properly preparing oneself to take this memorial meal, commemorating the Last Supper and Christ’s Atonement for our sins. Taking Communion in general is our way of doing some important things in our lives. The first one is cooperating with God’s efforts to sanctify us [purify and perfect us in preparation for that day when we are called to His side in heaven for eternity-glorification-see COL 3: 3-4, 9-10]. Another is a sign that we have submitted to God and are acknowledging the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus made for us [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. And yet another is our willingness to work to reveal to ourselves sinning we may still be doing, to confess it and to stop it. Communion is our most intimate and personal contact with the Lord Jesus while we are still on earth. 1 COR 11: 23-25 are the words pastors say in their prayer for us just before we partake of the bread (signifying Christ’s body) and the wine (signifying Christ’s blood shed for us).
HE 10: 19-24, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain [veil], that is the body, and since we have a great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He Who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” This wonderful passage gives us the real significance of Christ’s amazing sacrifice of His physical life and of His tearing through the inner veil, opening the Holy of Holies to us by from top to bottom without the action of human hands [MK 15: 38].
Having said all of this, it’s necessary for us to understand that there are consequences for choosing to continue to sin after we have learned the truth. This is revealed in HE 10: 26-27, “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” This is why we can say our lives are at stake. The walk that God took between the halved pieces of offerings on Abraham’s altar [GN 15: 17] was a foreshadowing of the Atonement of Christ [JN 3: 16]. If we look at our commitment to a covenant relationship with our Covenant Partner as if it were assets vs. debits, the assets listed (which are God’s blessings and gaining eternal life) far outweigh the debits. It is necessary for God to draw the line at serial rejection of His Son, Jesus, and of Him in general, or else He would be a hypocrite [see RO 3: 26]. We must remember that hell, which is the consequence of spiritual death, is conscious torment which lasts for eternity and from which there is no escape.
Repentance and genuine confession of our sins don’t come easily for us. Our sins are like “filthy rags” [IS 64: 6], and they weigh us down, impeding our forward motion in spiritual maturity. None of us have to endure spiritual death, if we become cooperative, submissive, and obedient to God. That makes us His faithful covenant partners. We must keep up our end of the Covenant of Grace. When we are prideful, unethical, violent, materialistic and/or commit other sins we are not keeping to our commitment to God, thus breaking our covenant. We must also remember that we have subtle sins that must be revealed, confessed genuinely, and stopped by us. Confession, while hard, is sweet at the same time. We are removing the “millstone around our necks” [MT 18:6] and have no need of guilt if we stop the sinning. Our God is a God of second chances in most cases.
Along these lines, I must relate something that happened between my son and I when he was age 12. He broke a family rule that we all must let the others know when we are away where we are and when we are coming home. We didn’t impose many rules, but that was one of them and it was expected of adults and children alike. One day, he came home very late, and he had not called us to let us know his plans were changed while he was out. I asked him what had happened, and he explained how his plans had changed. He knew he had done something wrong, something that deserved negative consequences. In the course of our discussion, we asked him what he thought his punishment should be. To my great surprise, he told us that he should be grounded for the next six months—a punishment far more severe than anything my husband and I had discussed beforehand. It was always our practice to discuss not only these things, but to include our son (once his initial emotions had died down) in a three-way conversation when there was trouble concerning him. What we ended up doing in the situation above was to ground him after school for the next two weeks. This also had the beneficial effect of giving him more time for his homework. We never had that same problem with him again.
PRAYER: O Lord, we bow our heads in reverence and awe of You. You give us such wise advice and make it possible for us, by the way You created us. We can confess our sins, know what is sin and what is not, and stop our sinning. PS 103: 13, “The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who have reverence for Him.” We are sinners, and we are eager to reveal and genuinely confess our sins, as Your children should do. Our pride and the opinion of others sometimes delays us from confession and stoppage of sin, but we will do our best to not allow this. PR 16: 18, “Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall.” We must look at both sides of this picture. So we see in PR 10: 17, “He who heeds discipline shows the way to life; but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” As Your children and human covenant partners, we understand that the example we set can have either beneficial or destructive impact on others around us. Dearest Abba, You alone are the best One to correct us when we err. You are willing to do that, and You want us to engage genuinely in taking Communion to signify that we have submitted to Your authority and that we acknowledge You are our Lord and Savior. You have given us the hope of the resurrection, something that is most precious indeed. We offer You praise and thanks, our loyalty and our honor. We will do our best the set the kind of example, by the way we live our lives, that will please You and help us gain eternal life with You. These prayers we offer in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: At the command of the Holy Spirit, I will write with a look into God’s heart. He doesn’t want anyone to invite condemnation, either to himself or others. This “Our Lives At Stake” segment of these “Our Covenant” messages will continue. In the meanwhile, we should not refuse to acknowledge our God. Let us lift our hands in prayer, and we can use DT 32: 1-4, words which God gave to Moses’ to do this. “Listen, O heaven, and I [God] will speak: ‘Hear, O earth, the words of My mouth. Let My teaching fall like rain on tender plants’…’I [Moses] will proclaim the name of the Lord. O, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, His words are perfect and His ways are just. A faithful God, Who does no wrong. Upright and just is He.’” Just as young spring plants are tender, so is God’s loving, wise, and compassionate heart. Our God forgives us, if we are genuine with Him. He knows our faults and still loves us. His greatest hope is that people’s hearts will not be hardened by habitual sin and bitterness against Him. We live in a difficult world, but He created us to be His faithfully obedient human covenant partners. One more important thing should be said. We not only have the responsibility to cooperate with God, but we need to overcome our fears about sharing the lifesaving message of the Gospel with others willing to listen. PR 11: 30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.” The truth of the Gospel is a great comfort to those who will receive it and believe in the Lord Jesus. We must learn to look for opportunities God gives us to witness to the truth, and can make true JN 8: 32, “The truth shall set you free.” Our great God loves each person reading this devotion and myself as well. Hear the truth and believe it! Our God deserves our forever praise and thanks!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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