Today, take a moment to read Acts 1:12-26. This comes immediately after Jesus sails off into the sky. The apostles talk about Judas (did you like that gruesome description?) and then they talk about the need to replace him.
In other words, they are looking to move ahead, to continue to live into the vision of Jesus, but they have to make a critical decision. So, what do they do?
Verse 14 says, "They all joined together constantly in prayer."
Verses 24-26 say, "Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast lots..."
They prayed. They narrowed down their choices. They prayed again.
And then they did something that sounds very much non-spiritual. They drew lots.
They rolled the dice.
And they trusted that either person selected by this human selection process (or was it) was the person God wanted.
THOUGHTS:
-Maybe God has more invested in His vision than we do. Our role is to pray and discern and trust God with the results.
-The greatest thing we can do as a Greater Things Team is to be in prayer. Can I challenge you to write down a weekly prayer commitment to the process? We meet on Mondays so far, so maybe each Monday, you'd take 15 minutes to pray specifically for unity and and clarity.
-The disciples were in prayer BEFORE this situation presented itself. In other words, their posture, while waiting for next steps, was prayer. We cannot move forward in our own strength.
-God can use our work to change the world and give witness to God's movement in our lives. That is what motivated this decision...they wanted to make sure the witness of Jesus was moved forward. If that is our team's focus (not my will but Yours be done), I believe God will speak to our hearts and minds about decisions needed to get us all there.
Greater Things are yet to come!
