In this blog, I want to share with you a simple three-step process for how to take communion. Respecting and honoring God with communion is not reserve reserved for Sunday or special days like Easter. I want to encourage that any time you take communion to remember and to practice these three things.
Now, step number one is to REFLECT. Oftentimes, we don’t take enough time to actually reflect on the sacrifice, the suffering, and the pain that Jesus Christ went through on the cross to pay for our sins. As a matter of fact, Jesus said, “As often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, do it in remembrance of me.” Think, remember and reflect on Jesus!
So, for just a few moments while you’re reading this blog and every single time you take communion, I want you to start reflecting. I want you to reflect on the fact that they stripped Jesus of his clothes and humiliated him. I want you to reflect on the fact that they took a crown of thorns and pressed it into his forehead; the thorns went into his head and the blood came streaming down. I want you to reflect on the fact that they took whips and whipped Jesus, they took rods and beat him, they took a spear and pierced him in his side, they took nails and nailed his hands and feet to the cross. Simply take a few moments to reflect on the sacrifice, the suffering, and the pain that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ went through on the cross for you and for me.
And, my friends, if we do that first step, it will naturally lead to the second step.
The second step, which is not only to reflect but also to REPENT. My friends, whenever we take communion, this is a great opportunity for us to take a close look at our own lives and see if there’s anything standing between us and God or us and others. See if there’s anything that we’ve said, anything that we thought, anything that we’ve done that might be offensive to the God or hurtful to other people. Repent means to ‘change our mind.’ We need change our mind about the wrong things we are doing; we need to let go, we need to forgive and we need to receive God’s forgiveness, committing in our heart that we will respond to Jesus’s great love for us by loving Him back and putting His will in front our our own.
Getting our hearts right with God before communion is so important. Paul actually tells the people of Corinth, in Corinthians chapter 11…
“So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.”
The good news Paul also passed on is this…
“If we would examine ourselves (there’s that phrase again), we would not be judged by God in this way.”
If you do these first two steps, then it’s going to ultimately lead you to the third and final step.
The third step is to REJOICE. And, my friends, this is the time for all of us to shout with joy. This is the time for us to celebrate. This is the time for us to thank God and rejoice because God could have left us in our sin. God could have left you in your mess. But He did not! God came and loved you and I enough to die on the cross and pay the price for our sins, for the sins that He didn’t even commit, and to transform our lives so that we are not the people that we used to be.
My friends, this is giving us every reason to simply rejoice and thank God. So, the next time you take communion, we need to reflect, also to repent, and then finally we need to rejoice. And here comes my final thought.
You don’t have to wait until communion Sunday in order to take communion. You can do this in your home. You can do this with your spouse, you can do this with your children, you can do it DAILY. And it is a powerful experience, it’s becoming part of the powerful movement of the Holy Ghost whenever you are spending time with God and share His Last Supper either by yourself or in a small group of people or with loved ones. Do it often and let me know how God meets and blesses you.
What are your thoughts about communion? Are there any other tips that you would want to add? Let me know, “The daily communion blogger”, in the comment section below and let’s talk about it. If you found this blog helpful, feel free to share it with a friend.
God bless you.
