God Speaking to Us - Acts 1:15-16, 20

"During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them. Brothers, he said, the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David...Peter continued, This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it. It also says, Let someone else take his position"  (Acts 1:15-16,20, NLT). 

After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the death of Judas created a vacancy among the twelve Apostles.

The remaining eleven Apostles determined that a replacement should be found for Judas so that his position as the twelfth Apostle would not remain empty.

The Apostles considered that the new people of God, like Israel, were to have twelve designated and appointed leaders. (They certainly recalled the promise of Jesus in Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:29-30 that they would sit on twelve thrones in His Kingdom and judge the twelve tribes of Israel).

What's significant here is that Peter looked to the Old Testament scriptures to find a solution for their predicament. Peter quoted Psalm 69:25 to explain the consequences of Judas' disloyalty and Psalm 109:8 to explain the need for his replacement.

Peter used a broad interpretation of these Scriptures that inferred the coming of the Messiah and His Kingdom was described and predicted throughout the writings of the Old Testament by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul recognized that the Old Testament writers were inspired by God to foretell the coming of the Messiah and, consequently, he quoted from it extensively to reinforce his writings and teachings: "God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son... He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name" (Romans 1:2-5, NLT).

Now if Peter and the Apostles were well-acquainted with the Old Testament Scriptures, the Bible of their day, and recognized its divine inspiration and authority in guiding their decision-making, how much more should we rely on that same authority today!

The Apostles are the founding fathers of our faith. They are our leaders. They are our example, our teachers!

So, if the Apostles used the Scriptures to guide them in their decision-making, then it is incumbent on us to study and learn the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, and apply its teachings to our daily lives.

Because the Bible is God speaking to us...yesterday, today, forever!

Certainly, we ought to know what He is saying!

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." (2 Timothy 3:16, NLT)