"this do in remembrance of Me"

sunday evening i had the privilege to partake in communion, known also as the eucharist, a holy sacrament of particular--even paramount--importance and significance. in 1 cor. 11:23-34, paul reminds the church of the institution of the Lord's Supper, established the night He was betrayed.

taking part in communion is something we are blessed to do. to some degree, it's also something Jesus commands. concerning the bread and the cup, He instructs His disciples in matt. 26 to "take, eat," and to "drink all of it." this sounds more like a command than a suggestion to say the least :-) paul notes that by partaking in communion we are remembering Christ's broken body and His shed blood.

i think Jesus' instruction to eat and drink has a threefold purpose: it reminds us of what He did in the past; it symbolizes our present relationship with Him; and it is a promise of what He will do in the future. through communion we become aware of what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do through us and for us. this intimate interaction with the body and blood of Christ provides us with the recognition that we, our circumstances, our families, etc., can be changed.

with respect to the broken body of Christ, represented by the bread, we are reminded that Jesus took stripes on His body for our healing--not just physical, but emotional, psychological, and spiritual. is. 53:5 says that Jesus "was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." i believe this applies to our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls. we can be made healed and whole. as for the precious shed blood of Jesus, represented by the cup, we are reminded that Jesus shed His blood for our salvation. 1 peter 1 tells us this: "God paid a ransom to save you...and the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver as you very well know. but He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." Jesus says in matt. 26, "for this is my blood..."it is poured out to forgive the sins of multitudes." Jesus' blood indeed has the power to save to the uttermost, but we must partake in its entirety.

a final note on the power of the blood is this, from lev. 17:11, God speaking: "for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given you the blood...as an atonement for your souls; it is the blood that makes atonement because it is the life." in other words, the blood is equated with life. we can experience new and true life with Christ because of His shed blood. after all, He came to die so that we could live. atonement is the reconciliation of God and humankind, especially as accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Christ. i once had atonement explained to me as 'at-one-ment,' meaning we are made one with Christ through His shed blood. col. 1:19-20 makes it clear that God sent His Son "to reconcile all things unto Himself, making peace through the blood of His cross" (col. 1:19-20). the application of the blood to our lives will indeed bring reconciliation, salvation, and peace.

the observance of communion has a powerful effect, both personally and corporally. we can experience deep healing, and it makes us one with Christ and each other. and i think that's the point, as we reflect on what Christ did, is doing, and will do...and the point is healing and unity. one final point comes from Jesus' prayer to His Father, in john 17 (a beautiful prayer worth reading). here's the passage that i think is of acute relevance: "13 And now I am coming to You. I have told them many things while I was with them so that they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them Your commands. and the world hates them because they don’t fit in with it, just as I don’t. 15 I’m not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from satan’s power. 16 they are not part of this world any more than I am. 17 make them pure and holy through teaching them Your words of truth. 18 as You sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world, 19 and I consecrate myself to meet their need for growth in truth and holiness. 20 I am not praying for these alone but also for the future believers who will come to Me because of the testimony of these. 21 My prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as You and I are, Father—that just as You are in Me and I am in You, so they will be in Us, and the world will believe You sent Me. 22 I have given them the glory You gave Me—the glorious unity of being one, as We are— 23 I in them and You in Me, all being perfected into one—so that the world will know You sent Me and will understand that You love them as much as You love Me."

i'm thankful for the power of communion!

learning through suffering

job is a book about human suffering...it's a great study on suffering that's designed to bring us to God, not drive us from Him. God orchestrates it all. in fact, the writer of the book of job explains that satan isn't even allowed to test job without God's permission. God even puts constraints on how satan can test job's devotion to God and his deep faith. God tells satan, "do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically" (job 1:12). job's suffering, granted by God's permission, reminds me of a verse in isaiah 45. God says, "I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the One who does these things" (45:7). the king james version actually says this: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things."

though it's frustrating to try and understand why bad things happen, it's encouraging to think that satan, the prince of darkness, isn't even in control of his own domain! hell ain't got any power over anything...period :-) God is in control. the mystery of suffering is meant to bring us to this awareness, even if we can't make sense of all the pain, loss, and devastation; suffering is designed to bring us to a God who is in control. even when it doesn't make sense, we need to find God in our suffering: “people cry out when they are oppressed...yet they don’t ask, ‘where is God my Creator, the one who gives songs in the night?'" (job 35:9-10). our suffering should bring us to a place of learning, just like elihu tells job: "those who learn from their suffering, God delivers from their suffering" (job 36:15).

i recently heard this statement: "living through suffering." within this statement is the notion that you're going to make it through...you're living 'through' it. life continues, no matter how challenging or complicated, but you're living it through and you will come out the other side. there's also the notion that while enduring a great deal in the 'through' process, you're still living. you're living through the suffering. from now on, instead of saying i'm just living with it, i'm going to remind myself that i'm living through it and God will certainly be there on the other side...and of course He's with me in it. in spite of there being no pat answers, and there being the guarantee of suffering in the world (john 16:33), job shows us how God entrusts us with difficult things to position us--to bring us to a place of decision of whether or not we are going to trust Him--because His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 cor. 12:9). when we are at our weakest point, that's when God is at His strongest.

another point is that job was doing what he knew to do in going through the motions and routine of life, but he needed to learn what God needed him to do. job 12:13 says, "true wisdom and real power belong to God; from Him we learn how to live, and also what to live for." and what is this you might ask? well, i would offer an answer from the very end of the book: "when job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. in fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!...so the Lord blessed job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning" (job 42:10 & 12). God needs us to be present and available in people's lives...praying for them, listening to them, loving them. in the midst of our own suffering, we need to pray and live for the people around us.

after God Himself confronts job in job 38-41, pressing job to pull himself together and reminding him that He sees our suffering and shares our pain, job begins to see that through suffering life can be transformed, deepened, marked with beauty and holiness in remarkable ways that could have never been anticipated before the suffering. from this we can see that even when we feel alone in our suffering, unsure of what God wants us to do, we must realize that the same God who came to job in a whirlwind is the same God who will come to us in our time of need. like job, we will be able to say, "i'm convinced: You can do anything and everything. nothing and no one can upset Your plans" (job 42:2).

job caught a glimpse of this earlier in the book--after outlining everything he had been through--when he says, "still, i know that God lives--the One who gives me back my life" (job 19:25). still further, in job 23:8-10, job says, "i go east, but He is not there. i go west, but i cannot find Him. i do not see Him in the north, for He is hidden. i look to the south, but He is concealed. but He knows where i am going. and when He tests me, i will come out as pure gold." even when we don't know where God is in our suffering, He knows where we are!

salt and light

the other day i was thinking about the relevance of matthew 5:13-16 in our everyday lives. the message bible puts it this way:

13 “let me tell you why you are here. you’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. if you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? you’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. 14-16 “here’s another way to put it: you’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. we’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. if I make you light-bearers, you don’t think i’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? i’m putting you on a light stand. now that i’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! keep open house; be generous with your lives. by opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

the passage is pretty direct, eh? "let me tell you why you're here." quoting Jesus, matthew highlights 2 principles: we are here to be the salt of the earth, and we're here to be the light of the earth. in other words, we're not here to do our own thing. we're here to do a God thing. God has a very specific work for us to do that only we can do as we represent God here on earth. He is counting on us to share and spread "God-flavours" and "God-colours."

consider some of the uses of salt. it seasons, preserves, cleanses. and what about light? well, it illuminates, warms, energizes. most significantly and encapsulating, i think, is that salt and light influence and penetrate their surroundings. once introduced to an environment, the environment changes. this is what Jesus intends for us to do in our world...to influence, to penetrate, to change. we do this when we show God-flavours and God-colours, the most notable of which is love, because when we love other things like forgiveness, humility, kindness, generosity, etc., will most certainly be easily exercised in our lives.

being salt and light is a lifetime exercise. as with exercise, we need to extend ourselves. it's something we need to keep going back to, over and over. and, just like salt is spread and light radiates, we need the world to taste and see God in us. by doing this, we can say with the psalmist david, "open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see--how good God is" (psalm 34:8).

practicing holiness

1 peter 1:13-25 provides some invaluable teaching from which we can glean a great deal. peter writes to the early church (and to us) that we need to "think clearly and exercise self control" with a "deep consciousness of God" and His Word. when we allow ourselves to be "pulled into a life shaped by God's life" and His Word, God will give us a future unfettered by "sloppy living." that's not to say we won't have bad days or that we won't make mistakes or that we won't find ourselves in a mess on occasion; it means that God, by the sacrifice of Christ, will guide us step by step on our journey because His Word is a map. we don't have to be bound to our old life before Christ; we can be free to live a life of praise to God for all He has done...for giving us the privilege to live for Him.

peter is very clear that when we follow the truth of God's Word, our new lives are not like our old lives; our new birth comes from God's living Word, and God's living Word was/is literally Jesus: "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...so the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness" (john 1:1 & 14). peter also instructs us to "love one another as if [our] lives depended on it." and that's fundamentally what the world needs and is the greatest evidence of God in us.

peter provides a challenge that we can only meet by applying God's Word to our daily living so that we can work and walk and worship in this world. essentially, it's an injunction from God Himself that lovingly forces us to be aware of Him...to clean up our lives by pursuing truth. the challenge is this: "so you just live as God's obedient children. don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. you didn't know any better then. but now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. for the Scriptures say, 'you must be holy because I am holy" (1 peter 1:14-16). peter is referring to verses found in leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, and 20:7 where God instructs His children to be careful to keep all of His commands by putting them into practice, and to set themselves apart to be holy because He is holy.

and that's the key. holiness is not about perfection. it's about practice. the most basic meaning of the words holy and holiness is to be set apart TO God and FROM the world. It's about dedicating yourself to God so that in your new life "the way you live will always honour and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. all the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better" (colossians 1:10). in this way, God's Word--literally, Jesus--will come alive in us so that we can grow, honouring God with our lives, and producing good fruit. holiness ISN'T about perfect conduct; it's about practical awareness that we are His and He is ours. it's about a commitment to strive for holiness in our lives.mbecause of that application in our lives we can live productive, maybe even exemplary lives of God at work in us, working through us to love, and forgive, and trust, and show compassion, and spread joy...

i know. i need to stop :-) but, i like how the apostle paul wraps up the fruit of the spirit which i think is one way we can practice being holy--being set apart to God and from the world. after he lists them in galations 5:22 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control) he says, "there is no law against these things." in other words, there is no cap or limit. practicing those qualities in our ordinary, everyday lives, we will certainly live lives "energetic and blazing with holiness" (1peter 1:15).

"so roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready" (1 peter 1:13) to practice holiness!

just a thought...

just a thought...or 2...or a few...

yoda: try not. do...or do not. there is no try.
luke: i don't, i don't believe it.
yoda: that is why u fail.

and a yoda paraphrase..."don't end your training...don't choose the quick and easy path"

there might be something to this :-)

"whatever presents itself for you to do, do it (with all your might)" (ecclesiastes 9:10).

to paraphrase Jesus..."so in everything, do...the easy path [ie: not doing] leads to destruction...do, ask, seek, knock...just do!!!" (matthew 7)

don't just try! do!

"what do you mean, 'if i can?'" Jesus asked. "anything is possible if a person believes" (mark 9:23).

so, just do it! (thanks, nike)

🎶 i'll tell you what He wants, what He really, really wants 🎶

romans 12:1 says this: "so here's what i want you to do, God helping you: take your everyday, ordinary life--and place it before God as an offering." it's worth noting that the writer, paul, begins this chapter in a way that suggests that he has given some instruction prior to his "so here's what i want you to do" statement. in chapter 11 of romans, paul describes God's mercy on Israel (His chosen people), a people prone to stumbling and falling and turning their backs on Him. God was relentless in His pursuit of them, so that He could show His free grace (His unmerited favour)...so that He could show that they didn't have to stumble and fall beyond recovery...so that He could show that His mercy is far reaching. paul makes clear that God's grace (getting what we don't deserve) and mercy (not getting what we do deserve) are now available to everyone, and he notes that "God's gifts and God's call under full warranty--never canceled, never rescinded" (11:29). they can never be withdrawn, so because of this, "here's what i want you to do..." (ps: this isn't to suggest that we can take the grace of God for granted, abusing it, like it's a license to sin...because we can't...that's not what God's grace is about...we can't abuse it, but we can take advantage of it 😀).

God wants our undivided attention in our every day lives because of the high price that was paid for our salvation. He wants our conscientious gratitude for what He has done, as He works to change us from the inside out so that the world recognizes Him in us by our loving, and serving, and helping, and reaching out, and playing second fiddle, and getting along with people, and being kind, and yes, even smiling 😀 God isn't asking for perfection; He wants our hurts, and our hang-ups, and our habits so that He can develop well-formed maturity in us...and the exciting thing is that as we give our ordinary selves to God daily, God will help us. He doesn't expect us to 'do life' on our own, or to 'be religious,' but He does expect that our relationship with Him will show, even in our everyday, ordinary lives...ESPECIALLY in our everyday, ordinary lives. In fact, romans 12 is pretty direct in telling us that God will give us transformative opportunities that will ultimately help us "not let evil conquer" us, but we will be empowered to "conquer evil by doing good" (12:21). i like what james 1:27 says about what matters to God for us in this life: "pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." God wants your religion to show in how you reach out to others, and in your relationship with Him. basically, let your little light shine in the darkness. that's what God wants.

i also like how the new king james version puts romans 12:1: "i beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." we, by the mercies of God, give our lives to Him and this is our reasonable service. it is the least we can do for all He has done. "embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him." the best way to worship God is to place our lives before Him for Him to use, and to not "copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you by changing the way you think. then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect" (12:1). that's what God wants.

your walk with God is a journey. sometimes there will be hills and valleys and obstacles and detours...and ALWAYS there will be opportunities and people for us to serve, teach, encourage, give, lead, show kindness to, to hate what is wrong and hold tightly to what is good. that's what God wants.

i like one biblical analogy which likens our walk with God as being on a ladder, and the old hymn comes to my mind "one day at a time," except in my head i hear "one [rung] at a time." and i think that's what this is all about as we live lives of sacrifice and dedication to God...one day, one rung, at a time.

give God your rungs and your days...everyday...and watch and see what He will do through you, and with you, and for you, and sometimes even in spite of you 😀 that's what He wants.

you're blessed!

the message bible titles the beatitudes passage found in matthew 5 like this: "you're blessed." i've copied and pasted the passage at the end for your easy access, because it is a great and hope-full passage to read to remind yourself that you're blessed...no matter what state you're in.

i would like to reiterate and expound upon a few points:

1) people committed to Jesus followed Him, which is relevant for us today. we need to follow Jesus in our everyday lives, just as if we were physically going out to the hillside with Him to hear what He had to say. today we can do this by being committed to a relationship with the Word of God. we can follow Jesus by following His Word. this won't always be easy, just like making the dusty, dry, trek out to the hillside and then being faced with a mountain to climb wasn't easy for His followers, but they were committed...they didn't take off to the beach :-) following Jesus takes effort, but the effort is well worth it because of the blessings in store. we need to hear what He has to say by following His Word.

2) Jesus wants the very best for us, hence His own commitment to apprentice His followers. since they were so committed to Jesus and His ministry, taking the time to follow Him, Jesus carefully selected an environment that would be conducive to teaching (after all, the beatitudes are the beginning of Jesus' longest recorded sermon, found in matthew 5-7). on this occasion, Jesus chose a quiet place where He could sit down and instruct, away from the distractions of the bustling galilean fishing village of capernaum, which was also a chief commercial and social centre of the area during Jesus' ministry. Jesus wanted to give His undivided attention to His followers so that they could hear some of His most central teachings. this meant getting away from commerce and socialization, and sometimes we will need to remove ourselves from those things as well, so that we can take advantage of the best that Jesus has for us.

the beatitudes outline a number of occasions or states that promise us blessing when we are in that particular place in our lives...different 'attitudes,' if you will. When you're in the 'attitude' of ________ (pick any one of the beatitudes: humble, sorrowful, patient, hungry & thirsty for God, merciful, honest, peaceful, persecuted, joyful), this is what will 'be:' ________(again, pick the corresponding beatitude: you'll have more of God, you'll be comforted, you'll inherit the earth, you'll be filled, you'll be shown mercy, you will see God, you will be called the children of God, you will attain the Kingdom of Heaven, you will have a great reward in Heaven).

i gave some thought to the first beatitude, that of being poor in spirit. when we empty ourselves of ourselves, it becomes about 'less of me and more of Him.' when realize we can't do it on our own, we actually gain more strength with that recognition. james 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." humility opens the door for grace, a demonstration God's unmerited favour and extravagant care, whereby we get what we don't deserve and don't get what we do deserve. in a world that seeks to subvert our attention from God with all the distractions of life, 2 peter 3:18 tells us that we can "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." when we get to the end of ourselves and the end of our rope, and our attitude shifts from wanting to do it all on our own, we have the promise that our humility will help us attain the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus wraps up the beatitudes by telling His followers that they are the salt of the earth (matthew 5:11-14). we can't live a watered down life where anything goes. rather, we need to basically start shaking off some of the salt to make those around us thirsty for what we've got. we need to "let [our] good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise [our] Heavenly Father," because it's all about Him. don't dilute the Word of God in your life or what God has done for you; share it, spread it, sprinkle it so that the world will also seek what preserves us...the grace of God "that has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. and we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. we should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God...He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very people, totally committed to doing good deeds" (titus 2:11-14).

as promised, here's the beatitudes passage:

1-2 when Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. this is what he said:

3 “you’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. with less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4 “you’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5 “you’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. that’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

6 “you’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

7 “you’re blessed when you care. at the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

8 “you’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. then you can see God in the outside world.

9 “you’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. that’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

10 “you’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. the persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

11-12 “not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. what it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. you can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! and all heaven applauds. and know that you are in good company. my prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

be blessed!