"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies...."(Ps 23:5a)
I awoke at 03:00 and this came to me, so I thought I would share it.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," it is there our Good Shepherd, Jesus, spreads a feast for you and me, and He invites us to dine with Him, right there, "in the presence of mine enemies." It is said of Field Marshal Montgomery that no matter how intense the battle, he would always partake of the British "afternoon tea." I wonder if that was unnerving to the enemy, that even though the threat was great he could not take away "the table." In today's early morning hours, the thought came to me that I could say to His Satanic Majesty, "So you are threatening me? Well, watch while I eat a great meal with my Good Shepherd."
"....The Lord Jesus On the same night in which He was betrayed took bread," On that night our Lord Jesus did not just "institute" Communion. He prepared, "a table before," them. It was a lavish Passover Meal, much food and drink. The darkest hour of the three and a half year sojourn with the disciples was upon them and our Lord. He was facing betrayal, mockery, beatings, torture, and the unimaginable, "even the death of the cross." Yet here He was, "a table before [Him] in the presence of my enemies." Jesus wrote the book on "No Fear."
A footnote here: John 20: 7 says, "And the napkin, that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself." I have heard explanations for this, but I read a piece about table manners which said that the purpose of the folded napkin is "to signal to servers that the person who is eating is not finished yet and will be returning. Once the person is finished, they will crumble the napkin." How about a good old Marine "OORAH!" here.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You for the promise that I need not worry or fret in any situation. I can sit down with and in You at Your Table. Amen.
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Read, "Obama's Rules for Revolution": www.apf327.blogspot.com
Unreached People Group: www.apfunreachedpeoples.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
