A Time of Waiting
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
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My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, I praise You that You are the God who hears and answers prayer! I praise You that You are the one true, and living God! I praise You that You understand my weaknesses and yet You love me still. I pray that You will fill me with Your Holy Spirit that all that I am and all that I do will serve to show others the truth of Your salvation today and always. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Acts 1:15-26
15During this time, on a day when about 120 believers were present, Peter stood up and addressed them as follows:
16“Brothers, it was necessary for the Scriptures to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided the Temple police to arrest Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. 17Judas was one of us, chosen to share in the ministry with us.”
18(Judas bought a field with the money he received for his treachery, and falling there, he burst open, spilling out his intestines. 19The news of his death spread rapidly among all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)
20Peter continued, “This was predicted in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ And again, ‘Let his position be given to someone else.’
21“So now we must choose another man to take Judas’s place. It must be someone who has been with us all the time that we were with the Lord Jesus—22from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us into heaven. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”
23So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they all prayed for the right man to be chosen. “O Lord,” they said, “you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen 25as an apostle to replace Judas the traitor in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” 26Then they cast lots, and in this way Matthias was chosen and became an apostle with the other eleven.
Reflecting on God's Word
Have you ever gotten tired of waiting when you were given specific instructions to wait, and decided to pursue a different course of action? What happened?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
What did Peter suggest the believers do while they were waiting for the Holy Spirit? What was the result? (1:15-26)
Understanding God's Purpose
Do you think it was in God’s purpose for the apostles and other believers to select a replacement for Judas while they were waiting? Why or why not?
Why do you suppose that Peter was the one who made the decision to replace Judas?
Applying God's Word to Our Lives
What is the most immediate application of today’s Scripture for your life right now?
Thoughts...We Must Choose...
Peter made a great case for drawing the conclusion that “we must choose another man to take Judas’ place.” The question is, “If Jesus said to WAIT, until you RECEIVE POWER, then GO, then was it right for the apostles and other believers to make such a decision? It wasn’t a sin, although, possibly it could be considered disobedience to Jesus’ direct command, which IS a sin. Yet it was definitely something that wasn’t blessed by God. How can I say that? Because we never hear Matthias’ name mentioned again in the book of Acts or anywhere in Scripture. In addition, God’s obvious choice to replace Judas was Saul, who became known as Paul. If the command to wait was given, and a decision was made during that time—which it was—then we must follow the “path” to see where it leads from the action, and the path seems to lead no where! Therefore, let us learn from this particular action—let us learn that when God says, “Wait!” The best thing to do is WAIT! The believers did their best to discern and do God’s will, but anything we do after God has given us a command that adds or subtracts from the command is best left undone!