-October 31, 2021-
Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,
“For as often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
(1 Corinthians 11:26).
Our delight is to remember the Lord’s death on the cross and resurrection each week. It is our privilege and our responsibility. The pandemic has greatly affected us in this regard. The remembrance meeting is called the Breaking of Bread, the Communion service, and the Lord’s Supper. Some churches celebrate it once a quarter or once a month, but the NT pattern was every Sunday, the first day of the week, the resurrection day.
Acts 2:41 describes the gatherings of saints, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” It tells us that they met for breaking of bread on the first day of the week. Acts 20:7 says, “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”
When we gather together to remember the Lord, we take the break first, a symbol of His body, then the cup, the wine, a symbol of His shed blood. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, Paul wrote, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’”
When we gather to remember the Lord, we are joining together as one to proclaim the Lord’s death til He comes. Once the Lord comes and takes us home to glory we will no longer need the symbols any longer; we will see the Lord face to face and be with Him forever. But now, who do we proclaim the Lord’s death to? We proclaim it to the Lord Himself, in the presence of the angels, and to all the believers present, as well as to anyone who is unsaved who may be attending the meeting. The breaking of bread is just for believers, but there are times when some unsaved do come and they witness this beautiful service.
May the Lord help us to remember our Savior in His sacrifice on the cross for us. We sing hymns, pray, and take the break and wine in remembrance of Christ. The opportunity to break break is our joy. Next Sunday, we resume our communion service. I can’t wait. We have been cautious during the pandemic. Let’s proclaim loud and proud: Jesus died, rose, and is coming again.
Have a blessed day of remembering the Lord in praise and worship. Stay safe and healthy.
In His grace,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 