Word

One more time I was asked to speak to the whole church.
One more time I waited to make sure I was ready (and to make sure I believed God wanted me to speak)
One more time I have accepted a speaking task.

This has been nice. The last time I spoke to the men, I got a good response regarding what God would have to say through my life.

I am hoping for the same thing, or what our pastor says "God speaking through personality".

Again, I knew what I wanted to say immediately and I believed that God had placed that within me to dwell on.

Basically put, in regards to the Corinthian church being scolded for not taking the Lord's supper seriously, he told them that they needed to examine themselves prior to taking communion. We tend to believe that means examine ourselves to see if there is any blemish. If there is, then we withdraw and do not participate. If we find no blemish on ourselves, then we participate.

I believe in light of the passage though, it seems to really be more about examine ourselves in light of Jesus. If we do this properly, we realize that we are not worthy because ... well, we aren't. But our response shouldn't be to stop taking part of communion. If we do, then we only do 1/2 of what we need to do. The other 1/2 is to look at what Jesus can do for us. I think the point is that we need to see ourselves as sinner, and give honor to Jesus by recognizing that we need him constantly.

This tends to hold true not only at the communion table, but also in everyday life as we approach God. We think that we need to be perfect and then God will accept us. But it isn't that way. We need to recognize that God is perfect, and is willing to accept us when place our faith in Him.

I have to admit, I am a tad bit nervous as it has now been 3 years since I have spoken in front of the church. I keep praying I don't make God look stupid. I pray I can honor him and allow others to see His grace in their lives.