As we come to this Table, week after week, we know that the Lord is feeding us. And we should take note of all the different ways Scripture talks about the feeding of us. In the famous passage at the end of the gospel of John, where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loved …
A Dime-Store Ozymandias
For the last two thousand years, the Christian Church has been toppling tyrants. This started when the kings of the earth and the rulers of the former age banded together and decided that they were going to throw off the Messiah’s chains. They had Him in the grasp, and so they killed Him. But Jesus …
Little Grace, Great Grace
Growing in grace is like climbing a tree, as the Puritan William Bridge once observed. When you want to grow in grace, what do you do? Well, you start with the lowest branches, those which are close to the ground. This is another way of saying that you start where you are. There are doctrines …
Elms and Olives
We have here gathered around the Table of the Lord. As the bride of Christ, we are like a fruitful vine, growing around the sides of His house. As the children of God, we are like olive shoots, growing up around His Table. We often come here, mindful of how weak and small we are. …
Like Being Waterboarded
When we come to this Table, we are often mindful of our own weakness. This is good. We are weak, and we know that we must be made strong. One of the of things God does for us to make us strong is that He feeds us. But God does not just feed us, He …
Why Did You Not Believe?
Jesus used to ask His disciples “why” questions. When they were afraid of their boat sinking, and Christ was asleep in the boat, He asked them why they were afraid (Matt. 8:26). When they were anxious about not having brought bread, He asked them why (Matt. 16:8). When Peter began to sink into the water …
Gospel Begins With Promises
When the Lord Jesus preached His famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, He began with the Beatitudes. Too many people read these as though they were a set of impossible hurdles. But Jesus was beginning His message as God loves to begin all His gospel work—with promises. We are told in Scripture that the …
Invincible Grace
Eating in the presence of God is a glorious privilege. Drinking in the presence of God is a glorious privilege. But God is not just present with us in the person of Christ at this Table. He is also present around this Table, in the hearts of all His saints, and He is present in …
Weak Faith Staggers Under Promises
God promises to meet us here in this meal, enabling us to partake of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Note that we chew and swallow by faith, and the blessing that comes to us is in accordance with our faith. Grace comes to us through means, means like bread and wine, but the catalytic …
Small But Significant
Solomon tells us that there are four creatures that are apparently insignificant, but yet are extraordinarily wise. This is one of God favorite devices in telling His stories. Those four creatures are the ant, the rock badger, the locust, and the lizard (Prov. 30:24ff). Despite their smallness, they provide food and shelter for themselves, showing …