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God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

Oh, it’s more than just the fear of being persecuted. When we choose to live lives that are not pleasing to the Lord, we do so because we fear missing out on fun, or fear that our idols of dependency will be snatched away, or fear God’s way won’t effectively get the job done, or fear we will be pulled out of our comfort zone, or fear that it is going to cost us too much. The list continues, but it all comes back to fear, and fear results because we walk by sight and a lack of faith in God’s promises (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7). We don’t always live to please God because we think we know better than God as to what it takes to make us more productive and content and happy.
Randy Smith

Parents, when you give in to anger, resentment or self-pity at your children’s bad behavior, you make yourself the center of the problem. You are loving yourself first and most. You must love your kids enough to show them the danger of their behavior. They need to see that their first problem is with God, and only secondarily with you.
John Younts

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    159 Posts
    #1 · September 2, 2012, 7:52 pm

    Posted by: bneumann848 <bneumann848@...>

    After He had given thanks, He broke the bread and
    said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Eat this and remember me.” 1
    Corinthians 11:24

     

    Jesus loved you before you even knew about Him (Ephesians 1:4). He wanted a close relationship with you even before you knew that you
    could have one with Him (    John 3:16). Yet the
    world was full of sin because of Adam’s fall, and that sin kept us apart from
    God. There was no way for us to fix our sin problem, because everyone sins and
    God does not. So in order to have a close relationship with us and restore us
    back to God, Jesus came to earth. He came to show us what God was like in a way
    we could understand (    John 14:8-9) and to pay
    the ultimate price for our sin: He died on a cross for us. He was totally
    innocent, but He chose to take on our sin and our punishment because He loved
    us so much (    1 Thessalonians 5:10).

     

    It’s because of that great love that we want to always
    remember what He did for us. And He gave us something to remember Him by. At a
    meal with His disciples, He took a loaf of bread, broke it in two, and said,
    "I want this broken bread to remind you of what I have done for you."
    He told them His body would be broken, literally nailed to the cross. So, when we
    eat the broken bread, it reminds us of His body that was broken for us. (    Matthew 26:26-28)

     

    Then He took the cup and said, "When you drink,
    remember that my own blood was poured out for you. Remember that I loved you so
    much that I gave my very blood for you."

     

    This supper became known as the Lord's Supper, or Communion.
    As followers of Jesus, we choose to have a special “meal” together to do what
    Jesus said: break bread to remember His broken body, and drink juice to
    remember His blood that was spilled for us. At the end of the Lord's Supper we
    have remembered the best thing we could ever know: Jesus died for us, forgave
    us, and loves us.

     

    The Lord's Supper isn't something to take lightly. Before we receive it,
    we should think about what it means. We should think about Jesus' forgiveness
    and ask ourselves: (1) Have I asked Jesus save me and to lead my life? (2)
    Do I need to ask God for forgiveness? (3) Is there someone I need to forgive?"
    (4) Is there someone I need to ask to forgive me?

     

    If the answer is no to the first one, or yes to any of
    the other three, it’s important that you not take the Lord’s Supper until you
    have made things right. If you stubbornly choose to stay mad at someone, it is like
    saying, "Jesus I really want your forgiveness, but I don't want to forgive
    other people." Don’t take the Lord's Supper until your heart is better prepared
    and you make things right with the person you are upset with (I Corinthians
    11:26-29).

     

    The next time you take the Lord’s Supper, take a
    moment to remember what Jesus has done for you and to examine yourself.  Until He comes.

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