SPEAKER_00: Luke 24, 52 and 53 says that the disciples worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
SPEAKER_00: My name is Dan, and I'm glad you've joined me today in your daily walk.
SPEAKER_00: I marvel at what it must have been like to be one of the disciples in the presence of Jesus continually, day and night, for the three years of Jesus' ministry on earth.
SPEAKER_00: To be living life with the Son of God must have been so amazing.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, the disciples were continually at the temple, praising God.
SPEAKER_00: And this happened right after the ascension of Jesus, even before the Holy Spirit had come.
SPEAKER_00: They knew how their hearts burned with love and devotion when they were with Jesus, and they figured by staying in and near the temple, they would remain close to his presence.
SPEAKER_00: This whole scene reminds me of those first months and years after I accepted Christ as my Savior.
SPEAKER_00: But in my case, it wasn't a temple.
SPEAKER_00: It was the church building that I wanted to be at constantly, because God's people were there.
SPEAKER_00: The time was unique in my life and forever left an impression on me because I was around junior high and high school students in my youth group who were on fire for the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Many of us remain in touch to this day, even with all the decades that have come and gone since then.
SPEAKER_00: There were a number of us, including myself, who experienced a call to ministry in those days, and we weren't even out of high school.
SPEAKER_00: Some became missionaries, while others became pastors and teachers.
SPEAKER_00: A few of us even became music ministers.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, indeed.
SPEAKER_00: When you're in love with Jesus, you want to be around your Jesus-loving friends as well.
SPEAKER_00: You want to do the Christian life together.
SPEAKER_00: And that's just the way it was.
SPEAKER_00: It was an amazing time in my life.
SPEAKER_00: Let me close with Psalm 27, 4 and 5, when King David said, One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
SPEAKER_00: I hope you all have a beautiful day.