What it might have been like to lose Jesus into the clouds.
This Friday will mark the Ascension of our Lord Jesus into the clouds, followed by ten days of prayer in the upper room to the coming of the Holy Spirit. I wonder what that might have felt like.
To begin with, they were left gazing into heaven and needed two angels to interrupt their gaze, with promise. He went up, and He will come back in the same way, in the clouds.
“What do we do?” They might have thought, and then someone remembered. He said, “Behold I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” Luke 24:49 Of course, there were no verses or gospels written at that time.
As they settled into the upper room, their temporary quarters in Jerusalem since the Passover, they began to pray. They continued praying, and a hundred and twenty disciples, including Jesus’ Mother Mary with His brothers, stayed praying.
Here is where the Holy Spirit began to move each heart and mind into unity and with one accord, and passion to wait for the Lord. I am sure they went into prayer, praise, and some planning. They needed to find a replacement for Judas. In all of this, they were surrendering to God and His kingdom coming and His will being done. But they didn’t know what that would be. Maybe after a while, they didn’t care to know, or care what it would be, something was happening inside each heart as they waited on the Lord.
Here we are, Jubilee. We are waiting on the Lord, without a clear idea of what He is doing. He has said, “I want your hearts to become My home again”. Aren’t our hearts already His? Why ask us to come and believe again in the new birth and the Holy Spirit baptism? Aren’t we already born again and filled with the Spirit? Maybe we don’t need to know, or to care, but only to obey this simple command, “Wait”.
For the next two Wednesday and Sunday Services up to Sunday, June 8th, Pentecost Sunday, we are coming together to pray and be born anew and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Lord has asked for our hearts to become His home again. I think of the words of David, and His heart’s obedience to the Lord’s command.
When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek”. Psalm 27:8
Calling all hearts to come home and become His home again.
