"Remember Jesus"

I Corinthians 11:23-12:6

23) For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24) And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

25) After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.

27) Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28) But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

29) For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

30) For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

31) For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

1) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

A

ll too often, we read scripture with predetermined understanding. Actually, the only thing we need to understand is that since it is Jesus' teaching, He gives us all that is necessary for a successful life. Actually, He makes it quite easy by providing for us the example of His life.

The Lord wants us to understand that there are three things we must know in order to identify His instruction. These key elements are: 1) that He presented the teaching, 2) that He showed His disciples what to do and 3) that He required them to perform it themselves. The fact that the scriptures give us so many examples of what Jesus did in His trying circumstances is proof to us that we are to use Him as our example.

Despite what the federal government may say, the true "standard of living" was established by Jesus Christ. That standard for the saint is the absolute necessity of living godly in the flesh. Jesus demonstrates the epitome of the life and practices of the saint.

We would all be so much happier if we would simply accept the fact that there is nothing we will need which has not already been paid for by our Redeemer. Most of our problems would be eliminated if we would accept that we are already overcomers, Christ secured this for us by making sure that He did not try to avoid anything. All that was presented for Him to experience, He did willingly. Rather than run, He faced all situations and overcame them.

You see, if there is a "secret" to this walk, it is this: if we do not allow ourselves to be tempted, we can stand rooted and grounded in the Lord under all circumstances.

There is no substitute for knowing that you are saved. When we know that, we are secure in the knowledge that rather than having to figure out our own problems, we have a God to help us through them. All too often, we convince ourselves that nothing can be done about our problems.

On this Resurrection Day, we need to understand that because Jesus rose, when we are baptized in His name, we become part of His resurrection and are raised in the "newness of life." This transformation confers upon us the power to do the same things He did.

The Lord's Supper has been provided for us to "remember Jesus." All of our life is to be lived by His example. Therefore, we must exert whatever effort necessary to search the Word for Jesus' actions and responses. We know no other way to be delivered from life's situations than to "remember Jesus."

We know that the Word questions us as to whether we think that we will be blessed with all good from the Lord and not face unpleasantness. Though we know that it is through difficulty that we become witnesses, we are reluctant to want to experience any. Whether in our own lives, or in the lives of others, we focus on the "bad" not to see what it has accomplished, but to allow it to bother us. When it comes to life situations or "slights" (real or imagined), we must develop "amnesia" concerning what was done and simply not remember.

All that we ever need do is "remember Jesus." When we do this, we are already victorious, for it is He Who allows us to cast all into the "sea of forgetfulness." Besides, after all, outside of Jesus, there is nothing worth remembering.