Acts 1:6-11
So when they were together with him, they asked, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said these things, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. They were looking intently into the sky as he went away. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You for sharing Your conversation with the disciples. As we look around at the ways of the world, we, too, may wonder if You’re going to return today. There will come a time when You will return, and as You told the disciples, it is not for us to know the time or the season, but You will come again.
Perhaps, like the disciples, we overlook the words in which You told them that Your kingdom is within each of us. If we abide in You, You will abide in us, and if You abide in us, so will Your Father. The purpose of Your suffering and death was to restore us to the Heavenly Father and grant us each salvation and eternal life. All believers, whether Jews or non-Jews, are now Israel restored; we who are not Abraham’s descendants are grafted into Your kingdom by faith in You.
Since You have ascended into heaven, You have no constraints of space or time; You are with us no matter where we are. You hear our prayers and answer them, so while we may not physically see You, we have confidence that You are still with us and know all that is happening in each of our lives.
We pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon us as well, so that we, too, may be Your witnesses and carry the peace of forgiveness, the hope of salvation, and the joy of eternal life into the corners of the world where we share our lives with the souls You bring into our paths. Let Your gospel be shared in my corner of the world through me, and grant it Your success. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
Jesus will come again as swiftly as life passes; know that your time is short. Hear the love God has for you and the forgiveness that covers all your sins so that by faith in Jesus, you will have salvation and eternal life.