Joyful Monday Morning Friends,
On this Monday, I want to talk about “The Meal That Heals—a Covenant Meal.Meal.” Wow! God is looking for ways for us to walk in the healing He has already given us. To understand the significance of this meal, we must first understand the covenant meal that God established with the Israelites. The night before the Israelites left Egypt, they followed the Lord’s instructions for Passover. Each family took a lamb and inspected it for three days to ensure it had no blemishes. They brought the lamb into their homes, sacrificed it, and used hyssop to apply its blood over the lintel of the door and on both sides of the doorposts. They were instructed to consume the lamb completely or burn whatever remained. They could not leave any of it over until the next morning.
When the Israelites left Egypt the following morning, something remarkable happened. Every single Israelite, young and old, left strong and ready for the journey. Psalm 105:37 declares, “He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.” The word feeble carries the idea of weakness, stumbling, falling, or failing. Think about that! God brought His people out of bondage, and there was none feeble among them. This is a picture of the provision and wholeness God desired for His people as they walked out of Egypt and into freedom.
The Promise of a Better Covenant
God’s covenant with His people included these promises: “I will be your God, and you will be My people. I will write My law upon your heart. Everyone will know Me, from the least to the greatest. I will remember your sins no more. I am the Lord who heals you.” Jeremiah 31:34 says, “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Hebrews 8:6 tells us that Jesus is the Mediator of a better covenant established on better promises. Hebrews 8:10–12 further explains that God will put His laws in our minds and write them on our hearts, be our God, and remember our sins and lawless deeds no more. Hebrews 10:16–18 confirms this promise and declares that where there is remission of sins, there is no longer an offering for sin. We have a better covenant, founded on better promises!
The New Covenant Meal That Heals
Now, let’s get into the new covenant meal that heals. We know this meal as the Lord’s Supper, but it is also called Communion, Holy Communion, or the Eucharist. In First Corinthians 11:23–26, Paul explains that the Lord Jesus, on the same night He was betrayed, took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner, He took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” Paul then tells us that whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Communion is not simply a religious activity we perform during a service or once a month. It is a remembrance of Jesus and what He accomplished for us at the cross.
Paul continues in First Corinthians 11:27–30 by teaching us to examine ourselves and discern the Lord’s body. An unworthy manner is not the same as being an unworthy person. We are not unworthy to take Communion; we must simply be careful not to take it in an unworthy manner. Too often, Communion has become a ritual, and we forget why we are taking it and what it represents. We eat and drink without discerning the Lord’s body. We are called to remember Jesus, not to make the meal a remembrance of our sins. When we fail to understand the significance of His body and blood, we can miss the benefits of what He has already done for us. Paul warns that many were weak and sick, and many had fallen asleep because they were not properly discerning the Lord’s body. We should never underestimate what happened at the cross. His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins, and His body was given for our healing. Colossians 1:14, in The Passion Translation, says, “For in the Son all our sins are canceled, and we have the release of redemption through his very blood.” Colossians 1:12 reminds us that our hearts can soar with joyful gratitude because God has made us worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us.
Remembering Our Inheritance
So, what happens when we take Communion in a worthy manner? We embrace the promises of strength, health, wholeness, and long life. To discern His body, we must understand what it represents. The bread represents the body of Jesus, given for us. Remember the Syrophoenician woman who came to Jesus because she wanted her daughter healed. Although she was outside the covenant, she persisted in asking Him for help. Jesus spoke of healing as the children’s bread. Healing is part of the new covenant, and it belongs to you. The power is not in the act of eating the bread or drinking the cup by itself; the power is in remembering Jesus and receiving by faith what He has already accomplished for us.
I want to end with this story: There was a twelve-year-old girl in Scotland during a time when the British opposed those who worshiped outside the practices of the Church of England. A group known as the Covenanters gathered early in the morning to take Communion together. British soldiers patrolled the Highlands, and those caught going to these gatherings could be killed. One morning, soldiers found a young girl walking up a hill and demanded to know where she was going. If she lied, she would be untruthful; if she told them the truth, she could expose the others and put their lives in danger. The Lord gave her wisdom, and she answered…….
“My older brother has died, and I am going to hear the reading of the will to claim my part in the inheritance.” What a powerful picture of what we are doing when we properly discern the Lord’s body and blood! We are remembering the One who died for us and recognizing the inheritance He has made available to us.
As your heart is ready, take Communion, remembering Jesus, His body, His blood, His forgiveness, and the healing and wholeness He has provided through the new covenant.
Remember, you are Loved, you are Righteous and you are His!