Jesus is Truth - Celebrate His Ascension Today! (Thursday May 9, 2024)

 

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!) 

Jesus is Truth on this US National Day of Prayer (5/2/24)

For those in the United States, what are your plans for participating in the 72^nd National Day of Prayer today?

This year’s theme: LIFT UP THE WORD - LIGHT UP THE WORLD

2 Samuel 22:29-31 For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.

The world needs the light of the Lord and the truth of Jesus! Each nation needs prayer everyday. I appreciate that we continue to have a designated day of prayer in the United States (with the exact day of the first Thursday in May signed into law in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan).

My kids’ school is hosting an event tonight at 7pm. Feel free to come and join us, if you live in the area. I plan to be there!

Or, you can find an event near you at the National Day of Prayer website: https://www.nationaldayofprayer.org/events

Or, join the live broadcast at 8 pm ET here:

2024 Broadcast - National Day of Prayer Task Force

The specific 7 spheres of influence to be covered in prayer are Family, Church, Education, Media, Business, Military and Government. Whether you plan to join an event today or not, will you stop right now and pray over these areas?

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – Giving Timely Peace (4/25/24)

 After the devastation of Jesus’ death and the confusion over the empty tomb, the disciples were timely visited and comforted by Jesus.  

John 20:19-22         ¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus came and provided peace and joy to His devastated disciples! He not only physically appeared, but did so miraculously! He also graciously showed them the proof of His death. Then, He re-commissioned and empowered them to continue the difficult work He had started.  

Jesus came and gave me peace after devastation and before facing additional difficulties, too. The evening I found out we were going to miscarry (after 13 weeks of pregnancy), I was devastated. When I woke up in the middle of the night with contractions 2 minutes apart, God had me eventually get out of bed and go to the bathroom. My water broke on the toilet and then everything happened. As devastated as I was, I felt like God was holding my hand during the whole thing, starting with the fact that He had my water break not only at home, but on the toilet! I had peace knowing He was there. I felt as if He said “I know this is really hard, but I’m here with you to carry you through.” His peace brought encouragement as I faced the physical and emotional pain in the coming hours, weeks, months and years that followed.

When have you witnessed God bringing peace and joy after devastation? What encouragement and strength did it give you to persevere through the next difficult challenge? 

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – Turning Grief to Gladness (4/18/24)

James wrote “He is Alive!” on the end of our driveway for Easter this year! I wonder if Mary was shouting that all the way to the disciples after Jesus appeared and spoke to her!

John 20:14-18         ¹⁴ At this, she [Mary Magdalene] turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Mary was so distraught after Jesus’s crucifixion and it grew worse when she found the empty tomb! She assumed someone had taken Jesus’s body. Jesus’s appearance, though, changed everything. He revealed He had risen from the dead in a glorified, yet bodily form. She could physically touch Him, but she wasn’t to cling to His earthly presence because He would later ascend back to the right hand of God. God the Father was His Father and her father! Jesus turned her grief to gladness.

Where are you and I experiencing grief, pain or suffering? When will you and I open our eyes to Jesus and let Him instruct our next steps like He did for Mary?

Jesus’s future ascension offered Mary hope for her future ascension. Is that same hope steering your and my daily priorities and perspective?

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – as Perfect Passover Lamb (4/11/24)

John 19:30    When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

What stood out to me this year as we studied Jesus’s death was that He chose exactly when to die when He “gave up his spirit.” He didn’t succumb to death and His life wasn’t taken from him. He died at the exact moment and time He and the Father planned. In fact, even the timing of what happened after His death continued to fulfill God’s plan.

John 19:31-37         ³¹ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. ³⁵ The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” ³⁷ and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

The Jewish leaders were so concerned about being outwardly clean in order to celebrate the Passover. Crucified before them, though, was the only truly clean and perfect Righteous One. All their previous Passover celebrations pointed to this final Passover sacrifice.

As God had commanded Moses and the Israelites not to break the bones of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:46), so God made sure His ultimate Passover Lamb’s bones weren’t broken.

As God had commanded Moses and the Israelites to spill the Passover lamb’s blood and take shelter under it (Exodus 12:6-7, & 13), so God made sure His ultimate Passover Lamb’s blood was spilt so you and I could take shelter under it.

Jesus was the perfect and final Passover Lamb. Have you accepted Him as your Passover Lamb who died in your place, taking the judgment you deserve? If so, you and I have shelter under His blood for forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and His robe of righteousness!  

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – And Truly King of All (4/4/24)

I mentioned last week that I wanted to add in a new tradition to our family’s Holy Week practices by washing feet on Holy Thursday. We were able to do just that, as seen in the pictures. Edmund specifically asked to wash my feet (not pictured)!

Then, one of our long-standing traditions is to read about Jesus’s crucifixion in darkness on Good Friday (with the help of a flashlight), followed by each person praying in total darkness. This year we read from John 19, which included the following:

John 19:19-22    ¹⁹ Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹ The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

After reading, I asked if anything new stood out. If I remember correctly, Alexis shared how she hadn’t remembered that Pilate put a sign above Jesus that said he was the King of the Jews. What Pilate didn’t realize is that Jesus is even more than King of the Jews. Jesus is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Ruler of all!

Is Jesus the king of your and my life? I want Him to be. Sometimes my priorities come first, instead of truly looking to His priorities. Jesus is king of all. Let’s surrender to and trust His reign in each pocket of life.

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – Throughout Maundy Thursday (3/28/24)

Have you ever been overwhelmed by an overload of information in a short amount of time? I’ve felt that way at several different conferences and marriage retreats. I frantically took down a plethora of notes and wanted to put into practice all of it! It’s so difficult to remember and apply everything at once, but God has helped me layer in new practices. In fact, Joe and I enjoyed a night away by ourselves this week and had a chance to talk through some short and long-term goals. It was encouraging and refreshing!

As we celebrate this Holy Thursday, it was a day filled with significant teachings from Jesus. The disciples wouldn’t understand or remember all of it in the short term, either. However, the Holy Spirit would help them understand, remember and apply it all, bit by bit.

Did you know John spent over ¼ of his Gospel (in John chapters 13-18) detailing all Jesus taught his disciples that one night? Judas’s betrayal and Jesus’s glorification were two of over a dozen significant events and teachings that happened on “Holy” Thursday.

John 13:21-32 ²¹ After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

²² His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. ²³ One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. ²⁴ Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

²⁵ Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” ²⁸ But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. ³⁰ As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

³¹ When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. ³² If God is glorified in him God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

The disciples didn’t immediately understand who would betray Jesus or that His death and resurrection were how He would be glorified. Just like the disciples, God knows we won’t understand and apply everything at once. He is available to help us understand, layer by layer!

What’s one thing you and I can meditate on and layer in to our reverence for Jesus as we celebrate Holy Thursday, Good Friday or Resurrection Sunday this week? I would like to try washing each other’s feet with the kids tonight. I think they are old enough to understand some of it’s significance. What about you?

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – Not “A” truth, but “THE” truth (3/21/24)

If you had a private one-on-one meeting with Jesus what would you ask Him? What would you want explained or defined? I have several things I would want to know and understand.

Pilate had a private one-on-one meeting with Jesus and even asked Jesus an important theological question.

John 18:37-38         ³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

It appears Pilate was a relativist. Maybe it was because he constantly heard different people’s perspectives on all sorts of issues. However, he had an opportunity to hear straight from Jesus what truth is and passed it up! How sad and foolish.

What about you and me? We get inundated with news, people’s opinions, all kinds of statistics, and “new” research. What information is really true? Only God’s Word is 100% trustworthy. Are you like Pilate? Do you pass up the opportunity to hear truth directly from God? Do you spend more time watching and reading news articles than reading truth from God’s Word? If so, we’re just as foolish as Pilate.

John 14:6     ⁶Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Many of us chart our daily steps and hours of sleep. What if we charted the amount of time reading, studying, memorizing and applying the Bible, versus time spent taking in information from the world? Truth is available to us! Let’s not foolishly pass it up.  

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – With Selfless Surrender (3/14/24)

As a child, if you knew you did something wrong, but your parents hadn’t found out yet, did you voluntarily tell on yourself? Or did you try to pass it off like it was your sibling’s or someone else’s fault? Or did you hide in your room hoping they wouldn’t notice? J I’m guessing most of us didn’t voluntarily tell on ourselves. Well, Jesus did! He didn’t do anything wrong in God’s eyes, but the jealous chief priests and Pharisees sent soldiers to arrest Him on the charge of blasphemy against God. Jesus had escaped their arrest numerous times before, but He knew it was now God’s time for Him to be arrested. 

John 18:3-9        ³So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. ⁴Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?" ⁵"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." ⁸"I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." ⁹This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me."

As a parent, boss, spouse, friend, or co-worker, you might be shocked if someone boldly admitted their mistake without you even asking who did it! However, would you fall to the ground? The fact that the soldiers fell to the ground, after Jesus admitted He was who they wanted, leads me to believe the soldiers were more than shocked by his words! I wonder if Jesus was radiating the glory of God!!! Jesus, a few hours before,  had just prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ²For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:1b-3) 

Maybe God was allowing the disciples, soldiers, and officials to see but a piece of His glory even before Jesus’ death, resurrection, and full glorification. Those who hadn’t yet believed were given another sign and an opportunity to believe! 

Plus, Jesus’s selfless surrender showed His love and submission to His Father, His great love for us, and His immediate concern for His disciple’s safety. 

When was the last time you and I made an excuse or blamed someone else to get out of trouble? How will you and I selflessly live like Jesus, looking out for the best interests of those around us instead of only thinking about ourselves? That will bring glory to God!

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – Desiring Our Presence (3/7/24)

 Before we met, Joe lived in Italy for a couple years. It was an amazing experience for him to live in Rome with so much history! He talked about it a lot. It was hard for me to understand all that he talked about, since I hadn’t been there, much less lived there. However, we had an opportunity to go to Italy and France our second year of marriage. Joe was excited to show me where he had lived, what he had seen, and who he had met!

We usually don’t want to keep our amazing experiences a secret, but want to share them with others, especially those we love. Jesus has the same desire! He wants us to join Him in Heaven and experience all the blessings of knowing His full character and creation as it was intended.

John 17:24-26         “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. ²⁵ “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Oneness with and nearness to the perfect and righteous Father in Heaven is the greatest experience anyone will ever have! Jesus wants to share that experience with you and me for all eternity! Will you be joining Jesus for this forever marvelous experience? If so, who will you pray for today about joining you and Jesus?