Verse of the Day 4/25

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 (ESV)  For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

 

 

Yesterday we considered how Jesus is the "cure", He is what we need to overcome the sin and it's penalty in our lives.  The forgiveness He brings can bring peace and restoration in our lives.

Different denominations and individual churches celebrate communion in different ways and at different times.  Some celebrate it every week, others every month while others will do it less frequently.  But no matter the frequency or the manner it is observed in remembrance of Him, picturing what He went through for us to reconcile us to God.

 

A simple statement in verse 23 struck me this morning, "on the night when he was betrayed".  Jesus knew full well what was going on that night.  He knew that one of His own would betray Him, yet He followed through with meal and instituted that night what we observe in communion.  Each time we observe it He knows full well what is going on in our lives, but still invites us to come, to celebrate, and to restore the proper relationship.

 

The remembrance called for is not only the meal, but the things that He went through following that meal.  The journey to the cross.  John MacArthur writes, "the scene at the cross wasn't peaceful at all.  Pain, sorrow, humiliation, hatred, mockery , darkness, and death were oppressively pervasive.  But through it all Christ was doing what He alone could do; making peace between man and God.  He paid the supreme price to give us that precious gift."

 

These thoughts and the passage in 1 Corinthians bring me back to Romans 5 where we read:

 

Romans 5:8 (NIV) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 

All this should cause us to consider the question that Chuck Colson used as the title of one of his books "How Now  Shall We Live".   His life was a testimony of his response to that question once he received Christ as his saviour, turned around his life and lived for Him.

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

English Standard Version (ESV)

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." ²⁵ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.