Time to Wake Up, Step Up and Move Out!

The Feast of the Ascension                                                                  

Time to Wake Up, Step Up and Move Out!   

On this Feast of the Ascension of Christ into heaven we proclaim definitively that Jesus is in charge!  He is Lord. He has all authority and power and say.  And one other thing: He is our Friend!  We must wake up and be conscious of the fact that He who sits at God’s right hand also dwells right here with us! He loves you with an everlasting love. He offers forgiveness for your most crippling sins and shameful past.  He wants you to stand firm on his promise to abide with you always.  

Aware of Christ’s presence we must then step up with a hardy “Present!” when he calls our name!  He is the Head and we are His Body and since the Body, cannot exist apart from the Head, so we cannot fulfill our mission to be Christ’s hands, feet and heart if we are not ready to place ourselves at the service of his will and his Spirit.  We must take action to confront our fears, our weaknesses, and our battle with sin. Now is the time to invest in the One who has invested everything in us!     

Having been emboldened to step up and face our fears, we must then accept the challenge to move out of our comfort zones and safe routines and do something our parents taught us never to do:  Go looking for trouble; troubled hearts, troubled minds, troubled lives, troubled circumstances. Remember, if the world is filled with darkness it just means the light is not shining; our feet are not marching, our hands are not feeding, our eyes are not seeing, our mouths are not speaking, our minds are not seeking, our voices are not praising, our arms are not raising, our ears are no longer hearing and our hearts are no longer caring.  Those who possess the cure must seek out the diseased.  Those with the bandages and ointment must pursue the wounded!  The merciful must pursue the sinner. And those who know that they are blessed must seek out those who believe they are cursed.  Corrupt and dishonest politicians and unjust leaders are NOT the problem.  However, professed Christians who claim that all power is in Christ hands but then refuse to wake up, step up and move out – now THAT’S the problem!  So, on this Feast of the Ascension, let us stand with the One who promised to be with us always, and be the solution instead.