Ascension

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Jesus validated all that He had said when he presented Himself alive to His apostles [and many other proofs]. During those days and before His ascension, He commanded them to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Father, that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without the gift of the Spirit, Christianity would have never spread. Jesus would have become a distant memory.

Of course, they asked Jesus when Israel would be restored. I imagine they had been waiting to ask that for quite awhile. The answer was 'not for you to know' what the Father has fixed by His sovereign authority. Fixed, unchanged by man and revealed only when the time is right. God's plan cannot be overturned  or altered in any way. That fact should lift a huge load off the shoulders of mankind, but no so. Man still lives to fret, worry, and think that he can shape the course of events apart from God. How foolish!

After the Spirit has come on them, they were to be witnesses in a plan that radiated outward from Jerusalem to the entire world. Missionary work was instituted by Jesus Himself. Sharing the gospel should be first and foremost in the minds of all believers.  After hearing all Jesus had to say, He ascended into heaven right before their very eyes. What a sight! What a mission! Jesus had not left them shiftless and without purpose, nor does He leave us that way. Our purpose is about Jesus Himself. We are to share His gospel with others, and at the same time reflect Jesus in our own personal life. Our actions and words must be in sync with Jesus Christ. 

After Jesus had gone from sight, the angels said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."  This is the blessed hope! He will come back to take us to be with Him eternally. But it seems like quite often we get stuck 'staring at the sky' [like the apostles]. Our staring does not bring Jesus back, it just wastes time leaving us inactive and ineffective. This 'staring at the sky' could be anything that interrupts our momentum in leaving for Jesus. We need to be on guard for things that stop our growth. Jesus, growing up into Him,is our life!

Father,

Reveal to me when I am 'staring at the sky'. Help my eyes to be fixed on You alone . Thank You for being a sovereign God who has all of life and time ordered.

In Jesus name,

Amen