Cup and Bread

The Pentecostalism of my early years focused on the experience of God, the immediate Presence of the Holy Spirit. We sang together with great enthusiasm, clapped our hands with joy, and listened to messages delivered with loud shouts of emotion! The services often closed with ‘altar calls’ when we came together at the front of the church to pray. Tears and laughter, hugs and shared prayers, were common, along with the expectation of spiritual renewal. I do not miss the excesses of that season of life but I surely treasure the closeness with God and others that were fostered in us.

Our churches were deeply suspicious of what I heard labeled as ‘dead ritual.’  So, we did not profess our beliefs with creeds, nor did we observe the seasons of Advent or Lent. We did not even recognize our place as a part of the larger Body of Christ in the world. We did celebrate baptism of new believers with great joy, much as one would mark the arrival of new baby in the family! Communion was also celebrated but without much emphasis, a few moments added to the service, on the first Sunday of the month.

As my Christian experience matured and I worshipped at times outside of my own traditions, I began to discover the wonder of worship including ancient rituals! As I spoke the Apostle’s Creed with other voices raised around me, I realized the wonder of the faith that stretched back 2,000 years, anchored in the Word. And I began to understand Holy Communion as something more than a sip of juice and eating a wafer! It became, and remains to this day, the holiest moment of worship each week.

Each Sunday, our congregation closes our time together with Holy Communion. The bit of bread held in my hand speaks to me of the body of Christ Jesus, the cup filled with the fruit of the vine renews my hope in the covenant He made in the giving of His life, the shedding of His blood at the Cross. Yes, I truly love the moment when we share the Lord’s Supper in our time of gathered worship. Do you?

I hear the words written in one of Paul’s earliest letters and realize that I am worshipping alongside of millions of faithful Christians, past and present. He says to us, by the inspiration of the Spirit,
"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 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. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself." (1 Corinthians 11:23-29, NIV)

In the act of Communion there is a mystery of faith. I hold the Presence of Jesus close and in a simple human act of eating and drinking, declare the sustenance of my faith is found in my intimate connection to Jesus. He becomes my spiritual food and drink!

The letter to the Hebrews underscores the wonder of the Cross on which our hope rests. After explaining the reason for the Temple sacrifices for the temporary forgiveness of sin, we read these profound words - "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews 9:14-15, NIV)  

This is my remembrance at the moment of Communion. I am made new, a holy man, not because I am good or great, but because my Savior offered Himself as the Final Sacrifice. Yes, it is ritual, but it is holy, meaningful, and part of our worship at the direction of Jesus Himself!

In Luke we read,
"When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:14-21, NIV)

The Passover meal was a remembrance of the night in Egypt when the act of faith, the application of the blood of an unblemished lamb to the doorposts of the home, spared that household during the passing of the death angel of God’s judgment. Jesus tells us that He is our Passover Lamb, that we no longer live in fear of judgment and death because of Him. That is a truth worthy of our celebration, which demands our truest worship as we receive the Cup and Bread.

Next time you worship at the Lord’s Table, I hope you will not do so thoughtlessly, or ‘just because.’ Instead, enter the mystery of faith fully, thanking the Lord Jesus for offering His body to be broken that you might be healed and restored to the image of God in which we were originally created. Reverently thank Him for giving His life, carrying the weight of your sin, and writing a holy promise of God’s love in blood!

Jesus says – “Do this in remembrance of me.” 

Amen

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

"His hand froze to the sword"

There is a recurring fantasy that captures me - I want to be Superman! No, it’s not about flying around in a cape and a form-fitting suit. (Yes, that’s an image to forget!) What I dream about is being able to set things right, to work fast, to be unstoppable, and to kick evil in the face! Now you know a bit more about the kind of stuff that hides behind my eyes, but I’m sure you have your dreams too.

Knowing that the Superman thing is silly I’ll choose another hero for my inspiration today. His name is Eleazar, son of Dodai, and his story is briefly in the Bible. Never heard of him? Come meet him in a couple of lines in the Bible that are truly memorable.

In the book of 2 Samuel, there is a review of the ‘mighty men’ that stood with David, Israel’s warrior king. One of the men of renown is the previously mentioned Eleazar. His big moment in life is included in the list. "Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the men of Israel retreated, but he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines ‘till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword." (2 Samuel 23:9-10, NIV) The memory of that hero was captured in four words - “froze to the sword!”

In a battle with Israel’s perpetual enemy, the Philistines, most of the warriors of Israel retreated but Eleazar stood his ground, unwilling to give an inch, swinging his sword in deadly arcs that continued, over and over. As the din of battle subsided when the Philistines finally broke and ran, the others crept back to see their friend standing there exhausted and bloody.

Most remarkably, he was unable to release his grip on his sword!

He had fought with such ferocity that his tendons were locked. I imagine that they gathered around him and pried open his fingers, one by one, until the sword fell to the ground and Eleazar finally knew it was over! His tenacity inspires me. He just wouldn’t give up.

It’s silly to dream about being Superman, but I can aspire to be an Eleazar. Even if those who stand alongside of me retreat from the battle of life, the struggle for that which is of God, it is my aspiration to keep swinging the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17, NIV) I want to hang on to God’s Truth without being overcome by fear, doubt, or evil. I want to be known as a guy whose hand held onto the Sword of the Spirit!

How about you?

An engaged life will be a life that meets with battles. We do not have to go looking for trouble. Evil will come to us. A godless society will demand that we stand for truth. The challenges will keep coming. From within ourselves there will be ongoing battles with temptation. When we beat back one temptation, another arises. The nature of life is such that we have only a brief respite to savor the victories before the next wave rolls toward us.

There is a promise for would-be Eleazar’s. God, the Spirit, never leaves us on our own. We need not try to stand in our strength. The Word says that He will "strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19, NIV)

I’ll set aside my Superman fantasy and pray that I’ll be faithful, sustained by the Spirit’s strength, thanking Him that HE will not let me fall, that He will prepare a place where I can stand, grounded and with steady endurance.

If you’re weary, let me encourage you to do the same. Thank Him, renew your appreciation of His grace, breathe in the life and love of Christ, then stand ‘til your hand freezes to the sword!

The word from the Word today is a promise and challenge. "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." (Hebrews 10:35-39, NIV)

Amen

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

 

Back to Basics

Life is complex. Problems multiply. Questions go without answers. Who has not come to that moment when it is overwhelming that a kind of mental paralysis sets in, thinking is hard, decisions are pushed aside. Or, worse, people turn reactionary, lashing out in anger, blaming others, and crippling themselves by choosing some ill-informed, short-sighted ‘answer.’  In those seasons I like to joke that I want to find a cabin on a mountain far away and retreat from it all. I never have exercised that option!

Russell Moore writes of his own experience in the Christian church. “If one looked just under the surface, one could see some awful things: bigotry, cruelty, immorality, injustice. And he started to wonder, "What if what I’ve banked my entire life on—my entire eternity ahead—just isn’t true? What then?"

In such times, I like to ‘go back to basics’ reviewing those foundational truths on which my life rests. It does not replace the need to think deeply, nor do those basic answers resolve every question. However, I do find solid footing, anchor points that keep me steady, a course that moves in the right direction.

What are the basics of my life?

God loves!
Situations develop that obscure that fact sometimes. When a plane hits the ground like a dart in Florida killing everyone on board, an arrow of doubt pierces my heart! When cancer takes another young friend despite my prayers, God seems distant and uncaring! When the culture in which I live spins crazily out of control, the issue of God’s care and guidance get a bit shaky in my mind!

I go back to the Word where I learn that “We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16, NIV) He is not ‘out to get me’ nor is He without compassion. In fact, “because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”  (Lamentations 3:22-24, NIV)

Jesus saves!
Don’t ridicule that little phrase. It is truth. Because of Jesus and the Cross there is NO reason to hide, to live with shame, to exist in the misery of guilt, or to be afraid to go boldly to prayer. When we fail to obey fully, as we all do, the Tempter whispers to us that we cannot pray, that we are outside of God’s care and love.

The Word makes it clear that we are not! "He (Jesus) has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News." (Colossians 1:22-23, NLT)

The Holy Spirit is present!
When I ask “Is God seeing? Is He here and near?” I feel orphaned and alone. All the complex theology that surrounds my faith becomes nearly meaningless in those moments. Like a child, I need my Father’s Presence near. And, He is.

Christianity that is just a systematic theology, neatly arranged in logical order, cannot be all we know. I make no argument for silly ideas or platitudes. Lord knows that modern Christians need to know more theology, able to ‘give an answer to those who ask the reason for their hope.”

Yet this I know - the heart and mind are both critical to the practice of our devotion. Paul says, “I want to know Christ!” Not just about Him, but to know Him, walk with Him, and pray with genuine faith to Him as the Intercessor and Advocate at the Father’s right hand.

Wesley spoke of a moment when his faith was stirred and his heart was ‘strangely warmed.’  These are those moments of mystery possible for each of us. Perhaps it is when we look at the night sky and feel small yet full of wonder. Maybe it’s during a worship gathering when we find our emotions shaken loose and our joy overflows in silent tears. Perhaps it is when we hold a newborn baby in a moment of amazement. Perhaps it is at the bedside of one who is dying when we sense both the frailty of our existence and the profound assurance that there is ‘more beyond.’

Jesus says "The Father … will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17, NIV)

Heaven awaits!
I suppose it comes with being an elder, now 71, but Heaven has taken on new meaning in my life. The certainty of death is no longer avoidable as it once was. Too many friends and family members have left this world for me to feel completely ‘at home’ here anymore.

I need to reaffirm the fact of Eternity and fix my hopes on the home prepared for me by my Father. Oh no, this does not mean that I stop living or that escape every present difficulty with an exclusive focus on the world to come. Our high calling is the ‘Kingdom come’ here on earth, the mission of bringing the message that sinners can become saints, that evil must be resisted, and that justice must be established remains primary.

But, on there on life’s horizon, which is much closer for me now, there is that promise that pulls me onward and upward.

I turn often to the Word to read this - "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down—when we die and leave these bodies—we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit." (2 Corinthians 5:1-5, NLT)

Are you overwhelmed, confused, struggling with faith? Perhaps it’s time to review the basics -
God Loves!
Jesus Saves!
The Spirit is Present!
Heaven Awaits!

And, then move forward, with that firm foundation for faith in place.

Amen

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55