He’s Coming Back - Get Busy

January 9

(Acts 1:10-11 NIV) "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.""

(Matthew 24:29-30, 44-46 NIV) ""Immediately after the distress of those days "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' {30} "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory… {44} So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. {45} "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? {46} It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.""

(1 Peter 2:11-12 NIV) "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. {12} Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

As Jesus ascended into the clouds, the disciples stood around, looking up to the sky. Two angels came and reminded them that He would be coming back and expecting results. They had better get busy with the kingdom building stuff Jesus had spoken about. Hadn’t He told them it would be good for the servants whose master found them working for Him when he returned? They should stop standing around longing for heaven, and get busy being His disciples here on earth. They were to live every day as if He was coming back today. That’s still a good idea! When we do that, the timeline no longer matters. Get out of the holy huddle. Go out and be His witnesses. Stop critiquing and start loving. Do more praising than complaining. Live like Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and you too can glorify God and live beyond your means. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

The Ascension - Taken Up

January 8

(Acts 1:9 NIV) "After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight."

(Acts 1:1-2 NIV) "I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach {2} until the day he was taken up to heaven..."

(Luke 24:50-52 NIV) "When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. {51} While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. {52} Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy."

(Mark 16:19-20 NIV) "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. {20} Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it."

Jesus walked the Earth for some forty days after His resurrection from the dead, teaching His disciples, and giving them some important final instructions. Then, He was taken up to heaven before their eyes. The ascension of Christ is one of the most fantastic stories in Scripture. Jesus gave the disciples one last proof of His divinity. People often ask, “Where is heaven?” We don’t know for sure, but we can say with authority that Jesus was “taken up”. He didn’t go down, nor did He go “poof”, and disappear like a magician. He was “taken up to heaven”. So whatever and wherever heaven is, we know that Jesus went up to get there. This is the context of the word “ascend”. Jesus came down to Earth, and He went back up to be with His Father in heaven. We too will one day ascend to meet the Lord in the air. What a glorious day that will be! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day   

We’re on a Mission from God

January 7

(Acts 1:8 NIV) "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

(Isaiah 43:10-12 NIV) ""You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. {11} I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. {12} I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "that I am God."

One of John Belushi’s famous lines in “The Blues Brothers” movie was, “We’re on a mission from God.” This is also what Jesus told His disciples. In his final instructions, He told them that God’s coming baptism would infuse them with a power they had never had before. They would receive this power so that they could be witnesses for the Kingdom of God in their hometowns, in the cities and states near them, and to nations all over the earth. We too, have been set apart to be His witnesses. We’re on a mission from God. When we believe and receive the Holy Spirit, the power of God comes into our lives for a reason: so we can be his witnesses and attract others to His Kingdom. We are called to be His witnesses to those down the road and across the street, and we are to be His witnesses to those in other lands and across the sea. We are on a mission from God! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day 

Stay Focused

January 6

(Acts 1:6-7 NIV) "So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" {7} He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."

(Matthew 24:36-39 NIV) "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. {37} As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. {38} For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; {39} and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."

As the disciples gathered around the risen Christ, they wanted details about the future. They wanted to know when He would return and restore the Kingdom of God. Jesus told them it was none of their business. His return date was not to take up too much of their time and energy. They were to mind their business, which was establishing the Kingdom of God on earth. That’s still good advice. Stay focused on the right stuff. Stop worrying about what is coming next, or when it is coming. Focus on what you can do now. Light up the world with the love of Jesus. Witness to the power of the life changing Gospel with your changed life. Pray for lost people and for one another. Minister to the poor, the weak, the sick, the addicted, and the dying. Help people find Jesus so their lives can be changed, and their souls can be saved. That’s our business. That’s our mission. Stay focused! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day