^“And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22:19-20)

It’s the time of the year to once again commemorate what the Lord our God has done for us.   It’s good to be reminded of what kind and how great is His love for you and me that He gave and sent His only Beloved and Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the world.  How deep is our Lord Jesus’ love for us “Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)

Marking and celebrating this season does not mean that we do not remember Him daily.  We are to.  It’s just that in the country where I live in, or maybe in yours, too, these days are highlighted and declared special holidays specifically for this awesome purpose.  Actually, we cannot help but put Him always in remembrance since He is resident in us by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  We live and move and have our being in Him.  Our life’s union with Him makes it impossible for us not to commune with Him every step of the way.  He is life and it is our lifestyle as believers to make Him and His life shine in and through us, but it takes our focus and awareness of His indwelling presence to walk in it.   

We are to remember that when we fall short of His glory, we can always run to Him and be saved, forgiven and restored.  The Blood of the Lamb of God washed away our sins and made us the righteousness of God in Him.  The finished work of Jesus at the Cross left nothing undone.  He dealt with our every shortcoming we can possibly think of.  He overcame all as a Man, anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, so that you and I, as men, are graced to overcome.  He called us more than conquerors in Christ alone.

We are to remember that when we are lost and confused, it is He Who finds us as we diligently seek Him and leads us the way in the light of His Word which is the lamp upon our feet and the light unto our path.  He was crowned with thorns to redeem our earth-bound thoughts into having the mind of Christ.  He gave us His armor, the helmet of salvation so that we can confidently think the thoughts that He has of us that are written in His Word and breathed by the Holy Spirit to make them living and livable.

Remember that when sickness and disease try to invade our bodies which He called to be temples of His Spirit, we can contend for healing and wholeness by the stripes that He bore in His body.  “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)  In Christ, divine health is our birthright.  Any opposition against our bodies had been paid for once and for all.  FEAR NOT!  ONLY BELIEVE!

Remember that everything that we touch prospers.  Why?  Because He blessed the work of our hands by the nails that He took on His hands.  There will always be a “super” added to our natural deeds no matter how undetectable they may seem.  Our touch becomes His touch because He fills and floods our entirety with His presence.

Remember that it is He Who leads and guides us with His eye.  Our steps are ordered by Him and He busies Himself with our every step.  He goes before us to straighten our crooked paths and paves our ways.  He makes our mountains low and raises our valleys high for us to have a highway.  There may be humps, bumps and holes along the way, but we can be of good cheer because He is always with us, never leaving us without support.  He is our ever present help in time of need.   His feet were nailed so we can be graced to follow where He leads us.

Remember that He became poor so that we, in His poverty, may become rich.  His Word is our provision.  His presence is our provision.  His wisdom is our provision.  His strength is our provision.  His promises are our provision.  His wealth is our provision.  His Word says, “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)

Remember, “What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are.” (1 John 3:1 MSG)  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

Jesus was the first born of God, the first born among many.  Before a woman gives birth, blood and water comes out as an indication of the imminency of birth.  When Jesus was pierced with a spear by one of the soldiers, immediately blood and water came out (John 19:34).  It is through Jesus Christ where our identity as sons and daughters of the Most High God is restored. He was the Seed sown to the earth that eventually and expectedly will produce a great harvest. In Genesis 1:11  NCV, it says, “Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant.”. He was the Seed.  You and I are part of the harvest that is of His kind.  

We were originally created according to His image and likeness, but our identity was tarnished, stained and blemished by man’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

But God is so rich in mercy and abounding in love, that in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the law when He prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”  Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:42-44)  The execution of what He spoke in obedience to the Father was done and finished at the Cross when He cried out, “IT IS FINISHED!”.  In Greek, “Tetelestai”, means COMPLETED, PAID IN FULL and PAYMENT REMITTED!

In Christ alone we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [neither release from sin and its guilt, nor cancellation of the merited punishment] (Hebrews 9:22 AMP). 

“For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].” (2 Corinthians 5:21 AMPC)

This is what we ought to remember that only IN CHRIST will we have the grace and strength to obey His leading because we have been restored by His great love. It is impossible by our own sheer will.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  Obedience is a fruit of our love-relationship with Him.  We obey Him because we love Him.

 ^“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

Our secured victory as His beloved sons and daughters was concretely established at the cross.  We no longer fight for victory of our identity, but we fight from the victory that Jesus won for us.  When we heed His voice and submit to what He is speaking to us, we win, for God always causes us to triumph in Christ. “So submit yourselves to the one true God and fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure.” (James 4:7 Voice)  This is the very nature of someone who is called a son or daughter of God, submitted and obedient to the Lord our God.  Just as Jesus is, we are.  You and I are empowered to be like Him, bearing His image as the Body of Christ in the earth, carrying His very presence, diffusing the fragrance of His love and demonstrating His glory and goodness, not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God resident in us.

“Keep your eyes on Jesus, Who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12:2-3 MSG)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for redeeming us from the snatch of the enemy and restoring us back into Your loving embrace. Thank You, Jesus, for saying “YES” even to the point of Your death, for the JOY that was set before You, seeing us reinstated as sons and daughters of the Most High God by the power of Your blood. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for unveiling our eyes and revealing to us the truth of how great is our Father’s love. Amen!

“God’s love is meteoric,
    His loyalty astronomic,
His purpose titanic,
    His verdicts oceanic.
Yet in His largeness
    nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,
    slips through the cracks.” (Psalm 36:5-6 MSG)