TIME TO BE WITH HIM

One blessing for me personally since after the pandemic started almost a year ago has been the privilege of joining in a weekly zoom Bible study, which is hosted overseas in Wales.  The Pastor who leads the Bible study has been a dear friend of mine since the Lord put the Christian Band, Third Day, in my path back in 2013.  He was the Road Pastor for the band and would accompany the band members on their bus as they traveled about holding worship and prayer time for them.  He would often also lead the concert attendees in prayer before the concerts.  We started talking back then, have kept in touch, and my faith journey has been better for it.

 

First picture with Third Day’s Road Pastor, Nigel.  11/14/2014

 

Third Day   11/14/2014  Youngstown, OH

 

This Bible study is a different format than other Bible studies I have participated in, which has made the Scriptures come more to life for me.  There are no formal study guidebooks or homework for the next week.  We usually read one chapter a week, stopping to discuss the stories, their significance, and how God speaks to us through His words. I appreciate learning from the in-depth discussion of the passages as the Pastor shares more insightful wisdom. I joined in around Easter time last year, as they were reading the Acts of the Apostles. This was perfect as I had just read the gospel endings and Acts.

 

 

We are currently reading through Mark’s gospel. There was one little verse that is so powerful that I never noticed before. It serves as great encouragement for our lives.

 

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.  He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.  These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.  –Mark 3:13-19  (NIV)

 

Quite interestingly, this particular verse is only in Mark’s gospel account of Jesus’ appointing of the twelve apostles.  It is:

He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.  –Mark 3:14-15  (NIV)

 

Jesus had several disciples that followed Him when He started His public ministry at age 30 after being baptized by John the Baptist.  Early on, Jesus appointed the twelve men listed above to be more intimately involved in proclaiming the Good News to all.

 

 

 

 

We see here the first thing Jesus wants His newly appointed apostles to do is just BE with Him, not “doing” things first.  Jesus wanted that personal relationship with His first apostles to be most important.  Jesus wanted to get to know them better and for them to truly know and understand Him by spending time with Him.

Isn’t that precisely what Jesus wants for each one of us?  Jesus wants that personal relationship with us above all else. That is the first priority in our faith walk. By spending time in prayer, reading Scripture, and seeing God working in our lives we get to know Jesus better and understand His heart.

 

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From that personal relationship with Jesus, the disciples were able to go out and preach, to share the Good News of Jesus.

The same is true with our relationship.  As we nurture our personal relationship with Jesus, we are called to preach the Good News of Jesus in whatever way Jesus has gifted us right where we are in our lives. 

  

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Mark’s gospel starts with sharing stories of Jesus’ power over evil spirits and demons, showing that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.  Jesus sends His first apostles out with that same power, working through Him, to even drive out demons. As the apostles watched in astonishment at seeing Jesus doing this, they were even more amazed to be given the same power and authority.

Isn’t that same principle true in our lives?  God gives us the strength and power to do unimaginable things in our ministries.  God alone gets the credit for whatever we do.

 

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Jesus picked simple ordinary men from this world to be His first apostles.  Most of them were fishermen, not teachers of the Law or men in prominent positions of authority.  Even Jesus was born as a simple man, not a King in a worldly sense like the one people were expecting.

Aren’t we just simple ordinary people, too, just like the earliest apostles?  Jesus can use the simplest of us with no formal education necessary.  We only need to have a willing heart to be used by Jesus, ready to serve and share Jesus’ love with all we meet.  As the saying goes, “When God calls you, He will qualify you.”

 

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Have you considered how we are called “human beings,” not “human doings?”  Isn’t that what Jesus’ life exemplified?  Jesus did perform many miracles, but most important in His life was taking daily time to commune and pray with God, His Father.  Many passages share that Jesus went to a mountain or off by Himself to pray.  He was always seeking to be obedient to God, making sure He was fulfilling His purpose on earth.

My Pastor often says that God made us “human beings,” not “human doings,” which is always a good reminder of the real priority in our lives.  We are called to just “be” with God every moment of every day.  Don’t think your “doing” is more important than just “being.”  We, too, need to spend daily time in prayer and be obedient to God as we fulfill our life purpose on this earth.

 

 

My encouragement for you this week is to take time daily…

TO JUST BE WITH JESUS.

 

~Can you find a special place in your home or in nature where you can commune in prayer and Scripture with Him?

~Can you try ten minutes a day and eventually work up to more?  You will be surprised how fast the time will go!

May Jesus minister to your heart and soul as you take time to be with Him drawing you closer to Him.

 

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.  Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  –1 Corinthians 1:26-27  (NLT)

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”  –Psalm 46:10  (ESV)