Acts 1:15-26 (NIV) 15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”
18 (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms,
” ‘May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,’
and,
” ‘May another take his place of leadership.’
21 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, 22 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.”
23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
One of the things that captures me about this passage is how the scriptures that Peter had hidden in his heart in some previous time all of a sudden were incredibly relevant in the present. Think about it, perhaps Peter learned those Psalms in his childhood or early teen years. Perhaps he had learned them during the “training time” with Jesus. It doesn’t really matter the exact time, what matters is that he hid the word of God in his heart.
Peter would have no way of knowing the circumstances in which he would draw upon them. If someone would have told him that just a few hours earlier, he would see the resurrected Son of God ascend into heavens, he might have thought “… yeah…. ok…. whatever you say!” He didn’t know beforehand that he would be a disciple of the Messiah and that one of the inside 12 would betray the Christ to his death and subsequently have to be replaced.
My point is this, You and I will never know when we need to draw upon the word of God stored up in our hearts. Therefore it is crucial that we hide as much of it as possible into the deep recesses of our hearts.
Papa,
You are so awesome! I love your Word and I thank you for it. Help me to continually hide your Word in my heart so that when the time comes, I will have a deep reservoir of Spiritual Truth and Wisdom to draw from. Help me to memorize, not in pride and for pride’s sake, but that I may bring You the glory that You are due. In Jesus name, Amen.
Running After Papa….