Acts 1:9-14
New International
Version (NIV)
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.”
12 Then the apostles
returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s
walk[a] from the city. 13 When they arrived, they
went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter,
John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son
of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together
constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and
with his brothers.
How
many times do we stand and stare into the heavens and look for Jesus to
return? Or probably more so, how often
do we pray, “Come Lord Jesus, Come Quickly!” and then go about our own
business? We want His quick return but
then we go about life as if it is the only life we have. We busy ourselves with work, with family, and
then we take a break and go to church.
We worship in song and we listen to the pastor and then we go home. The cycle begins again week after week.
Today
I had to take special note as to what happened once Jesus ascended and the “two
men dressed in white” scooted them along.
They did not go back to their homes and continue life as if nothing had
ever happened; they were changed, forever.
They walked back to the city, a distance of about .6 miles and then went
to a room where they were staying. All
of them, went to the room, and they were joined with the women and they all
prayed. They didn’t go to their separate
homes, they didn’t divide and conquer they were joined by a special bond and
they prayed.
How
often do we say, “I’ll pray for you” but not really stop and pray with someone
who is hurting? We may pray for them but
do we really go to the throne of God and humbly pray for and with them? What do we do when we gather together? Do we truly pray for one another or do we let
the preacher pray and then go on about our routine worship? What are those prayer requests? Are they request that bring glory and honor
to God, further His kingdom, or are they prayers for our own well-being,
safety, and health? What do you think
those men and women prayed?
I
love Christian fellowship. I love going
to church. I love seeing my Christian
friends. How often though do I really
stop and in one accord pray with them?
All too often our speech is not on the spiritual things of life it is on
the worldly happenings. What would
happen if our focus shifted not on what is happening in the world but rather on
what has happened in our lives that has set us apart from the world?
When
we seek Him and we find Him, we need to share Him with others. We need to fellowship in One Accord,
remembering the One who saved us has also saved our brother/sister in
Christ. The One who has done miraculous
things in us has done so also for our brother/sister in Christ. Why aren’t we sharing those things? What would happen if we were in One
Accord?
While
on prayer, a little side note: Recently
I have been convicted of the “I want” prayer.
Now every time I catch myself saying, “I just want”, I quote Psalm 23:1 “The
Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”.
I challenge you to think of this too as you seek Him, realize that He is
the One who provides, we do not have a need for a want!
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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