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Consuming Communion

By Lindsey A. Frederick Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Alex Leung @ Flickr (CC)

Photo Credit: Alex Leung @ Flickr (CC)

My mouth watered as I watched scraps of bread and tiny juice cups pass by me in church. Such kid-friendly fare—I didn’t understand why I wasn’t allowed to eat the mid-service snack. “Communion should be taken very seriously,” my mom said. I was six. I took my snacks very seriously. I also prayed before my meals. What more was there to know?

“You shouldn’t take it unless you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and believe he died on the cross for your sins.”

Check.

“Then you need to examine yourself for unconfessed sins and ask for forgiveness.” She continued by telling me about a passage in the Bible where people became sick and died because they disrespected the sacredness of communion.

Gulp. This was serious.

The next time the bread and juice came around, I passed. What if there were sins in my life I didn’t even know existed? How could I confess those? Would I ever be worthy to take communion? Around age seven, I felt brave and mature enough to take my first communal nibble. I did my best to examine myself and confess my sins, and I followed along as my pastor recited Jesus’s instructions: “And when [Jesus] had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’”

I chewed my bread slowly, doing a mental check for signs of illness. I felt OK. The pastor continued, “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’” (1 Cor. 11:24-26). I sipped my grape juice and let it swish around on my tongue for a second. I did another health check . . . still OK. But I was so paranoid I missed the most important instruction: do this in remembrance. Clearly there was still more to understand about communion.

Why Communion?

The more I reflect on faith and why Christians practice spiritual rites, the more clearly it boils down to one simple answer repeatedly documented in the Bible: Because Jesus told us to. And the more I dig into scripture, the more it is revealed that God doesn’t tell us to do something unless there is a good reason, and unless that reason is for our good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). So what are the reasons to take communion.

Photo Credit: Alex Leung @ Flickr (CC)

Photo Credit: Alex Leung @ Flickr (CC)

To Remember

I have a freakishly good, nearly photographic memory. I can recall obscure details from my childhood, dates and orders of innocuous events, and decades-old conversations, but when it comes to faith and belief there is so much that drifts from memory. I forget the previously quoted promise that God works all things for my good. I forget that God thinks about me, cares about me, and loves me enough to sacrifice his son for me. Everyday stresses have a way of fogging over these crucial truths.

God knows how forgetful I am. He knows you’re forgetful too. Thumb through the stories of the Old Testament and you’ll discover we’ve been forgetful since the beginning. Many Jewish holidays, born out of events told in the Old Testament, aim to reverse this human predicament. Passover commemorates God’s mercy on the Israelites, when a death sentence of each firstborn in Egypt passed over their families (Exod. 12). Passover is “. . . a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time” (Exod. 12:14 NLT). Purim celebrates an event recorded in the book of Esther, when God saved the Israelite nation from the malicious genocide of Persian King Xerxes and his right-hand mastermind, Haman. Scripture records it as a time to observe through “days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor” (Est. 9:22).

And so there is communion: an act of remembrance born on a day of remembrance.

The first communion took place during a Passover celebration. This was also the very night Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest companions. The betrayal resulted in Jesus’s arrest and death sentence, which set the stage for his final and most important act: his resurrection and the eternal cleansing of our sins. During this meal, Jesus tore bread 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’” (1 Cor. 11:24-25, emphasis mine).

When we come to the table, we come as we are —dirtied by our sins, our shames, and all the ways we become disconnected from God and from people.

There are differing views on the literality of the bread and wine (or grape juice in many cases) elements of communion. Some traditions believe the elements become the actual body and blood of Christ, while other traditions believe the elements remain unchanged, but Christ’s presence is made real in and through them. And still other traditions view the bread and wine as purely symbolic elements that represent Christ’s body and blood and the endurance of his sacrifice. In an article titled “Why Communion Isn’t for Everyone” Pastor Bubba Jennings of Mars Hill Federal Way writes, “Jesus . . . demonstrated the powerful teaching of Communion by using physical objects to signify deep, spiritual truths. The broken bread foreshadowed Jesus’ body broken on the cross for sin, and the wine symbolized a new covenant established between God and his people through the shedding of Jesus’ blood for the forgiveness of sins. In this, Jesus was not teaching his disciples that the bread and wine were literally his physical body and blood, but rather a representation of his body and blood.”

When we take communion, we are invited to remember and give thanks for the sacrifice of Jesus’s life and to celebrate the miracle of his rebirth and God’s gracious forgiveness.

Photo Credit: Alex Leung @ Flickr (CC)

Photo Credit: Alex Leung @ Flickr (CC)

To Re-examine

Communion is also a cleansing process. “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:28, NIV). There are three main areas to check: yourself, your relationship with God, and your relationship with others. In examining yourself and your relationship with God, Jennings writes, “Before participating in Communion, a person must examine all of his or her life for sin. This includes words, deeds, thoughts, and even the motives and intentions of their heart. If any unconfessed sin is found it must be dealt with . . .” All are welcome at the communion table—all who believe Jesus died to set us free from our shortcomings, and who come sincerely sorry for their sins, ready to let them go into the capable hands of God.

The Bible also tells us to consider our personal relationships within the church. Is there discord? Unresolved conflict? Matthew 5:23-24 urges us to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

To Reaffirm

Communion is also an act of reaffirming our belief in the aforementioned miracle. “As a Christian takes Communion, they are making a proclamation that they believe in Jesus as their Savior and have trusted in his sacrificial death for the forgiveness of their sins (1 Cor. 11:26),” writes Pastor Jennings. Participating in communion reaffirms our personal faith and tangibly and publicly symbolizes our salvation. “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).

To Reconnect

Finally, communion, much like it’s name suggests, is a community activity. The original Latin and Greek terms translate to “sharing in common” and “fellowship.” The beauty of the bread and wine, and of joining around the Lord’s Table to share them, is connection. When we come to the table, we come as we are—dirtied by our sins, our shames, and all the ways we become disconnected from God and from people. We come to taste the food that nourishes life and to sip the drink that enlivens it. In his article “There Were No Needy Persons Among Them,” author and activist Shane Claiborne points out that bread and wine were common foods of the ancient Israelites and communion is “a vision of the divine banquet where rich and poor come to the same table as a new creation.” While bread is a staple of the poor, wine is a luxury of the rich. Claiborne continues, “Both bread and wine have some things in common. They are made up of parts that have to be crushed and broken in order to become something new. Grapes are crushed to become wine, and grain is ground down to become bread . . . it is a reminder that we do not come to the table as rich and poor, but as family.”

The tangible, yet temporary nature of the elements invites us to come to the table again-and-again to feed our deep spiritual hunger. And each time we gather, Christ’s promises and truths—and Christ himself—are ingested a little deeper into each of us.

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Filed Under: Community, Connect Tagged With: Issue 21

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We're happy to announce that the Fall/Winter 2020 We're happy to announce that the Fall/Winter 2020 Issue is out today! There are some great articles inside that we hope you'll love! Enjoy! 🤗 #linkinbio⁠
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Prayer isn’t about making the things we selfishl Prayer isn’t about making the things we selfishly want happen; it’s about making us want what God wants.⁠
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✍🏽: @sarahjoysly in "Prayer - The Alignment of Our Souls With God"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it th “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” – Haldir⁠
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In Lothlorien, Haldir is encouraging a downcast Fellowship with a glimpse of the larger story in which they find themselves. His words reflect the apostle Paul’s encouragement to the church, that we “do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). For there is a form of grief from which there is no recovery – one in which there is no resurrection of the dead. If death is the final word, then we must suffer grief without hope, grief that diminishes our love for life because of the crushing weight of the loss we’ve experienced. But Tolkien believed that death was not the end; therefore, we may experience the beautiful juxtaposition in our own lives of deep sorrow mixed with rivers of joy. Instead of crippling us, our grief may actually help to cultivate in our character the virtues of faith, hope, and love that are necessary to continue to carry our heaviest burdens. ⁠
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✍🏽: @slimkeman in "Memorable Middle Earth"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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The Bible stresses that despite our differences we The Bible stresses that despite our differences we are called to love each other above our political positions. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12-14). You may feel like how politics and religion intersect in the public sphere communicate the exact opposite of this, and you’d be right. Media outlets report drama and conflict. Gracious and loving political opponents are not newsworthy.⁠
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✍🏽: Matthew Hamilton in "Our Identity In Christ Is Always Greater"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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#politics #voting #love #loveyourneighbor #loveyourneighbornotmattertheirpolitics
The trees, with their bark, the skin of the forest The trees, with their bark, the skin of the forest, with its scars and wrinkles, lean toward me, and brush me with their limbs. The leaves beg me to examine their veins. “Have you seen this?” Each different, but each spectacular. The infinite busy creatures. The carpet of green, the dome of blue.⁠
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A few moments later, I feel like an amazing creature in a world amazingly made. I feel the astounding power of God, where the smallest thing around me, a leaf, an ant, is more complicated, and alive and amazing than anything humanity has ever thought of.⁠
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Really, there is nothing like it. The author C.S. Lewis noted that the best place to take a non-believing scientist or a real thinker is nature.  Eventually the noise of God in nature is deafening.⁠
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Once you’re in that place, just a few minutes into your walk, your mouth will hardly be able to keep from pouring out praise to God. It becomes so easy. Connecting to God like that, in praise, as a consequence of observing nature, is so freeing and so empowering that you will return to your office balanced and ready, clear headed and encouraged.⁠
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The prayer that most blesses God, most blesses the one who prays it. And there is almost no easier way than from within the sanctuary of nature, which itself raises up its branches to him in prayer with every sunrise.⁠
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✍🏽: Tom Koel in "Muting The Noise of the World - Deconstructing The Prayer Hike for City Dwellers"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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#prayerhike #prayerworks #prayandpraise #prayerwalk #timewithgod #prayerchangesthings #heispraiseworthy #faithjourney
Each person comes to a Bible passage with his own Each person comes to a Bible passage with his own culture, language, and historical understanding. Sometimes we use these to interpret the Bible, but the hard work of bible study requires that you get rid of those things and interpret the passage by allowing it to speak for itself in its own language, cultural context, and historical background. In other words, interpretation is hard work because you are trying to to discover what the passage meant to its (original) audience 2000 years ago (even though we are reading it today). ⁠
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✍🏽: @the_christopherscott in "How Anyone Can Study The Bible"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
#biblestudy #biblestudytools #growingingod #godsword #spendingtimewithgod #biblejournaling #holybible #christianliving #biblescriptures #dailybiblereading
Everything we do should be done for the ultimate e Everything we do should be done for the ultimate enjoyment of God. For instance, our enjoyment of a loving relationship with our spouse is a reflection of our relationship with God, and is therefore something God uses in order for us to better understand his love and how we can love him better.⁠
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This entails that God has given us the Bible as a means to an end. The point of reading the Bible is to come to enjoy God better and more fully. It might seem odd, or even a little sacrilege to think of the Bible as a means to an end. This is because we rightly think of the Bible as holy or sacred. But, it is not God. It is holy and sacred insofar as it is the word of God, given to us so we can better understand who God is. ⁠
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By reading Scripture we learn more about God, his work in the world, his plan for us, and his expectations for us. This is one of the means God has provided for us to enjoy him more. In fact, St. Augustine of Hippo believed that if a Christian could hypothetically enjoy God perfectly in this life, that they would no longer need to read the Bible. Of course because we will not come to love God perfectly in this life, reading, meditating on, and yes, memorizing scripture, will regularly be a source of knowledge that help us to love God more. However, Augustine wants his readers to remember, that knowledge is not the goal for reading the Bible.⁠
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✍🏽: Jeffery Porter in "How A Roman Bishop Changed The Way I Read The Bible"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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People with unbelieving hearts only seek after wha People with unbelieving hearts only seek after what prospers them. Apart from Jesus, we set in motion lives filled with harm, with no hope and no future. A person can only have hope and a future when life is lived out for Christ. We get light through reading the Bible, prayer, and fellowship with other Christians. This light of life can be obtained through an open line of communication with the one who gives it—Jesus. Apart from him, life can appear meaningless. Our purpose in life is to glorify God with who we are and what we have. –Steven Butwell⁠
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"No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others." –Psalm 25:3 NLT⁠
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✍🏽: Steven Butwell in "The Light Christ"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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Even as God demonstrated love by sending Jesus to Even as God demonstrated love by sending Jesus to die on the cross to take punishment for our sins, God reminded people of the importance of fearing him. God is not only our savior, comforter, and friend who promises to be with us always (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20), but also the most powerful being in the universe. There is a place for the right kind of fear—the reverential awe and respect—in our lives.⁠
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✍🏽: Délice Williams in "Fear The Lord?" Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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Like the Psalmist, John describes Jesus as God’s Like the Psalmist, John describes Jesus as God’s Word who brings light and life to the darkness. Jesus is God’s Word that comes to us, to those who are dwelling in darkness. In fact, this is exactly what Jesus declares his mission to be in John 12:46: “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” This Light and Darkness imagery pervades the gospel of John. People love darkness because they don’t want their actions, thoughts, motives to be exposed by the light. But the truth is that deep down we need (and want) to be seen. We want to be loved despite our dirtiest deeds and foulest feelings. We need to restore the relationship that Adam and Eve once had with God–complete openness, and deep love–but we can’t do it on our own. Only God can (and did through Jesus) bring that relationship back.⁠
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✍🏽: Brandon Hurlbert in "The Light of God's Love"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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In John 15:1 Jesus says that God is the gardener a In John 15:1 Jesus says that God is the gardener and he prunes every branch that does not produce fruit. A person stuck in his or her ways of sin is like a prickly shrub growing a lot of branches with no fruit. These branches must be removed so good fruit can grow. In the same way as a bush is unable to prune itself, a person who is living in sin is unable to remove all the unfruitful branches in life. Paul described this condition in chapter seven of Romans when he called himself a wretched man and realized only Jesus can change him.⁠
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Jesus provides the essential elements for growth; he gives us his Word (the Bible) for fertilizer, other believers for sunshine, and the Holy Spirit for water. When our roots begin to receive this new water, sunshine, and fertilizer, new branches begin to grow. This time the branches are not prickly bushes, but beautiful new branches adorned with the fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control,” (Galatians 5:22). Our old acquaintances will marvel at who we have become. When we allow God to be the gardener, he will shape us into his design.⁠
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✍🏽: Delbert Teachout in "God The Gardener"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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As new creations, those who have been forgiven by As new creations, those who have been forgiven by and reconciled to Jesus, we now have the task of being reconciled to each other. As Christians, we are not just called to forgive others in our hearts but keep them at an arm’s length away. No, we are called to be of one heart and one mind (Acts 4:32) with our brothers and sisters—we are called to be reconciled.⁠
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✍🏽: Brandon Hurlbert in "Repairing Broken Bridges"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
We are faced with a challenge: to make God the cen We are faced with a challenge: to make God the center and purpose of our lives in a world of demands. God asks us to listen for his voice, and it’s no wonder why he chose to speak to Elijah in a “still, small voice” in 1 Kings 19:12-13. He doesn’t always shout at us because he wants us to choose to listen, to put other things aside so that all of our focus is towards discerning his will in the specifics of our lives. We have his will for us in general, as communicated in the Bible, which is to make disciples of all nations, to glorify the one true God, to serve no other gods, to love our neighbors as ourselves, etc., but sometimes we need to figure out how those general plans fit the specifics of our lives. Hearing God’s voice is part of how we relate to him, but in those moments of uncertainty, quieting ourselves becomes even more important.⁠
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✍🏽: @sarahjoysly in "Listening For A Whisper"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Jara from Pexels⁠
Imagine if every Christian started praying to God Imagine if every Christian started praying to God and asking for him to bless us with gifts of encouragement for the sake of the world around us. The Church would make an immediate impact on the lives of people.⁠
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✍🏽: @lukegeraty in "The Gift of Encouragement from the Great Encourager"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Lum3n from Pexels⁠
Everything sad will come untrue because we are not Everything sad will come untrue because we are not doomed to be forever parted with those we love, nor will our souls simply turn to dust and fade with the memory of those we leave behind.⁠
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✍🏽: @slimkeman in "Memorable Middle Earth - Why I'm Always Tolkien In Movie Quotes"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Dirk Förster from Flickr
"Remembering God's promises and his faithfulness a "Remembering God's promises and his faithfulness as a community will help us to endure our sorrows for the night, for joy comes in the morning." @slimkeman from his article The Beauty of Community & The Beast of Isolation 🌤 Can you name some of God's promises that keep you encouraged and grounded? We'd love to hear in the comments below - and just maybe it might be the hope someone else is needing right now! 🤗⁠
“Every night I lie in bed, the brightest colors “Every night I lie in bed, the brightest colors fill my head. A million dreams are keepin’ me awake. I think of what the world could be, a vision of the one I see. A million dreams is all it’s gonna take. A million dreams for the world we’re gonna make.” ⁠
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As P.T. Barnum sings these words to Charity in the beautiful montage of their young lives, we are captivated by the hope that they share, the possibilities of their bright future, and the chance of their love overcoming the wall between privilege and poverty that keeps them apart. The Greatest Showman asks us to wrestle with the quest for the holy grail of our modern world: success and happiness. ⁠
What is the good life? If a million of our wildest dreams came true, would we truly be happy?⁠
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In Jesus, we find a man who invites us into his presence with these words: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He is the only one who can fill “the infinite abyss” of desire in our souls. When you have fully devoted yourself and your dreams to your Creator, you will discover that “everything you ever want” and “everything you ever need” is “right here in front of you” in Christ Jesus.⁠
{Steve Limekman}⁠
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✍🏼: by @slimkeman in “The Greatest Showman”  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com by clicking on the link in our bio ⁠
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📸: from newidentitymagazine
Every day in sub-Saharan Africa, one child in ten Every day in sub-Saharan Africa, one child in ten under the age of five dies of a preventable cause, and nearly every day in America eight in ten adults consume coffee. What do these numbers have to do with each other? A lot, according to the One Cup Project, which is using America’s love for coffee to reduce the number of children dying in Africa by converting coffee profits into life-saving aid.⁠
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The One Cup Project started in 2010, when Christian Kar, the founder of an award-winning Seattle-based coffee company, partnered with the Christian humanitarian aid organization, World Vision.Remarkably, every dollar spent on One Cup Coffee generates a dollar of aid for Africa.⁠
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Buy some coffee, put up a post on your Facebook page, ask your church, local café, or workplace to change their coffee, or run a One Cup Fundraiser. In doing so, you just may help hurting people find healing, hope, and life. Change the world for the better, one cup at a time.⁠
{Thame Fuller}⁠
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✍🏼: @thamefuller in “One Cup Project”  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com by clicking on the link in our bio or click on this link to take you directly to the One Cup website: https://onecup.org/our-story/⁠
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📸: by @AftaPuta from Pexels
When someone accepts Jesus, they leave their old p When someone accepts Jesus, they leave their old priorities behind and make Jesus the center of their life. Jesus calls each of us to share the good news with the world. He came to give living water to a thirsty world, and we have the honor and privilege of sharing his message by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).⁠
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The most important thing you can do is enter each conversation with a posture of prayer. Pray for the person you’re sharing with, that God would open their heart to accept him. Pray that God would give you the words to say. And a loving way to say them.⁠
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Expect God to work in your relationship and use you to share Jesus through your friendship in his own timing. No matter how long you have been a believer, you can share Jesus with the confidence that he is with you and that he will use you for his glory.⁠
{Eric Gulley}⁠
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✍🏼: Eric Gulley in “Sharing Your Faith”  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com by clicking on the link in our bio ⁠
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📸: by @OliverSjostrom from Pexels
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I gave my life to Christ on Christmas Eve, 1994 in Riverside, California at Harvest Church. Harvest Church is better known statewide for its “Harvest Crusade” … [Read More...]

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Well known throughout the world, you might be surprised to discover that Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, nondenominational Christian housing … [Read More...]

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