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Last week I flew to Calgary for meetings. I like flying. There is something exhilarating about being in a plane as it speeds along the runway, as the nose of the plane begins to rise, and as the plane finally leaves the ground and soars into the sky.

As the plane climbs higher, I like looking out the window as we pass through clouds and emerge into the bright sun or, as I experienced last week, have amazing views of clouds and ground from over 35,000 feet in the air.

Tomorrow is Ascension Day. This is the day Jesus “took off” and rose above the clouds. Ascension Day of course comes 40 days after Easter. Acts 1:3 tells us what Jesus did between Easter and Ascension. “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.”

In other words, when Jesus rose above the clouds on Ascension Day, he had given his disciples all they needed to be convinced that he was alive. It’s as if by Ascension Day Jesus was saying, “You’ve got the evidence!”

Taking off, soaring above clouds, gazing down to the earth below are amazing experiences. Of course, the plane must eventually land. We don’t live in the sky; we live on the ground. But, we live knowing that Jesus is alive. We live knowing that he reigns above all other power and authority. We live knowing that Jesus is seated in the place of eternal glory – and nothing can touch him!

Today, the day before Ascension Day, remind yourself again of how you came to faith in Jesus, why you trust in his resurrection, and what difference his eternal reign means for you. God brought you to faith in him, you are his, you have eternal life because Jesus is alive, and you will live with him forever – nothing can change this. Let your heart soar in praise to our God.

視頻大意翻譯 (video Chinese translation):

上周我飛到卡加里參加一個會議。我喜歡飛行。當飛機沿著跑道加速，機頭開始上升，最終離開地面並在天空翱翔時，這是令人振奮的。

隨著飛機爬升更高，我喜歡看著窗外，穿過雲層，出現在燦爛的陽光下，或如我上周所經歷的那樣，從 35,000 英尺以上的高空欣賞到雲層和地面的壯麗景色。

明天是耶穌升天節。這是耶穌 「起飛」 升至雲層上的日子。當然耶穌升天節是在復活節40 天後。使徒行傳 1：3 告訴我們耶穌在復活節和升天之間做了什麼。 “他受害之後、用許多的憑據、將自己活活的顯給使徒看、四十天之久向他們顯現、講說　神國的事。”

換句話說，當耶穌在升天從雲層上升時，他已經給了門徒所需的一切，讓他們確信他還活著。就好像耶穌在升天那天說，“你有證據了！”

起飛、翱翔在雲層之上、凝視著下面的大地，這些都是令人驚歎的體驗。當然，飛機最終必須能降落。我們不是生活在天空中; 我們生活在地面上。但是，我們知道耶穌還活著。我們知道他掌權高於所有其他能力和權威。我們知道，耶穌坐在永恆榮耀的地方─ 沒有任何東西能動搖他！

今天，在耶穌升天節的前一天，再次提醒自己是如何信靠耶穌的，為什麼你相信他的復活，他永恆的統治對你有什麼意義。神讓你相信他，你是他的，你能有永生，是因為耶穌還活著，你將永遠與他同住—沒有什麼能改變這一點。讓你的心飛揚，讚美我們的神。

讓我們禱告。

Grace and peace

Pastor Callum