ANTICIPATORY JOY
Luke 24:51–53
And it came to pass, while he blessed them,
he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
And they worshipped
him,
and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
And were continually in the temple,
praising and blessing
God.
Amen.
It would have to have been a miraculous occurrence
that the disciples could rejoice even though their Rabbi, their Savior, was
leaving them. Before Jesus was caught up
in the clouds, He had given them confidence that the promised Comforter, the
Holy Spirit, would come to them in Jerusalem. They were instructed to wait in the city for
this promise to be fulfilled. The
presence of the Holy Spirit would strengthen and maintain the intimacy that
each one of the disciples, including the women, had created with Jesus in their
everyday, present, tangible experiences with Him. When the Spirit came upon them, it was in the
form of tongues of flame! They were
immediately enabled to testify about Jesus boldly in languages they had never
studied!
Even though we no longer perceive God in the Person
of Jesus with our five senses, His presence is still strong in the lives of
believers via the work of the Holy Spirit. The way we now maintain an intimate
relationship with our Lord is by Bible study, illuminated by the Spirit within
us, and by prayer. How much time do you
devote to developing this most important of all relationships? Are you reading
the word with anticipatory joy, looking forward in eager expectation to how the
Spirit will move in your life?
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