His Choice

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

HIS CHOICE

Acts 1:20-26

20 "For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, "'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, "'May another take his place of leadership.'   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

Peter is still speaking to the believers, who at that time numbered about one hundred and twenty, and he had shown how the scriptures were both prophesied and fulfilled in the act of Judas and the result. There were now only eleven apostles, for all the one hundred and twenty would be considered disciples, or learners. Peter noted the psalm that referred to another taking the place of leadership. Two names were proposed, but by lot Matthias was added to the number of apostles. However, before casting lots, they prayed, knowing that the Lord knew everyone’s heart. They wanted the Lord to choose the one to be added to their number. Two different truths speak to us in this portion of scripture. First, it is always right to add another to the number. This might be taking a little liberty with the context, but the point remains: it is always right to add another believer to the number. This is the calling upon every believer, to tell the story, to be a witness of what has happened to us, what we have seen, heard, felt, experienced in Jesus. We may not all lead everyone we encounter to Jesus, but our mission is to bring people to Jesus, to add one more to the number. The Second truth is that before they cast lots, which was normally done by placing names on a chip of wood or stone,  before picking without looking, they prayed.  It is always right to pray before doing anything important; in this case, add one more to the number of apostles. However, we make decisions every day, some just the normal, mundane activities of life. Should we do laundry today, vacuum, dust, what to have for lunch or dinner, and go on the list of daily choices. But there are also times when we must make a major life decision, and it is always best to pray first. We are more than aware that the Lord knows our hearts and what our desires are. If we make choices based on our desires, we may be making the wrong ones. Yet, there are times when the Lord puts a desire within us, but we still need to seek his counsel, asking Him to guide us to the right decision. We could get into a spiritual routine, which means we always do the same thing we have always been doing, and expect the Lord to bless the way we have been doing it. Yet, if we prayed, “Lord show us the way” or “Your will be done in earth, in our lives, as it is in heaven”, then we need to be open to changing course, do whatever He leads. Let us not assume prayer means we want the Lord to bless our choice, but let us know we need to follow His choice.