Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Holy Communion:  Surrender in Obedience
Gen.  22: 1-19
Checha John

Staten Island MTC, NY

2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.”

 
This was the most critical encounter Abraham had with God in his entire life. Chapter 22 starts by saying “sometime later God tested Abraham”. In the above verse we see God is giving tremendous emphasis on certain facts for us to learn. Abraham got his son after much waiting and now it seems God is taking back what he has given “Take your son, your only son Isaac to Moriah to sacrifice him there as a burnt offering.” The greatest test that Abraham goes through is whether to obey God or not.
Obedience par excel the Burnt offering:
The precious offering that Abraham offered was not the ram at the Mount Moriah but the sacrifice he did when he chose to obey God. It was this offering that was acceptable before God. It was not the altar that Abraham built at Moriah but the altar that he built in his mind where he sacrificed his sole happiness and expectation in life for the sake of obedience. No wonder such a tremendous decision came from a man who set out to an unseen, insecure future, depending solely on God’s call, to leave his kin and possessions and go to an unknown  land. David in Psalm 51 clearly puts it “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.…” Abraham’s obedience stands as one of the greatest acts of obedience in recorded history.  
Holy Communion: An ongoing Act of obedience
When we participate in the Holy Communion, we are being obedient to Christ's command -  “Do this in remembrance of me.” (I Corinthians 11:24). Because of our sinful nature, before we participate in the Holy Communion, we have to prepare ourselves by confessing our sins. We are to share in all of Him - both in His tribulation and His victory (John 16:33). By participating in the Holy Communion, we are surrendering ourselves in obedience, and acknowledging the broken body of Christ and the blood that was shed to cleanse us of our sins. It is an occasion when we submit  ourselves to God in every aspect.

PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for your sacrifice on the cross for our sins and the eternal life that you gave us. Help us to fully surrender our lives in obedience to you. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Obeying God may mean giving up something we truly love. 


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