Friday, May 25, 2007
Acts 1:21-22 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.
PREPARING FOR THE WORK
What a change we have seen in these disciples of Jesus! How they have grown in joy, confidence, and excitement from Easter Sunday evening until now! Instead of huddling in a locked room as they did then, they are now busily making plans to carry on the work of the ministry just as Jesus has told them they would.
They will wait for the promised Holy Spirit, but while they wait they will not be idle. They will get ready. They will replace Judas with another apostle so that when the time comes for them to go out, they will be fully prepared.
At witnesses for Christ, we understand that are times when we feel very active and other times when we seem to be "waiting" for the Lord to open a door or make an opportunity available to us. Perhaps we even become a little discouraged if we haven't had as many chances to witness as we would have liked -- or the chances we have had haven't seemed to go well (or so we think).
Be encouraged that even when you are not directly sharing the good news of Christ, you can be preparing to share it. Every day you spend in the word you are growing in the knowledge of God's grace and therefore growing in your ability to communicate it to others. Perhaps what you think is a "lull" in your personal evangelism is the Lord's time to get you ready for a particular task. Keep your eyes open. When He places that task before you, then you will indeed be ready to give reason for the hope that is you.
