READING: Numbers 1-2, Mark 3:1-19
“He appointed the Twelve.”
Mark 3:16
If you had the opportunity, with whom in history would you want to spend some time? Based on several of my personal interests, I would love to talk to people like Thomas Jefferson (to learn more about the Declaration of Independence), Abraham Lincoln (to hear how he handled his pressures), Winston Churchill (to learn how he kept focused as London was bombed), the Wright brothers (to get into the heads credited with the first human flight), Rosa Parks (to talk about the days of segregation), and Pete Rose (to learn how to hit a curveball). Spending just a few minutes with any of these folks would be fascinating, I suspect.
How much more powerful must it have been to be with Jesus, though! Having prayed all night long (Luke 6:12), He called twelve men to be His apostles. He called them particularly for two purposes: “to be with Him, [and] to send them out to preach, and to have authority to drive out demons” (Mark 3:14-15). Wherever they went, they were his “called to” and “sent out” ones. They were to be with Him, and it was out of their time with Him that they were to go out.
I fear that sometimes we get this plan out of order. We don’t do it intentionally, but we practically reverse the order when we go out and do ministry first, and then spend only our leftover time with God. We don’t typically operate out of our intimate time with Him; instead, we too often turn to Him only when we can’t first figure out what to do. The result is that we may be really busy, but we also lack any real power in our lives.
My prayer is that these devotions help you and me to spend authentic time with Jesus – out of which we take the good news to our neighbors and the nations. Being with Him is not optional for His followers.
ACTION STEPS:
- Take some extra time today to be with Jesus through His Word and through prayer.
- Consider the type of men Jesus called to be His apostles. They were regular folks – nobodies, even – just like us.
PRAYER: “Jesus, I want to be with You. Increase my longing for that time.”
TOMORROW'S READING: Numbers 3-4, Mark 3:20-35
