I Saw Jesus The Other Day

John 1:29 "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

John the Baptist had been talking about Him and preparing a people to follow Him when He came walking on the earth's landscape. Lo and behold, John looks up one day while speaking to a crowd about Him, and there was Jesus. What an awesome sight for John and He was coming to him.

Mark tells us that Jesus, after being crucified and rising again from the dead and presenting Himself in his glorified body ascended into heaven out of the disciples sight. It appeared they would not see Him ever again. But wait! Read the Book of Acts, written from the time of His ascension through in first church history record ever written. In that church history record Jesus was seen many times. His powerful presence came into the room in the powerful presence of His Holy Spirit, empowering them to demonstrate powerful miracles and preach powerful messages. They saw the presence and power of Jesus in the casting out of demons, even the raising of the dead. They saw Jesus presence when delivered from chains in dungeons that only the power of Jesus could have done. They saw Him in the kindness of others in protecting and feeding them. There are so many things recorded in the lives of the Apostles seeing Jesus working in their presence through the powerful gestures of kindness and various personal deliverances of their own.

I see Jesus everyday and sometimes in the night in my life. There are times I am sure I miss seeing Him because I'm not paying attention. I see Him in His healing hand in the lives of others and myself, as well. I see Him in the birth of a new born baby. I see Him in the tolerance of others toward me. I see Him in the courage and peacefulness of one deeply ill who knows Jesus as Savior. Children playing. In the amazing creation. Trees and flowers and streams and lakes and rivers and the ocean are amazing evidence of Jesus creative power and sustaining of life. He works His presence into hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, forest fires, and any tragedy you may think of. He delivers all of His believers and children from death into heaven. Sometimes He prevents death here and extends one's life to further His purpose for their life. He sees to it every event of our personal life is on time and passes through His hands before it gets to us, knowing what we can handle and cannot. I see Him making me stronger through trials and disappointments instead of them devastating me. I am on the other side of more troubling events than I can count or remember, and He will show Himself in such deliverance the rest of my life. His last act of presence in my life here that I will see will be His delivering me through the veil of death into His presence. He saved my soul in 1965 to one day perform that final act of His presence in my life. I will not see death. I will see Him.

Charles Empey is the Pastor of Cove Baptist Church, Orange, TX.