Anything But Solitaire

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                Acts 1:12 – 14

Anything But Solitaire

by Robert T. Cooper

In Christianity we put a lot of emphasis on making a personal, individual decision of your own for Christ. Yet when one reads the Bible, one gets the idea that while I have to decide for Christ myself in order to be saved, Christianity is not supposed to be an individual affair.

In the 21^st century one constantly runs into people who claim to be Christians, but they live their lives as individuals and not in intentional, continuing fellowship with a group of fellow believers. This is not the Bible way.

Looking at Acts 1:12 – 14, we see that the apostles, who had been together for the ascension of Jesus, stayed together as they returned to Jerusalem. They were all staying together in an upper room (probably the same place the Last Supper had taken place, probably the home of John Mark’s family). To emphasize the group nature, the passage lists the names of the Eleven. It is emphasized that they all prayed together. It even mentions additional people, men and women, who took part as they all prayed together.

Now is it possible that God has directed one or more people of your acquaintance to not join a local church? I suppose so. It is not my place to judge. Those people are accountable to the Lord, not to me.

Yet that would seem to be the exception, not the rule. Since we are to study together, to pray together, to be in fellowship with one another, to break bread with one another, since we are to form ministry-evangelism groups together, since there are no “lone ranger” Christians in the Bible, it seems that most all of us should be active in the fellowship of a local church.

With respect to being part of a local church, please leave a comment as to how God led you to your current situation.

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?