Acts 1:1-26

To the Ends of the World 1-5Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. As they met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but "must wait for what the Father promised: the promise you heard from me. John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And soon."
6When they were together for the last time they asked, "Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?" 7-8He told them, "You don‘t get to know the time. Timing is the Father‘s business. What you‘ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world." 9-11These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared—in white robes! They said, "You Galileans!—why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly—and mysteriously—as he left."Returning to Jerusalem 12-13So they left the mountain called Olives and returned to Jerusalem. It was a little over half a mile. They went to the upper room they had been using as a meeting place: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas, son of James.
14They agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also Jesus’ mother, Mary, and his brothers.
Replacing Judas 15-17During this time, Peter stood up in the company—there were about 120 of them in the room at the time—and said, "Friends, long ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David regarding Judas, who became the guide to those who arrested Jesus. That Scripture had to be fulfilled, and now has been. Judas was one of us and had his assigned place in this ministry.
18-20"As you know, he took the evil bribe money and bought a small farm. There he came to a bad end, rupturing his belly and spilling his guts. Everybody in Jerusalem knows this by now; they call the place Murder Meadow. It‘s exactly what we find written in the Psalms: Let his farm become haunted So no one can ever live there. "And also what was written later: Let someone else take over his post. 21-22"Judas must now be replaced. The replacement must come from the company of men who stayed together with us from the time Jesus was baptized by John up to the day of his ascension, designated along with us as a witness to his resurrection." 23-26They nominated two: Joseph Barsabbas, nicknamed Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, "You, O God, know every one of us inside and out. Make plain which of these two men you choose to take the place in this ministry and leadership that Judas threw away in order to go his own way." They then drew straws. Matthias won and was counted in with the eleven apostles.


Devotional (by Emily Alsobrook):
First, let‘s get some background information, since we have started a new book —Acts. Acts was written by one of Jesus’ disciples, Luke, who was a doctor and usually good at giving details. We just finished the book of Luke, and have moved on to the second book he wrote, somewhat like the sequel to Luke. In Acts, Luke fills us in on the events that occurred after Jesus returned to Heaven. Throughout the book of Acts, Luke is going to tell us how the first church got started and the events that got us where we are today.
In the opening, he starts off with "Dear Theophilus," which lets us know that this is a letter to an actual person. Luke is giving an account of what happened , although there is some debate about who Theophilus was; a fellow doctor, a family friend, or even a government official. But interestingly enough, the name Theophilus means "friend of God" or "loved by God." And while this letter was written to a specific person in a specific culture and time, we can still learn by reading this letter because we are all "loved by God."
The second part of this section lets us know what happened to Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus and the action taken by the disciples. Jesus’ followers knew it was important to have a sturdy leadership team, and they wanted to keep things the way Jesus started, having 12 disciples in total. They gave qualifications, that it must be someone who followed Jesus just as devoutly as they did, but was not originally selected as a disciple. They nominated two, prayed, and then "drew straws" or "rolled dice." That seems a little odd, doesn‘t it?
Have you ever had two life options in front of you and they both seemed good? It wouldn‘t be wrong to choose one over the other, you‘re just not certain which one is best. This is the situation the disciples faced. They had established requirements and carefully considered people, and it came down to two qualified individuals. They wanted to do God‘s will, so they fervently prayed for God‘s direction, and cast lots because they felt the need for divine guidance. The disciples had to pick another person and they wanted God to have full control, since He could see their hearts and select accordingly.
I‘m not suggesting that the next time you have a big decision to make, you simply flip a coin and say, "Ok God, heads I‘m going to…" Decisions need to be made after setting specific criteria, deliberating, weighing the pros and cons, and much prayer. If a decision can‘t be reached after all that, maybe following the disciple‘s example isn‘t such a bad idea, but be sure you‘ve really prayed and weighed your options, just like they did, before you draw straws.

Prayer: Lord, thank you that I am loved by You. And when it comes to big decisions, You are always here to help me. Lord, help me to trust You in every situation, even when things don‘t seem clear. In Jesus’ name, amen.