Thursday, May 22, 2014

May 23, 2014

"For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying,“This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes." I Corinthians 11:23-26

The big idea in these verses is, memories are so powerful they can shape the reality you live in if you allow them to. Memories are one part event and one part emotion. When the event is traumatic enough and the emotions painful enough, and when they are repressed, rehearsed   or relived, they can define your life.       

For example:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Mark Twain said, "A cat who sits on a hot stove won't sit on a hot stove again! But it won't sit on a cold one either!"

A painful experience will attach a bad memory to your conscious mind that will process into fear or caution the next you face that situation.

Some painful memories reside in the subconscious and manifest themselves in the form of phobias or irrational fears.

For instance:

I have stated that I have a fear of heights, but I really think it is a fear of falling because I can sit by the window in a jetliner 35,000 feet above the ground and it doesn't bother me at all. But standing at the edge of a cliff near the Blue Ridge Parkway or on a roller coaster (Scooby Coaster included) it's SWEATY PALMS time!

Where did that come from? I could never figure it out. That is until my Mother explained that when I was just a few months old - much too young to roll over - she turned away for a moment while I was laying on my changing table and I rolled off the table falling to the floor and hitting the toilet on the way down. (I know, that explains some things, right?).

I don't consciously remember that happening but does my sub-conscious?  Probably!

Because I don't want subconscious fears defining my life, I defiantly boarded the Scooby Coaster with reckless abandon and rode it - TWICE!

Whatever your painful memories, whether conscious or not, you don't have to allow them to define your life nor do you have to give into the fear. You can learn the difference between a hot stove and a cold one!

Jesus calls you away from your fears and phobias when He calls you to Communion! Gathering in His presence surrounded by His people to remember His love, His grace, His atoning death for your sin, and His promise that there is a perfect painless place in your future!

When you take the bread and the cup and enter into His suffering, He steps into your pain!