Do you give thanks where thanks are due?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
(1 Corinthians 10:16 (NIV))

Most of us just finished a meal, a feast, in which we gathered together with family and friends to give thanks for the blessings that we have. It is good to be thankful, especially when you consider that whatever you are thankful for can be gone in an instant. Loved ones can be taken from us. Health can be good one minute and forever a problem the very next. The homes that we have can go up in smoke and the finances that we store away for our future can be worthless the very next day.

No matter the state of the things of this world, there is one thing that we should be eternally thankful for. There is a treasure that lasts forever! That treasure is Jesus.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
(Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV))

We celebrate an earthly thanksgiving with a meal. We also celebrate an eternal thanksgiving by partaking of a holy meal, a holy communion. This participation in the cup and in the bread is a special symbol of our thanksgiving for what we have been given, but we should not limit our thankfulness to the Lord to just this particular moment. Every meal should be a reflection, a moment of thankfulness to God, for what we have been given. Not only every meal, but everything that is good should cause us to give thanks to the true source of all that is good.

Do you give thanks where thanks are due?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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The Bread of Life was broken for you!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
(Matthew 26:26 (NIV))

All people who claim their faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior recognize these words. They know that these words are a portion of the words that we now know as the Last Supper and we remember when we take Holy Communion.

I have recently only begun to understand the full meaning of Jesus as the bread. The Jewish Passover feast calls for the middle loaf of bread to be hidden or buried for a while. This is exactly what happened to Jesus. Jesus (the Bread) was crucified between two thieves. He was the middle loaf. He did not stay buried, just as the middle loaf does not stay hidden,

Another interesting tidbit of information is that in Hebrew, Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” Jesus refers to himself as the “Bread of Life.” Isn’t it interesting that the “Bread of Life” should be born in the “House of Bread” and that the middle loaf should be hidden for a short time. God has a sense of humor. He is probably laughing at us for not recognizing the obvious. At the same time, He is crying for those who do not recognize and partake of the “Bread of Life.”

The Bread of Life was broken for you!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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