Psalm 65; Hosea 6:7 – 7:2; 1 Corinthians 11:17-end
Paul talks of divisions in the Church – it is a timely message as churches throughout the world – locally and globally – are struggling to keep unity on some matters. Paul doesn’t instruct the Corinthians to be “one” in their views, but he does say that the differences will be used to show which of them have God’s approval.
We live in a corrupt world, with worldly eyes we see people benefiting from crimes, benefitting from actions against God’s word; worldly recognition doesn’t mean God approves! Writing to the Romans Paul said, “do not take revenge, but leave room for God’s wrath”. Judgement is God’s, it is not for us to judge others. We only need to seek God, to follow His call on our lives, and to live, as far as it depends on us, in peace with everyone.
Paul talks about sharing the Lord’s supper. When did you last partake in Communion? Did you think about what you were doing? Did you remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross? Did you consider if your heart was right with God and with your brothers and sisters? Or did you take Communion because it was Sunday and that’s what you do?
Communion is an intimate moment for Christians; a moment when we eat bread and drink wine in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice, once and for all, for us. It is not a moment to be taken lightly. There are canons in churches which cover who is, and who is not, able to partake in Communion but each of us makes decisions and each of us are accountable to God for those decisions. To share Communion when we are not reconciled to God is to take judgement upon ourselves. If you need to reconcile with God, or with a brother or sister in Christ, do that before taking Communion – even if it means abstaining on occasion.
Hosea continues his prophecy about the need for repentance. He takes us right back to the beginning – the time of Adam – when man was unfaithful. We have all fallen short of God’s plan. The Lord is reminding the people through Hosea that he sees everything. As we go about our lives let us not forget that God is watching us – watching over us to protect us, yes, but also watching over us to see that we obey his commands – that we don’t break covenant with him. He will remember all our sin until we repent; because we have the promise of the New Testament, thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, that our sins will be wiped clean. We cannot be free from sin if we are still sinning; we have to make a conscious decision to stop, to repent, to turn from our sinful ways, and to walk in the way God has planned for us. Only then are we worthy to share in Communion.
Our Psalm also reminds us that God forgives us. In verse 4 David recalls that it is God who chooses us not us who choose him. “Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts!”.
Where are you on your journey with God today? Where am I? We have already shared in the prayer of confession but is there anything that we have not truly repented of? Are we right with God at this time? Are we listening to His voice or are we being distracted by divisions? My prayer is that each of us be people who are “filled with the good things of His house, of His holy temple”, people that see the “awesome and righteous deeds” as God answers our prayers.
Amen.