A CommunionFire View of "the Eucharist"

His love is a fire. "I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!" Luke 12:49

JESUS Gives Thanks

His love is a fire. "I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!" Luke 12:49

Our experiences in CommunionFire have done a good deal to change our thinking on many things.

For example one of the first things people who have experienced CommunionFire share is the contrast of encountering Jesus by seeing Him and knowing Him personally to the Jesus they thought they knew. We hear comments like “He is so gentle and kind.” “He always seems to be smiling.” “Now I really know He loves me. I can tell by how He looks at me."

Another thing that people become aware of fairly quickly is how much spiritual activity is going on for each individual during Communion. We have come to use the phrase, “He meets us where we are, as we are for who we are.” He knows perfectly how to communicate the reality of His presence to each one of us just as though “He has prepared (His Table) for each person, before we ever arrive.”

For example: I meet Jesus very often on the beach. He always seems to be coming towards me and is always smiling. My wife tends to meet Him many times on a grassy green hill or by a brook of water. Another brother seems to always meet Jesus in the mountains.

To illustrate further how the Holy Spirit is using CommunionFire encounters is to alter our previous way of thinking. Lately, we are seeing the Holy Spirit lighting a match to kindle a fire about how we look at how Jesus defines "The Eucharist".

For example: The word “Eucharist” has usually been translated “The Thanksgiving” or even "The Great Thanksgiving”. Those involved in the experience of CommunionFire, however, share that the thanksgiving is what fills our hearts after Communion. Once we have encountered the Lord by the operation of the Holy Spirit, then our hearts are flooded to overflowing with thanksgiving that continues throughout the day.

 Perhaps the Lord is suggesting a renewed way to defining "The Eucharist". This is based on our experience encountering the true and real presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ daily now for over a year. Through the action of faith, when we “give thanks” to Jesus and ask His blessing as we share the bread, His Body and the cup of wine His Blood, the Eucharistic experience is understanding that Jesus is the one giving thanks with joy that He can share His grace with us the way He intended! He comes to the Table as "The Servant King" to share all that He has with us. He died, rose and revived to have the total and absolute authority to give us all things, richly, to enjoy. He shares these things with us in Communion. In Him your account is not just paid in full but is full to overflowing. There is more than enough! Enough to share with the whole world. 

In His presence is a majestic grace that defies description. In His presence we encounter peace that goes beyond our ability to understand. In His presence there is a fullness of joy that you can find nowhere else. He not only loves us first, He is thankful (Eucharistically speaking) for us first. When we share in CommunionFire gatherings, it is very clear to all that Jesus is more excited about meeting with us than we are with Him. He is constantly waiting for us to come sit at His table and share what He has prepared for each person seated at His Table.  

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when He had “given thanks”...

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “Given thanks” (eucharisteó) from the root (euxaristéō from combining “eú”, "good" and “xaris”, "grace") – properly, acknowledging that "God's grace works well," i.e. for our eternal gain and His glory; to give thanks – literally, "thankful for God's good grace." but consider the following based on the same definition:

From the light of CommunionFire consider a renewed meaning for defining The Eucharist: “Jesus thankfully and joyfully shares His grace with all who come to His Table to feast on His presence and remembrances”. He is thankful before we are. He loves us first. He gives us life in exchange for our sin and death. Jesus is the one who gives thanks for us when we come and join Him at his Table. He is very glad to see us respond to His request to "Do this in remembrance of Him" so that we could discover His presence again and again. He is not hiding from us. He wants us to spend time with Him in His presence. He is fully in love and passionate for you! You are His Bride! You are His Church! You are His Body! It is a consuming fire of His love. He is kindling His fire in Communion. That's why He made it the centerpiece of His Kingdom. In Communion we discover His domain and that He is the King of Peace!

That is why He sent and baptizes us in the Holy Spirit, “But the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach/show you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said unto you.” John 14:26

English Origin of the word EUCHARIST
The Eucharist has been the traditional term for the celebration of Communion throughout the history of the Church. Only over the past 100 years have other names been used to help make contemporary the actions of breaking the bread and drinking the wine. “Eucharist is from the late Middle English: from Old French eucariste, based on ecclesiastical Greek eukharistia ‘thanksgiving,’ from Greek eukharistos ‘grateful,’ from eu ‘well’ + kharizesthai‘offer graciously’ (from kharis ‘grace’).

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