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TEXT: Acts 1:9-12; John 14:1-6
How happy Jesus' friends and helpers were to see Him. Jesus was alive again! They were really excited.
Before He died, his friends had thought that He would set up His earthly kingdom. Now that He had risen again they probably hoped Jesus would stay on earth and be their King. But Jesus told them that He was going to return to Heaven. He had lived on earth for over thirty years. He had done all the things that God, His Father, had sent Him to do. Now He was going back to live with God.
Jesus had told them before He died that this would happen. He had promised to prepare a special place for everyone who loved Him. He said that someday He would come back to earth and take them there to live with Him.
One day He was talking to His disciples. When He was finished talking with them, He suddenly began to rise up into the air. He went higher and higher until He had disappeared completely in the clouds above. He was gone! He returned to Heaven just like He said He would.
Jesus had promised His followers that He would return some day. And He really will come again! Won't that be wonderful? The trumpet will sound, and every Christian who has died will be raised from the grave. Every living person who really loves and obeys Jesus will rise to meet Him in the clouds. This is the most important day.
Everyone who loves Jesus is waiting for His return. But how long do we have to wait? What should we do until then? Jesus tells us in the Bible to watch for Him. What does that mean? Should you stop playing? Should everyone stop working? Should you go to the top of a high mountain and watch the clouds? What does the Bible mean when it tells us to watch?
It means we should watch with our hearts, not our eyes. God does not want us to just sit still and watch the sky, because no one knows when that day will be.
Do you know what things Jesus wants us to do while we are waiting for Him to return? He wants us to read our Bible, pray, show kindness to others, and tell His good news to everyone we know. We will be very busy if we do all we should. But that is OK because there is so much joy in our hearts when we work for Jesus.
God wants us to look forward with hope to the day when Jesus will return. It should be the day that we are most excited about. It will be a day more wonderful than any other. It is important to believe in Jesus! He wants us to be ready to meet Him.
Are you ready?
PARENT'S CORNER
One of the very important themes of the Bible is the exciting fact that Jesus is coming back to earth again! Your child will learn that Jesus will come again in the same way that He went away—in a cloud.
Help your child make a cloud bookmark to reinforce this thought. Draw a simple cloud shape, about 1-1/2" high and 2" wide, on a piece of paper. Let him use this as a pattern to cut two matching clouds from white felt. Cut an 8" length of rainbow-striped grosgrain ribbon. Glue the two cloud shapes together with one end of the length of ribbon in between them.
If you wish, a purchased sticker of Jesus could be applied to the cloud shape. Help your child locate the Bible text in his Bible and place his new cloud bookmark there.
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