Mark 3:14
He appointed twelve — designating them apostles — that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.
What of Today’s Verse…
While there are many intriguing and fascinating thoughts in this short sentence, the one phrase that touches my heart is this one: “… that they might be with him ….” This reminds me of that great passage in Acts 4:13: “They recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Now I know that we can’t “be with” Jesus in the same way the twelve apostles were. But, we do have the four Gospels that tell his story. When was the last time you sat down and read one straight through? When was the last time you read a Gospel and asked Jesus to make himself and his will known you? Why not spend some time being with Jesus this week!
Let us Pray:
Holy Father, thank you for the Scriptures. Thank you especially for the Gospels that tell the story of your Son. Please forgive me for not spending more time getting to know him better. As I recommit myself to seek after your Son, please bless me with a genuine sense of his presence and a clearer knowledge of his will. In Jesus’ holy name I pray. Amen.
Words of Wisdom
Ye Are Not Your Own
There is no such thing as a private life – “a world within the world” – for a man or woman who is brought into fellowship with Jesus Christ’s sufferings. God breaks up the private life of His saints, and makes it a thoroughfare for the world on the one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves, we are called into the fellowship of the Gospel, and things happen which have nothing to do with us, God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way, if you do not, instead of being of the slightest use to God in His Redemptive work in the world, you will be a hindrance and a clog.
The first thing God does with us is to get us based on rugged Reality until we do not care what becomes of us individually as long as He gets His way for the purpose of His Redemption. Why shouldn’t we go through heartbreaks? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us fall and collapse at the first grip of pain; we sit down on the threshold of God’s purpose and die away of self-pity, and all so called Christian sympathy will aid us to our death bed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, and says – “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart.
“Know ye not that . . ye are not your own?” —1 Corinthians 6:19
