A Table Spread - Communion

 Psalm 23:5

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: 

You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over. 

    What is on the table which God has prepared for His people? for the table which God prepares is not for everyone, but for anyone who calls Him Shepherd, who follows where He leads and rests where He rests. 

    It is a table set up where our enemies can not only see us, but see us dining at this table which our God has prepared in advance for us. It is a table spread with many good and wonderful items. 

    Such as Bread and Wine, Honey and Honeycomb, Living It is a spiritual table meant for Spirit-filled people, for we are not of this world but the world to come. Our bodies are merely passing through this earth, sharing the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ to anyone who will hear and listen. 

    The Word tells us that we who are God's people must worship God in spirit and in truth. We must be honest with ourselves that we may be people of honor. We must search our hearts for the stains of sin and repent of it quickly, for our next breath is not a given. 

    We who are God's people are hungry and thirsty for the righteousness of God: He is our Bread and Wine. He is our Honey and our Honeycomb. He is our Living Water. Jesus is our Bread of Life. He showed His disciples the blessing of the new covenant between God and God's people: the rite of remembrance. 

    Luke 22:16-22 details the rite which we call "communion" and 1 Corinthians 11:23-30 tells us that we are to commemorate this rite on a regular basis, but with a warning: that any who partake of the bread and wine in this manner must first search their own hearts, and ask God's forgiveness for the sin that has separated them from God's presence. There are no little sins for any sin causes separation and distance between God and His people. 

    Therefore when we come together and dine at the table which God has prepared for us, we know that we will be ready to dig into the meal that is set before us. More of Christ Jesus, for our hunger is never slaked, our thirst is unquenched. Oh How I Love Jesus! the songwriter says, "Because he first loved me." Did you know that? That Jesus loves you. With a neverending love. And in this love He calls our us by name to come into His presence and enter into His rest. In the presence of our enemies. 

    The people we interact with on a daily basis will know right away whether or not we are God's people. For we will talk different. Our words are words of encouragement, words of love, words of hope, words of faith, words that speak differently from the voices heard in the world. We behave differently. We live differently. And when we are reminded who we are supposed to be when it appears we are not who we say we are, The Spirit of conviction immediately grabs hold of our attention and we repent. 

    The Word of God, Jesus Christ is our Honey and our Honeycomb: every verse within the books of The Holy  Bible/Scriptures plus the whole book entirely is both sweet to the taste and begins to satisfy the hungry. Jesus Christ is The Living Water we get to drink when we believe on His Name and declare He is Lord of our lives. While the thief on the cross didn't have the opportunity to turn his life around, he did have enough faith to believe that the Man hanging next to him was indeed LORD for that is how he addressed Him, when he said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." (Luke 23:42). 

    There is a table spread by God for those who believe and receive His Son Jesus Christ into their hearts and His Spirit into their lives. Do you believe? Come to Jesus. 

Jesus Is Lord

 1 Corinthians 12:3

Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the [power and influence of the] Spirit of God can say, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is [my] Lord,” except by [the power and influence of] The Holy Spirit. 

Exodus 17:15

And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi. (The LORD My Banner). 

1 John 4:2-3

By this you will know The Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time. 

Romans 10:9-10, 13

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him out from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved. ~ For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The Lord shall be saved. 

    Why is this designation as LORD become so important even in this day and age? To be someone's Lord is to have the rule and mastery over them, as well as the protection and guardianship. To have Lordship is to have the governorship, as Isaiah wrote in  Isaiah 9:6 "...and the government shall be upon His shoulders...". Within His government He is the fulfillment of The Law (Matthew 5:17) and His Law is Love (Romans 13:10). 

    Who declared Jesus Christ Lord to begin with? His Father, Almighty God, gave His only begotten Son Lordship for a time (Psalm 110:1; Mark 12:36; 1 Corinthians 15:24-25). It is His Lordship we desire when we come to Him in faith, believing Him to be God's only begotten Son.       We come in faith with repentant hearts when we need to confess our sins. We come in faith believing that He not only hears the cries of our hearts but longs for us to hear the cry of His heart. We come to Christ as friend to Friend, meeting at the altar which we have set up for Him. Altars can be built anywhere. If that is not possible for you where you are, remember: when we clasp our fingers together, that is our altar, for prayer is where we meet God.

    The altars of the Old Testament were at times set up after the meeting had taken place as a remembrance of that meeting between God and man. As Moses had set up the altar in Exodus 17:15, one of our key verses for today. Moses named his altar THE LORD MY BANNER. Abraham built an altar, too. Genesis 22:1-19. Abraham and his son Isaac walked up a mountain carrying the tools and equipment needed to build the altar and lay the sacrifice. Abraham named his altar THE LORD PROVIDES. 

    We have named our altars, too. We may travel hither and yon, but the memory of where we were when we spoke with God and God revealed Himself to us is our Remembrance. There was a time when my kids were little that we had just enough money coming in to pay the rent and the utilities. But we had no money for food. So we sat together in the kitchen, held hands and prayed for God to bring us something to eat. No sooner had we said Amen than there was a knock on the door. On the porch were some a couple of friends, each with their arms full of groceries. God already knew our need and had prepared in advance to answer our prayers of faith. THE LORD PROVIDES. 

    Therefore with full confidence I may say, as Moses said, THE LORD IS MY BANNER. I will wave His Name across the plains, the mountains, the oceans, the valleys and the lakes. I will carry His Name into battle each time I declare that He Is Lord, for Christ is not just Lord, He is MY LORD. I declare in my heart, in my home, in my family, in my church, in my neighborhood, in my city, in my state, in my country, and beyond, that wherever The LORD leads me, I will go, because He goes with me. 

    JESUS IS LORD. 

JESUS IS  LIFE

LORD OF ALL