Concerning the broken bread, the apostle Paul reminded believers that we should feed and care for our bodies, just as Christ cares for the Church, “For we are members of His Body, of His flesh and of His bones” (Eph. 5:30). Again, he wrote, “Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Cor. 12:27).
      Why did God allot two great Days or 2,000 years before Christ would come again? The span of time in the mystery-plan has been for the purpose of calling out His Church and for building His living Temple of living Stones. In His infinite knowledge, God knew that it would take that amount of time to complete the process.
       Paul received this revelation of the Body of Christ directly from the Lord (see Gal. 1:11-12). He also made this same claim concerning the Lord’s Supper.  “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’ ” (1 Cor. 11:23-25).
       What was instituted at the Last Supper is what we call the sacrament of communion. The singular loaf of bread represents Christ’s flesh and blood body. During the ceremony, it is broken into individual pieces and distributed to each of the participants. Each participant receives and consumes the piece given to them.
The other sacrament we practice is water baptism. It is how we identify ourselves as being in Christ. We are washed in His sacrificial blood; we arise out of the water to new life in Him. When we eat the communion bread, in a figurative sense the bread becomes a part of us. And we become a part of His Body, the Bread of Life broken on our behalf. Paul must have realized that Christ’s body was not only broken literally for them, but broken into them.
          Likewise, the wine or fruit juice is distributed to each participant. When we drink it, in a figurative sense we partake of the blood of Jesus, becoming “blood brothers and sisters” with Him. Since the life is in the blood, we take His life in us. Paul taught that we are all made to drink into one Spirit. In short, communion is a tangible, physical reminder that we are not only “in Christ,” we also have been saved and healed through His broken body.

      Jesus confirmed that the good news of the Kingdom of God would be preached to both Jews and Gentiles alike when He said, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” John 10:16.
         The Chronos Lesson: Tucked into this confirmation is a crucial truth: His sheep hear His voice. The fact that they do leads to further confirmation of a truth that is absolutely necessary for every sheep to grasp. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one” (John 10:27-30).
            How do we become one of His sheep who cannot be snatched away from Him? It’s simple. Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25). Jesus goes on to explain that to believe in Him is to believe that He is God’s Anointed One, sent by God the Father, to bring salvation and eternal life. Both the dead in Christ and those who are alive when Jesus returns shall receive resurrection life and live forevermore.
            We live in what has been dubbed the Information Age. On the one hand, it is useful to have access to so much information at our fingertips. On the other hand, it can result in information overload. Or maybe FOMO—fear of missing out of ear-tickling information. The problem with this accessibility is that it comes with a certain sense of anonymity, which in turn, means we don’t always know the source of the information or if that source is truthful.
           But that is not what is important here. What is important is that when we publicly confess our belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior, our spirit is made new. Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us that “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
          This sealing serves two purposes. First, the Spirit within is like the escrow account when purchasing a house. It is the guarantee that at the appointed time, the buyer will receive the purchased item—in this case, our inheritance with Christ and being part of Father’s household. We will experience our sonship and firstborn inheritance fully—spirit, soul, and body—at the rapture.
            Second, the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. He is the HOLY Spirit. What is holy cannot co-exist with that which is unholy. Since the Holy Spirit abides within our spirit, we are holy. Our spirit cannot sin. It is sealed so that it cannot be corrupted. We can only sin through the lust of our flesh—our unrenewed soul and body (1 John 2:16).
           When a believer sins, we are not condemned because our right-standing with God is not based on what we do but on what Jesus has already done on the cross. Our righteousness is a gift from God that we receive by grace and “open up” or experience through faith. Sin or lack thereof doesn’t determine our relationship with God.
         Yet sin does impact us in two ways. First, it opens the door to Satan. Once the door is ajar, you can bet that the dirty liar will insert condemnation and lies through the opening. He will likely bring a heaping helping of shame, guilt, and self-deprecation. If we don’t have a full revelation of God’s love for us, it can undermine our trust in God and make it hard for us to receive the promises that belong to us. “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor. 1:20-22).
       Second, sin casts a shadow on our ability to be Christ’s ambassadors in this life. Like a lantern that has been dragged through the mud, the light it casts is dimmed. Sin muddies the outward container of His light in us. It makes it hard for others to see the difference that Christ makes in our lives.
       The combined effect is that often times our heart—our unrenewed thoughts and emotions—condemn us. We may even wonder about our salvation and if we will be ready when the rapture comes. Or will we run and hide like Adam and Eve did?
         Rest assured, for the greater One lives within us (1 John 4:4). What difference does this make? “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God” (1 John 3:20-21). Do you see this? It doesn’t matter what are flesh tells us. God knows we’ve blown it. But He is greater than all that! God knows our spirit is sealed and incorruptible. As for our sins, the blood of Jesus covers them, so God remembers them no more! In effect, God sees us through the blood-red colored glasses of Jesus.
         When the Day of the Lord dawns and we see the Bright and Morning Star appear in the heavens, not one single person who will be raptured will be perfect. We have not yet received our full redemption. We are all still on our journey with Christ in renewing our minds and training our bodies to line up with God’s Word.
         Yet, when it is time for our “guarantee” to be realized at the rapture, all those who are His will hear the Great Shepherd’s voice call to us, “Shine!” And we shall be instantly glorified, changed, and perfected into His perfect image in a twinkling of an eye. He knows those who are His!  Every believer can be thankful for this truth. 

      The sixth chapter of John is another one of those mind-blowing chapters. It begins with the miraculous feeding of a huge multitude with five loaves of bread and two fish. Scripture records that there were 5,000 men, not counting the women and children.
        Then Jesus walks on the water to get to the disciples’ boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. It doesn’t take long for the people to figure out that Jesus and His crew have gone back to the other side of the sea. So they follow suit and sail across to the other side as well.
       They want to know how Jesus is able to perform such miracles. They want to see more. So they demand, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’ ” (John 6:30-31). A sign? The feeding of the multitude wasn’t enough for you? You see, signs are not enough. Many, many people witnessed the signs that Jesus did, but they did not all believe.
         Listen to Jesus’ answer. “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from Heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from Heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.” They’re minds are preoccupied with the things of this world. They want to eat this kind of bread always. Apparently, they have forgotten how their ancestors got tired of the manna.
         Jesus tries to shift their thinking to their spiritual lives because He knows many are starving for lack of spiritual food. “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe” (Jn. 6:35-36).  
          The Chronos Lesson: It is another play on words.  In Jesus’ time, bread was the staple food. Certainly, the Rabbi couldn’t be talking about eating Him, could He? More on that to follow. Jesus explained one aspect of this word picture when Satan tried to tempt Him. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ ” (Matt. 4:4). Where do we find the words God has spoken? In the Scriptures.
          The Bible is not like any other book. In its original form the Bible was “God-breathed,” which means God gave the writers the inspired words to write. Those words were saturated with the God-kind of life. Since each human being is uniquely designed by God—as evident in our fingerprints—He inspired the words to also fit each writer’s distinct personality. When we come to the Bible with a humble spirit and an open heart, its words can spark life in us. They can feed our spirit, sustain us in difficult times, reform our corrupted soul, and heal our broken bodies.
          We have often stated in our blogs that we need to see both the chronos times and the kairos signs to get the complete view of the end-time events. In practice, however, most end-time ministries focus on the kairos signs. They look at the events happening around the globe and compare them to what they see in the Scriptures. Things get messed up because it is not the full view. They’re ignoring the chronos times delineated throughout God’s Word.
        The people in Jesus’ time kept asking for signs because they overlooked the specific time-related passages that foretold when the Messiah would come. They failed to take note of the pre-determined length of time that would pass. If they had paid attention to God’s Word, they would have recognized the time of His visitation.
        The same is true in our own time. The reason there is so much confusion concerning the end-times is that we’ve failed to take note of the appointed times stated in the Scriptures. We’ve ignored the “one thing” that Peter told us to remember when looking at the end-times.  That is, how God counts the passing of time. “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).
         For the most part, the Church has ignored the chronological passing of time in terms of God’s plan of redemption as expressed in the great Week of seven 1,000-year Days. And then we wonder why there is so much division and disunity?  

        Sheep are notoriously dumb animals. They’re right up there with lemmings. Driven by strong biological urges, lemmings migrate in large groups and may choose to cross a body of water in search of new habitat. Sadly, if the water is an ocean or a wide river, many drown by following one another out of habit.
         So I suppose it shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus likens the masses as sheep without a shepherd. Or sheep that follow after a strange shepherd who disguises himself as someone who actually cares about them —namely, Satan.
      “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:1-4).
       Jesus goes on to explain that He is the door of the sheep—the way into the Kingdom of God. “I  am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (vs. 7-9).
        How can we tell the true shepherd from the imposter? Verse 10 gives us what I call the spiritual litmus test. Do you remember those small strips of colored paper that changed color depending on if they were dipped into an acid or a base? “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
      Satan the thief loves to deceive. He brings with him stuff that looks pleasant and even fun, but ultimately brings sorrow and leads to death. A good shepherd gives his life for his sheep. The True Shepherd gave His live for the sheep. There’s no greater manifestation of the depth of someone’s love than if they give up their life for another.
        If you want a glimpse of what laying down His life looked like for the sheep, check out Isaiah 53. It is at once a horrid depiction of what the accumulation of sin in mankind looks like and a precious picture of the kind of life we have through Jesus our Lord.
        The Chronos Lesson: Romans 5:6 says that while “we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Jesus knew what lay before Him. “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (John 10:17-18).
      Jesus “took His life again” through resurrection. He was the firstborn from the dead (Rev. 1:5). Since He is the firstborn, we automatically know that there are more to be born from the dead. tells us who else shall receive resurrection. “And He is the Head of the Body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18).  Yes, it is His Body of believers, the Church, His Bride.
       This mystery relationship of the Head and the Body as one new Man confirms our identity in Christ. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ 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, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Rom. 8:14-17).
         We shall be glorified together when the Body is complete at the end of this age at the rapture. This unique, one-time-only offer only covers the two great Days of Today and Tomorrow (the Church Age). “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:9-10). As the Head, Christ has the preeminence. But He will be completed on the Third Day of Perfection when we are gathered together with Him. It’s a mystery beyond what we can dare ask or think!
         Of course, this same time period of the two great Days of Today and Tomorrow period is marked by tribulation, persecution, and suffering for the sake of Christ. Yet when we consider the “rest of the story,” we know “that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18)!  

       Needless to say, it didn’t take long for news about Jesus to spread. Some people came for the miracles. Others came to hear what the latest new rabbi on the block had to say. As we’ve already seen, when Jesus went into the Temple to teach, some labeled His teaching as blasphemy. Other Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters [the Old Testament scrolls], having never studied?”
        Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him” (Jn. 7:14-18).
       Who is this Man, indeed! God the Father calls Him the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2). To the Samaritan woman at the well, He is living water. Yet that living water is meant to refresh many. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39).
        At yet another visit to the Temple, the religious leaders brought a woman caught in adultery to see what Jesus would say in terms of the Law. One has to wonder why the leaders didn’t also bring the man, since it takes two to tango—if you get my drift. You probably know this story, too. Jesus kneels down and writes something on the dusty floor of the Temple court. Scripture doesn’t reveal what He wrote, but it did prick the leaders’ conscience. None of them dared to cast the first stone. “And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’ Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life’ ” (John 8:11-12).
        That light is meant to change how we live. “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life’ ” (John 12:46). That light of life in us is meant to be shared. “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness” (Luke 11:33-35).
       The Chronos Lesson: Note the connection between the condition of the eye and the lamp’s usefulness. The condition of the eye depends on how much we are focused on Christ. This doesn’t mean we ignore the lawlessness, deceit, and darkness around us in these last times. It is to be expected as the end of this age comes to a close. In that sense, it shouldn’t shake us. We know how it all turns out!
       Yet our ability to share the light of our testimony with others can be overshadowed when we focus our attention on the darkness. We don’t ignore it. Instead, we acknowledge a higher truth:  light always dispels darkness. Even a little match in a darkened room will allow you to lead others out of the darkness. But if we allow the world’s condition to overshadow our lit match, we won’t be much help.
       Note, too, that light isn’t meant to bring condemnation to those who are lost in darkness. They don’t need to be told how dark their hearts are. Deep down inside, they know, even if they try to suppress in public (Rom. 1:18-20). There is a reason why faith, hope, and love abide (1 Cor. 13:13). People in darkness need to see the reason for our faith, and how it makes a difference in our lives. Those who have lost hope need to see the reason for our hope. And those who feel unloved and rejected need to see the power of Christ’s love in us. They need to see these things, and not just hear us talk about them. To the world, seeing is believing.
       We must remember that even though we have a reborn spirit, our soul needs to be renewed according to the Word. Our thinking and our emotions have to be trained. The only way we can be light and quench the thirst of others is to walk by the Spirit instead of our fleshly, unrenewed reactions. The best way to be alert to the leading and empowering of the Spirit in us is to spend time fellowshipping with the Spirit.  How do we do this? By reading and meditating on God’s Word. Through praise and worship that exalts God. By praying in the Spirit, which by the way, is one of our pieces of spiritual armor.
       There is an interesting passage in the book of Jude about these times. “But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit” (verses 17-19).
       The next verse begins with the word “but.” It is a conjunction. It joins the idea being expressed in the verses above with the next few verses. It’s easy to miss the connection. But we must make it because it shows us the power of praying in the Spirit, especially at this time.
        “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (verses 20-23). Praying in the Spirit builds up our awareness of the spiritual realm. It makes it easier to get a word of knowledge and wisdom as to how to answer people. In some cases, the word that will capture their heart is one of compassion; in other cases it is a powerful word of truth that will jar them loose from their deception.