MY BODY, MY BLOOD
Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 11
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Golgotha was, according to the Gospels, a site immediately outside of Jerusalem’s walls where Jesus was crucified. Golgotha is the Greek transcription in the New Testament of an Aramaic term. The Bible translates the term to mean “place of the skull.” A modern-day bus terminal is located in the place many believe to be the site of “Golgotha.”
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 11:26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Partaking of the emblems of the body and blood of Christ is not an option which we may or may not exercise. It’s an order! Paul says, “Do this!” (11:24b). Remembering Christ’s death and resurrection is of vital importance (11:25).
Let’s look at the positive aspects of Paul’s teaching regarding “hair.” Women in the Corinthian Church were taking advantage of their new-found freedom in Christ and they were praying and prophesying in public gatherings. Good! But some appeared to be flaunting social convention by what would’ve been considered in the culture of that time and place as inappropriate and distracting. We are informed by cultural historians that at that time in Greece, only the prostitutes were seen in public with their hair uncovered. For Christian women to disregard this would have hurt their testimony. However, Paul was not making this an order as he did with remembering the Lord’s Supper. He assures those of us who live in other cultures and at other times that we are not bound to these social practices of Corinth (11:16). “Contentious” people will make a big issue of hair styles even today. “We have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.”
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your death and resurrection which I remember daily in my personal devotions, and also, without fail, together with my local congregation. Help me, I pray, that I will discern (understand fully) the depth of Your love and provision for me in Your Cross. I ask for health, physical strength, and length of days which come to me as a result. In Your strong Name I pray. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
As a boy I heard a certain minister called a “clothesline” preacher. His special interest seemed to be the way women dressed. I was not impressed. It seemed to be a superfluous, relatively unimportant issue. Nevertheless, this still seems to be an issue with some. The prohibitions of the religion of Islam are a case in point (the burka). That’s the ridiculous extreme. This story I’m about to share may be fictitious, but here goes…
A preacher titled his message, “Top Knot Come Down.” He wanted the women to take the bun in which their hair was gathered on top of their heads, which he saw as an evidence of worldly pride, and move the bun down to the back of their heads. His text was taken from Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 24:17, “Let him who is on the housetop not come down.” This story illustrates for me how unwise it is to take temporary cultural expressions and insist that they be followed always. I’ve asked my sons to find a photo of a very religious Jew in Jerusalem who rigidly follows a dress code which originated sometime in the middle ages in a remote village of Eastern Europe. I think about these things and want to make sure I don’t get caught in such a trap.
Yours for a fuller understanding of God’s Word in a constantly shifting culture,
David
Perpetuating traditional Jewish customs from Eastern Europe.
Thank you for that message, Pastor David. The love and forgiveness that Jesus taught is what is of importance, not the self interests of a pastor who weighs down and slants the congregation by what he believes. Thank you for being such a solid and positive example to remain obedient to Him and the Word. Amen! Blessings fellow saints in the Lord, as we worship Him!
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” Rev 7:17 NIV
Lamb Of God, Gaither Vocal Band, with lyrics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqHFOiyMouI
Amen, Beverlee!…and thank you for “Lamb of God” link!
After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.
“I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.
“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
(John 17)
Oh, amen! Thank you for posting this scripture, Rob!
Thank you Pastor David for making the Scripure clearer . It really also helps if we don’t take them out of context.
Enjoyed our Church service this morning, it is so great to be in fellowship with the saints again.
Prayers for you Pastor David, May and her dear husband for complete healing.
Blessings on this sunny afternoon. Eleanor M.
Amen!Yes thank you Rob.
Amen, Rob…Thank you for sharing. Thank you Jesus!!!
Thanks Pastor David for your sound teaching. Also the scripture you posted Rob and all fellow saints. Had an anointed service this morning with the move of the Holy Spirit. Heard from three prophets on the Rev. Sid Roth program today that this is going to be a breakthrough year! I believe it! Amen?
Amen to the Holy Spirit, Ger!
Yes thank you Pastor David for your sound teach!
What a glorious day today, not only the sun shining outside, but for the Son shining inside through His Word!!!
What glorious communion we share together through pastor David s blog ministry.
Our community of saints is so valuable as we glean knowledge and deeper insight.
Blessings abound to all.
please pray that my community can have a choir Gospel program this coming Sunday March 5 in the local park. People need to hear the good news that Jesus loves them all, unconditionally; this program would start at 4 p.m. Lord please provide the people for this program. thank you Lord In Jesus Name We Pray amen