Remember Me

"And He took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.' Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you'" (Luke 22:19-20 NKJV). In the book The Power of the Blood Covenant, Malcolm Smith asks the question: How do we remember something that happened before we were born? He then explains that this remembering is not about bringing The past to mind. He defines remembering as "an active participation in the historical reality of the past by reenacting it, and in so doing realizing the powers released in that past in such a way as to shape the present moment." Smith goes on to say, "This definition of 'remember' means that at the celebration of the holy meal we do not look back to the cross and empty tomb. In this remembrance His finished work is brought forward into the present moment, even as He in His glory is uniquely here, present with us in the rite. We receive in the present moment all the effects of the covenant; in this now moment we rejoice in our redemption achieved, that the burden of sin and guilt has been sent away from us, and we are now declared righteous in Christ. We glory in our deliverance from the domain of darkness and in the eternal life that we partake of. All the terms, promises, and blessings of the covenant are here now in this present moment and released to us by the Spirit in the meal of remembering." Smith says, "...the Holy Spirit will achieve the 'remembering'; we set the table with bread and wine, but it is He who brings the past into our now time and brings about our being immediately present to the Lord Jesus, the guarantor of the new covenant." "It should also be noted that the subject of our remembering is not only His sufferings and death. He said "...in remembrance of Me"--the oceans of glory wrapped up in "Me" from the Incarnation to His exaltation to the right hand of the Father, which of course includes His sufferings and death but from the perspective of the glory that followed. Smith continues, "I believe that Luke deliberately recorded two meals, the one in the Upper Room the night of His sufferings and death that Matthew and Mark and Luke record, and then the Emmaus meal that is unique to Luke's gospel." "In both cases, Jesus took, gave thanks or blessed, broke, and gave the bread to them. The night of the institution of the meal was overshadowed by the enormous cost of ratifying the new covenant: sufferings, bloodshed, and death. The meal in Emmaus was the celebration of the triumphant Jesus, who had achieved the covenant; He was made known to them in the breaking of bread, and the disciples were filled with unspeakable joy and burning hearts." In other words, when we take the bread and cup, we join Jesus in celebrating in the present all of the wonderful gifts that were given to us because of what He did in the past.

HIS COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT BURDENSOME

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:3-5) His commandments are not burdensome because God has put a heart in His people that loves Him, and loves to love unselfishly, as He does (Romans 5:5, Galatians 5:22).

CHOOSE LIFE

“CHOOSE life” (Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV). Trying to push people into making the right choices is sin, a sin that I’ve been guilty of many times. Gentle persuasion isn’t bad, but God refuses to violate people’s free will, and if we want to be like Him, we must allow people the freedom to choose good or evil. When I try to control others, it’s partly noble: I want them to have a good life. I also want to avoid the pain of watching them crash and burn. God, however, seems willing to endure this pain. He insists that people come to Him in love and trust, and these cannot be forced; they must be chosen. He fully understands how painful it is to watch people choose sin; He feels it right along with us.

REST “Today, if you will hear His voice: do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved [disgusted] with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’” (Psalm 95:7-11). “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11 NKJV). “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11: 28 NKJV). The Israelites were in the wilderness, had no water to drink, and were afraid they were going to die (See Exodus 17:1-7). They tested God by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Their souls had no rest because they didn’t believe that the Lord was with them and that He’d take care of them. He did give them water for their physical thirst, but until they saw the miracle, their unbelief kept their souls in turmoil. Lack of trust in God’s provision can also lead to discontentment. It’s interesting to note that in Hebrews 13:5, God doesn’t just command us to be content and not covet. He, aware of our tendency to fear that our needs will be left unmet, adds, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He understands that faith and trust are hard, and He gently reassures us that though He’s invisible, He’s a very present help in trouble (see Psalm 46:1). Life brings tests of faith, and it’s easy to think that God has abandoned us and won’t meet our needs. We must be diligent to seek His loving face, and believe the truth that the One who delivered His Son to death for our salvation will also freely give us all things (Romans 8:32).

PRAYER

CHILDLIKE PRAYER “Now, O Lord my God, You have made your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in……Therefore give to your servant an understanding [literally, hearing] heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:7,9). God was pleased when Solomon prayed this prayer, and I think there were two things that impressed Him. The obvious one is that Solomon asked unselfishly for wisdom and discernment to judge the people well. God likes it when we ask for wisdom to help others well, and He will always say yes to that prayer. Not only did Solomon want to be able to make right decisions, but he also acknowledged that God was the only one who could give him good judgment. Solomon knew that he’d need to continually be listening to the Lord. He called himself a little child. We also need to see ourselves as little children, with Jesus holding our hand and guiding us as we pray and as we walk through life. And if we’re not good at connecting with Jesus and receiving His guidance, no worries: the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26-27). Sometimes we children get weary, overwhelmed, angry, or discouraged, and we can’t even bring ourselves to pray. At those times, Jesus prays for us (Romans 8:34). It’s a no-lose situation! Lord, we are little children who don’t know how to pray. We don’t see the needs clearly, nor the right decisions, but You do. Thank You that You take us by the hand and help us pray. ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7 NKJV). Ask what you DESIRE??!!?? Really? Is God going to give me a million dollars? I could surely use that. When we are connecting with Jesus and experiencing His love, how many things will we ask for that are not His will? We’ll soak in His love and love Him wholeheartedly in return. We’ll love others as we have been loved. That is His will.