Christ Washing the Feet of the Apostles by Meister des Hausbuches, 1475 (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Devotional thought of the day….

I’m GOD’s favorite. He made me king of the mountain.” Then you looked the other way and I fell to pieces. Psalm 30:7 (MSG) 

As I look at this verse, part of the passage I will discuss in this week’s sermon, I think it well describes the life of a Believer.

I think about Elijah, and the drastic change from the man on Mt Carmel, to the man buried in self-pity in a cave a month’s journey away.

Peter comes to mind – at one moment hearing that the words of his mouth was a revelation directly from the Father, to the next, his pride turned to disgrace as the same mouth is confronted as being the adversary to God.  Never mind the night of the last supper, as he goes from correction regarding the foot washing, to the glory of being there for the first celebration of the Lord’s Supper, to the failure to stay awake and pray, to the absolute pit of despair as He hears a rooster crow…and realizes how he has failed again… and denied the Messiah, the Savior.

It’s my life – the moments were I am so sure of God’s presence – with which I get to passively participate, to the moments that I question my ability to stand in His presence, because I am confronted with my own failures, my own thoughts and desires, my own sin. I tell you, there are days I wonder if there are any good caves on the market – (suitably furnished with wi-fi and a refrigerator stocked with Diet Coke with lime and some good cotto salami and cheese)  Seriously, there is so much darkness in the world, and in my own life, that I wonder what headway is being made. I wonder if there is anything that will help people… and if I can help them, by God’s mercy, i have some proof of God’s work in my life.

Maybe our lives our like jig-saw puzzles – and it seems when I see the beautiful scene that God has designed coming into focus, someone comes along and tosses all the pieces back in the box.

I know my road may not be as dark as some, and perhaps not as many pieces are thrown in the box (just as I know others who try to comfort themselves with the same thoughts), yet there are times in life where it falls apart, or my mind tries to cope with all the stuff that is flying around me.  It doesn’t matter whether it is my own issues, or those of those I count as my family (which includes family, friends, fellow believers that I work with, and well the people on FB that I correspond with often)  Our pains aren’t individualized ( Romans 12:15-16)  we share them – and the burdens can add up. And when we realize we don’t see God, everything falls apart…. breaks up,… our anxieties build, and..

It is dealing with such things – that I’ve come, more and more, to appreciate the Lord’s Supper, the feast were we Commune with God, what we call the Eucharist, or the Sacrament of the Altar.  A piece of bread, a sip of wine, these things we eat and drink, that tangibly invade my darkness, my place where I am broken, among people who are broken….

For the bread and wine aren’t just empty carbs, they are the Body and Blood of Christ, in and under that bread and wine.  He is present, tangibly, His holiness, His mercy, His love.

That which is broken, He’s come to repair, that which is hurt, is healed, the pieces are picked up, the tears are dried off, the cold darkness replaced by His warmth and life  and …..glory.   Yes – by His glory.

For He is here….  comforting us and causing us to realize in that moment, that He always was… He will always will be.

Some have talked about how the Lord’s Supper is something that recharges them, that lifts them up… I think the reason why is simple  – it calls us to interact with God in a… well,,. supernatural, divine way. A way that reminds us of the transformation, the very work of Christ in our lives.  It calls us to remember the promises, the mercy – but most of all – it recenters us on His presence……

May we always treasure this celebration, and give thanks and praise to the One who is our gift, our grace.

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