A Table Spread - Meat

 A Table Spread 

John 4:34

Jesus said unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.

     Just as Christ's 'meat' was to do the will of God, to be obedient to His Father, and to finish the work which God had set for Him to do, so, also, is our meat: to do the will of God and to finish the work which He has set for each of us to do. 

SALVATION

    What is God's will for our lives? Well, the first and primary will is for our salvation. John 3:16 tells us, 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' 

    But with this statement comes a warning to the people who choose not to take hold of this salvation, this saving grace through Jesus Christ: John 3:17, 18 'For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in The Name of The Only Begotten Son of God. 

    It is The Name of Jesus Christ by which all of us must be saved. Acts 4:12 "...there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Romans 10:9,13 "That if you shall confess with your mouth The LORD Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved....For The Scripture says, 'Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed." 

RECONCILIATION

    That is God's first and foremost will for us. The second is to share the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. We are, after all, His ambassadors to this world. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." We are now, through the saving grace of God, in Christ and Christ is in us. We have been reconciled (changed by God), through the power of God demonstrated at the cross and in the garden. Jesus died for you and I and He walked out of the grave after conquering death and hell. 

    2 Corinthians 5:18-20 "And all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing (taking into account) their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us The Word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech (beg, urge) you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled to God." 

    We are changed by the power of God and The Spirit of God through our belief on The Name of The Only Begotten Son of God into a new nature. Who we were before we believed is not who we are after we have believed. The change was instant, for The Spirit of God applied The Word of Faith to our hearts and Christ sits on the throne of our hearts now, not ourselves. That sinful nature we were all born with has been replaced with a holy nature, a heart that desires to love God and serve Him wholly. This change is not wrought by our own hands nor lips. It is the power of God. 

HOLINESS

    The third thing, will, God wants us to do, now that He has reconciled us to Himself, is to become more like Christ and less like our old selves. This is a change we must actively participate in with God's Holy Spirit. Anyone can read a Bible, but only by having an active faith and trust in God, believing that His Word is True, will The Spirit be able to apply The Word to our hearts and our lives. 

    2 Corinthians 3:18 "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of The LORD, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by The Spirit of The LORD." 

    We seek first the kingdom of God. We read the manual, the Bible, and ask God to reveal Himself to us in it as we read it. We deliberately, and with urgency, devour this heavenly Mana which God gives to us daily. We do not merely read our Bibles and go on about our day: we study, we pray, we praise, we thank, we sing, we search, we welcome The Spirit of God into our lives. This third Person in the trinity is our Helper, our Comforter, our Guide. He aids, He consoles, He leads. 

    Galatians 5:18 tells us that we are led by The Spirit. The next few verses describe the old natures that were once upon us and that must be expunged from us. Galatians 5:22-25 tells us that The Spirit causes, produces, the new nature in us: "But the fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in The Spirit, let us also walk in The Spirit." 

ENDURANCE

    We can't quit. We may rest in Christ to regain our strength, but we cannot stop until we have completed the work which God has set for each of us. Paul describes it as an endurance race. This life which we now live in Christ is not a sprint, nor a marathon, but an endurance race. We run with determination, perseverance and integrity. We endeavor to complete our mission unfailingly. 

    Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 40:31 "They that wait upon The LORD (serve The LORD) shall renew their strength; they shall mount up (rise and soar) with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." We walk out our faith every single day. We trust in God's timing. We will maintain this holy faith which has been given us that we might bring glory and honor to our God when we have completed, finished, the work which He has given us to do. And I'm doing my best to do this very thing. 

    This is our meat. To accept the saving grace (Ephesians 2:8, 9) which saves our souls from eternal damnation. To share the gospel message of salvation through Christ with others. To live a holy and honorable life in Christ. To endure with grace, integrity, honor and trust and hope. 

    Are you ready to partake of the meat on the table which is spread for you? 

COME AND DINE 

    

Consuming Fire

 Exodus 24:17 

The sight of the glory of The LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 

    The King James translates 'consuming' as 'devouring'. We know what it looks like when someone is devouring food or when a wildfire devours a landscape. The relentless pursuit of satisfying one's cravings or hunger tears a body up until that crave is satisfied. The terror if you are in the path of the wildfire fills you so that some come to a standstill and cannot move, while others flee to get away. This is the effect that the 'fire on the mountain of God' had on the Israelites who were following Moses. 

    Exodus 19:18

Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because The LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. 

    This consuming fire is the presence of The Lord God. All the human eye can see is smoke and fire and earthquake. I guess that would be terrifying, wouldn't it, if you can't see with the eyes of your heart or spirit. 

    But when the disciples experienced the fire of God, as God's Holy Spirit came down upon them, they were not afraid. They were ready because they were prayed up. After all, these 120 men and women had fellowshipped and prayed together for fifty days, not knowing when God would send The Comforter, but wanting to be ready when He arrived. 

    Are you ready for God to send His Holy Spirit to you? Are you prayed up? Are you eagerly anticipating His arrival? God cannot send His Holy Spirit to us if we are not ready to receive Him. 

    Let us come together in peaceful fellowship and pray together faithfully and sincerely that our Lord and Savior would make us ready to receive Him, that we, too, might walk in the power of The Holy Spirit of God. He Who fills us with Himself will Himself give us His strength to testify on His behalf of this wonderful gift of grace through Jesus Christ. 

HOLY SPIRIT RAIN DOWN - Alvin Slaughter

WELCOME HOLY SPIRIT - Hilde M. Bedsvaag

    

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. 

Reflections

 

 

    I love reflections like this. A mirror image of what is around the water appears to be the same, but is still quite different. The freshness is evident, but the image is blurred, because the surface of the water reflecting the sun makes it so. 

    It is nearly the same effect we get when we look in the mirror. We see a mirror image staring back at us through eyes that can only see the surface of our faces. 

    But when we look at ourselves in the Bible, we see ourselves how God sees us. When God sees a person who desperately needs His lovingkindness and grace, He sees someone who needs Him. When God sees a person saved by His grace, He sees a person/people who has chosen to call Him his God. 

    When God sees someone who doesn't see Him, He sends a messenger/preacher/sharer of the gospel to reveal Himself to anyone who is looking for Him. 

    When the eyes of our soul are open to the heavenly treasures which God extends to us through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, then we begin to see a blurred image of what God sees when He sees us. God sees someone who needs to be loved like He loves, someone who needs to know the Hope of the Resurrection, someone who needs Jesus. Someone like me. Someone like you. 

     But how do we see God? Paul wrote, "through a glass. darkly", acknowledging that we on this side of heaven could only see a dim reflection of Christ. He had come to realize that our knowledge and understanding were still growing, still gaining strength. That only after we crossed death's threshold would be able to see Christ in all His glory. And we would be fully revealed, too. 

    1 Corinthians 13:11, 12

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

FACE TO FACE

    Face to face in His glorious Light

    We finally see Jesus after the fight

After the last breath is taken

    In heaven's delight we awaken.

    Face to face with Jesus 

    In eternity's wonderful day

Hearing the sweet sound of His voice

Our hearts are filled and we rejoice

    In the city's golden streets

    On the banks of the crystal sea

Face to face with Jesus our souls will ever be.