The simple unleavened loaf of the Passover Feast was always without leaven. Leaven often symbolizes sin in the Scriptures (1 Cor. 5:6-8). His solemn declaration: "This is my body which is given for you. This eat in remembrance of me."

His sinless life was given as a sacrifice, a ransom, as the price paid to redeem us from all iniquity -- those iniquities which hopelessly entangle and keep us from the our Heavenly Father. Our Lord did not want us to forget why he died lest it be in vain!

The simple fruit of the vine, the unfermented juice of the grape. (It would seem incongruous to argue for fermentation here while accepting the powerful simile of the unleavened bread.) As he instructed them to sup of this cup he said, "This is my blood of the New Testament which was shed for you. This do in remembrance of me."

These two basic elements are common to all men. That which is physically required is minimal. The profound significance behind the simple act is complex and much more difficult to appreciate. Everyone must grow toward greater spiritual discernment if he is to properly participate in this spiritual feast.

We eat the Lord's supper by faith. Without faith, we cannot partake of the Lord's table. The faith required is no mere blind desire to do good. The necessary faith comes from a knowledge of the word of God. There must be study, intent and obedience manifested in the individual soul. It must be a Bible faith.

The simple act of eating and drinking can be done without faith. It can be done even by one who is not a Christian. But be sure to note: what is properly done by the Christian is related to what the Lord has done for him. Then, and only then, does the simple communion service become spiritually useful to the participant. The alien sinner and the wayward Christian is unable to receive the intended benefit.

There is a unique, built-in, exclusiveness in the Lord's supper. The closer one lives to the Christ, the more meaningful this act of worship becomes. Merely going through the motions each week robs one of the intended blessings.

The church (penitent, baptized believers) assembled together to eat the Lord's supper (1 Cor. 11:17-22). They did so on the first day of the week. There is no record of any other arrangement. Neither alone, nor on any other day of the week was this religious act conducted. On the contrary, the apostle Paul waited seven days to assemble with the saints (Acts 20:7).

It is when men began to wander from the simple Divine pattern that areas of difficulty and questions of doubt appear.

1. Some people just do not know how sacred and how vitally important the Lord's supper is! They have never studied the subject themselves. They learned by watching others. When they obeyed the Gospel they began going through the motions along with everyone else. They never really partake at the Lord's table because of the barrier of ignorance. Until they become serious students of the word, they never will.

2. There are others who seem to understand the importance, feel a certain obligation, but just have too much love for other things to be faithful in observance. This is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of love. Their direction in life is all wrong. There is little hope without significant change in the way they live.

3. Slightly different from those above, is the one who knows but does not care. He feels no guilt, no obligation to his family, to his fellow-Christians and certainly no responsibility to his Lord. He is callous, insensitive. He is lost. He is quickly approaching the point of no return. He is farther along the same road as those above. There is still hope, but it is fading fast. Hope for him is almost gone!

4. Some people have a hard time at everything because of the tendency to blame others for their own shortcomings. They do not do what they know to be right. They reason (tell themselves) that someone else is the cause. It is the preacher, the church, some member or several. It is blamed on the wife, the husband, the children, the job, receiving too much attention or perhaps not enough. Things are never just right. The fault always lies somewhere else...and it always will. It will continue until a change comes in their thinking. Repentance is no idle command. Holding this pattern makes everything futile! We really don't want that, do we?

--Carl G. Hecker

What does it take to be happy? Is it the impossible dream? Is it the privilege only of a few? Is it attainable? Let me share some quotes with you!

Runbeck said, "Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling." Ginott said, "Happiness is not an end product in itself. It is a by-product of working, playing, loving, and living." Dostoyevski said, "We are all happy if we only knew it." Hawthorne said, "Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

How about a little Bible? "Happy are the people whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 144:15). Take the time to read the "Beatitudes" today (Matt. 5:1-12). Remember that the word "blessed (makarios) means, "happy, fortunate, well off, supremely blessed." ...My desire for your life!

--Dwight Fuqua

SYMPATHY: Our deepest sympathy goes out to the Doyle Gough family (the father of Gilbert Gough). Brother Gough suffered a fatal heart attack last Tuesday, Jan. 16. His funeral was held on Jan. 19 in Dresden, Tenn. He has always been a great supporter and defender of the Truth and attended our lectureship each year. The attendance of so many preachers at the funeral home was a great tribute to this man's love of the truth and those who preached it. He was a great friend, one whom will be greatly missed in the Lord's cause! Remember the family in prayer.

GOSPEL MEETING: East Corinth, February 25 through March 3 with David Paden doing the preaching. Mark this on your calendars.

KIDS DAY: Sunday, Jan. 28, 4:00, Plaza Bowling Lanes.

r SHUT-INS: Pauline Irvin, Nellie Wallace, Mary Dexter, Annie Nauman, Faye Jackson, Clydie Morrow, Frances Massengill, Doug Kimbrough, Sula Perry, Harry Prater, Lucille Leatherwood, Dorothy Johnson.

FOOD ITEM: Canned Fruit

You are writing a Gospel! A chapter each day, By deeds that you do, By words that you say.

Men read what you write, Whether faithless or true; Say, what is the Gospel According to You?