In the Fire Light: John 6:26-27 Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal."
Missionary friends from YWAM have a saying "To know the Lord and to make Him known." A team was finishing up their tour and on their last stop they visited the base in our area.
I was invited to come and share about The Miracle of CommunionFire during their stay. We had a wonderful time of sharing and then we broke bread. During the discussion it came up that what should missionaries do when faced with not having bread or wine to share communion?
We discussed it and shared stories from the field about those who had only potatoes and goats milk at a farm in Romania and others who had substituted the elements of faith with something other than bread and wine. That was just it. Whatever is "bread & wine" to a people group invariably become the elements of faith when needed to be.
On the following day the mission team was preparing to serve the hungry and homeless. Before heading out they were inspired to 'break bread'. All they had were yams and water! So they shared CommunionFire with yams and water. Jesus says "Don't work for food that perishes but receive the food Jesus will give you, the food which endures to eternal life".
The same Lord who gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for morning, the garment of praise for the spirit of depression has the power to transform our lives when we encounter Him. It is good to hold to the example of bread and wine but we can approach His Table with faith to receive whatever He provides to be His Body and Blood. Consider the fact that the meal calls for wine not grape juice. The practice of using grape juice is a bit of a stretch from the scriptural prescription of using wine. We understand that there are reasons some substituted wine with grape juice but remember Jesus began His ministry changing the water into wine, not grape juice. He is the miracle worker in the elements of Communion too whether we choose grape juice over wine, only have water or goat's milk at our disposal or actually have wine!
When we experience the encounter with Jesus in CommunionFire it is because we come to Him to eat the food that endures! Jesus is the bread! He is the bread of life. When He invites us to His Table He also provides the natural meal that leads us to our encounter with Him. The Body of Christ was in this situation the 'yam of life'. The Blood of Christ, was the 'water'. This is how the Lord provided for that missionary team to share His life and presence in Communion. Once the Communion had been received then CommunionFire happened!
The bread of life we handle is Jesus. The cup we hold and drink from is His physical sign to us that the New Covenant of His grace is something so real we can touch it. The wine we drink is real food! We handle, taste and eat what He provides. When we do a greater reality is unveiled before us. The Communion leads us into the CommunionFire where we are nourished from His presence. We feed on the glory He reveals. We taste and 'see' the Lord is good! Jesus is the miracle of CommunionFire. His glory is the fire and it was revealed to the mission team through the yams and the water that Jesus provided!
The yams and the water is not a picture you are soon to forget. Let us always keep in mind that His desire is to have us feed on His real presence in CommunionFire through the miracle of the meal He provides.
Missionary friends from YWAM have a saying "To know the Lord and to make Him known." A team was finishing up their tour and on their last stop they visited the base in our area.
I was invited to come and share about The Miracle of CommunionFire during their stay. We had a wonderful time of sharing and then we broke bread. During the discussion it came up that what should missionaries do when faced with not having bread or wine to share communion?
We discussed it and shared stories from the field about those who had only potatoes and goats milk at a farm in Romania and others who had substituted the elements of faith with something other than bread and wine. That was just it. Whatever is "bread & wine" to a people group invariably become the elements of faith when needed to be.
On the following day the mission team was preparing to serve the hungry and homeless. Before heading out they were inspired to 'break bread'. All they had were yams and water! So they shared CommunionFire with yams and water. Jesus says "Don't work for food that perishes but receive the food Jesus will give you, the food which endures to eternal life".
The same Lord who gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for morning, the garment of praise for the spirit of depression has the power to transform our lives when we encounter Him. It is good to hold to the example of bread and wine but we can approach His Table with faith to receive whatever He provides to be His Body and Blood. Consider the fact that the meal calls for wine not grape juice. The practice of using grape juice is a bit of a stretch from the scriptural prescription of using wine. We understand that there are reasons some substituted wine with grape juice but remember Jesus began His ministry changing the water into wine, not grape juice. He is the miracle worker in the elements of Communion too whether we choose grape juice over wine, only have water or goat's milk at our disposal or actually have wine!
When we experience the encounter with Jesus in CommunionFire it is because we come to Him to eat the food that endures! Jesus is the bread! He is the bread of life. When He invites us to His Table He also provides the natural meal that leads us to our encounter with Him. The Body of Christ was in this situation the 'yam of life'. The Blood of Christ, was the 'water'. This is how the Lord provided for that missionary team to share His life and presence in Communion. Once the Communion had been received then CommunionFire happened!
The bread of life we handle is Jesus. The cup we hold and drink from is His physical sign to us that the New Covenant of His grace is something so real we can touch it. The wine we drink is real food! We handle, taste and eat what He provides. When we do a greater reality is unveiled before us. The Communion leads us into the CommunionFire where we are nourished from His presence. We feed on the glory He reveals. We taste and 'see' the Lord is good! Jesus is the miracle of CommunionFire. His glory is the fire and it was revealed to the mission team through the yams and the water that Jesus provided!
The yams and the water is not a picture you are soon to forget. Let us always keep in mind that His desire is to have us feed on His real presence in CommunionFire through the miracle of the meal He provides.