In Remembrance of me......

 

 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.(Luke 22:16) 

 Communion is celebrated throughout the church on a monthly basis, but did you know you can celebrate communion every day and unleash the power of God in your life? There are at least 14 different ways of remembering his sacrifice with the bread and wine? We are going to look at them in detail... 

                                                              Bread

1- His death ( I Cor 11:24-30) 

2- Healing

A) Physically (Matt 15:22-28)

B) Broken Heart ( Isa 61:1) 

3- Finances. (Ecc 11:1)

4- Wisdom and understanding (Prov 9:1-6)

5- Protection from false teaching and Revelation knowledge (Matt 16:6-12)

6- Protection from your enemies. (Numbers 14:9)

7- Strength (Ps 104:15)

                                                                 Wine

1- Toiling and sweating (Lk 22:4, Gen 3:17)

2- Face. (Matt 26:63-67)  Uncommon Favor. The Lord's face to shine on you. Lies and slander.

3- Beard pulled from Christ's face. ( Shame and low self-esteem)( Isa 50:6)

4- Back scourged (Matt 27:26) Healing

5- Crown of thorns (Matt 27:29) In Genesis, thorns were going to pop up whenever Adam sowed in the ground.  (Financial lack/Mind of Christ)

6- Crucified hands and feet ( Matt 27:35) Unproductiveness. Hands to prosper in whatever you do. Feet symbolized as fulfilling your destiny and divine connections.

7- Side pierced by the spear (John 19:34) Birth of the church. New creation realities 

The Power of Joy!

                                   Be on the winning team--Don't lose your joy!

         
         "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."
                                                (Isa 12:3)



               What is joy? Many confuse joy with happiness. Happy comes from happenstance which means a circumstance that is due to chance. (1) We, all know, that the being happy is dictated by the circumstances. When all goes well, we are happy. When it does not, we are sad. Joy is different.
               Joy is a fruit of the spirit.(2) Feeling weak? Start singing songs and dance for the Lord. Remember the joy of the Lord is your strength! (3) But, you may say---I don't feel like being joyful. It is not based on a feeling, but on what the word says. One thing to remember when you are going through a trial or testing----God knows the end from the beginning. YOU ARE MORE THAN A CONQUEROR THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED US! (4)
                That means that you are on the winning team! That means that your circumstances can change if you use the word by faith. Feeling dry? Start using that joy to bring out the waters of salvation! Isa 12:3 says that you have a well inside of you! That well is Jesus! That well is never dry!
                  That well will encourage and refresh you! We need to be covenant-minded in order to understand joy. Having health or financial issues? Dealing with stress and anxieties? Learn to laugh at your problems. You have a covenant with God through Jesus, our Lord! Learn to laugh at your enemies of sickness, debt, financial oppression,stress and anxieties. God does.
                  When you read Ps 2, you will find that God laughs at his enemies. You should, too! Why? When you have a covenant with God, your enemies become his enemies. Be encouraged because you matter with God. You have a friend in high places. When I saw the Godfather movie, I remember Vito Coleone saying that if you had him as a friend, your enemies would fear you! (5) Vito Coleone was a powerful mafia man with friends in high places. He had the muscle and he had the connections. 
                     How much more with God? Jesus is Lord over all! A point to remember is when a king laughed and you were in his court, you'd better laugh even if you did not understand the joke. Your life could be at stake if you did not laugh. It was a sign of disrespect. Friend, let's see the whole picture! You win with God----Hands down, so learn to laugh at your problems. 
                  Laughter is healthy and will improve your health. Medical science says that if you laugh for 10 minutes daily, your health will improve. Learn to understand the power of Joy.(6) Joy took the children of Israel out of bondage and it will with you too! So, friend, let not your heart be troubled. Rejoice for you have the victory. Learn to activate the joy that lies inside of you. You'll be glad you did--God bless! 


Verses provided by www.biblegateway.com


References:

 (1) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happenstance
 (2) Gal 5:22
 (3) Neh 8:10
 (4) Rom 8:37  
 (5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCdcXoLs_NY       
 (6) Ps 105:43                  

Is Tomorrow promised to us?

                                         My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. (Prov 3:1-2)


                                Death! It is a reality. Should the Lord tarry his coming, all of us are going to die. The question is when? Nobody likes to talk about death, but we face it every day. The death of a friend or loved one. The death of a well known personality. People are dying every day around the world, but one thing I want to address and that is about the statement---Tomorrow is not promised to us.
                          Allow me to burst your bubble and, at the same time, bring you some good news---Tomorrow can be promised to you! If you look at the above verses (Prov 3:1-2), you will find that following God's ways will lead to long life and that was under the Old covenant! The word says that we have a new covenant with new and better promises (1). So, friend, If you are a Christian and walk in the ways of the Lord, tomorrow can be promised to you!
                        Did you know that you can die before your time? That is a fact. Let's look at the verse below...
                       " Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?" (Ecc 7:17) 
            From what I read in this verse, you can die before your time. Why? Be cause wickedness and foolishness will cut years from your life. Brethren, God wants us to have a long life and serve him. In fact, living long will satisfy the Lord.(2) The other question is why do people die young? First, a lack of knowledge(3). What you don't know can kill you. Second, if you are not a Christian, tomorrow is not promised to you. You do not have a covenant with God. God is not obligated to give you long life. Third, the word says we walk by faith and not by sight.(4). The fact that a Christian dies young does not negate the word. His promises still stands. 
                   A good example to this is II Peter 3:9. God is not willing that people die and perish in their sins, but everyday people die and go to hell. The sad fact is that they don't have to. Receiving Jesus is the key(5), but God respects the human will. The same holds true for all of his promises. We have to receive the word and then act on it. Faith without works is dead.(6)
                    We have got to stop looking at God's ways as just a bingo game. People say that when your number is up, that's it! Well, allow me to disagree. When you have a calling to fulfill--You should not die before fulfilling your calling. All of us in the body have a calling to fulfill and that is a fact. Look at the verse below----

"  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" (Eph 1:18) 

                  It is a sad fact that the majority of good, spirit-filled Christians do not know their calling. It is even sadder that a large group of them, actually, die without knowing their calling. God's wants us to know his will for our lives. Ask God to reveal his calling to your life and how to fulfill it. Pray the prayer of Ephesians over yourself everyday and I assure you---You will find your calling and place in the Lord! 
               So in this morning, know that you have a calling to fulfill. Know that until you fulfill your calling, tomorrow is indeed promised to you! I want to challenge you in this day---If you are not a Christian and you are reading this, you can enjoy life to the fullest! Write a new page in your life and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Pray the prayer in this link and step into the most exciting adventure of your life! (http://wordandgrace.blogspot.com/2012/05/sinners-prayer.html) Make Jesus the Lord of your life today while there is still time--God bless! 

Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank you for speaking to me in this day. Thank you that you want to show me your calling for my life. Lord, show me what is my calling and my inheritance in the saints. Help me to fulfill my calling and forgive me for speaking foolish things. I bind every foolish word that I have spoken and render it void and useless. I declare in this day that my tomorrow is promised and I will fulfill your calling and purposes for my life. In Jesus name---Amen! 

Scriptures--
(1) Heb 8:6
(2) Ps 91:16
(3) Hosea 4:6
(4) I Cor 5:7
(5) John 1:12
(6) James 2:20