COMMUNION, ETC.

Tomorrow we are "celebrating Christ's death until He comes again" as we take the elements of grape juice and a small leaven-free morsel of "bread" to honor what He did at Passover, when He said to his disciples "This is my body broken for you. Eat all of it. And this is the cup of my blood shed for you. Drink all of it." Of course, He used wine, not juice, but our elements in that sacrament are just a symbol - a reminder of what Jesus did for us.

God came to earth in the form of a baby and lived on earth for approximately 33 years, with the last 3 years being His time of ministry. He came to be the perfect Lamb, the only one who could totally free us from Sin and bring us back into relationship with God through sacrificing Himself on the cross so we could have forgiveness of our sins if we ask for His forgiveness and accept His grace.  

God so loved the world that He GAVE his one and only Son - fully God and fully human - God incarnate. Jesus chose to be obedient to the humiliation that he bore: the stripes of the whip that had barbs attached to the ends of the whip which ripped chunks of skin from his back as he bore the lashes; being spat on; and hit; and a crown of thorns crushed into his head. And painfully, having His followers run away in fear, and for the moment, deny knowing Him. And last, the indignity of the cross - hanging bare and exposed between earth and heaven, the bridge that would offer mankind the opportunity to be back in a personal relationship with God, as Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden.... 

At the end of the Passover Meal the evening before He was so wrongly arrested and illegally tried for wrongs He did not commit, He told His disciples that each time they did this, i.e. PASSOVER (which is an annual celebration), to remember Him and His death until He comes again...and He will! 

Most of the Jewish faithful missed Him the first time because He didn't come as the conquering hero they were expecting - one who would right all the wrongs and save them from the oppression of the Roman rule they were oppressed under. But this time He will come as the Warrior, riding in on His white horse, accompanied by an army that will vanquish the foe! 

It sounds magnificent and charming - but what has to come before that happens is awful - and we are experiencing the beginning of those birth pangs. Matthew 24:6-13 shares what Jesus said would come at the end of time: (NIV)

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."

I view Matthew 24 as the "Cliff's Notes" version of the Book of the Revelation of John, which goes into far more detail than I can comprehend. It is already upon us - and will be horrific. We cannot even imagine the bloodshed and devastation that will occur before Jesus returns to "make everything right" - but He will, and God is the only one who knows exactly when that will be. 

He tells us we will not now the exact day or hour - but we will know the season. From what I see, the "season" is getting close! And as I share in my book, LEAD ME TO THE CROSS, I believe God gave us an outline in the Feasts He commanded to be celebrated. He fulfilled all of the Spring Feasts of Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Firstfruits, and the Feast of Weeks/ Pentecost in the year in which He died. Therefore, similarly I believe He will fulfill the final 3 feasts in the year that He returns. My goal is to be ready - and to be anticipating His return no matter how bad things get here! 

Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.