From: August 16, 2023
“When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17 NLT).
The apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians concerning the significance of sharing the Lord’s Supper together. He told them that those who remember the sacrifice of Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper are also giving recognition to their oneness as members of Christ’s body. Just as we eat from one loaf and drink from one cup, so we are one body, which is the body of Christ and He is the Head.
One of the four devotions of the early church was “the breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42). This was just as spiritually essential as the other three devotions of the apostle’s teaching, the fellowship and prayer. For in eating the Lord’s Supper together we not only remember and proclaim Christ’s sacrifice, we also deepen our awareness of our unity in Christ’s body and our membership in God’s family.
PRAYER: Dear Father, You have made us for fellowship with You and with one another. Thank You for the giving of Your Son, who made this fellowship possible. Forgive us when we take this for granted. Strengthen us by Your Spirit to live fully for You today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: August 16, 2022
WHEN OTHERS RAN OUT THEY RAN IN
After the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, people were needed to repopulate the city, which had been destroyed some 70+ years earlier. It was a run-down and dangerous place where few wanted to live. So when certain men willingly volunteered to live in the city, the people blessed them for their self-sacrifice and courage. Little by little, the city grew prosperous and safe again.
After the incident in New York City on September 11, 2001, it was reported that someone had written this saying in the dusty window of a building near the twin towers: “When others ran out, we ran in.” This described the heroic efforts of New York’s first-responders who ran in to rescue people, while others ran away.
It is tempting to turn a blind eye to the trouble of our cities and nation. To just let people perish without hope because it means getting out of our comfort zone and risking ourselves to help them. Yet, the Lord still calls believers who will “willingly offer themselves” to dwell in such places and reach out to the people living there. He still blesses those who will be a blessing to others in the city.
As the prophet Jeremiah told the Jewish exiles in Babylon, “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer. 29:7).
PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to be a blessing to the city to which You have called us. We pray for our city and its leaders, its pastors, its first responders, and all its inhabitants. Bring the peace of the gospel to our city and nation, we pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: August 16, 2016
The Holy Spirit inspired David to write before the cross what He inspired Paul to write after it– namely, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:1). Christ is our refuge.
From: August 16, 2015
David wrote this psalm during a low period in his life. While hiding from King Saul who sought to kill him, he stooped to playing the madman to escape the Philistine king, Abimelech. Yet, in spite of all of his afflictions, no bones were broken. Clearly, David must have borrowed this turn of phrase from the instructions given in the law concerning the Passover lamb, which was to be sacrificed without breaking any bones. Both the Passover lamb and David are Christological types, preparing us for the Righteous One, who was sacrificed for our sins, yet not one of His bones was broken.
From: August 16, 2014
Paul addressed the tension between the believer’s freedom and the believer’s responsibility in this passage to the Corinthians. The church at Corinth had become almost antinomian in its celebration of freedom. They wanted no limitation on their behavior. Paul reminded them that their freedom in Christ was limited by its impact on others and on the glory of God. You may be allowed to do anything, but… 1) Is it good for you? 2) Is it beneficial or edifying to yourself and others? 3) Will it bring glory to God? or can you do it to the glory of God? 4) Will it help or hinder the gospel? It is true that we are no longer under law, but under grace. Yet this liberty is not the freedom to sin, but to live righteously for Christ. It is the freedom to live in love.. loving God and loving others as your self.