Jesus Ascention And Return For Us - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 1:9-11,

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’”

Prior to his death and resurrection Jesus told his disciples he would be leaving them to go back to his Father. He said, “You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” John 14:28-29.

Also in John 16:5-7 we read, “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

Defying the laws of nature (gravity), Jesus Christ ascended up from planet earth, into the clouds, to return to his Father in heaven. From heaven he sent the Holy Spirit he promised to his own he left behind here on earth, something we will read of in Acts, chapter 2.

So what is it Jesus Christ is doing in heaven? The writer of Hebrews tells us he sustains all things by his powerful word, Hebrews 1:3. Something very exciting to me is what Paul speaks of in Romans 8:34, “[Jesus Christ] is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” The “also” refers back to his earlier comment in verse 26, “…the Spirit himself intercedes for us”. To think that my name, that your name, crosses the lips of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as they speak on our behalf to God the Father is just astonishing!

The exciting part of this passage in Acts is what the two men dressed in white had to say about what lies ahead, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Our Lord is coming back for us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Ascension Of Jesus Christ: Earth Meets Heaven! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 1:6-11,

“So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’"
 
People call this the ascension of Jesus Christ. It is the event when Jesus returned to heaven following his coming to earth, his life, ministry, atoning death and resurrection. Peter tells us he will remain in heaven until the time God brings to end this existence we are familiar with, “He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets”, Acts 3:21.
 
I’m not sure just what it is - but there is something about the ascension of Jesus Christ that grips me. I don’t know if it’s that I see his ascension signals the completion of all his objectives in coming to planet earth, or the obvious satisfaction of our Heavenly Father in what Jesus accomplished. Possibly it is that I know Jesus is interceding for me before our Heavenly Father right in his presence, (“Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us”, Romans 8:34b.)
 
Maybe what grips me most about this scene of the ascension of Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives is the momentary joining of the physical realm with that of the heavenly. At some point the two meet – the two touch at least for an instant as Jesus passes from one to the other.

As I think about this, I think of the impact heaven can have on the creation as God is doing things. Hearing that Jesus is going to return in the same way as he ascended in clouds makes me think of what the sky might look like on that day. A day when heaven joins earth again. Not just for an instant this time but for all eternity as Jesus Christ returns to planet earth for his own and sets up his throne in Jerusalem! What a day that will be! We read in Scripture that all will see him as he returns. No need to go here or go there to find out. Jesus Christ’s return will be emblazoned in the sky; all eyes will be riveted on him as he descends in the clouds to take his throne.
 
Amy shared with us the photos of the cloud formations as Katrina hit the gulf coast. The scenes were just breathtaking and made her think of the return of Jesus Christ. She got me to thinking… I wonder what those cloud formations looked like as Jesus rose in the sky at his ascension? I wonder what those cloud formations will look like as he returns… ?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

The Exstatic Awe Of Witnessing Jesus' Ascension - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 1:9-11,

"After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'"
 
The ascension of our Lord, together with his resurrection, authenticates all Jesus said and did while here during his earthly ministry. Having accomplished his purpose for entering the human family through the line of David, by taking our punishment on himself ("The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost", Luke 19:10), he demonstrated the fulfillment of our Heavenly Father’s justice and the acceptance of his payment for our sin by his resurrection and ascension to heaven.

As I think of the disciples watching the Lord being taken up before them on that day – with the excitement (and bewilderment, I’m sure) they must have felt and the anticipation that began to well up within them as they contemplated all that was next… the coming Holy Spirit to dwell within them, the return of the Lord in the same manner in which they saw him rise, their own ascension to meet the Lord in the air, with their own resurrection to eternal life… it is certain they must have been filled with an ecstatic awe!
 
What a scene that was! And this ecstasy, this awe, is ours as well! I never want these events to become mere textbook theology for me!

We look forward to the return of our Lord (just as he ascended that day). As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we also look to our own ascension to meet the Lord in the air, our own resurrection to eternal life spent with him!

What an incredible reality that is in store for us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God Lives In Us! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 1:4-5,

"On one occasion, while he [Jesus] was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'"
 
How astonishing that our God has decided to dwell within each of us as believers through his Holy Spirit! In this passage Jesus tells his disciples, after the resurrection and just prior to his ascension into heaven, that they would be “baptized with the Holy Spirit”!
 
A few days later, when Peter preached the gospel message to the Jews in Jerusalem at Pentecost, we read this exchange in Acts 2:38, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
 
And so throughout the New Testament we read of the baptism all believers receive when they embrace Jesus Christ through faith, as we read in 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
 
This is life-changing! We are all possessed of the Holy Spirit who is busy changing us from the inside out! As we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18a, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…”
 
How fantastic is this?! What a God!!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.