Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Isaiah 25:1
O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

Today's meditation is on Isaiah 25:1. The Lord, my God will be exalted and praised by me today because of all the great things He has done. All these things have been planned by Him before the foundation of the world, and I can count on Him today and tomorrow and all the days after that, because God will do what He said He will do.

Today is Maundy Thursday, a Christian holiday that commemorates the day before Good Friday, which is the commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the apostles. Today is a great day to meditate and feed on Jesus Christ, the bread of life and the living water.

It is not possible to attain righteousness and salvation apart from Jesus Christ, "for all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God." God's holiness is not capable of being seen with even a hint of dirtiness. That one "white" lie, that one act of disobedience to parents, that breaking of the law by speeding, all of these are violations against the holiness of God, and all must be punished by the wrath of God, eternal separation and eternal punishment. This weight of sin and death is why tomorrow is called "Good Friday." Tomorrow is the day that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to take that penalty and weight of sin for me. But today, however, is the day that Jesus Christ ate the Passover meal with His disciples, and showed that it is only His body and blood that will atone for sin.

Mark 14:22-25
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

So here in Mark, is a beautiful passage that animates me and gives me life and hope. Jesus Christ, sitting at the Passover meal, shows that He is the one who must be broken to atone for sins. The bread that He broke shows how He must be broken because God's wrath and justice must be satisfied. So He took my sin in His flesh, and because of this His flesh was broken. Then, He shows that He is the fulfillment of all of the sacrifices that were to be made for the remission of sin. Just as the blood of the lamb must be spread on the door frame of the Passover, so His blood must be spilt and spread into my soul. My soul must be covered by His blood, because He was the lamb who was slain.

Truly, then He says, that He will die, and His body will be broken and His blood will be shed, but He gives hope to me, because He says that He will be resurrected, and one day I will see Him in heaven and eat this meal with Him there.

For now though, I will partake of the Lord's Supper and remember that because of my sin and my guilt Christ's body was crushed, bruised and broken. Because of my sin and guilt, Christ's blood was spilt and poured out.

Yet, oh soul, have hope, for this same Savior waits for me in heaven. So I, then, wait here on earth to meet Him in heaven. May my joy and hope be in Christ, and may I feed on Him today on this Maundy Thursday.

So, thus, with Isaiah, I say, oh soul, God is my God. He is my LORD, my Jehovah, my YHWH, the covenant faithful God who has fulfilled the promises of old. So, oh my soul, I exalt the Lord, I praise you this morning oh Jesus. You truly have done amazing and wonderful things. These things, even the death of Christ for my sins were planned from the foundation of the earth. Thus, I praise and exalt you, and exclaim to the world that you are truly faithful and sure. All the things that you promise me will happen.

So, I know that one day I will spend eternity with you oh God, and I will eat that Supper with you in heaven. May my life be one of devotion and praise because of the work that you have done in my heart.

Hallelujah! Praise Jehovah! Praise the Christ, Jesus!