A Known Heart

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

A KNOWN HEART

Acts 1:21-26

21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection." 23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

NIV

We are viewing a moment in history, a time when twelve were called and they needed to add one to keep the twelve number, which is how many Jesus called to be his chosen group to be the witnesses to his life, death, and resurrection. Although we do not hear much about the witness of Mattias, he was numbered with the eleven to make twelve. The life application for us here is not about choosing Mattias, or about making sure there was twelve, or about casting lots, but it is about the fact they prayed that God would show them which man to choose, that God knows everyone’s heart. How often do we choose men to lead a church, based on their education, talents or abilities, or their resume rather than asking God to who knows their heart? How often do we make forget that God know our heart? Perhaps the better question to ask ourselves is, do we allow God, do we give him permission to see our heart? Do we attempt to hide even the smallest portion of our heart from him? If we consider David, who was certainly not a perfect man free of sin, God testified concerning David that he was a man after God’s own heart. What kind of testimony does God give concerning our heart? In this world today, we need to be men after God’s own heart. We need to be men who can lead the church, the body of Christ, being witnesses to what God has done. Many men lead churches, and many are not much more then businesses, human organizations, led by human decision rather than by the direction of God. We need the Spirit to empower us to be the men we ought to be, men after God’s own heart. Surely we are not perfect, certainly we have sin to deal with in our lives, but our desire is to be known as a man who has a heart for God, all our heart. Know my heart oh Lord!