Mark 3:13-19 - Afterwards he went up into
the hills and summoned certain ones he chose, inviting them to come and join
him there; and they did. Then he selected twelve
of them to be his regular companions and to go out to preach and to cast out
demons. These are the names of the twelve he
chose: Simon (he renamed him “Peter”), James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but
Jesus called them “Sons of Thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (a member of a political
party advocating violent overthrow of the Roman government), Judas Iscariot
(who later betrayed him).
As Jesus traveled from place to place he
noticed the hearts of 12 men who would obey Him and be His closest students. He
taught them everything His father had revealed to Him that they could use to
heal to preach and to cast out the demons that were numerous in that day.
The twelve men were as different as night
and day…simple fisherman…to hated tax collector…to educated doctor. He chose twelve…perhaps a number that
represented the twelve existing tribes of Jews….to provide continuity …or
transition the people God chose to the opening of His love to all people. Perhaps that is all the men Jesus could find
that He knew would follow Him to the end.
The men He chose are just like us
today. They were not chosen for their
great faith…for their great gift of preaching…or for any other talent. He chose them because of the willingness to
follow their heart …and obey the one they perceived to be the Messiah. Jesus filled them with scripture…and insights
to His father. Jesus taught them how to
pray and heal…He taught them how to love and have compassion…He taught them how
to serve others.
These men…they were ordinary people …just
like me and you. And like many of us that choose to follow God….they didn’t get
the full weight of the job they had been chosen to do at first either. But after Jesus’ resurrection and
transfiguration…they too were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to go
out into the entire world and make enough disciples to change the face of the
Christian church.
It is a great reminder to me….just one more
ordinary person…that God has great plans for those that He saves. He will fill
us with the same Holy Spirit….teach us how to love and serve others….give us
the same power to heal and cast out demons….and make disciples of others that
we see each day. God can build my faith
as strong as Peter’s and John the Baptist’s and every other Bible great I read
about each night. I just have to make sure that my heart stays pure…that I
follow only Him and block out as much of the evil in the world as I can.
Father….thank you for the reminder that once I accept your
love into my heart and repent of my sins…your sacrifice of blood washes away
the pieces of the world that keeps me from being your obedient servant. Forgive
me for the times that I have doubted the power I could have in my life because
I let too much of the world seep into the heart Good was preparing to work only
for Him. Help me to listen to the soft still voice inside of me so that you can
help me overcome the temptations that bombard my spirit each day. Amen.
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