Remember

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-25

The words of Jesus: "This Do In Remembrance of Me." These words have echoed in my mind today. I think about this and though I don't know the Greek interpretation of the passage, I can see the heart of Jesus towards His disciples (and to us) at the meal. The most difficult and overwhelmingly despairing hour was about to come upon Him. Though He knew He would raise from the dead, and though He knew that the Father would be glorified in the cross, He knew that it would be a very long time before He would be with them for a long period of time. In fact, Jesus said that He would not eat the Passover meal with them until they were in Heaven with all the saints. We need to remember that Jesus was not only God and man, but has feelings like we do. So when Jesus uttered the words, "Remember Me" for the practice of showing His death till He comes again, I really think in the midst of all this He also included in this wants us to Remember Him as the loving Savior and Friend.

Just like you and me, we want others to think about us, in life and after death. We do not want to be forgotten and neither does Jesus. I wonder if there was angst in His foresight not for the disciples but to all who would follow Him. He knows that we drift away from Him. He knows that we can accuse Him falsely of things. He knows that things of the world cause us to misplace our focus of Him. When we do this, we forget Jesus. We forget the One who redefined what love really is and that awesome love is directed solely at our hearts. If we had a earthly friend who perhaps gave his or her life for us we would not quickly forget it. We would tell all the ones we know how this person pushed us out of the way of the falling building, took the bullet that should have been ours, or went back into the fire to get us out and dying after we were safely out. Of course we would tell others about this, but would they be constantly on our minds. This constant remembrance I believe is what Jesus had in mind. He knew the volume of love he would out pour and though He never asked we earn that love (how could we) but I think He wanted us never to forget our Supreme Benefactor over the long centuries to the time we yet anticipate His return.

So, how do we keep in remembrance the Christ who gave all for us?

Remember Him by putting Scripture to memory. Prayer and Bible reading are the staples of our Christian life. However, if we read but do not retain what we've read, we are losing valuable moments with God. You do not have to memorize long verses at first, but concentrate on the shorter verses. You cannot go wrong on memorizing any scripture because it all points to Christ. I would suggest memorizing John 3:16, Romans 5:8, John 1:1-3, Romans 8:28, Romans 12:1-2, and there are many others. Putting these to memory will help us reflect on the goodness of God and desire us to know more of Him. It will aid in troubles and comfort others in theirs. Nothing honors Him more than to desire to remember the very words He so lovingly gave.

Remember Him by having a special piece of art in a prominent place. This could be a point where there are some fundamental folks, well meaning of course, would balk at. Let me say that we should never worship art or give greater place to a statue or whatever. True worship belongs to the Person of God living on the inside of you. However, it is not wrong I don't believe to have a representation of Christ. Though we do not know what He looked like, its okay to have a visual reminder of Him as it draws our thoughts to Him. The painting in the article today is one of my favorites. I personally have several prints and a sculpture and that really does help me to think of Him. I love "religious art" when it is correctly depicting Scripture. I encourage you to have something in your home like it. If nothing else, have a Bible that has illustrations opened to a particular illustration such as "the Last Supper." Spend more time with God than the art, but definitely keep it to remember Him.

Remember Him by talking to others about how He has and is working in your life.
Of course this is the way He wants us to remember Him most. Our daily lives to reflect Him. The last recorded words of Christ in Matthew tells us to tell the whole world about Him. Personal testimony is something another person may not want to always hear, but something they cannot deny. You don't have to be a bombastic expositor or preacher to do this. In fact the most valuable testimony is just the plain simple, un-embellished facts of what Jesus is doing or has done through you. Each of us who are believers should have something to point to, some grace, some work, some help that Christ has been and is being to them. We encourage others and are the instrument of help to saved and lost alike when we remember the Lord this way.

Remember Him by not forsaking any of the worship services your church has. This is something rather of a lost importance in today's society. Not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together is sort of marginalized because our busy schedules won't allow it. Typically this comes in the form of Sunday EVENING church attendance. Anyone remember that??? It is obviously a huge pet peeve of mine. But more than that, it is a huge hurt to Christ to know His followers think so little of Him as to give Him an hour or so a week in corporate worship. Then there is Wednesday or midweek meeting that are skipped. Though Christ is hurt by our lack of attendance, we are the real losing ones. Of course there are job reasons and sickness that keep us away, but that is not what I am referring to, I am referring to a willful attitude that church is not really that important on a given time, especially when it interferes with some highly sought after earthly activity. If family time interferes with Church time, I guarantee you, you will not be sorry when your kids are grown by "keeping" them in the Lord's house every time the doors are open. As a matter of fact too often not taking them to every service as much as possible leads to shipwreck later in life because the Word of God was not firmly planted in them. Remember Christ in corporate worship.

In the coming week, make plans to remember Christ in your hearts and minds by following the suggested ways. These are certainly not all the ways and not one of them takes place of prayer and Bible study, but remember, how much Christ loved us. This desire of His to be remembered by us should be our joy and motivation, becoming so intertwined with our daily lives. Remember.

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank you for remembering us in our most desperate hour. It is a shame we don't think of you more than we do. Draw our hearts to you and help us to place you in the forefront of our lives as David said in Psalm 16, "I have set the Lord before me." May this week find us closer to You than in many years. In your name, Amen.

It Will NOT Come OUT!!!

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:18-20

How many times have you been told in life (mostly the men here) when we spill something on us, usually food, that it won't come out? Of course the morsel of food or the blob of whatever lifts off the fabric, but the footprint it leaves beneath it stays there.

I had the most unique experience I want to share this week. Although I did not think so at the time, this makes for a good illustration. It was Communion night at my church. We have an AV room separate from the main congregation so one of the deacon's brings back the bread and juice to us. I had my bread and juice on the desk in front of me. We could watch on our monitor when it was time to partake. It came to the juice and as I put the plastic cup to my mouth I thought I saw a drip and as I drank, the whole cup was running everywhere. I jumped back and sat the cup down (which puddled out on the desk). The guy beside me said, "Dude, your glass is cracked." I saw all the purple drops on my best shirt and I immediately ran to the staff bathroom to wash the shirt to no avail. You sort of look at grape juice like acid, its dangerous effects are usually permanent, so you handle it carefully. I always cringe as I see a whole platter of grape juice passing down the row. Well, anyway, there I was big wet blob on the shirt from the intense "water treatment" and all these little stains on me. As I was surveying myself in the mirror, the Holy Spirit reminded me just how vital a picture this was to see.

Stains are not usually welcome on our person or our clothes. They denote ugly marks we rather not anyone see for embarrassment sake. All stains except one. We as humans will have up to two stains on our souls. First we were born with the stain of sin. The Bible says that this sin brings death of eternal separation from God on all of us (Romans 6:23). As hard as we try to remove that stain with the solution of good deeds or moral living that stain will not come out! I soaked and soaked myself with water, and the grape juice stain lightened but did not disappear. The Holiness of God requires that ALL the stain be gone, not faded, but removed. We have nothing at all in our power to remove such a stain.

The second stain is the cleansing stain of Christ's blood. Here was the illustration from the broken communion cup. To rid our sins, Christ was to go to the Cross to shed His blood for the forgiveness of them, completing the fulfillment of the Old Testament pattern. The difference was that the blood He shed would be totally sufficient as it would not go away nor wear off in its potency. Grape juice (which we use to represent the blood of Christ shed for sin) has the express quality of not coming out of clothes. When you and I receive Jesus Christ into our hearts, His blood cleanses us from all sin. This is not a one time action. This covering stain lasts forever never coming out of our souls.

There are Christian folk that believe in this cleansing blood, but cannot accept the fact that its permanent. How sad to be tormented by the thought, for just one sin committed, and then death comes and they perish forever in Hell. This is not what the Scriptures teach, but what the deception of Satan shouts. If the blood of Christ is to be a perfect payment for sins, then should it last. Anything that does not last completely, is not perfect. We do not desire to keep sinning, but when we do sin there is no eternal condemnation for it either. You cannot sin your way out of salvation. When Christ "stains" a heart, what really happens is that old stain of sin (that cannot be cleansed by any other means) is removed and the new stain of Christ's blood replaces it. The "stain" of His blood is not an ugly one, but more like a beautifully painted portrait. That portrait is our righteousness and our ONLY pass into Heaven.

Finally, a stain is something we try to hide. I was embarrassed to circulate in the halls of our church due to gigantic blob all over my shirt. I could not hide it. We should not be embarrassed or try to hide or cover up the reality of Jesus in our lives. If the stain were reproachable, certainly we should try to hide, but it isn't. The stain is glorious. The stain is something we should want all to see and hopefully desire to have too. When we try to blend in with the world, we are hiding our stain of Redemption. When we are open about speaking for Jesus in our lives and for what He has done, we are showing Him off. How can we cover up the very thing that completely and utterly changed the course of our lives from destruction to everlasting Hope?

Does the stain of sin still marr your soul? Would you desire to have it removed? Once death comes, either the stain of sin or the stain of Christ's precious blood is set for all eternity. You can lose your sin stain in this life, but you never can lose the redemption of His stain. In a world of absolute uncertainty, one thing is quite certain. A decision to be saved by Christ's blood never changes. Its the permanent stain of Righteousness, and it won't come out!!!

If you're not a believer in Jesus Christ, consider the consequences of your decision not to trust Him. Is it really worth suffering unspeakable torment all alone forever just to live a few years on Earth "enjoying" life which will ultimately betray you? I plead with you, turn your life to Christ.

Would you pray with me,

Dear Jesus, I realize I have a black mark of sin on me. I know that mark means I am not going to Heaven. But I know from what I have read today that my sins can be removed and forgiven by trusting in Jesus. I desire for You to come into my heart and cleanse my sin stain and cover me with your stain of blood of forgiveness and salvation. Thank you Lord that your forgiveness lasts forever,

and forever now I will be with You. In your Name, Amen.

If you received Christ through this posting online or through reading it in an e-mail, please write to me and I want to send you a free booklet to help you on your new Christian walk with Christ. The address is jonbrowning@suddenlink.net