From our dear brother in the Lord, Bob Taylor: He shares his thoughts about the recent "Olatry" series. Bob and I go back to the 1970's and for several years had the pleasure of praying and worshiping together. He is a brilliant guitar player and inspired song writer and we hope to feature some of his work in the near future. He is surrounded by his beautiful wife and family and his mother Madeleine was one of my very early pillars of support and a constant source of inspiration. 

Thanks for sharing Bob! 

"I read just the beginning of this post earlier today and got excited - I couldn't wait to read the rest of it. This so nails it! In reading your descriptions of Bibliolatry and Ritualolatry, I had to laugh. I have seen people immerse themselves in the study of the Bible to the point that you had to wonder if, after all their reading, anything had actually sunk in. In fact, a lot of times its just head knowledge. Same with people who strictly adhere to rituals as if it buys them a seat of favor. 

We began.

I lifted the glass dome and picked up the small piece of bread. "Lord, we ask you to bless this bread as your body. We do this to remember you." 

Then I break it in half (this morning is wheat bread) and give Camille half. We eat. Our eyes are closed and we have learned to 'rest' - be anxious for nothing as much as we are able. Somehow, every morning and whenever we eat the bread of His flesh He is immediately there. Its as though he is waiting for us. Its like He sees us coming and can't wait to see us. Jesus loves us so much. He loves to smile and approach us open armed. Communion pulls back the veil of this world (like the parting of the broken bread) to reveal His eternal presence. Its just like the scriptures say, "what we see naturally is the temporary, what is not seen is what He opens our eyes to (spiritually) is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 

This morning Camille later shared with me (as we always try to do) that she immediately heard the old chorus, "We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, we are one in the Spirit we are one in the Lord and we pray that our unity may this day be restored and they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love! Yes! They'll know we are Christians by our love." While hearing this she became aware of the reality of the bread that brings us healing from Jesus.

Then I held up the egg cup, I thanked the Lord for this cup of salvation and asked His blessing on the the wine of His blood and declared that we do this to remember you.

We drink, first I hand the cup to Camille whispering, "The blood of Jesus shed for you" and then she hands it back to me. I drink and we close our eyes again. The same thing. Something happens immediately. We realize something, hear His voice, encounter His presence in some definable way. 

This morning Camille said that when she drank the wine she had the realization that when we drink from this cup it is the wine of blessing and anointing. The bread is for healing this morning and the wine is for the Lord's blessing. She grinned when she shared this. Like a little child who is given a cookie, she was grinning as if she had received something very good! She went on to say, "I am never alone. He is always with me. I love this! He sees me and loves me for who I am. Its how He made me. Then she looked at me and quietly said, "He sees you!"

So I told her what I had experienced in my encounter. We call this encounter the CommunionFire. (Like           2 Corinthians 3:18 When our eyes are opened to recognize His glory as in the reflection of a mirror - the image we see transforms us from one degree of glory to another.")

I said I was on the beach by the pier (a place I meet with Jesus often) walking toward the water and instead of seeing Jesus coming towards me - this time He came up behind me like a friend. I turned to see Him and He was already looking at me.When I first looked at Him His face had the appearance of the Lord in the movie, "Jesus of Nazareth". I looked again and His face looked like the Lord in the Prince of Peace painting done by Akiane Kramarik. 

When I drank the wine I saw a huge storm, dark clouds and lightening. It was fearful and would be terrifying to a child and then I saw Jesus handing a flower to a little girl and as He did the storm had already gone away and there was a heavenly light filling the sky. (Hebrews 12:18-28) 

When Camille and I had exchanged our experiences (keep in mind that this all occurred in the space of no more than five minutes or so) we were charged with electricity from heaven. We had met with the Lord. He shared His life with us. We talked about what we saw and heard as if exchanging the bread and cup again. What we now call the "overflow" always produces something new and wonderful. This morning for me, it was about the word, "Remembrance" as it applies to Communion. We talked about how Jesus says, "Do this in remembrance OF ME". That was an emphasis we had never talked about before. (Its like He anoints our head with the 'oil of revelation'! Then our cup overflows!) When we have a relationship with someone we love don't we often say, "I remember when..." as a kind of cement to the relationship? Our shared experiences is what enriches and deepens our relationship with one another.

What a powerful way of looking at our relationship with Jesus! He wants us to share personally with us in ways that will build a memory base for our relationship. He gives us: promises, love, joy, peace, revelation, words, pictures, videos and encounters more brilliant than the writings of CS Lewis! Jesus shares His life with us as though He spent all night with our Father and the Holy Spirit creating the script and the B-roll. When He shares with us at His Table it is always a full blown production as wonderful as the skies He paints moment by moment with love, purity, gentleness and power. His glory changes us. His presence is where His glory is. He prepares the Table for you and invites you to sit down and have a simple meal. A piece of bread as His body and a sip of wine as His blood. When we do, we consume Jesus. He feeds us with His life and presence and we are changed.
 

 

Something IS supposed to happen! Jesus did not give the believers a memorial meal to recall the ancient rituals of the early church or to memorialize His death and that alone. Something IS supposed to happen when you have Communion.

The same faith He gave to you 'the size of a mustard seed' in order to hear Him at the doorway of your personal life was so that you could hear Him knocking, calling your name (Revelation 3:20). It is that same faith that grows as you feed upon His presence through Communion. When you asked Jesus to come into your life and you committed everything to Him it was because you sensed His love, forgiveness, healing and gentleness. He leads with grace. You want more... So,

He came in and sat down with you at your table to dine with you and you with Him!     That was an amazing moment. 

From that point you learned "it is no longer I that lives but Jesus who lives in me!"

He loved you first and wants to continue to share that miraculous love with you every moment of every day. He wants to intoxicate you with His love and the demonstration of His love by giving you every good and perfect gift. He lives to give you new promises every day! He wants to show you how He fulfills those promises so that you know what it means to share His divine nature. 

Something Does Happen! 

After Coming to your table and you make Him Savior and Lord then He leads you to His Table. It is all prepared for you. He leads you as a good Shepherd who cares for you and provides for you. When you arrive, the Table is set and the meal is ready. It is His Body and Blood in the form of bread and wine. When we consume them we are consumed by Him. His love, joy and peace enfold us like huge wings. His presence is real. It is tangible. You taste it, drink it and sense it. It is visible. 

We see Jesus, His face, His hands and feet. He meets us as we are where we are for who we are at that moment. It is filled with sounds from whispers of the Holy Spirit to the sounds of heaven worshiping the Lord. sometimes we hear the quiet or silence and sometimes the laughter of a babbling brook or the noise of the wind through the leaves of the trees clapping their hands in praise to God! 

When His presence happens, that's when we feed on the bread of eternal life! 

His life feeds us until we are full and we drink in His love until it overflows!

We get a glimpse of His glory by seeing a sunrise over the ocean hundreds of miles away. We get a glimpse of His glory when we see Him as the engineer of a train of salvation getting ready to pull out of the stations of the Cross! Whatever it is that He shares with us it is the very Bread of Life - the Bread and wine of His presence. 

We feed on it and we drink it in. 

It is the very water of life transformed into the wine His Blood that we drink.  We are the branches drinking new life from the vine. Thirst is replaced by the burst of His Spirit quickening our mortal bodies to become more and more the person He created us to be. What images we see in His glory (the Miracle of CommunionFire) transform us from one degree of glory to another, individually and together.

Want eternity? It begins right now. Ask Jesus to sit at your table and He will bring you to His.

Camille and I had Communion this morning as we always do.

It is always a remarkable... in fact a miraculous time. Communion is such  wonderful gift of grace where we drink from the wells of salvation!

This morning in the bread I heard the Holy Spirit say, "He is speaking to Camille." (What that meant to me was that Jesus was sharing something with Camille that was meant for the both of us. Then in the wine I had that peace (Scott calls it the "Super Peace") that passes understanding. I just sat there enveloped by it.

Camille shared that in both the bread and the cup there was a physical manifestation like tingling on the surface of both arms. She said the Lord means for us to understand that Communion is a physical meal and that it has not just spiritual and mental benefits but also physical.

Then she began to talk by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Camille said, "Its interesting that the children of Israel had to befriend and then slay a lamb the day of Passover in each home. It was a "House to House" event! The blood had to be on the doorposts of each home and each home had to eat the whole lamb! In some cases neighbors shared a household and even Egyptians who looked for refuge were welcomed inside. There was no Rabbi. There was no synagogue or temple. 

The same was with the early Church. They met having Communion in their homes and from house to house. 

Jesus prepared the disciples in Capernaum (John 6) for what would happen years later in the Upper Room for the first Communion (Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26 and Luke 22:7-38). There Jesus shared the last Passover and introduced the New Covenant Meal by sharing the First Communion. Then He spoke about it at length and then prayed for its fulfillment and continuance. (John 13-17). Then after the Holy Spirit was sent to the Church in that same Upper Room (Acts 1-2) the new people of God had Communion from house to house. It was a celebration of the Pascal Lamb, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. They were 'showing the Lord's death' to the rest of the world in the same way that Israel showed the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. They became "the Lord's doorposts" indicating that this is a house of refuge! This is where the blood of Jesus caused the spirit of the law and of death to pass over them while they were made alive by the bread of heaven and wine of the Holy Spirit - the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead!" 

We are learning that Communion is  best shared at home with the family like a daily Seder and then also from house to house with brothers and sisters, friends and to all invited to share the life of the Community of our faith.

Camille is on fire! The Lord is speaking through her. This went on for another hour then I took her to work. We are sharing the bread of life we were given with you.