“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:18).

This passage is part of a special message from Jesus to his disciples. It is called the Olivet Discourse, and it was given shortly before Jesus was taken away to be tried and crucified. These words represent some of his last words to his disciples. What makes it especially special is that toward the end of this discourse, Jesus also prayed for you and me:

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (John 17:20-23).

During our Tuesday Bible Study we are walking through the Bible, and we are now in Acts studying the growth of the church. There are many metaphors for the church: body, household, building, temple, army, bride, etc. Paul speaks of the church as family in 2 Corinthians 6:18: “and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Paul is apparently referring to 2 Samuel 7:14 which is itself a reference to the “house” or dynasty that God will build for David rather than the literal “house” David wants to build for God.

In all these metaphors, we see unity. Even as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one as the Trinity (see the references to “we” in the above verses), we are invited to be one with Him as family, as a unified structure, built and maintained in love. It is abundantly clear that God sees us living out our faith in relationship, just as he is in relationship as The Trinity. God ordained the family as the primary earthly relationship, and commanded us to show compassion for the fatherless and the widow because they were otherwise without family. And then when God sent His Son as our Redeemer, he put in place the church where we as believers in His Son would become the family of God.

This means that we are never alone. As an “older” person, this is especially significant. My parents have both passed, as have my grandparents and many of my aunts and uncles. I have even been referred to as the “matriarch” of my family. (Please! I am not ready for that!!) And even though I am blessed with family, it is emotional to see so many of my friends aging and passing on, even as I have hope of seeing them one day in Heaven. I have friends who have virtually no family left.

But brothers and sisters in Christ, you will never be alone. Jesus has promised that we will never be orphans. “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—” (John 1:12).

He promises to come to us. And As sons and daughters of God, we are brothers and sisters with all believers. There is the family you are born with, and the family you are reborn into, adopted into. You have no choice in the former, but you do have a choice with the latter, with your brothers and sisters In Christ. You have a choice to love each other, and to “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13).

And knowing this, our love for each other is our greatest testimony. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” John 13:35).

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land” (Psalm 68:5-6).

In Christ,

Judy

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him because he remains with you and is in you.” (John 14:16-17)

I have been blessed to have some very influential people in my life—my parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers. I was able to personally interact with them, work alongside them, learn from them. They have all passed on, and I miss them. When something happens, I want to pick up the phone to tell them or ask them something, only to realize all over again that they are gone. I bet you have had someone in your life like that.

I can imagine how the disciples were in disbelief that Jesus was going away, as he told them repeatedly. They had come to rely on Jesus for companionship and wisdom. He was so kind and compelling. In fact, most of us who have studied the New Testament have some envy for the disciples of Jesus because they had an opportunity to walk and talk with Jesus and have that in-person relationship.

Jesus responded by telling them that when he went away, he would send someone better in his place. Not someone more powerful or more effective or more kind, but someone more available. Where Jesus, in his humanity, could only be in one place at a time, the Holy Spirit is equally available to all believers, no matter how many are calling his Name at the same time, no matter the time of day. Where Jesus, according to plan, died and ascended to Heaven, the Holy Spirit would remain with them at all times, in all places.

Not only that, he promised that the Holy Spirit would also empower them to do things that they would have never dreamed possible. “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” (Acts 1:8). And indeed, they achieved incredible results through the Holy Spirit and the church grew by thousands, despite threats of persecution.

“The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.” (Acts 5:12-16)

The New Testament books of Acts and throughout all the Epistles tell of the growth of the church throughout the known world at the time, all by ordinary Christ-followers empowered by the Holy Spirit. The promise of the Holy Spirit is not time-bound—we have that same promise.

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39).

In Christ,

Judy

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)

My husband and I have two sons, and they each married precious girls. While their weddings were quite different from each other, they were equally special, with lots of planning and preparation. Each of my daughters-in-law prepared for their weddings as the most special day in their lives. They were chosen. They were blessed. And we celebrated. Their weddings caused me to reflect on my own wedding, and their weddings also caused me to reflect on another even more special day: the day that we as the church, as the bride, will be presented to our groom, Jesus, at the wedding supper of the Lamb. “For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7b).

Funny thing: I had diligently prepared for my own wedding, taking care of every detail so that it would be perfect. As I met my dad at the back of the church, as he was preparing to escort me down the aisle, it struck home with me that I was not only celebrating my wedding, but I was also GETTING MARRIED! This is the man I would be spending the rest of my life with (Note: it is all good). We had a brief honeymoon, then settled down into our new home.

In 2023, Ascension Day is celebrated on May 18, forty days from the day Jesus was crucified. “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God…. After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. (Acts 1:3,9). In the days leading up to his death, Jesus had spoken with his disciples about his upcoming death, resurrection, and ascension. That is when he told him that he would come back for them, as the opening passage describes.

As a parallel, we have also been diligently preparing for our wedding to the Lamb of God. And the Lamb of God has been diligently preparing for our arrival at our final home with Him. “…I go and prepare a place for you…”  There are so many levels of promise in these two verses.

1. The father’s house is large, large enough for everyone. There is no limit to the number of people it can hold. There is no waiting list, and we will not have to share a room no matter how many people show up.
2. Jesus is going ahead of us to prepare it. I can just imagine: Jesus has furnished it. He is ensuring that the beds have fresh linens, the tables are set with the good dishes, the toilet paper has been replaced with a full roll, and the towels are all clean and available. The refrigerator is stocked. Everything is ready.
3. Jesus is coming back to get us. We do not have to worry about the means of transportation or the directions (that is a biggy for me).
4. Jesus will bring us, his bride, back home with Him. Our destination, our heavenly home, is assured.

What a welcome we will receive!

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 22:3-4; 22-27)

How blessed are we to have this wonderful heavenly home to look forward to.

In Christ,

Judy

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”(Matthew 28:20b).

We are dwelling on the promises of God this year, and this is one that I personally hold fast. It is this knowledge that encourages me. What is the context? Jesus is talking to his disciples. He has been with them since his resurrection, teaching them. Luke 24 reads “…he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (v 45). He told them “I am going to send you what my Father has promised” (v 49).

In the book of Matthew Jesus gave his disciples what we know as the Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), then made the promise to be with them always “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b), and “was taken up into heaven” (Luke 24:51). These passages also indicate that when Jesus was taken up into heaven, he “sat at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19).

When Jesus was sending out the disciples for their initial attempts at evangelizing, he told them: “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:11-12).

So now we have this promise, but what is the evidence that he has been fulfilling it?

Two stories from the New Testament about ordinary men give witness to the power of the Holy Spirit and his continued presence; both are after Jesus had ascended to heaven. Deacons were men who had been appointed by the apostles to care for the people in the church, especially the widows, so that the apostles could spend their time in the ministry of prayer and preaching. These men were known to be guided by the Holy Spirit, in the same way that all of us are as believers in Christ.

Evidence: When Stephen, a deacon of the early church, gave his famous speech to the Sanhedrin in his own defense after being seized for doing great wonders and miracles among the people, he said “Look…I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56). I love this passage. As we read from the passage in Mark at the end of the second paragraph above, Jesus was seated at the right hand of God; but when Stephen was testifying to the Sanhedrin, Jesus stood up! He was with Stephen in his defense.

Evidence: Another deacon, Philip, was also guided by the Holy Spirit, and the result was the launch of the gospel to Africa!

^“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So, he started out, and on his way, he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.

The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So, he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.’

The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.” (Acts 8:26-40)

Evidence: Many, many times, I myself have been in conversations where I did not know what to say. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would give me the words, and He always did; He always came through. I am sure he will come through for you. Just ask and be receptive.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13).

 “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14).

In Christ,

Judy