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Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Nourishing the Spirit: Daily Devotions for Inner Peace

TUESDAY, 21 MAY 2024

 

TEXT: I Corinthians 11:17-34

 

17: In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.

 

18: In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.

 

19: No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.

 

20: So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat,

 

21: for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.

 

22: Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

 

23: For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, 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.”

 

26: For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

 

27: So then, 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.

 

28: Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

 

29: For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

 

30: That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

 

31: But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.

 

32: Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

 

33: So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.

 

34: Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.

 

(New International Version Holy Bible)

 

TOPIC: HOW TO TAKE THE HOLY COMMUNION

 

The Holy Communion, otherwise referred to as the Lord's Supper, was instituted by the Lord Himself to serve as a reminder of the salvation we have in Him. It also points to our future hope of living with Him in His Kingdom - of which we are already a part today.

 

The early Church used the period of the Holy Communion for table fellowship, like a love feast where the wealthy, poor and needy came together with their meals from their homes and ate together as one big family.

 

Unfortunately, some of the Corinthian believers mistook that love feast to be an opportunity to display their greed, divisive tendencies and disdain for the poor and needy.

 

We must use the Holy Communion to demonstrate our relationship with one another as members of one body whose head is Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Holy Communion.

 

Failure to follow this injunction will make our worship during the Holy Communion an empty religious ritual full of hypocrisy that cannot attract God's blessings.

 

QUESTION: Do you still the Holy Communion with the negative attitudes of some members of the Corinthian church?

 

PRAYER: O Lord, remove all vestiges of greed and arrogance in me as I approach You at the communion table, in Jesus name. Amen.

Remain Blessed      

ECWA Food For The Day, 2024.

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