Acts 1:4-11
One day as Jesus was with His disciples, He gave them the command to not leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the gift His Father promised. He was going to send the Holy Spirit to be their helper.
The disciples wanted to know what would happen in the future. Jesus told them only God knows the time of things that will happen in the future. Jesus taught them what was most important was for them to tell all people about Him. The Holy Spirit would help them to be witnesses to people near them and to people far away. Jesus told the disciples that the Holy Spirit would help the good news of Jesus to be heard by people everywhere.
As soon as Jesus had spoken, He was taken up into the sky. The disciples watched in awe as a cloud took Him out of sight. They could not believe what just happened. As they were looking up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. “Men of Galilee,” the two men said, “why do you stand looking into heaven?”
Then the men explained to the disciples that Jesus, who they had just seen taken into heaven, would come again in the same way. Jesus is in heaven today with God. One day He will come again just as He promised that He would do.
Have you ever made a promise to someone? Were you able to keep that promise? Hopefully when you make promises you are able to do the things you say you will do. Sometimes, though, we aren’t able to keep our promises.
The Bible is filled with promises of God. And, if you’re worried about God not keeping His promises to you, you can rest in the fact that if God says it, He will do it. God is the ultimate Promise Keeper.
After Jesus had risen from the dead and before He returned to heaven, He made a promise to His followers that He would send them a Helper—the Holy Spirit. He also promised that He will return one day.
While most of the promises of God in the Bible have been fulfilled or we are currently experiencing in our daily lives (God’s promise to never leave us, to always hear our prayers, and to give us the gift of the Holy Spirit when we become believers in Jesus, for example), there is one promise we are still waiting for. Jesus is in heaven, seated next to God. One day, He has promised He will return and take those who believe in Him to live with Him in heaven for eternity. We don’t know when this promise will be fulfilled, but we can trust that one day, Jesus will return. How do we know this? The Bible tells us. We can trust that the Bible is true because it is the Word of God, and God always keeps His promises.
Questions:
1. What gift did Jesus promise to send to His followers after He returned to heaven?
2. What did Jesus tell His disciples the Holy Spirit would do for them?
3. What promise did Jesus give us now that He is in heaven?
Pray: God, thank You for being a Promise Keeper. Thank You that we can trust Your Word because Your Word is truth. Thank You that we can hope in the promise that Jesus will return for those who believe in Him. Until that day, help us live our lives for Your glory and honor. Amen