F O O T H O L D
READING
65 WAITING TOGETHER
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PRAY Lord, enable me to put
aside those things which discourage me
from praying and serving.
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READ Acts 1:12-26.
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THINK What were the
qualifications of an apostle (21-22)?
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FOCUS Jesus had told his
disciples to wait for the gift of the Spirit
(1:4,5). Notice how they
spent their time:
IN PRAYER (14). Mary, the
mother of Jesus, is mentioned for the
last time in the New
Testament in this prayer group. But Jesus'
brothers are now also
associated with the disciples. The group
gathered frequently to pray
(14) and set the example for us.
Without prayer, any work
that we undertake will have more of
ourselves than of God in it.
If we want God to work, we too must
meet frequently to pray.
These people had a deep friendship
because Jesus had bound them
together. Even a former tax
collector and a nationalist
zealot had lost their traditional
hate for each other (13).
IN CHOOSING A LEADER (15-26).
One shadow remained over the joy
and expectation of the
Christians as they marvelled at Christ's
resurrection and waited for
the promised gift of the Holy Spirit
- it was the tragic memory
of Judas the betrayer.
Jesus had chosen the twelve
disciples - now only eleven remained.
So Peter suggested that
another person be chosen to replace
Judas. Note again the
qualifications of this person (21,22). We
may find the casting-lots
method they used to choose rather
strange. But it was a sacred
institution in Old Testament times
and was often used to
determine God's will. However, we don't
read of this method being
used again once the Holy Spirit had
been given.
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PRAY By name, pray for
Christian leaders whom you know.
