It is almost humorous to consider how many ways the little word “up” is used in our language. It can be a noun, a verb, an adverb, you name it. We wake up, look up, eat up, speak up, write up, clean up, fix up, lock up; you get the idea! I hope I’m stirring up your interest!
The word up appears many times in the New Testament. Some of you may remember an old skit on TV where two body builders said, “We want to pump you up.” Here is a sampling of selected verses that tell the gospel story and they are guaranteed to pump you up:
In Matt. 6:20 Jesus said “store up your treasures in heaven”.
In Mark 1:10 Jesus came up out of the water and the Spirit came on him.
In Mark 1:35 Jesus got up early to pray.
In Mark 2:9 he said to the lame man “get up and walk”.
In Luke 21:28 he said “lift up your heads… see your redemption is drawing near”
In Acts 1:2 Jesus was taken up to heaven
In Acts 2:14 Peter stood up to preach
In Acts 2:24 he said, “you put Jesus to death but God raised him up from the dead”
In Romans 6:4 we are raised up from the waters of baptism to new life
In Ephesians 2:6 God raised us up with Christ and seated us in heavenly places.
In Colossians 2:7 we are rooted and built up in Him
In I Thes. 4:17 we will be caught up together with Jesus in the clouds
In I Tim. 2:8 we are to lift up holy hands in prayer.
In Heb. 2:12 the foundations of the earth will be rolled up like a robe
In James 4:10 we are promised that if we humble ourselves before the Lord, he will lift us up.
In Jude 20, “Build yourself up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit”
These verses will definitely lift you up!
Let us lift up prayer together:
Lord, in your word we see the gospel story that is good news for all of us. It will lift us up if we accept Jesus personally and cast our cares on him. As an old song says, “Lord lift us up where we belong”. Let us see our lives from your perspective. It is so easy to get caught up in the cares of this world. This day let us see you high and lifted up, “shining in the light of your glory”. Let us keep our eyes focused on you as we see your redemption drawing near. Let us be in the world but not of the world. Thank you that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. He is not troubled by events on the earth. Let us be above it all as we join him in the spiritual kingdom. Someday we will rise to meet Him in the air. And we know that someday all the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Lord I Lift Your Name on High