Daily Devotion, August 13, 2020

Devotion: Read Acts 1:15-17, 21-26.

Peter takes charge. This episode in the life of the disciples happens just after Jesus ascended into heaven and just before the coming of the Holy Spirit. The problem is that the disciples are short-staffed. Twelve is a nice Biblical number. There were twelve tribes in Israel. Jesus called twelve disciples. Along the way they went from being called disciples to apostles. Disciple is one who is called. An apostle is one who is sent. Jesus called his disciples, he sent apostles to take his gospel message to the ends of the earth. The candidate for the twelfth apostle, Judas’ replacement, had to have been with them from the very beginning, from the baptism of John to the Ascension. They wanted someone who had walked the entire journey with Jesus.

Casting lots to pick the twelfth apostle was serious business. They wanted God’s choice to fill the position. Peter had them pray. This might have been the first congregational meeting of the Christian Church. Five minutes after Jesus left, the meetings began! This passage seems like boring church business, but the intriguing fact is that they stopped to ask what God wanted. I’m not sure we always do that. Sometimes we get caught up in business as usual and we forget to ask: What is God’s vision for God’s world and church? Personal Worship Option: What we have in our story for today is a group of people seeking to follow the founder’s vision. We have people praying that they might do God’s will and not their own will. We have people waiting for and believing in the power of the Holy Spirit to equip them to do God’s work in the world as the body of Christ. We have people who are committed and excited. What about us? What does God want for us? We can never stop asking.