Valley Women's Encouragement Conference

🥖 🍷 Christ came in flesh to break bread WITH His people, and to break His body FOR them. He poured the wine at the table WITH them as one last object lesson of His blood He’d be pouring out FOR them in a matter of hours.

🥖 🍷 With & For. Two extremely important words. Jesus modelled life for us. He got down on His knees with a basin and washed filthy feet to show us what life should look like. Life is meant to be up close and personal… dirty and smelly and raw. He broke His body for us from day one and we have Scripture to pour over each day to learn how to pour ourselves out into the lives of others, striving to be like Christ.

🥖 🍷 One thing that is becoming louder and clearer these days is that you can’t break your body for people aren’t with. You can’t commune with a group of people and meet them in their hurt, despair, and confusion at 6 feet apart. You can’t rejoice with them and come alongside in fellowship at 6 feet either. You can’t distance yourself from people and wash their feet and pass them some nourishment. Jesus commanded full contact and immersion into our local fellowships. Anything less is not what Jesus modelled.

And so, in a day when the lesser authorities in our lives demand allegiance, we don’t ask first and foremost what our government says is ‘legal’. We first ask Christ what He requires of His body. We first ask God how to care for, feed, wash, and clothe His possession… all else is secondary.

When we see this ultimate object lesson of a cup and piece of bread we have to understand that God wasn’t making sure we wouldn’t forget to sit together and drink and chew… He was reminding us to go out and break ourselves and pour ourselves out for His body the way He showed throughout His earthly ministry. We aren’t supposed to just remember, we’re supposed to follow in His steps. We are supposed to go out and be WITH and live FOR others. Don’t settle for less. Strive to be like Christ, legal or not.

“Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah ~ Psalm 50:5

~Shannon