MEMORISE: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. – 1 Corinthians 11:24
READ: 1 Corinthians 11:24 (KJV)
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Thessalonians 1-3
MESSAGE:
One significant reason the Holy Communion (The Lord’s Supper) was inaugurated by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is revealed in our memory verse of today. When Jesus Christ says we should observe the Holy Communion often in remembrance of Him, it is because He knows what it took to die for His friends; He would not want that feat to be forgotten. There is the tendency to forget the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ which led to His death and resurrection.
“If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” – Hebrews 6:6
The reason for backsliding may not be unconnected with a believer’s loss of memory concerning the agony of death which the Saviour suffered for our salvation. The Bible says:
“If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” – 1 Timothy 4:6
The story is told of a wretched hunter who by the stroke of grace became a king, though with a warning that he should not step out of his boundaries by entering into a room forbidden to kings. Many years into his reign, he felt that he was being unnecessarily restrained and decided to enter the room only to return to the old wretched position he had been in as a hunter. This is what happens when believers forget where they are coming from.
The Holy Communion should be taken as frequently as possible to enable us remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and the reason for it. The Bible says we should not be forgetful hearers but doers of the work (James 1:25). We announce the death and resurrection of our Lord without having to preach it when we gather to commemorate it through the Holy Communion.
Everyone is compelled to examine himself or herself so that he or she does not eat to damnation, according to our text of today, Paul the apostle wrote further that we should remember that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead after His passion and death; that if we also endure as He did, we shall reign with him (2 Timothy 2:8-12). May the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ avail for us through eternity in Jesus’ name.
REFLECTION: Examine yourself to know whether or not you are still in the faith.
Open Heavens 2021 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
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