My Morning Meal

What we believe should impact how we behave. Thus, we seek to “rightly divide the word” so that we can rightly navigate the world . . . we commit to sound doctrine, not to boast in what we know, but to bring glory to God in all that we do. So, as part of my reading, I’m on the look out for the “so what?” So what does this portion of Scripture mean for how I live? So what are the implications or this truth on how I do life? So what’s the impact of this teaching on my values, my priorities, my pursuits? Sometimes you need to dig a bit . . . or noodle a while . . . before the “so what” becomes evident. Other times, as in one of my readings this morning, it’s kind of delivered to you a on silver platter.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.   (1Corinthians 15:58 ESV)

It doesn’t get much better than the fifteenth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. I read the first half of the chapter on Friday . . . finished it this morning . . . what a great way to “bookend” Easter weekend.

Christ is risen! As such, the Scriptures are fulfilled . . . our preaching is not in vain . . . our faith is not futile . . . and our hope extends beyond the few years we live on this terrestrial ball. Christ is risen! And thus, He is the firstfruits of others who will be raised to immortality . . . raised imperishable . . . raised in glory . . . raised in power . . . raised a spiritual body (15:42-44). Christ is risen! And now waits for the day when He will deliver His kingdom to the God the Father . . . the day when He rules and puts every enemy under His feet . . . the day when all things will become subject to Him . . . that God may be all in all (15:24-28).

Christ is risen! So we are sure of that day when “shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?'” Because of the resurrection we give thanks to God as we’ve been given “the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:54-57).

So what does all this mean on the Monday morning after the Sunday before? After such a glorious celebration yesterday, what about today? As I think about what’s ahead of me this week, what difference does it make that I know what’s ahead of me for eternity? It makes a big difference!

With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort.
(1Corinthians 15:58 MSG)

I head to work this morning as a follower of the risen Christ first and as an employee of my Company second. Today, my work is not just another day of “working for the man” but another opportunity to stand firm and seek to glorify the Master. It’s believing that my nine-to-five job is not the main event, but the means by which my real work, my labor for the Lord, is made possible. A labor which is not in vain . . . but is tied to the very purposes of the kingdom of God itself.

Christ is risen! And because He lives I can head into another routine day with anything but routine expectations.

By His grace, steadfast . . . by His abiding presence, immovable . . . by His power, always abounding in the work of the LORD.

For His glory alone! Amen?

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
     to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
to declare Your steadfast love in the morning,
     and Your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
     to the melody of the lyre.
For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your work;
     at the works of Your hands I sing for joy.                     (Psalm 92:1-4 ESV)

It is good to give thanks to the LORD . . . so pens the psalmist . . . to make music with gladness and sing with joy at the works of His hands.

And is there any more magnificent work than the work we remember and celebrate this weekend? I think not! So let’s give thanks . . . let’s be glad and make music . . . let’s sing with joy to God Most High.

Reading in 1Corinthians this morning, I was captivated by the reminder of His blessed appearance.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me.   (1Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV)

Tonight, our fellowship of believers will gather to reflect on His death and the power of what was accomplished through His work on the cross. It will be somewhat somber as we remember that our Good Friday was His day of great shame and pain. He who knew no sin, became sin for us. He who knew intimate Triune fellowship with the Father and the Spirit would be forsaken of God for us. He who is the Beginning and Sustainer of all things would cry, “It is Finished!” . . . for us.  And we will reflect . . . and we will remember Him as we take of the bread and of the cup. But under-girding our remembrance will be the knowledge that Sunday’s coming!

I anticipate that on Sunday we will “sing and shout!” That we will proclaim, “He arose, hallelujah Christ arose!” . . . that we will affirm that because He lives as conqueror over sin and death, that we too are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). And we will sing for joy at His works . . . evidenced by an empty tomb. We will celebrate the stone rolled away . . . we will gasp in fresh amazement at the empty grave clothes . . . and we will rejoice that “He is not here, for He has risen” (Matt. 28:6).

But I’m reminded that we will do all this because He appeared to men. The power of the cross has no power at all lest we meet Him who suffered on the cross. The sure hope of the empty tomb is not sure at all without encountering Him who was in the grave three days and then rose victorious. Oh, that He should appear to men . . . that He should appear to me . . . what amazing grace!

To be sure, I have not seen Him (yet) as did Cephas . . . nor observed Him as did the five hundred. I have not physically been one-on-one with the risen Christ as was James . . . nor was I blinded by Him as He stood before me on the road to Damascus as was Paul. Yet, He has appeared to me.

Introduced first to me through the Scriptures . . . shadowed in the believers who testified to me of the Light of the world . . . and then revealed to my heart and soul by the blessed Spirit of God. At first my blind eyes saw but faint images of the risen Christ . . . but as seeds of faith took root, the active agency of the Spirit of God opened my eyes, by faith, to know His appearance. O’ what a blessed appearance!

Saint, let us rejoice this weekend. He who died to redeem the lost is alive! He is risen! And, in His wonderful grace, He has appeared!

To Him be all glory . . . now and forevermore . . . amen!

Little is the time I spend these days trying to come up with the definitive position on whether or not the spiritual gift of tongues is for today. But there was a time when I was on the verge of obsession as I sought to wrestle this topic of some controversy to the ground. Those days come to mind as I read the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. Seems back then, as I wrestled with the place of sign gifts in the church, I found myself more often than not in chapter 13 trying to figure out what “the perfect” was that would cause “the partial” to pass away (1Cor. 13:10). But I really should have been spending more time in chapter 14 . . . focusing less on the practices of our gathering and more on the purpose of our gathering.

So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.   . . . What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.   (1Corinthians 14:12, 26 ESV)

In chapter 14, Paul’s breaks down the relative merits of one who speaks in a tongue vs. one who prophesies . . . of one who speaks in an unintelligible language (v.9) and one who declares “some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching” (v.6) . . . of one who utters “an indistinct sound” (v.8) with their spirit for their own benefit (v.4) and one who clearly speaks, if only “five words,” with their mind “in order to instruct others” (v.19).

And the “rhythm section” of this mini opus . . . the underlying back beat of Paul’s argument, is that the purpose of our gathering is for edification . . . the building up of each other.

If repetition is the Scriptures megaphone . . . if recurrence is the Spirit’s way of saying, “Listen up!” . . . then, if there’s anything definitive I take away from my reading today, it’s that the church is to come together for building up. Six times Paul says that when we come together it should be for edification . . . for the building upon of a foundation . . . for promoting “another’s growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, and holiness” (from my online Greek dictionary).

The “what’s” of our church practices are less important than the “why’s.” Let all things be done for building up.

Everything we do, when we come together as the family of God, should be run through this filter. How easy it is to program for program sake . . . to put things in place to satisfy individual preferences . . . rather than purposefully practice that which our local gatherings of believers are uniquely equipped for so that our local gatherings might result in believers maturing in their most holy faith . . . so that our church bodies might grow up into our exalted Head (Eph. 4:15).

And we aspire to such not so we can be like those professional body builders who develop muscle for the sole purpose of parading themselves. But we desire “muscle” so that “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known” (Eph. 3:10) . . . we desire built up bodies so that a lost world might be drawn to a loving Savior.

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.     (1Corinthians 14:24-25 ESV)

Tongues or no tongues? I don’t think that’s really the question. But is God really among you? Isn’t that the desire for our gathering? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Might our churches be body builders in all we do together . . . by His grace . . . for His glory!

There are a number of them . . . commands we refer to as the “one anothers.” Love one another . . . forgive one another . . . admonish one another . . . encourage one another . . . stir up one another . . . pray for one another . . . serve one another . . . and the list goes on. I encountered another “one another” this morning. I’m going to suggest it’s among the lesser known “one anothers” . . . wait for one another.

So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another–if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home–so that when you come together it will not be for judgment.   (1Corinthians 11:33-34a ESV)

Context? The crazy mixed up world of the church in Corinth. “Those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1:2) . . . those who “were enriched in Him in all speech and all knowledge . . . not lacking in any gift” (1:5-7). But those who had more than a few issues. Divisions in the church . . . misapplied grace to open and determined sin . . . lawsuits filed among themselves . . . confusion about eating food sacrificed to idols and dabbling with idolatry. And, as I read this morning, even issues arising from when they came together.

Four times in this latter portion of 1Corinthians 11 I encountered the phrase, “when you come together.” That the understood practice of believers at the dawn of Christianity was to come together seems evident. That’s what the church does . . . the ekklesia, the called out people . . . the assembly . . . they assemble. And these brothers and sisters, when they came together as the church, it was “not for the better, but for the worse” (11:17-18).

Ouch! The Lord’s people . . . come together in the Lord’s way . . . to participate in the Lord’s table (11:20) . . . and it’s for the worse.

You get the sense it was a bit chaotic. You sense they came together only because they knew they should come together . . . and not to gather in a way that honored the Head of the church. Their coming together only gave occasion for the divisions among them to be manifest. At the love feast, which preceded the taking of the elements, each went about eating their own meal with no thought of each other. They loved to feast . . . but did not feast in love. One stuffed their face with all the food they brought, while another went hungry. Some got drunk on the abundance they had . . . others were humiliated as they arrived with nothing. Can any one say, “Gong show!?!”

They had come together, as they should, to proclaim the Lord’s death . . . to remember the body given for them . . . to recall the blood shed for them . . . but they did so in an unworthy manner. So much so, that the Lord’s hand of the discipline was on them . . . “that is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (11:27-30). Sobering stuff.

It’s not enough that the church go through the motions . . . we need to wait for one another. Literally, we are to “look for” one another, to “expect” one another. The original word being built off a root which indicates “taking another’s hand.”

I think it’s at least part of what Paul refers to when he says that they should be “discerning the body” when they take the bread and the cup. Beyond distinguishing the Lord’s Supper from their love feast . . . in addition to separating the food they brought from the sacraments they received . . . Paul wanted God’s people to recognize that, in their gathering, they were to come together as the Body of Christ for the purposes of lifting up their exalted Head. And, as such, they were to wait for one another.

Oh, that we might, as God’s called out ones, come together for the better and not for the worse. That, as we wait for one another, we would love on another, so that all people will know we are His disciples (John 13:35).

By His grace . . . for His glory . . .

Our fellowship’s practice is to remember the LORD in the taking of the bread and the cup once a month. But this month will be a “three communion month” for me. As a church body we “proclaimed the Lord’s death” last Sunday as we customarily do on the first Sunday of the month. And next week, I will gather with believers to participate in the blood and body of Christ two more times. First, on Wednesday night with my men’s bible study group (every six weeks or so we pause from our study to gather for prayer and communion), and then on Good Friday when our church family comes together to reflect on the price paid for our redemption in anticipation of Easter’s resurrection victory.

For that reason, I may have hovered a little longer than usual over my reading in the latter part of 1Corinthians 10. And perhaps that’s why this post I did back in 2011 grabbed my attention.

Re-sharing my thoughts on fine dining.

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I’m not really one for fancy shmancy eating out . . . haven’t been to a lot of really “nice” restaurants . . . a few, but not very many or very often. Recently though, Sue and I went out for dinner with some friends to a nice restaurant. Not only was it nice because there was nothing on the menu you could “super size”, but because it was located up on bluff overlooking the city. And, while we didn’t reserve any particular table, we were seated at a table near the window . . . a table with a nice view of the cityscape below us. Not all tables had such a view . . . we could have just as easily been seated near the kitchen . . . or near the washrooms at the back of the restaurant. But we weren’t. And wouldn’t it have been kind of dumb to have said, “No” to the table with a view and instead asked to be seated at the back by the washrooms? I’m thinkin’ . . .

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? . . . You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.    (1Corinthians 10:16, 21 ESV)

Talk about your “fine dining” . . . talk about your “best seat in the house” . . . and you’re talking about the Lord’s table. Invited to pull up a seat with the Guest of Honor . . . no back row . . . no observing from afar . . . no hoping for leftovers . . . but given full access to participate in the “cup of blessing” and “the bread that we break.” Brought near, received onto holy ground, as we interact afresh with the life giving blood of the Savior. We, who were once on our own to wage war with sin and death, now made one body, identified eternally with the body of Christ. Oh, how easy it is to take such a seat for granted. How prone I can be to simply “go through the motions” during communion and never look up and behold the view . . . the view of the cross . . . the view of the empty tomb . . . the view of the land that awaits all those love His appearing.

And what’s worse is that not only can we fail to appreciate the table we’ve been called to, but often we’ll ask for a table at the “back of the restaurant.” We’ll chose to sit at the table with one leg shorter than the others . . . the one that’s dirty and not wiped clean after the previous patrons . . . the one that keeps getting bumped by the waiting staff as they rush in and out of the kitchen. And what’s more, we’ll settle for the “cheap meals” . . . we’ll ask to be served scraps with no lasting nutritional value. And, somehow, we’ll think we can jump back and forth between the table the Lord has set for us, and the one the world invites us to dine at.

Why would I give up a seat at the Lord’s table for a seat at the back? Why would I settle for the world’s junk food when I’ve been invited to participate in soul-filling fare of the Lord Himself? I don’t know . . . but sometimes I do . . . “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it . . . Prone to leave the God I love . . . Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, . . . Seal it for Thy courts above.”

Sometimes I need to be reminded of the privilege that is mine to have a seat at the table.

Reminded that the reservation was booked by God Himself, and that the tab was picked up by His Beloved Son. To not forget, when I’m at the table, to sit back and behold the view . . . considering afresh heaven’s love poured out that I might be redeemed . . . knowing again that my Savior lives and that I’m dining with Him . . . discerning the body of the Lord in the believer’s who surround me . . . appreciating anew the wonder of the fellowship that I have been grafted into. And, when I have known again the wonder of being invited to the table . . . and have been fed the food of heaven . . . then, by His grace, I will have no desire for the table set by the enemy . . . no hunger for the greasy offerings of the world.

A seat at the Lord’s table . . . now that’s fine dining . . . amen?