At the Lord’s table
I try to take communion every morning. It’s something Bert and I began during his battle with cancer. It is usually a precious time of intimacy and thankfulness spent focusing on the the love of God. As I invite the Holy Spirit to consecrate the elements, I will often describe the benefits that are present in “the body and the blood.” Things like divine health, increased anointing, and a heart of mercy, grace, and love. I visualize the elements becoming fully integrated with my body as I imagine the spiritual properties becoming fully integrated with my spirit. It is a sweet, sweet time with the Lord.
Communion in community
I also take communion when I’m at church because I enjoy the “community” of sharing communion. Due to Covid, there is no common cup. Instead we use the little prepackaged communion cups with the wafer in the lid. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Those little cups with the plastic protecting the wafer with the nearly impossible to find tab. It is some engineer’s idea of telling whether or not you are worthy to receive communion. If you can remove it without cussing, you are worthy. Then you peel back the foil to receive the sip of juice. This is usually the easier part of the packet.
So this morning I took my communion package back to my seat and voila! I peeled back the plastic no problem. I smugly thought, “Practice makes perfect.” As I took hold of the foil to open the juice, I found that it was sealed against all penetration. No way was that foil going to peel back for me, I found myself clutching that little plastic cup in my left hand as I tried to pry off the seal with my right. If it had opened at that point, juice would have flown into the air and the front row would have been celebrating a baptism of sorts. I relaxed and studied the cup and spied a weakness in the foil, so very carefully, I managed to get a sliver of my nail under and began to work the tiny bit of foil back and forth widening the gap. It finally got big enough to get my finger under it and I got the cup open! Of course, I also spilled half of it on my dress in the process.
Undaunted, I dipped my wafer in the remaining half, ate it and drained the cup. Happily, I’d worn a wine colored dress that day and no one saw my blunder but it really distracted me. As the service progressed, I could feel the wetness of the juice on my clothes and felt silly. Sitting there hoping no one saw my accident, I heard the speaker say “the Hebrew language has no word for coincidence.” So I asked the Lord what spilling the juice signified. He responded, “I’m not just ‘in’ you, I’m also ‘upon’ you.” Stunning.
You may be scratching your head over this so I will expand a little. how many of us received salvation by inviting Jesus “into” our hearts? An internal process begins as the power of his presence begins to transform us. This is an essential part of being a Christian. If we embrace his presence and the internal transformation it brings, we will eventually attract that same presence to rest upon us. In other words, we carry the power of that presence on the outside where it impacts the people we encounter.
But transformation doesn’t come from performance, it is only possible through presence.
Unfortunately, many Christians are unaware of this progression. We are working so hard at “being less of me and more of Jesus” we become performance driven and discouraged. But transformation doesn’t come from performance, it is only possible through presence. Hence, the gift of the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit. But God doesn’t just want to change you. He wants to partner with you to change the world. Remember how the Holy Spirit rested “upon” Jesus at his baptism? This is the stuff miracles, signs, and wonders are made of – Holy Spirit presence and power. Another way of saying it would “anointing.” I challenge you to invite God to not only be in your heart but to also rest upon your shoulders – to anoint you with his power and presence.
Bill Johnson states it brilliantly, “The Holy Spirit is in you and he wants out.”
I pray you carry the tangible presence of God in a way that impacts every person you meet and every atmosphere you enter.
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Hey! Thanks for reading my articles. I’m currently working on my third book, The Book of Proverbs In My Own Words. I find as I write out what I see in Solomon’s wisdom writings, I understand them at a deeper level. I’m happy to say book two, “Do My Dreams Matter?,” co-written with Geoerl Niles, should be available by the end of this month. As if that weren’t enough, Legacy House is up, running, and growing. In my “spare” time, I’m working with my youngest son on house renovations in anticipation of his selling his home this year. Just a glimpse of what is happening in my world.