***Acts 1***

Verse 9
*
And after
He
has said these
things,
He
was lifted up while they
were looking on,
and a cloud received
Him
out of their sight.

(Soul Winners New American Standard New Testament)
******************************************************
Grace be unto you from me, my beloved Christian brothers & sisters. Let us thank God for allowing us to come again together in a sharing of his word through this group.Take some time out of your daily schedule to thank him for all He has done in your life. Today is one of the most holiest of days in Christian Faith. It is known as "Good Friday", it could have been mistaken for being "Gruesome Friday", in that, there was false accusations, betrayal, torture & mocking. Ah, dear friends, but at the "ninth hour" (3 p.m.), one event turns all the bad into good. During an earthquake, the veil is torn from top to bottom (Mark 15:38). The rending symbolized the divine purpose Jesus fulfilled on the cross- the parting of the way for all to enter God's presence.
A proclamation of God, in that, the barrier between man & God had disappeared.
(Hebrews 9:8)
As for me, even to call this day "Awesome Friday", would not do justice to this day, that God welcomed us to come to Him & to intimately know Him as our loving Heavenly Father.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For this brings me to my topic for this week:
(Jesus' Ascension Is Essential)

The prophets had spoken of the one to come & be offered as a ransom for many. My topic on last week stated that if he were not a King, He could not claim rulership of our lives & if He were not a man, He could not know our griefs & sorrows. Jesus was the Son of God & He would redeem us unto himself forever. It had come to the close of His life & He gathered His disciples & told them things & comforted them for He knew it would be hard for them when He was gone. He commanded to them that they "Love One Another", the greatest of all commandments. It is the final test in Our Discipleship.The disciples could not believe that He was going to the cross, but in His servitude, he washed their feet & announced there was to be a betrayer. Judas knew that Jesus knew his secret, but Judas with a heart of steel went through with his crime. Just as sad was the denial by Peter. He really loved the Master, but the thief had come into his life to steal his loyalty to his best friend, JESUS. All, but John had deserted our Lord in His greatest need. Jesus knew His time was to be, but He went to the Father in prayer alone, for He tried to talk to His disciples, but they had fallen asleep. An Angel was sent to strengthen Him. Even Jesus was faced with the change of heart as we often do. The bible says He was praying & that sweat, as it were drops of blood falling to the ground, fell from Him in his distress.

~~~~~ Can You See Him & Feel His Pain ~~~~~

[O Lord, My Saviour]
*Thank You*

Have YOU ever needed to talk to someone in a time of crisis & there was no one?

O, Christian friends, Jesus must have felt so lonely in this time, but He knew He had a purpose & prayed to the Father that, "His Will Be Done". The awful day had come & he was crucified, for You & Me & on the Cross, he cried out the words "It Is Finished", the shout of redemption from the "Great Conqueror". At the Cross we have hate's record at it's worst, and love's record at it's best. Man so hated that he put Christ to death. God so loved that He gave men life. My dear friends, how could we not serve a Master like this. Christ died for our sins.
(1 Corinthians 15:3)
It cost Him his life. On the third day the tomb was empty. Jesus had risen with his grave clothes intact, not like Lazarus, he came forth bound in his clothes. But Jesus came forth changed from His natural body to a spiritual body, just as a butterfly leaves the chrysalis shell. How wonderful it would have been to walk & talk with the Saviour, to see His resurrected body as the disciples & others had done. You see, if He had not been raised from the dead & now getting ready to ascend to the Father, our Faith would be for nothing. He would have only been a man with no power to save us or to go & prepare a place for us & receive us unto Himself. This is Jesus' cure for heart trouble-faith in God.
(John 14:2-3)
He had walked the earth 40 days after His resurrection & with all power.
He was about to make His Glorious return unto the Father.

"Jesus had to go away, so that the Holy Spirit could stay".

Now the Church would be born, in that, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples (Acts 1:8). Jesus commanded that they go & preach to the uttermost parts of the world & they did, not downcast for he was gone, but they had a renewed purpose. Let us remember in this Easter season that God came down from Glory in the form of man in Jesus, born of a VIRGIN, crucified for our sins, giving us the Gift of Salvation, died & rose, & being carried in a cloud unto the Father.
*Soon to come in likewise manner *
(1 Thessalonians 4:16 "Personal", Revelation 1:7 "Visible")
(Matthew 24:30 "Bodily", Luke 24:50-51 "Local")
O, dear friends we must be witnesses for our Lord. If you have no witness for Christ, look into your heart. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
(Matthew 12:34)

Pray for one another in the uplifting of spirit & healing. If any of you would like to be opted from this list, please send me a note & I will delete your name, in that I wish not to offend anyone.
May you always walk with God & God with you.
I am also adding a link, so that you can view a scene from the resurrection of Jesus. If you do not have Flash, go to Macromedia flash player & download player to view.

Peace
Don
*
http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/animations/risen/index.html

(A 1derful Mathematical Equation)
***1 Cross + 3 Nails***
=
*******4 Given*******