Caroline Newbold
‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ Acts 1:8
I often think that I get far more out of preparing a talk for the church than you do from listening to it!
The Ascension of Jesus was not something I’ve given all that much thought to in the past; I’ve focused more on Jesus’ life, death & resurrection rather than what happened to him next. But as I was thinking and praying about what to say in our online service yesterday, I dipped into a book I picked up at our recent church book sale. It’s by David Pawson and is called ‘Where is Jesus now – and what is he doing?’ (Thank you if you donated it!)
Pawson reminds us of four things about Jesus’s Ascension. Now he is with his father in Heaven we can be confident that he is praying for us and that he is preparing a place for us to be with him. But also at this time of upheaval in the world, it is comforting to remember that as I said in my talk, he is reigning over the world and that, although we are facing trials at the moment Jesus will have the ultimate victory. Finally, and this links with our present time of prayer Thy Kingdom Come, he is making it possible for us to be filled with the Spirit. Some of Jesus’s last words before his Ascension, recorded in the book of Acts, are ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you’ (Acts 1:8) It was necessary for him to return to his father to be able to pour out his Spirit on us.
The Holy Spirit is freely available to all believers; why not ask Him to fill you afresh this week as we wait and pray before we celebrate Pentecost next Sunday? As we seek to witness to Jesus love in our lives and show his fruit in our relationships with others, I have discovered that reliance on the Spirit is what makes the difference! Come Holy Spirit!
Prayer: Let’s pray to be filled afresh with his Holy Spirit today.
Prayer Request: Continue to pray for your five friends or relatives to know Jesus.