The Roman Catholic bishop of Phoenix has backtracked on plans to restrict Communion wine at Mass after a local outcry and consultation with other bishops.

Bishop Thomas Olmsted had said that Vatican guidelines attached to a new Mass translation curtail the distribution of Communion wine to special occasions such as feast days.

Olmsted reversed himself, however, in new norms made public on Friday (Nov. 11). Diocesan spokesman Rob DeFrancesco said the rules Olmsted had issued in September “were not complete.”

“Between that time and the present, there have been discussions, consultation and feedback taken in; and new norms reflect all that,” DeFrancesco said.

Olmsted wrote a private letter to local priests saying he had misunderstood church documents, and apologized for provoking anxiety among lay Catholics, according to The Arizona Republic.

Since the sweeping liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) most U.S. bishops allow priests to offer both the consecrated bread and wine to the laity during Mass.

Starting on Nov. 27, U.S. Catholics will follow a new text for the Mass.

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond, chairman of the bishops’ liturgy committee, wrote to fellow bishops on Oct. 26, saying that the Vatican’s new guidelines do not place additional restrictions on Communion wine.

DeFrancesco said that Olmsted and his liturgical experts had consulted with Aymond’s committee before issuing the new norms.

Two thousand years ago a man sat down with his friends and ate a meal.

It could be argued that no meal has echoed down the centuries quite like this one. That meal is the Last Supper and this moment is remembered by churches around the world by eating bread and wine in memory of the man who first did it, Jesus.

If you haven’t read the account of the Last Supper before, or would like a refresher, then you might like to turn to the gospel of Mark in the New Testament and have a read of chapter 14 verses 12 to 26.

Theories about the Last Supper, and how we should practice our remembrance of it in the church today, are widespread and numerous.

It seems there are as many opinions as there are grains of sand on the seashore! But perhaps there is more to draw from the accounts of the last supper than a simple set of rules of how we should or shouldn’t conduct our church services.

Picture the scene: The tension is rising in this group of 12 friends. Their leader, friend and spiritual teacher Jesus has been confronted by the authorities many times.

They are aware that Jerusalem is not a safe place for him to be yet he insists on going there to celebrate the Passover, an important festival in the Jewish calendar (see Exodus 12 for its origins).

Two of the disciples head into the city early to prepare a space for the celebratory meal, the others follow.

The meal starts off well. They sit back in their chairs, enjoy each others company and then suddenly the man who called this motley crew together changes the atmosphere. “One of you will betray me,” he says.

The reaction of these friends and disciples of Jesus is fascinating. They immediately ask the question ‘Is it me?’ I think this, and Jesus’ response, says something big about us and God.

The disciples loved Jesus, they had given up their homes and livelihoods to follow him and yet they still thought to themselves and said out loud, “Could it be me that betrays him?” I think we universally know this potential in ourselves.

Words slip out of our mouths that we wish hadn’t. We make wrong choices out of anger, sadness and disappointment. We wish we could take things back, daily sometimes.

But what is really interesting is Jesus’ response to this rag tag bunch, none of whom is confident that they are not his betrayer.

He picks up a loaf of bread and says ‘Take it, this is my body,” and a cup of wine saying “This is my blood which is poured out for many.”

Jesus sees their inability to be what even they want to be, to even know if it is they who would betray the one they love.

Later that evening he tells them they will be scattered like sheep when he is taken from them, a prediction that comes true alarmingly quickly after this cosy meal among friends.

And to Peter, one of his closest friends he says, “Tonight, you yourself will deny me three times.”

It is with this full knowledge that Jesus performs these powerful symbols of what is to come, his death within days on the cross–An act to unite people ever falling short with God who desires to give them a fresh start as many times as they need it.

This offering of bread and wine at the last supper is the gospel in a moment. In this act Jesus says, I know you fail, that you can’t even be sure of yourself, but here is the solution: “Take, eat – it is given for you.”

Sometimes Christian life can feel like you are ever striving. Striving for a perfection that even you know you cannot reach.

This story shows us that God knows full well our struggles and our inabilities. It is into this reality that he offers himself, going to die knowing that the closest people to him will run from him at the time he needs them most.

And to this he says, I have the answer. The answer is me.

Question: “Is a believer supposed to be able to feel the Holy Spirit?”

Answer: While certain ministries of the Holy Spirit may involve a feeling, such as conviction of sin, comfort, and empowerment, Scripture does not instruct us to base our relationship with the Holy Spirit on how or what we feel. Every born-again believer has the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus told us that when the Comforter has come He will be with us and in us. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). In other words, Jesus is sending one like Himself to be with us and in us.

We know the Holy Spirit is with us because God’s Word tells us that it is so. Every born-again believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but not every believer is controlled by the Holy Spirit, and there is a distinct difference. When we step out in our flesh, we are not under the control of the Holy Spirit even though we are still indwelt by Him. The apostle Paul comments on this truth, and he uses an illustration that helps us to understand. “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Many people read this verse and interpret it to mean that the apostle Paul is speaking against wine. However, the context of this passage is the walk and the warfare of the Spirit-filled believer. Therefore, there is something more here than just a warning about drinking too much wine.

When people are drunk with too much wine, they exhibit certain characteristics: they become clumsy, their speech is slurred, and their judgment is impaired. The apostle Paul sets up a comparison here. Just as there are certain characteristics that identify someone who is controlled by too much wine, there should also be certain characteristics that identify someone who is controlled by the Holy Spirit. We read in Galatians 5:22-24 about the “fruit” of the Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit’s fruit, and it is exhibited by the born-again believer who is under His control.

The verb tense in Ephesians 5:18 indicates a continual process of “being filled” by the Holy Spirit. Since it is an exhortation, it follows that it is also possible to not be filled or controlled by the Spirit. The rest of Ephesians 5 gives us the characteristics of a Spirit-filled believer. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:19-21).

We are not filled with the Spirit because we feel we are, but because this is the privilege and possession of the Christian. Being filled or controlled by the Spirit is the result of walking in obedience to the Lord. This is a gift of grace and not an emotional feeling. Emotions can and will deceive us, and we can work ourselves up into an emotional frenzy that is purely from the flesh and not of the Holy Spirit. “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature … Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25).

Having said that, we cannot deny that there are times when we can be overwhelmed by the presence and the power of the Spirit, and this is often an emotional experience. When that happens, it is a joy like no other. King David “danced with all his might” (2 Samuel 6:14) when they brought up the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Experiencing joy by the Spirit is the understanding that as children of God we are being blessed by His grace. So, absolutely, the ministries of the Holy Spirit can involve our feelings and emotions. At the same time, we are not to base the assurance of our possession of the Holy Spirit on how we feel.

Recommended Resource: The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life by Charles Stanley.

Being Different Because We Are ‘in Christ’ is Seldom Easy

We are in Luke Chapter 22, and this week from verse 31. Jesus Christ is spending His last night on earth with His chosen men. That is significant.

Final words are always highly significant. They have been remembering the Passover, and Jesus has given new meaning and significance to the bread and the wine.

Then there arises that dispute. They squabble as they become so interested in what their place and position might be in the coming Kingdom, and Jesus has to tell them not to be like the world. Verse 26. Don't be like everybody else. Be different. That has its cost too. Being different is not easy, and being known for being different has its own difficulties, but this is part of our calling in Christ, and this is something we must face up to and confront.

Those who are not ‘in Christ’ may hate and detest us because of this, and others may wish they had the faith and assurance and peace which only Jesus Christ can give.

Jesus is teaching those men that they are to serve. Now, that is a word that has almost gone out of use. Serve, service and serving others – you do not see a lot of this in today’s world, and perhaps that is why Jesus had to take the time to teach its importance. Serving has never been popular!

Then Jesus indicates that these disciples are going to be sifted – put through a sieve – put through the mill – to be refined. That will remove the lumps, and knock off the rough edges.

The shewbread in the Tabernacle had to be made with refined flour.

Jesus looks at Simon Peter and spells it out clearly. “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.” Jesus is very specific.

Peter was going to have a wild 24 hours, and be in turmoil over these next three days, but Jesus had prayed for him that his faith would not fail.

Peter is to be sifted and tested and put in the most awkward situations, and have it all written down for all to see. The wheat was being separated from the chaff, in the life of the man who was to arise and lead that young Church during the first few years of its dynamic exciting life.

In a sense it is not what you are that counts. It is what God can make of you. It is what God can do with you and in you, before He can work through you.

Originally here:
Word from Scotland

Author bio:
Alexander “Sandy” Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness – on the Moray Firth Coast – not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40 a.m., New Orleans time, at wsho.com.

When Jesus Speaks To His Disciples He is Clear And Specific

In Luke Chapter 22 at verse 7, Jesus asks Peter and John to go and prepare the Passover Meal. Jesus is aware of all that is going on, and the meeting place is to be kept as secret as possible. Jesus has to have one last evening with His disciples, and until the teaching has been given, nothing and no-one will be allowed to interfere.

Judas was not going to be informed; not too soon, just in case.

Peter and John are such a contrast to Judas. They are in the right place going the right way, in the right direction, in the right company, doing the right thing, and most importantly, obeying Jesus.

They find a man in a most unusual way. This man is prepared to give his best room to Jesus. They got things ready. They knew what to do. They were Jews.

They were going to remember that night, when God visited Egypt, 1,300 years previously, and the first born in every house was slain, except for those in the houses marked with the blood of the lamb, as commanded by Moses. And GOD came down and visited that land that night. You will find the text of this incident in Exodus Chapter 12.

We never know when God is going to come down and visit us in a new way, and do a new thing, and speak again. We never know when God is going to move again. During the 1960’s and 1970’s there was this amazing outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the risen Jesus baptised me and anointed me with the Holy Spirit, as I was about to resign from the ministry of preaching and teaching the Word of God. We never know when God is going to come down!

This miraculous deliverance from Egypt was no problem to Jesus. Men question this all this; the angel of death and the opening of The Red Sea. Jesus didn't. Jesus acknowledged and remembered that night and observed the Passover, because it was real and true.

These men had the living Jesus with them, but they were going to remember the significance of the past too. What we believe affects how we behave.

O, to keep the balance. Remember what is important, and also be led by the risen and living Lord Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit. It was in the middle of this significant meaning remembrance, that Jesus did something new, when He took the bread and the wine, and gave these men such vital teaching.

You will find much of what Jesus said and taught in John Chapters 13,14, 15,16.

Jesus comes and takes the ordinary. He takes what was routine and which had been going on for 1,300 years, and He saturates it all with new meaning and significance.

We are reading in The Word of God, and all of a sudden He reveals something and He speaks. Have we not found that to be true as we read and study the Bible each day? We are reading a passage, and all of a sudden a light shines and God speaks so clearly and specifically. I have been reading part of the Bible every day since I was eight years old, I can testify to this being so true and so real.

Jesus is Master of this situation. He planned it. He controlled it. Jesus decides when and how and where. Normally only women would carry a jar of water.

Go. Meet this man. Follow him. Peter and John are even given the words to speak. This is wonderful.

Verse 22. Jesus mentions that someone is going to betray Him, and they begin to ask questions. Who could do something as horrid as this? Who would do something as horrid as this? It is someone to whom Jesus had given the bread and shared the cup.

Notice, they had to partake. You must accept it for yourself. They had to be involved, filled, fed, obedient. It looks so little, but the significance is immense. They were symbols and signs, and no more than that. His real body was there in front of them.

Jesus invites us. He takes us into that room. What a privilege, not only to be present there, overhearing and listening and watching, but to receive, as they did.

This is the New Covenant, a new relationship, and all of this has a forward look, to that day when we shall eat and drink with Jesus Christ in the Kingdom.

Originally here:
Word from Scotland

Author bio:
Alexander “Sandy” Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness – on the Moray Firth Coast – not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40 a.m., New Orleans time, at wsho.com.