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Participating With Jesus

Wednesday, November 15

Mark 14:22-25 (ESV)
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Devotion
Today’s passage is Jesus sharing the Passover meal with his disciples, shortly before he was arrested and crucified. Passover commemorates the deliverance from slavery that God accomplished for the Jewish people in the Exodus. It required killing a perfect lamb for the Passover meal. The lamb’s blood was wiped on the doorposts so that the angel of death would pass over the people inside. This historical event foreshadowed God’s plan for deliverance and reconciliation with Him once and for all.

Jesus Christ is our Passover lamb, who was sacrificed because the Scripture says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).” During the Passover meal, Jesus instructed his followers to remember his death until he returns by the breaking of bread and drinking of the fruit of the grapevine (Luke 22:19). His instruction is observed as communion, or the Lord’s supper, in many churches today.

Because Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect, no further sacrifice is needed. 
If you are not in covenant with Jesus through trust, surrender, and baptism, then the body and blood of Jesus in the bread and the wine will not help you. If you are taking communion without having been baptized, you are leaving out a really important part of the covenant.

Today’s Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You for the body and blood of Jesus broken and shed for me. Help me not to bring judgment on myself by eating or drinking in an unworthy manner. Help me not to continue in willful unrepentant sin. Help me not continue to think I am in right standing with God if I have refused Your instruction to repent and be baptized. Help me follow Your instructions to examine myself, in order to see whether I am in the faith. Help me live up to my participation in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus by dying to my flesh every day. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen

Apply It Today
If you have trusted and surrendered to Jesus, have you obeyed his instruction to be baptized? If not, why not? Obey Jesus by being baptized. Have you been trusting in Christian symbols such as communion or religious art and jewelry for your salvation or protection? These will not be of much help to you – trust and surrender to Jesus today.

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