He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him

 Abide in Him and He in you:

 

John 6:56

56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

 

            Some believe that during Communion the elements become Jesus’ flesh and blood. Let’s not argue about whether that’s true or not. Jesus gave His flesh and His blood for us. (The Old Testament talks about the life being in the blood.) Some say that we have a bloody religion. Without Jesus’ blood, there is no Christianity. Without Him giving His flesh for us, there is no hope for us for the future. It’s just here and now. If we continually partake of that giving of His flesh and blood for us, we do abide in Him. If we push it aside, we take the focus off Him and place it on ourselves. We must continually live in Him.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Some people would only want to be in Me when it is convenient or when they need My help; but I want people who will want to stay in Me continually. This comes from wanting Me no matter what the cost. Will it cost you convenience? Will it cost you approval? Will it cost you your life? If you would abide in Me, it will cost you your very soul; for I only want those that will give all for Me as I gave all for them. This is My life. This is My flesh.”

 

            43. I continually abide in Him and He in me.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest

 Come to Him:

Matthew 11:28

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

 

John 6:35

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

 

            “The world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.” Those are the words from a song. The world doesn’t give anything to anyone. It may let you have a taste of something, but it will never satisfy you. The rest that the world talks about is only physical and/or mental. The rest Jesus is talking about is much more than that. It’s spiritual along with mental and physical. With the world, there is always something out there ready to pounce. With God, there is total peace. With the world, it’s rest as long as everything is going my way. With God, it’s rest despite what’s coming my way.

            Our only hunger is for righteousness, never for the physical. We thirst only to know Him better; not for water. His food and His drink satisfy forever.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "There is much concern today about what should you eat and what should you drink. There is much concern for the safety of all that goes within you. There is no fear in what I give to you. There is no concern for the safety of all that is Mine. You shall have food more than enough to sustain you in My realm. You shall have more than enough to drink with Me. What I give to you shall never run dry and shall never lose its taste. What I give you is what will draw all men unto Me. It is the Life within the Bread that draws all men and it is the Life within the Water that will sustain all men. This is that which I give to you to share with all men.”

 

            42. I come to Him and find everything I need to satisfy my innermost needs … rest; bread of life; a river flowing out of my innermost being.

For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

 Entered Heaven for us:

Hebrews 9:24

24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

             We could not enter Heaven on our own. We had no right to do so. Because of our sinful nature, we were not holy and so were forbidden to enter. The high priests were able to enter the holy of holies once a year, but not without sacrifice. They had to offer the sacrifice every year. Also, they couldn’t stay in the holy of holies. Jesus entered the true Holy of Holies … Heaven itself. He offered one sacrifice, Himself, one time. When He entered, He remained forever. He appears in God’s presence to ever make intercession for us. As He stands before the Father, we in Him also stand before the Father. One day we too will literally stand before the Father. That is part of our destiny.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I did not go through all that I did so that you might have life on earth. I did it so that you could also enter into the Holy of Holies within the veil. You cannot go there without Me. You had to have Me pave the way for you. Now that I have, you can enter there too. Come with Me into the Holy of Holies. You shall see what I have seen and go where I have gone. There is peace and joy there forever more.”

 

            41. Jesus has entered Heaven to appear before God on my behalf.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.

 What Jesus does for us:

            Redemption:

Ephesians 1:7-8

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

8 which He lavished on us.

 

            When someone pawns an item, he/she has an opportunity to redeem it at some point in the future. There is a price to pay for that redemption that is more than the person received for it. If the person has the money to redeem it, he/she must decide if the item is important enough to warrant paying the amount received plus the “interest”.

            In a sense, Adam “pawned” us to Satan. God had to decide whether it was worth the cost to redeem us. Actually He decided we were worth it before time began. The redemption price … the blood of His only begotten Son. To redeem us would be extremely costly. God became man and lived on the earth. He then had to lay down His life (no one could take it from Him). Jesus was willing to come and to shed His blood for our redemption. We are pawned no more!

            This redemption through His blood obtained the forgiveness of all our trespasses (past, present, and future). This comes about by His grace. We cannot earn it. None of us is worthy enough to shed our blood for our own forgiveness, let alone everyone else’s.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "There is nothing that you have done or ever could do that I would not forgive you. I did not redeem you from some sins and not others. You are complete in My love, and I have desired that you share that love with others. There is nothing that My blood cannot cover. There is no sin that you have committee that will turn Me away from you.”

 

            40. I have been redeemed by grace through the blood of Jesus. I am pawned no longer!