Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my meditation today is "The Key to Your Life." I read from Deuteronomy 30: 15-20 (NLT). All quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.
15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the LORD your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. Thisc is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
As the new generation of the Israelites prepare for the conquest of the Promised Land, Moses completes his review of the decrees and regulations of God with a final appeal, "Choose!" The choice is "between life and death, between blessings and curses." Moses is not impartial in his appeal; he emphatically encourages the people to choose life by "loving the Lord your God, obeying him and committing yourself firmly to him." I wholeheartedly agree with Moses. This choice was "the key to your life" then and is just as true today. Jesus makes this same emphatic appeal to us. In John 10:10, He says, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." And again, in John 11:25-26, He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die…” Jesus assures us that by choosing Him, we have the blessings of God in our lives now and in eternity with Him. To the one who has tried many "keys" in this life and is looking for answers, Jesus tells us He is the only key. In John 14:6, He says, "“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." When we assemble to partake of the bread and drink from the cup, we remember Jesus. He is able to offer us these promises because He paid for them with His own life. We also remember that Jesus had a choice to make—to go His own way or to do the will of the Father. He chose to do the will of His Father even though it cost Him His life. Let us daily make Jesus our choice. He is the key to your life. May heaven and earth be our witnesses. Let us pray.
Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. We are grateful, Abba, Father, that You love us and offer a choice to humankind. To accept Jesus as Lord and Savior is to choose to receive Your abundant blessings every day and the peace that comes from the knowledge that our future is in Your strong hands. We are grateful that Your Son, Jesus, chose to suffer and die on a cross to secure these good things for us. He loved us more than His own life. Thank-you, Abba, Father. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26: 26-28 (NLT).
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.
And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"
Until next time, from Numbers 6: 24-26 (NLT), "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."
Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories. The benefit of creating an account in one of the directory apps, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify or iHeart, is that you can add this podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. I do not receive compensation of any kind when you download and listen to my podcast. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!