This same Jesus will come back

We have recently remembered Ascension Day, an important event in the calendar of the church and yet sometimes overlooked because Ascension Day is always on a Thursday.

The disciples must have been bewildered. They had witnessed the cross and resurrection, they were delighted that Jesus was with them again and on Ascension Day, as they stood with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, He was suddenly taken from them.

The last words Jesus spoke to His disciples were, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The last thing Jesus did before ascending to heaven was to bless His disciples. (Luke 24:50) Whilst He was blessing them He was taken from them into heaven. Two angels appeared beside them as they stood looking into the sky with the promise that Jesus will come back.

The disciples had a mission to accomplish and so they were told to wait until they had received the power to accomplish it. When they received the power they were no longer fearful and inward looking. They were focused on the world needing knowledge of the One they had learned to love.

We too have a mission. Our mission is to be witnesses for The Lord Jesus. It is an urgent mission, because the time is getting shorter. Jesus is coming again! We need our Pentecost experience to focus us outward from ourselves onto a world full of individuals, dying for lack of knowledge of His love and His power to save.

Prayer: Father, thank you for all that Jesus accomplished through His death, resurrection and ascension. As I wait for His return, please fill me anew with the Holy Spirit so that I will be a living witness for Him as I wait for His return. Amen.

 
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