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Acts 1:20-26

20 "For it is written in the book of Psalms:
'Let his dwelling place be desolate,
And let no one live in it';
and,
'Let another take his office.'
21 "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 "beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." 23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 "to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.


As of 04/19/2005 a new Pope has been chosen.
Now I will not comment on this man for a few reasons. First off I am not a Catholic. Second and most important is that I do not know the man or anything about him other then what the news has said, and I will not base my opinion upon what the news says about him. All we can do is the same thing we should be doing for other servant of the Lord, and that is to pray for Him and that the Lord will direct Him.

So what does this have to do with today's devotional then? Nothing really, except for one thing. I was reminded of today's verses concerning the choosing of a man to replace Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus and hung himself.

A few key things in these verses; first is: one of these must become a witness with us
The key words being, one of these and must you see the disciples are setting the rules here.
Second is: show which of these two You have chosen
With the key words being which of these two and another is You have chosen

So many times we set the rules when we pray about something, and only give God a few options. If He does not answer one of these options, then we either choose ourselves which one we think is correct, or we think God is mad at us and isn't answering our prayers.
But the truth is that God may have someone, or something else in mind.
An example may be that you are searching for a wife or husband. In your search you narrow it down to two people and present them both to the Lord asking which one He wants you to marry. If God does not answer then you may choose one that you think is right, but in reality God may have someone totally different for you to marry that you haven't even met yet. Or maybe He doesn't want you to marry at all right now.
We do the same with the cars, or homes we want to buy, the jobs we are seeking, the church we are looking for, the ministry we want to do, and on and on.
So stop limiting God on the choices and start asking what His choice is, or if neither one of your choices are the right one to let you know, and then wait patiently on the Lord for His answer.

  • Psalms 40:1
    • I waited patiently for the LORD;
    And He inclined to me,
    And heard my cry.

    He hears your cry to Him, now wait for him to come to you with His answer, not what you think His answer should be.

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