This Same Jesus

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:11

This Same Jesus

by Robert T. Cooper

The Jesus Who ascended from the ridge of the Mount of Olives some 40 days after His Resurrection is the exact same Jesus Who will return to Earth to the very same ridge of the Mount of Olives.

There have been several attempts throughout history to characterize the Jesus of the Day of the Lord as a “different” Jesus. There have been the attempts of cults to create a Jesus with a different backstory and a different future. There have been the attempts of non-Christian religions to create a Jesus who is not a Person of the Trinity, the Second Person, God the Son, in particular. Sometimes this Jesus is a mere prophet. Sometimes He is an angel. Sometimes He is simply the Christ Spirit.

But the Jesus Who ascended is the exact same Jesus known personally today by those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Jesus who is known personally today by Christian disciples is the exact same Jesus Who is coming again.

Those who have not yet placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior cannot fully comprehend the certainty of Christian disciples. However, they are invited to repent and believe. Then they will commence a relationship with Jesus, Who is and Who is to come.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, briefly comment about your relationship with your personal Redeemer.

Or

If you have not yet placed your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are invited to do so at this time. When you do, record it in the comments section so we may rejoice with you.

They Might Have Been Angels

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:10

They Might Have Been Angels

by Robert T. Cooper

So the apostles are looking intently up into the sky as Jesus ascends until a cloud hides Him from their sight. They are looking so intently that they do not notice that two men dressed in white have joined their group.

You understand that the group was at the summit of the Mount of Olives, at least on the ridgeline, and probably on or just off of the path as it crests over the ridge and drops into the village of Bethany just on the other side. Either way, the group is quite visible to travelers along the path.

Now it is possible that there just happened to be two men dressed in white who were traveling along the path when the Holy Spirit prompted them to join the group of apostles and deliver the message recorded by Luke in verse 11. But there is this intriguing verse in Hebrews that informs us that some angelic interactions amongst humans occurs with the angels disguised as humans. The traditional interpretation has always been that these two were indeed angels. Just understand that the text does not say so.

I have never been aware of a personal interaction with an angel either in its full glory or in human disguise, neither during an interaction nor upon reflection after the interaction. However, I have known of a couple of people who reported their conviction that some particular interaction of theirs had to have been angelic.

What is important in this biblical passage is not the identity of these beings as angels or humans or even one of each. What is important is that whoever these were had a message from God and delivered it. Telling others what God says is something we all can do.

1.      If you have a personal story of an interaction with someone you are convinced was an angel, please share it.

2.      What message from God can you deliver to whom in the next or two?

Looking Intently

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:10

Looking Intently

by Robert T. Cooper

According to Dictionary.com, the word intent means “firmly or steadfastly fixed or directed.” Acts 1:10 makes the point that the apostles were looking intently into the sky as Jesus ascended. As a result, two men joined the group without being noticed until they spoke. That’s pretty focused!



But this is not the first time the apostles had their eyes firmly and steadfastly fixed on Jesus. It had been their custom for over three years to keep their eyes on Him. They weren’t looking intently because they had never seen an ascension before. They were looking intently because it was Jesus.

Now, the Holy Spirit must enable our eyes and our understanding if we are to see Jesus Christ at work in our daily lives and in the world around us. We must be watching for Him. Once we see Him, we must keep our eyes fixed on Him.

Once I served a church in another part of the country. Certain events occurred in the life of that church. Some young adults came to me one day saying that they were amazed for they saw the Scriptures being fulfilled in these events. They were seeing Christ at work in the events. However, it seems those young adults did not keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, for they did not continue to see Christ at work nor did it have any impact on their own consequent behavior.

God moves across the stage of modern politics (that which will in a few days be considered history). Sometimes we see Jesus Christ at work in this or that. Yet we must stay focused to follow the continuity.

God moves through what happens in weather: rain, sun, storms, and more. Sometimes televangelists are unwise in what they say about such things and in how they express what they say. Yet we know that God reveals Himself through nature. Sometimes we can see Jesus Christ at work in one way or another. But we must look intently as we do so. Practice helps. That is why some include time meditating on the observation of nature as a spiritual discipline.

God moves through our finances, our health, our relationships, and more. Sometimes we see Him as The Lord our Provider, sometimes as The Lord our Healer, and sometimes we don’t quite have a ready name for Him as He is engaged in our daily lives. One must keep a sharp eye to see how His activity relates to His plan to grow each of us in Christlikeness. After all, it is our relationship with Him that is ultimately important.

Where is Jesus around you right now? Look intently. He isn’t going away, but you will lose sight of Him if you aren’t intentional about it.

Share a story of a time you or someone around you reported seeing Jesus at work.

Cloud Gazing

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 1:9

Cloud Gazing

by Robert T. Cooper

Jesus had said the last thing He was going to say in His human form on earth, at least until His Glorious Appearing. When He finished telling His Apostles the Holy Spirit would come on them and they would in the power of the Holy Spirit be Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the world, Jesus was taken up. We have to infer that from the Mount of Olives that Jesus’ body was lifted up into the clouds in the sky.

We don’t know how Enoch was translated. There is simply no information given. Elijah was taken into heaven in a fiery chariot. But there is no such device cited in the Ascension of Jesus. It is an event that defies gravity. It seems He went straight up rather than off at an angle. Did He ascend only until He was no longer visible to the naked eye? Did the thinner atmosphere and cold of the upper atmosphere bother Him? Did He at some point disappear into the spiritual realm, or did He keep traveling in that general direction forever? We simply do not know.

All we know is that a cloud moved into position that from the Mount of Olives the ascending body of Jesus was no longer visible to the apostolic observers. They just stood there for some time gazing into the clouds, hoping for one more glimpse of Jesus in the air. But apparently they never did catch sight of His body again.

We know that when Jesus returns He will come back the same way He left. We assume that means that the clouds will move and there He will be in the air, coming back down. We also know that He will return to the Mount of Olives, to virtually the same location from which He left. One difference in His return is that somehow, every person in the world will be able to observe the event. (Does that mean television on mobile devices? Does that mean that God will have gathered every living human to the Greater Jerusalem area? Again, we don’t know.)

from Standard Bible Story Readers

 

We know we should live in expectation the Christ’s return could happen at any moment. We should live so as to be ready for it when it happens—there won’t be time to clean up your act then!

Paul tells us that God reveals Himself through nature. Certain authors suggest the observation and contemplation of nature and of natural revelation as a spiritual discipline.

Think about that! You can go for a hike in the mountains, or go into a park, or go to the coast. Sit on a rock or lie on the grass and gaze at the clouds. Don’t just look for shapes in the clouds. Look for Jesus. He’s coming back in the clouds and it could be today!

Questions:

1.      What do you think about cloud gazing as a spiritual discipline?

2.      Are you ready for Jesus to come again, perhaps even today?

3.      When and where could you spend some time cloud gazing?

Quo Vadis?

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 1:8

Quo Vadis?

by Robert T. Cooper

Quo vadis? Where are you going? The quote comes from an old novel about the life of the Apostle Peter. You might want to look it up and read it. Peter had a mission, a place in life God was taking him. He knew where he needed to go and what he needed to do. Yet, as God is wont to do, it was a difficult mission, one that could only be seen through to the end with the Lord’s help. Peter started to leave so he would not have to continue to the end of his mission. Only God wouldn’t let Peter do that. He confronted Peter. When Peter confessed and repented, the Lord gave him the strength he needed to see his mission through to the end.

You and I have been brought into the Lord’s mission, the mission to take the Gospel to everyone everywhere. When we placed our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He gave us His Holy Spirit to live within us. When the Holy Spirit came upon us, we were commissioned to be witnesses to the saving power of Christ. We are to be witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That is commonly interpreted as starting where you are, and then moving outward to neighboring areas until the entire world is reached.

Is this out of the comfort zone of most? Yes! Can anyone do it in his own strength? No!

So we are confronted with the questions of where we are going and of what are we doing as we go. Are we being witnesses where we are? Are we witnessing to ever-broadening areas as guided by the Holy Spirit? Do we witness to our social media “friends”? How is the Holy Spirit using us to get out the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ?

Don’t let yourself off the hook. Ask the Lord whether He is satisfied with your faithfulness to the mission. Ask where and how He wants you to witness today. Who knows? Perhaps you will be amazed at the places He will take you.

Questions:

1.      Are you a witness where you are?

2.      Are you witnessing to ever-broadening areas as guided by the Holy Spirit?

3.      Do you witness to your social media “friends”?

4.      How is the Holy Spirit using you to get out the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ?