Day of Praise

Thur, 05/25/17, The Celebration of The Ascension of Our Lord, 40th of 50 Days of Easter, "Day of Praise"

"And after [Jesus] had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." - Acts 1:9

Forty days after his resurrection, when Jesus was taken up in a cloud into heaven, the disciples looked up as if to say, "Wait! Where are you going? Don't leave us!!!!!"

Be honest; you've done the same thing. Ya know, acted like Jesus just left you in the lurch, which means left as dead to be buried. Ya know, whenever something goes wrong, especially if it's gone really wrong, and especially if it's another thing in a series of things that have gone really wrong. It's right there on the tip of our tongue, "Hey, Jesus! Wait! Where are you going? Don't leave us!!!!!"

Well, here's the good news that comes straight from today's Bible verse and The Celebration of The Ascension of Our Lord, HE HASN'T! He hasn't left you or me or anyone else in the lurch. 

And here's the 1, 2, 3 of encouragement from The Ascension:

1) The Promise - Though sometimes you can't see Jesus, Jesus can always see us. What's that mean? It means HE'S ON IT! He sees what's going on in your life, and he's on it! So hang in there. He'll come through! Though sometimes you can't see Jesus, Jesus can always see us. 

2) The Test - Whenever you can't see Jesus, God's inviting you to a stronger faith. After all, faith is believing even when you can't see why. When you can't see God, your mind says, "He's gone." Your God says, "I'm here. Trust me." Go with God instead of your mind. That's how faith grows, trusting God to be there for you as he promises, even when your mind thinks he's not. The old saying,  "Faith precedes understanding" means your mind will catch up. Whenever you can't see Jesus, God's inviting you to a stronger faith. 

3) The Command - If you want to see Jesus, don't look up; look out and around. In other words, look for people who need the promise that, though they can't see Jesus, Jesus can see them. When you invite those people to faith, when you invite them to believe God's promise instead of their mind, then oftentimes you'll see Christ born and grow in them. Pardon the Ascension pun, but Jesus doesn't want us believers to walk around with our head in the clouds!!!! Jesus wants us believers to come to discouraged people with the clouds of heaven, which Biblically represent the presence of God. If you want to see Jesus, don't look up; look out and around.

So, there you have it; that's the 1, 2, 3 of encouragement from The Ascension of Our Lord. Spread it around, and watch people be lifted up before your very eyes today just as Jesus was lifted up before the disciples long ago!

Praise God!