Hi Friends,
Today we’re continuing the focus on intimacy with Christ. This is why we were created – to have Him as the singular desire above all else. He’s worthy of all of our devotion and loves when we give Him His rightful place. He doesn’t desire to be the “one thing” because He’s lofty, but because He knows apart from Him, we can do nothing. Let’s dive in deeper in knowing this beautiful God-Man Christ JESUS!
Much Love,
~ Johanna
We attended my nephew’s first communion a few years back and as the ushers handed out the bread to the congregants, they whispered, “The Body of Christ” as they served each person that came up to receive the elements. As this was happening and, well, of course during a sacred and worshipful moment, my then 4 yr old son yelled out,
“I waaaaant the Body of Christ!!”
Oh.my.goodness! I immediately cupped his mouth with my hands and asked the Lord to help this Momma who’s trying to hold in my laughter and hold down my sweet boy who at the moment is not interested in being spiritually hungry but is focused on getting his hands on a snack! Lol! 🙂
Later as I thought about it, I told myself “You know what? Gabriel is right. We should want, long for and need the Body of Christ! His body is charged with sustenance and teeming with nourishment and life.
John 6:33 says, “For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” We aren’t living, until we eat of the bread (symbolic of His body) that comes from Heaven.
As we remember what Jesus died for, His Body and Blood represents access to the Father. His Body and Blood is symbolic of the Word Himself made flesh, so that we could feast on His righteousness and walk in union with Him. Every single moment of our lives.
There’s nothing like the satisfaction God gives when we receive nourishment and life from Him. What indescribable nutrients for the soul, are hidden in the living bread from Heaven! Have you feasted on this delectable Bread from Heaven today?
Ephesians 3:6 “Here’s the secret He revealed to me: The gospel of grace has made you, non-Jewish believers, into co-heirs of His promise of glory through your union with Him! And you have now become members of His mystical body – one with the Anointed One, and one with each other!” (The Passion Translation)
Let’s break the word communion down. The word com is defined as “together.” Union means, “an act or instance of uniting or joining two or more things into one.” When you put the word together, I believe communion is defined as: Together, we are one.
When the collective church holds a sacred place in our hearts for nothing but Jesus, and feasting on His body, we are coming into alignment and agreement around the One thing that matters most – intimacy and union with the Person and Presence of Christ.
My hubby shared this thought with me that further makes the point beautifully and powerfully. “When a body of believers are free from individual self-importance, they can work together as one, flowing with one mind and one voice, rejoicing together in His abundance while sharing His inheritance.”
As the church transcends into that kind of supernatural unity, we experience what the early church did: SUPERNATURAL POWER that makes any form of darkness intolerable to the mere passing of our shadows.
We may disagree on the methods and terminology. But when we come in unity and in one accord in honoring His Presence, adoring Him and laying down our lives and agendas, His Spirit will move freely and mightily within us, among us and in the world around us.
It all begins with communing in and with Him. Union and wholeness – in me, in you and in the Body of Christ – begins with co-mingling and communing with Jesus. His glory can freely be displayed in our lives when we are awakened to this profoundly real truth! The greatest mystery of all the ages, is that the Word became flesh within the holy womb of a divinely favored teenager! The very act of Jesus Christ robed in full divinity becoming humanity, in order to reconcile sinners to God is a profound and intimate reality that you and I can partake in everyday of our lives. This is more than just theology or doctrine, THIS is the good news of the Gospel! In Christ, we are really and truly in co-union—spiritually and bodily—to the crucified, resurrected, incarnate person and body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”
What does this union with Him look like for you? For me, it’s all about intentionally being aware of Jesus, throughout our day and turning our hearts towards Him. Yesterday I was at my son’s martial arts class and while he grappled and wrestled, I was sitting with the other parents and had my earphones on listening to worship. After a few minutes, I realized I was rocking back and forth, lost in intercession and worship (have y’all seen Lou Engle? Now picture me doing that sitting at a martial arts class…lol!). To be honest though, I’m not always in that place of bliss. Sometimes I struggle to keep it together and lose my calm with my family. I get plagued with self doubt and fear (of random crazy stuff!) and then I realize, wow this is an act of the enemy to distract me from that awareness of being one in Christ and the power I have in that union!
I love how The Message version states, 2 Corinthians 10:5.
2 Corinthians 10:5 “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.”
Today I encourage you to be alert and conscious of any loose thought, emotion or impulse and immediately bring them to the obedience of Jesus and stand firm and enjoy the union and communion we have in Him!
