Heading Home

I grieve when I fail the Lord, when my obedience lacks its first response.

But then I remember it was for failures that Christ graced a waiting manger. It was for failures that He breathed His last earthly breath as He hung in disgrace on a wooden cross.

It was to a failure, one who penned the precious psalms that touch our hearts in time of need. And, yet, as a man after God’s own heart, sinned and ripped apart his fellowship with the Lord, then repented and repaired it.

It was to a failure, one who had denied Christ three times, that the command of “feed My sheep” was given.

It was to a failure that Jesus gave His first greeting in the Garden of Gethsemane on that initial Easter morn.

It was to a failure who had been the foremost despiser of believers yet became one of the greatest servants of the Gospel, the Lord blessing his ministry and his writings for all time.

I think, no, I know my greatest failure is in closing the inn-door of my heart, telling the Christ-child there is no room to live in my heart, in my circumstances, in every moment of my life.

But He came…

...amid a firmament full of celestial singers and the cries of an infant. And in the lowly stable, Mary lovingly swaddled the future Sacrifice of the world; her gentleness contrasted with the roughness of the hand-hewn trough in which she placed the tiny Child.

There, the miracle of the manger took place: the empty manger, the harbinger of a destined, wooden cross cradling the tiny body of mankind’s salvation, became full - full of love, full of expectation, full of holiness, and full of humanity.

He came, confined by the boundaries of time and limitations of a physical body.

For failures, He came. For me, He came. For you, He came.

But where does He go to be cradled today? In the manger-hearts of believers.

“How silently, how silently the wondrous Gift is given!So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.”(Third verse of “O Little Town of Bethlehem”)
Is the rough manger of your heart cradling the Babe of salvation?

God still seeks His mangers…hearts willing to hold Him. For this...

The Passover meal celebrated the Lord’s deliverance of Israel out of Egypt’s bondage and from the plagues God sent on Egypt, including the death plague, which was halted for the Israelites by the blood of a lamb smeared on the doorposts of their homes.

Before the onset of the first Passover, God told Israel, “Every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household,” (Ex. 12:3b NKJV) and, after smearing the blood of the lamb on the doorposts, they were to roast it and eat it in anticipation of what the Lord was about to do.

For us as Christians, because each of us has taken a Lamb into our heart’s home, smearing His blood upon its doorposts, we are able to celebrate communion, commemorating our release as God’s people from bondage, the plagues of life, and the deliverance from the eternal curse of death.

In order for us to partake of Jesus’ life through the Lord’s Supper as a vital part of our Christian walk, we need to understand cleansing and commitment, for sharing in communion is more than just a religious ritual.

According to ancient, Hebrew traditions, if two joined in a covenant and ratified it with a meal, which included the breaking of bread and drinking of a cup of wine, it meant they were eating and drinking of each other.

At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus said, “I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But those who eat My flesh and drink My blood have eternal life, and I will raise them at the last day.” (John 6:53-54 NLT)

Today, we Christians don’t give enough serious thought to what we are doing when we participate in the Lord’s Supper. In order to have our hearts right before God to take part in communion, we must…

…first, get right with others. Jesus declared in His Sermon on the Mount, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.” (Matt. 6:14 NLT)

We forget that forgiveness is not optional! No right relationship with God can prevail apart from forgiveness of others. If we do not forgive others, then what is the point of commemorating what Jesus died to do for us?

…then, get right with God. “But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 6:15 NLT)

Therefore, we cannot engage in the bread of fellowship or the cup of covenant with an accumulation of unforgiveness in our hearts, as Paul warns us, “So if anyone eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, that person is guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup unworthily, not honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.” (1 Cor. 11:27-29 NLT)

We do not take communion to get right with God; we get right with others and God before we place that wafer on our tongue or lift that cup to our lips. Unfortunately, many Christians take communion all too lightly, not grasping the full intent of these verses.

…then, we seek communion at the Lord’s table. Partaking of the communion table is a physical testimony of a spiritual conversion, affirming that we have bound ourselves to Christ in covenant.

Paul said, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16 NKJV)

If we call it ‘communion,’ does that click in our finite minds what that means? The Greek word for it, ‘koinonia,’ means partnership, joint participation, fellowship, to share in common, intimacy, and so on.

Through communion, we take part in the sacrifice of Jesus’ body and His blood. In sharing the bread and the cup, we share in the intimacy of His fellowship, participating in the benefits of what He accomplished at the whipping post, in the judgment hall, on the cross, and through His resurrection.

What Paul said stands as relevant today as when he said it, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26 NIV)

Oh, please, my Christian brothers and sisters, please see the crucial importance of having a right heart before God that you may share in the fellowship of the Lord’s Supper worthily.

I pray that, after reading this, you will never again enter into the Lord’s covenant meal the same as you did before. May this be life changing for each of you.

The Shepherd

Our last in the series is a look at the shepherd. Coincidence that it comes right before Easter? Hmmm…don’t think so!

Sheep must have a leader for they must be led and not driven. They must be told what to do and where to go, otherwise, they will wander off and get lost. They need to be watched over and cared for constantly. Hence, the need for a shepherd.

Since we looked at some of the characteristics of sheep that mirror those of humans, let’s look at some of the characteristics of a good shepherd and how they apply to Jesus as our Good Shepherd.

A good shepherd…

* loves his sheep and continually encourages an intimate relationship with them so that
they will develop trust and know his voice
* knows the things that make them sick and guides them away from them
* always watchful for predators and defends sheep against them
* protects the sheep while they sleep
* leads them to fresh pastures and fresh water
* is gentle yet firm while shearing them, watching closely for injury or disease
* goes ahead of sheep and prepares the path
* disciplines and corrects them
* keeps sheep from fighting, from hurting each other
* searches for a lost sheep and rejoices when finding it
* keeps sheep moving so they don’t get into a rut
* comforts them when they are hurt or fearful
* anoints them with oil to heal an injury or prevent disease
* is pleased when sheep are contented, well-fed, and safe
* knows the sheep’s needs better than they do
* sacrifices his life for them.

We find so much of this in Psalm 23. Adding in some of the definitions, we might look at it this way…

*The Lord is my Shepherd = The Lord is my guide, my companion
* I shall not want = I shall not lack; I have contentment
* He makes me to lie down = He causes me to rest
* in green pastures = giving me habitations of nourishment
* He leads me = He leads me with care to watering stations
* beside still waters = beside quiet waters, refreshing me
* He restores my soul = He draws me to return to Him, to restore me
* He leads me in paths of righteousness = He guides me in ways of rightness
* even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death = even though I move through the narrow valley of death’s dark shadow
* I will fear no evil = I will not be afraid of evil; I will have confidence and trust in my Shepherd
* for You are with me = because You are by my side
* Your rod = Your discipline and protection
* Your staff = Your guidance and support
* they comfort me = are my consolation and comfort
* You prepare a table before me = You arrange and spread out a feast of Your fellowship before me
* in the presence of mine enemies = in the face of those enemies that distress and bind me
* You anoint my head with oil = You soothe me with the oil of Your Spirit
* My cup runs over = You fill my life, saturating it to overflowing with provisions
* goodness and mercy shall follow me = Your goodness and favor pursue me
* and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever = and I will inhabit Your household for eternity.

This Shepherd said, “I am the Good shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me,” (John 10:14 Amp) and “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11 NKJV)

As the Good Shepherd that gave His life for His flock, He is also the Lamb of God, the great Sacrifice, of which John the Baptist said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NKJV)

Do you know all that this Good Shepherd provides for you? Do you know Him, recognizing His voice as He calls out your name? Do you know His peace, protection, provision, guidance, and comfort?

I pray you can often be found lingering at the feet of the Good Shepherd, awaiting His touch, and that you know Him as the Lamb of sacrifice.

~Blessings, Lynn~~