charisbarak

One day every knee will bow & every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. All things belong to Him (He is our creator)--one day they will be restored to Him. There is no difference in color, race--we are to be unified here on earth as it will be in heaven when Christ returns! One day Jesus will reign over the whole earth/all it's enemies, even death. At that time Jesus will take His place under the authority of God, His Father (our Father) and we will be unified together with Him--we in Him & He in us!!

I have been redeemed from slavery to sin & self. I can choose to do what is right. If I hadn't been saved, there would have been no meaning to my life, I'd have no hope or reason to live. I made it through the trials in my life only because of God. There would be no future with Him. I'd hate to think where I would be right now if I hadn't been redeemed. Praise Jesus!!

Adoption is a perfect way to describe our relationship to God. He is our Father & he adopted us to be in His Family!! This is encouraging to me because it is so wonderful to know I was chosen!! The last question on holiness is still lingering in my heart--especially what Chukwuemeka our study partner from Nigeria said: Thank you, Chukwuemeka.

To be holy is to be set apart totally for God. He sees us pure & blameless under the covering of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Nothing is scary about predestination. When you believe that it is God's will that all come to believe in Him, those predestined are the very ones He knew would believe & accept His gift of salvation. It is a comfort to know He has been planning for us since the beginning of the world as we know it. Paul probably brought it up to show the Gentiles in Ephesus that they, too, were chosen as was Israel. He is praising God in front of them to encourage them in their walk. There is nothing better than to know you were chosen by God!!

For me, I feel like a branch. To be "in Christ" is to be only alive when plugged into the Power Source itself. Otherwise I would be worse than scrap wood--good for nothing but the fire. Implications for my life are simple--I am nothing without Him.

Whoa! I wrote about this all in the last question! I pray I will change--that I would be open to His leading to grow closer to Him & more like Him.

Introspection/self examination is so necessary. Yes, if we stay in that introspection without desiring to make changes, or to confess wrong-doing it can have negative results. But the introspection/self examination God wants us to do is healthy. We look to see what God reveals to us that should be changed or repented of & look toward confessing & repenting of it while we praise Him that He cares that much about us. We need to stay in His word & in prayer--constant communication with HIM!

The judgment brought to those at Corinth was pretty severe, but they had gone too far & were leading their brothers & sisters astray. I think God brings the jsut the right discipline we need. If we are hard-headed & just not getting it, or refusing to turn around & do the right thing it takes a greater discipline/judgment on us. How much better it would be if we judged ourselves & made those changes prior to taking communion.... God's discipline is perfect for us. It molds us into His image. Not easy to go through, but the very best for us!

We need to discern the body when coming to take communion. If I have sinned and have not confessed it, it muddies the whole act of remembrance--it is not pure communion with Him. We need to be strict about how communion is being taken--not lightly or changing it os it is not honoring to Him. Other sins are just as bad, but we make it a non-meaning ritual rather than a relationship of remembrance which could lead others astray.

Meditating on "seeing His face" moves me to wonder. I think of His kind face, kindly eyes, pure love flowing from Him, evoking thankfulness to Him and not shame. I think of the pure joy of being with Him & praising Him with others. The Lord's supper should provoke & stimulate these thoughts as we partake to give Him all the glory, to keep our excitement high & to be ever watching for His return!! PTL!

Communion points back to remembering that Christ died for us (me!); it looks around in the present to remind us of His presence with us, to urge us on in our warfare with the world; it looks to the future--a eternal relationship with Christ, to sit at His table & enjoy Him forever!

The Great Banquet at the end of the age is the fulfilment of the promises He made to us. While we partake of communion we need to keep in mind it is a picture also of the future banquet we will have in person with Jesus Christ!

The future is the culmination of our salvation. I think of preparations for a wedding feast or an honorary dinner unlike what we can imagine here & now.

Eating the Bread of Life nourishes our faith when we constantly remember that He died for us and how very blessed we are because He loves us so much. We are also reminded of the cost of our faith. Partaking of the Lord's Supper nourishes and grows our faith as we bring to mind what He did for us. The two passages remind us to often remember, with thanksgiving, the sacrifice made for us by Jesus. He gave His body for us. We need to give our all for Him.

I think Jesus emphasizes this so strongly to show us how we should be hungering & thirsting for Him. As food is necessary for our lives, so much more so He is necessary for our spiritual lives. It requires a definite decision of our wills. The saying was a hard one. Only those totally committed to Jesus stuck with Him. Those true disciples continued to believe Jesus, abide in Him & feed on His words. They understood He was the only true bread from heaven.

Jesus is referring to His own body & the sacrifice it would be for all mankind. He wants us to always keep this fresh in our minds. It is very similar to the Last Supper account, excepting Jesus spoke as though it had already been accomplished so the disciples would be more prepared for what was to come.

In practical terms, the eating of the Bread of Life equates with the largeness our belief/faith in our Lord Jesus & the eternal life we have in Him. If I have Him on my mind constantly, hunger for time alone with Him & for His Word, I have feasted on the Bread of Life. However, if other things take up my time & I only have small slots of time for Him, I have just nibbled.

That unity should exist between congregations if they believe that Jesus is God, Who became man to come to earth to die for our sins and that He rose again the 3rd day. Often it is uncomfortable to be in another church when customs in that particular congregation are very different than ours. I pray that I will become much less judgmental & more loving toward other believers. In traveling, I meet so many different people & I can sense the Holy Spirit drawing us together. We talk & share, as though we have known each other for a long time! That will be like heaven, huh?

The divisions in Corinth sound so much like divisions in our churches today. I am not aware of any divisions in our church--it is so large. But that doesn't mean there aren't any. People come & go, not happy with the type of music, or other trivial things. We are united, I believe, on the important issues in the church. We individually need to seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit to be able to deal with someone who does not feel/think the same way as ourselves individually. It's these little relational problems that escalate when not dealt with in a loving manner--seeking the best for the other person--accepting them as a fellow servant of the Lord. This is not to say we are to accept their sins. I've heard of persons who willingly choose to sin openly and I wish church discipline was active in our church. Unity is VERY important to the church & it's spiritual growth. Bickering congregations need to let go of the unimportant differences--reconcile & choose to be united in the important issues!! Then they'll be ready to partake of communion the correct way!

The verses in Matthew & Mark relate to us having done our best to reconcile differences/forgiveness between us & our brothers & sisters in the Lord--unity of the loaf. To prepare for communion, it is of utmost importance for us to be the seekers of divisions we may have caused, to forgive/reconcile & to bring us into unity again. We need to ask the Lord to show us these areas & when He does, act immediately--not wait for the other person to come to us!

The cup of blessing teaches us to have our focus entirely on God & thank & bless Him for all He has done for us, the giving of His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Primarily, God is blessed as we lift up our thanks & blessings to God. (we are too!)

The Lord's Table is the time for sweet, intimate fellowship with Jesus, who died for us, to commune with Him--a very close bond with the God who gave Himself for us. A forgetful meal is an every-day event we treat like an every-day event. Who we dine with is important as is our attitude. We need to have a heart of gratitude to make the meal special. I will picture this time as a meal with Jesus, hungering for an intimacy with Him. Thank you for this insight, Pastor.

It is significant that the 12 apostles drank of the cup of the covenant because they were there with Jesus--face to face--and open to this new covenant Jesus was about to ratify by His death. This would correspond to the 70 elders who ate with God. For us, it is the re-ratification of this covenant Jesus made with us--the continual remembrance of what He did for us & remembrance of what we are to do......

The New Covenant differed from the Old Covenant in that the Old Covenant was for a special group of persons, dependent on their obedience. In the New Covenant everyone can be saved, given the Holy Spirit to live in them, and have eternal life. On our side, we must have faith & trust in Jesus, that He died for our sins, was raised & lives forever as our Advocate. We must allow the Holy Spirit to transform us into Jesus' likeness and love God with our whole self.