On Ascension Sunday, we celebrate that Jesus is King of the universe. All those who have acknowledged Jesus Christ as their sovereign King can rejoice that Christ has ascended to His heavenly throne and has empowered all who have put their trust in Him to be His witnesses to the end of the earth. With Jesus Christ as our King, the church cannot lose.
We learn from the healing of the royal official's son that Jesus must be more to us than any miracle. Our God is worthy of worship even when our request is not answered in the way we would like because He is the true sign and wonder. When we face trials of various kinds, we can trust in Jesus and Jesus alone.
In this passage, Jesus is urging us to lift up our eyes and see the many opportunities we have to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those around us. May God help us to be faithful labourers in the spiritual harvest awaiting us.
In this passage, the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman turns to the topic of worship. God is seeking true worshippers who will worship Him "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). Regardless of who we are or what we've done, if we have put our trust in Jesus Christ and worship what is true about God, then we are the true worshippers God is seeking.
In this passage, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well, and He offers to quench her thirst forever. If we're thirsty for something more than what this world has given us, then we can come to Jesus who will give us abundant life in Him, so that we will never be thirsty again.
In this passage, we are encouraged to give thanks to the Lord for raising Jesus Christ from the dead. Because God acted to save Jesus from death, we can know that all those who put their trust in Jesus Christ will also be delivered from death on the last day. May we therefore joyfully celebrate the Lord's day, not just on Easter Sunday, but every Lord's day that we gather together to triumphantly declare what the Lord has done for us.
In this passage, we see the steadfast love of the Lord on display. When the psalmist was near death, the Lord responded to his distress and became his salvation. Unlike the psalmist, Jesus would actually die. But three days later, Jesus would be raised from the dead, later ascend into heaven, and will one day come again to raise His people from death to life. Because of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, all who believe in Him will also conquer death. What ought to be our response to the Lord's goodness? We ought to "give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 118:1, 29)
In this passage, we see the humility of John the Baptist in making much of Jesus. Because of where He comes from, because of what He speaks, and because of His authority, Jesus Christ is to be exalted "above all." For those who believe in the Son, there is the hope of life. For those who do not believe, there is the promise of death.
In this passage, we see the greatest Lover (God) give the greatest gift (His only Son) that leads to the greatest result (eternal life). But there is a choice before us. Which “whoever” are we – the one who believes in the only Son of God, or the one who doesn’t believe in the only Son of God? What we choose will decide whether we have come into the glorious light of Christ, or whether we are still in darkness.
In this passage, Jesus highlights the importance of being born again - that is a entirely work of God, that it is transformational, and that all that is required to be born again is to look to Christ and believe.