Can you believe it’s been 40 days since Easter?!
Acts 1:3-11 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he 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. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then
they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to
restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He
said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has
set by his own authority. 8 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.”
9 After
he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him
from their sight.
10 They
were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men
dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “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.”
Ascension Day reminds me that Jesus fulfilled His promises of living as a human, dying for my sins, rising in bodily form and ascending to heaven. I am certain He will fulfill His other promises such as preparing a perfect place for me in Heaven after this life and ending Satan’s reign on earth (Revelation 20:7-10).
As you celebrate today, will you thank God for His victory over death and His promise to return for you?
We look
forward to celebrating Pentecost next week!
Alice
P.S. I had
the opportunity to write a post about Ascension Day for our global Interfaith
Employee Network at work. The full article is included below:
Name of the holiday? Ascension Day
Who (what religion) celebrates this holiday? Christians
What is the holiday about? Ascension Day is a Christian holiday celebrating the day Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Son of God, ended His visibly physical time on earth and returned to heaven, at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus was with God before the creation of the world, came to earth as a baby and lived as a perfect human on earth, died on the cross in our place as our perfect sacrificial Passover lamb (John 1:29 and I Corinthians 5:7), rose from the dead, physically appeared to hundreds of people for 40 days after His resurrection (I Corinthians 15:3-8) and then ascended (returned/moved back up) to where He had been with God from the beginning. Jesus’s ascension was witnessed by numerous people and Luke documented this event in the first chapter of his book of Acts (Acts 1:3-11).
When does it take place? Ascension Day is always 40 days after Easter. Easter (or Resurrection Day) is always on a Sunday, so Ascension Day falls on a Thursday, 5½ weeks later.
Where is it celebrated (what do we do on this day)? Some Christians attend a special church service on Ascension Thursday or choose to delay the celebration until the following Sunday’s normal church service.
How is it celebrated? Christians joyfully celebrate by re-reading the details of Jesus’s ascension to heaven (Acts 1:3-11) and by praising Jesus with music that talks about His ascension.
Why is it important to us? Ascension Day is important because it celebrates Jesus’s completed work in making a way for sinful humans to have a restored relationship with their Creator God. By accepting that Jesus died on the cross to pay for all our sins, rose from the dead victorious over death for Himself and for us, and is now exalted back to His rightful place in Heaven with God the Father, Christians have free access to talk to God anytime and are assured we will also ascend to Heaven to join Jesus for all eternity! Jesus said He would not stay on this earth forever, but would leave to prepare a place for us. (John 14:1-3).
Significance (what does the holiday mean) to me? Ascension Day reminds me that Jesus fulfilled His promises of living as a human, dying for my sins, rising in bodily form and ascending to heaven. I am certain He will fulfill His other promises such as preparing a perfect place for me in Heaven after this life and ending Satan’s reign on earth (Revelation 20:7-10). Also, as He promised, Jesus gave me (and all His followers) His Holy Spirit to be with me while I live on this earth. Jesus’s Ascension marked the end of His physical presence, but His Spiritual presence is available to all of His followers all of the time, ever since the Day of Pentecost (which we will celebrate and discuss in 10 days!)
