Lesson One: Jesus True Last Day on Earth

 

In my career as a business consultant, I often advised young professionals that how you begin with a new company and how you exit are critical to becoming the person you want to be in business. Beginnings and endings are important. The way you begin a marriage is important and the way it ends, through widowhood, divorce, or whatever is also significant. A child’s beginning and the way you raise him is important to the person he will eventually become. James Dobson once said that you should actively parent a child at three because you are determining who he will be at thirteen when the discipline problems will be much harder to solve. Starting well is important, but so is finishing well. We can all think of men like Solomon and King Saul in the Bible who did not finish well.  Or modern day evangelists and pastors who were once on fire for the Lord but took a tumble from their calling when pride, self-importance, and self-gratification led them into sin. It can happen to any of us if we try to coast on our good beginning and do not have an eye to finishing well.

Jesus had a mysterious and awesome beginning in Bethlehem. It goes without saying that Christians write about it, celebrate it, and ponder it often. But His departure was equally mysterious and awesome, and John MacArthur would add a third descriptor: Significant.

For today, simply read these two accounts of this miraculous, glorious event in Jesus’ life called the Ascension. Christ’s last day on earth did not end on the cross. That was actually a beginning. Christ’s last day was not spent in agony; it was spent in joy and glory. It was spent in the company of His best friends and his Father. It was glorious. One account is from the Gospel of Luke and the other is from Acts, but Luke wrote them both.

The Luke Account

Text: Luke 24:12-53

But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³ That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” ¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. ²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” ³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

³⁶ As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” ³⁷ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. ³⁸ And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹ And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish,^[b] 43 and he took it and ate before them.

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for^[c] the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God.

The Acts Account

Text: Acts 1:1-11

1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ² until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴ And while staying^[a] with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with^[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

The Ascension

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ¹¹ and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Lesson Two: The Significance of the Ascension, Part One

(Lessons Two and Three are excerpts from John MacArthur’s “The Significance of the Ascension,” https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/42-298/the-significance-of-the-ascension , Grace to You website, December 21, 2008.)

…Luke began with (Jesus’) arrival, and Luke ends with his departure. Let’s look at the text, verse 50: “He led them out as far as Bethany and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshipping him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising God.”

The story of Jesus began in heaven when he left and came to earth, and it ends when he leaves earth to return to heaven. The story began with condescension and ends with ascension, began with incarnation and ends with exaltation, began with expectation and ends with consummation. It began with the Son of God being born of a virgin, descending to earth, and it ends with the Son of God being born from the dead ascending to heaven. The story began with hope unrealized and ends with hope fully realized. It began with a promise and ends with a fulfillment and a new promise. And the story began with praise and worship, and it ends the same way. It began with the praise of Mary and Zacharias and Simeon and Anna all praising God in anticipation of the coming of Messiah. It began with the praise of angels, and it ends with worship and praise. The story even began in the temple when the baby Jesus was taken to the temple, and there being offered for dedication in the Jewish custom he was taken up into the arms of Simeon who offered praise to God. And then there was Anna who was always in the temple praising God. And so it began with praise and ends with praise. It began in the temple and ends in the temple. We have come from the beginning to the end, and in between is the incomparable magisterial history of his life, his teaching, his miracles, his rejection, his death and his resurrection, a history written majestically by Luke and not only Luke but Matthew, Mark, and John as well.

However, only Luke is given the sole privilege of recording the culminating event, the ascension. And Luke tells us about the ascension twice. It’s how he ends his Gospel, and it’s how he begins his next volume of history called the book of Acts. Luke tells the story of Christ on earth; Acts tells the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the fulfillment of the Great Commission in the establishment of the church. So Luke again in his two overlapping, interlocking histories ends with the ascension and begins with the ascension, which then should affirm to us its importance. It is the culminating end of one history and it is the inaugural beginning of another history. As we look at this massive miracle, I want you to consider three aspects: The event itself, miraculous ascension, the response, and then we’ll talk about its significance. And in so doing, we will transition if we can our praise from the birth of our Lord to his ascension, from his humiliation to his exaltation, from his condescension to his coronation.

Lesson Three: The Significance of the Ascension, Part Two 

MacArthur’s teaching below points out the significance of the Ascension and what it should mean to each of us who are called by His name, Christians.

Finally, we’ve seen the event (the Ascension) and the response. What’s the significance? I suppose you could approach it negatively, no more stupid questions for Jesus. That would be a certain amount of relief. No more having to deal with the foibles of fallen creatures on their own turf, no more hateful Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees. No more having to walk dirty roads with dirty people. No more agonizing rejection. No more indifference. No more hate. No more sleepless nights. That would be a very superficial look at the significance of the ascension, but a much more significant way to look at it is to see what it signals by way of his accomplishment. So let me just give you some things you can think about quickly. It marked the completion of his salvation work. It marked the completion of his salvation work. After the cross and the resurrection, there was nothing more to do to provide any aspect of salvation. That was summed up in the words on the cross, “It is finished.” “I glorified you on earth,” he said to the Father in John 17, “now having finished the work you gave me to do.” The work of redemption is done.

Secondly, it is the end of his limitation. He says in John 17:5, “Take me back to the glory I had with you before the world began.” He set aside the independent use of his divine authority and power to become a slave to the Father. When that was over, he came back to his preincarnate glory. He came back in one sense more than when he left. He left as Spirit; he came back as Theanthropos, the God man, whom he remains forever. And even when you go to heaven to worship him, according to Revelation 5, you’re going to see a Lamb who has been wounded.

Thirdly, the ascension marked his exaltation and his coronation. It was then that God gave him the name above every name, the name Lord and called on all to bow. Fourthly, it signaled his sending of the Holy Spirit. John 16:7: “If I don’t go, I can’t send the Holy Spirit.” “It’s better for you,” he said, “that I go so that I can send the Helper, the Holy Spirit who will be with you all the time. He has been with you. He shall be in you.”

Number five, his ascension marked the start of his preparation for our heavenly home. In John 14, when they were all moaning and sorrowing over his leaving, he saw it so very differently. “Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also.” He is there preparing our heavenly home.

Number six, the ascension marked the passing of the work of evangelism to his followers. That’s why the Book of Acts begins with Luke saying, “The former treatise, namely the Gospel of Luke, I wrote, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began.” Yes, there is the finished work of Christ; that’s the redemptive work. The work of evangelism only began, and he passed the baton to his followers.

Number seven, the ascension signaled our Lord’s headship over the church. He, who is named Lord, he according to Ephesians 1 who is far above all rule, power, dominion, and authority is given as head over the church, which is his body in which all the fulness dwells. He is exalted then to be Lord and ruler of his church, which embodies his person. That all is launched at the ascension.

Number eight, it marked his triumph over Satan. First John 3:8 says, “He came to destroy the works of the devil.” And in his triumphant coronation, the Father was affirming that he had done that destruction in full. The serpent’s head was crushed, and Christ is supreme. Hebrews 2 puts it this way: “He took away from Satan the power of death, by which he held men in bondage all their lives.”

Number nine, it signaled our Lord’s giving the work of ministry to gifted men. He was the gifted man with his disciples. He never seemed to pass the teacher’s mantle to any of them, but according to Ephesians 4:8, “When he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives and gave gifts to men.” Because of his work, when he ascended into heaven, he had provided a salvation that would capture souls who would be given back as gifts to men, some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor-teachers for the equipping of the Saints for the work of the ministry. So in his earthly provision of salvation, he secured the salvation of all future leaders of the church who would be given to the church for its own edification to make it strong for the work of evangelism.

And then as we’ve indicated, number ten, the ascension marked the start of his high priestly work. He now ever-lives to intercede for us. He is our advocate before the Father no matter what accusations are brought against us by Satan and his emissaries. “Who is going to lay any successful charge against God’s elect? Not Christ who justified us. He has been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” So he’s a “sympathetic and merciful High Priest,” the writer of Hebrews says, “who can come to us and nurture us in all our struggles.”

And finally, the ascension guarantees and secures his Second Coming. “He has been taken from you but he will come in like manner as you have seen him go,” Acts 1:11. What an amazing event. Talk about something worth celebrating. If we can go all the way from the birth of Christ to the ascension of his Christ, from his arrival to his departure, we’ll get a picture of the whole thing. He is exalted by his ascension, crowned as Lord. He sends the Holy Spirit. He begins to prepare our eternal home. He takes the headship of the church. He defeats Satan. He passes evangelism and ministry to his followers. He begins the blessed work of intercession on behalf of his people and stands ready to return in God’s perfect time. Yes, in the words of Paul to the Corinthians, “He who was rich became poor, divesting himself of all heaven’s riches, that we through his poverty might be made rich.” So as we come to Christmas this year, maybe we can go on to the end of the story, get past the beginning and reflect on everything that he accomplished.

Lesson Four: Finishing Well in Your Life

From Casey:

Maybe it is because I turned seventy-five this year that I am energized about finishing well. I live in Atlanta, home of the world’s largest airport. Unlike Boston and some other airports, Atlanta has the luxury of some very long runways. I feel like a jet that has been taxiing down the runway at a reasonable rate of speed when suddenly comes the moment to get serious about acceleration. It will take acceleration to give the jet the lift it needs to take off, to get the job done, to lift hundreds of lives into the air, and to bring them to safety. I see that as my job- to lift lives and to help bring as many people as I can to safety into the strong arms of Jesus Christ. To show the way into the strong tower; I want the refuge that has kept me safe and protected from fearing the things of this world for  almost over forty years to be their refuge for the rest of their lives. But I don’t have much runway left. Of course, some of my best friends are in their nineties and some have lived to around 100, but even so, there is not as much runway left for me.  I have already taxied well over half of this runway of life. I don’t find this sad; I am excited.

There is something to this “nothing to lose,” “go for broke” mindset I have now. When I was very young, I dreaded asking people about their personal relationship with Jesus. I feared they wouldn’t like me or would get mad at me for pressuring them or might think I was holier than thou. Not now. I don’t’ have time to waste on silly fears like that. And the excitement about the possibility that someone might join me in Heaven instead of going to everlasting hell far outweighs any hurt pride I might experience if they reject me. They and I have everything to gain. When I look at my friends I am talking to Jesus about, they have eternal life and Heaven to gain, not to mention a personal relationship here on earth that is the best companionship they will ever know; their loss would be if they forego the Lord’s offer of a personal relationship and spend eternity in Hell. No matter what you believe Hell is (though the Bible documents it as more horrific than anything we have on earth), eternity is a long time to spend in a place like that.

In the spirit of lifting everyone I meet or write for, I am leaving you with the simple steps to confirm that you have indeed experienced Christ’s saving Grace on His terms.

1. First, take Him at His word when He says that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Your sins may not be as bad as those around you, but believe me, when Jesus says there is sin in everyone (past, present and future), there is sin. You may never violate the original Ten Commandments, but do you love your neighbors unselfishly as yourself? So far in life, have you ever placed anything above God? Have you ever taken self-sufficiency or self-consciousness a step too far to the point of pridefulness? There comes a moment when you have to believe Jesus that you are a sinner and that His Grace can save you. You cannot be what the Bible calls a “sinner saved by Grace” if you don’t even know you are a sinner. Tell Jesus that you agree with Him that you are a sinner and ask for forgiveness for any sin you have committed in the past. It is humbling and it is hard, but when you truly humble yourself and ask for your sins to be taken from you, it is a tremendous relief. The definition of the Grace you will receive is that you will be “just as if you have never sinned.” You will be a “new creature.” Happy Birthday! Welcome to a new life, a fresh start.
2. But I am getting ahead of myself. You have to accept this free gift of Grace. You tell the Lord that you believe Him when He says He can cleanse you of any sin and give you a new life in Him. Tell Him you accept Him as your Savior. Tell Him that He is in charge now and that you defer to Him. It may take some time to put that into practice as most of us feel we have been doing a remarkable job without Him, but ask Him to help you. You will be amazed, relieved, buoyed up.
3. Now go out and live as a child of God. That’s it. You will live more joyously, fully and successfully if you get in a Bible study and learn His Word, praise Him, and make friends with other Christians who can encourage you and teach you, but even if you never do, Steps 1 & 2 are all you need for salvation.  The Book of John is a great book of the Bible to read first. John was Jesus’ best friend when He was on earth, so he saw Jesus in every type of situation. Who better to help you get to know the man who will become your best friend also?

And for those of you who accepted Jesus as your Savior a long time ago, I am praying for you that you finish well. Continue to grow in the Lord and your knowledge of Him. Increase your time alone with Him in prayer. Increase your study of His Word. Tomorrow we will talk about increasing one other really important thing: Increasing your praise!

Lesson Five: Increase Your Praise

(Note: At the end of this blog is a wonderful devotional on The Ascension from Streams in the Desert.)

As I wrote this series on the Ascension, I had experienced two weeks of stress and the things of this world designed to deplete us of joy, strength, energy, and intimacy with the Lord. After a particularly upsetting morning, I drove home knowing what I needed desperately: I needed to praise! Only by getting alone with the Lord and praising Him could I get my mind off my troubles, myself, and my anxious emotions. Ironically, by taking my eyes off myself and re-orienting my gaze on Jesus could the healing of my “Self” begin.

Everyone has his or her own way of praising. Some read Psalms aloud. I have included ten of those at the end of this blog. 

Some sing or read the words to traditional hymns. I have included the words to a couple of those under Option 2. But today, I want to share with you what I did on the day I was so stressed and alienated from joy. I warn you, I have the taste in music of a thirteen year old girl. But maybe if I share what I do, it can inspire you to come up with your own praise time.

The day I came home so distraught, I got my phone and opened YouTube.com and began to open up music videos that had the lyrics plainly displayed. I sat in my sunny living room for an hour and a half and just sang to the Lord. No, I am not a singer. My sisters could hardly sit by me in church because they would laugh at my singing. But I am enthusiastic! So below are some links to some of the songs I sang that day. I left that time with the Lord relaxed, comforted, filled with joy, filled with awe of the mighty God I serve who could overcome every upset and every problem I had been concerned about. I will give you three options for what I did that day:

 

From YouTube.com

Option One:

Sing along with these popular songs, lyrics provided.

https://youtu.be/T1LRsp8qBY0

https://youtu.be/oWHgs7DOI28?si=v-OsZzULDkGgJMtG

https://youtu.be/SGpgO7Hv5N8

https://youtu.be/NR0vhnu51Uc

https://youtu.be/eQMVOQUuILc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20VqWTZWW9o

hahttps://youtu.be/uz0cjGr2h4k

 

Option Two: Traditional Hymns

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=praise%20God%20songs%20Youtube&mid=560C7156DF5895B96BE9560C7156DF5895B96BE9&ajaxhist=0

From the 17^th century:

https://youtu.be/pKAIWQpbSH8

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=Hymn+414+Blessed+Jesus+at+Thy+Word+Video+and+Lyrics&&mid=616A460BA21C771F20DE616A460BA21C771F20DE&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

 

Option Three:

Design your own praise experience. Go to YouTube and find songs by your favorite artists. Google titles or artists + lyrics video YouTube. I like Toby Mac, Mac Powell, Mandisa, and Southern Gospel.

 

 

10 Best Psalms for Praise and Thanksgiving

Psalm 100:1-5 – The “Thanksgiving” Psalm

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
²   Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before Him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the Lord is God.
    It is He Who made us, and we are His;
    we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

⁴ Enter His gates with thanksgiving
    and His courts with praise;
    give thanks to Him and praise His Name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
    His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 34:1-9 – Thanksgiving and Praise

¹ I will extol the Lord at all times;
    His praise will always be on my lips.
² I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
³ Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt His Name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and He answered me;
    He delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to Him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
⁶ This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    He saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps around those who [reverently] fear Him,
    and He delivers them.

⁸ Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.
⁹ Fear the Lord, you His Holy people,
    for those who fear Him lack nothing.

Psalm 111:1-5 – Praise and Adoration

¹ Praise the Lord.

I will extol the Lord with all my heart
    in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

² Great are the works of the Lord;
    they are pondered by all who delight in them.
³ Glorious and majestic are His deeds,
    and His righteousness endures forever.
⁴ He has caused His wonders to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
⁵ He provides food for those who [reverently] fear Him;
    He remembers His covenant forever.

Psalm 95:1-7 – Thanksgiving and Praise

¹ Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
² Let us come before Him with thanksgiving
    and extol Him with music and song.

³ For the Lord is the great God,
    the great King above all gods.
⁴ In His hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
⁵ The sea is His, for He made it,
    and His hands formed the dry land.

⁶ Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
⁷ for He is our God
    and we are the people of His pasture,
    the flock under His care.

Psalm 92:1-8 – Psalm of Praise

¹ It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music to your Name, O Most High,
² proclaiming Your love in the morning
    and Your faithfulness at night,
³ to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp.

⁴ For You make me glad by Your deeds, Lord;
    I sing for joy at what Your hands have done.
⁵ How great are Your works, Lord,
    how profound Your thoughts!
⁶ Senseless people do not know,
    fools do not understand,
⁷ that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.

⁸ But You, Lord, are forever exalted.

Psalm 7:17 – Thanksgiving and Praise

¹⁷ I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness;
    I will sing the praises of the Name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 103:1-6, 22 – Classic Psalm of Thanksgiving and Praise

¹ Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise His Holy Name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all His benefits—
³ Who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
⁴ Who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ Who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
⁶ The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all the oppressed.

²² Praise the Lord, all His works
    everywhere in His dominion.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 89:5-8, 14-18 – Psalm of Praise and Worship

⁵ The Heavens praise Your wonders, Lord,
    Your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the Holy ones.
⁶ For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who is like the Lord among the Heavenly beings?
⁷ In the council of the Holy ones God is greatly feared;
    He is more awesome than all who surround Him.
⁸ Who is like You, Lord God Almighty?
    You, Lord, are mighty, and Your faithfulness surrounds You.

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
    love and faithfulness go before You.
¹⁵ Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You,
    who walk in the light of Your presence, Lord.
¹⁶ They rejoice in Your Name all day long;
    they celebrate Your righteousness.
¹⁷ For You are their glory and strength,
    and by Your favor You exalt our horn.
¹⁸ Indeed, our shield belongs to the Lord,
    our king to the Holy One of Israel.
Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.

Psalm 117:1-2 – Psalm of Praise

¹ Praise the Lord, all you nations;
    extol Him, all you peoples.
² For great is His love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 139:13-17 – Psalm of Praise

¹³ For You created my inmost being;
    You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    Your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in Your Book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are Your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!

From Psalm91.com

Streams in the Desert, The  Ascension

https://missionarychristian.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Streams-in-the-Desert-Daily-readings-Elisabeth-Cowman.pdf , Elizabeth Cowman, Streams in the Desert, October 22.

OCTOBER 22 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush (Exod. 3:1, 2). The vision came in the midst of common toil, and that is where the Lord delights to give His revelations. He seeks a man who is on the ordinary road, and the Divine fire leaps out at his feet The mystic ladder can rise from the market place to Heaven. It can connect the realm of drudgery with the realms of grace. My Father God, help me to expect Thee on the ordinary road. I do not ask for sensational happenings. Commune with me through ordinary work and duty. Be my Companion when I take the common journey. Let the humble life be transfigured by Thy Presence. Some Christians think they must be always up to mounts of extraordinary joy and revelation; this is not after God’s method. Those spiritual visits to high places, and that wonderful intercourse with the unseen world, are not in the promises; the daily fife of communion is. And it is enough. We shall have the exceptional revelation if it be right for us. There were but three disciples allowed to see the transfiguration, and those three entered the gloom of Gethsemane. No one can stay on the mount of privilege. There are duties in the valley. Christ found His life-work, not in the glory, but in the valley and was there truly and fully the Messiah. The value of the vision and glory is but their gift of fitness for work and endurance. –Selected