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Mark 6:8-9 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.
IF you ask, “How do I know God’s will for my life?” the Spirit is stirring your heart. In your mind’s eye you sees Jesus beckoning, “Come, follow me.” Perhaps you know what Jesus wants you to do. Is your real question, “How can I possibly follow Jesus into God’s will for my life? Am I ready? Am I qualified?” When God calls you into the unknown, there’s often a distracting voice in your natural mind that wants to stop you. “Be sure you have all you need before you go. Build your faith. Be sure your friends and church are behind you. Know what you will do if things don’t “work out” as planned. Be comfortable with going! Carefully review all the possibilities. You don’t want surprises.” Do you think the apostles had those thoughts when Jesus gave them no bread, no bag, no money in your belts? Was one walking stick enough? Their life support for food, water and shelter was faith that it would come from people they would meet along the way. They had absolutely no assurance that things would “work out” beyond the Savior’s commands. And that’s the thing, isn’t it? Do you need anything beyond God’s Word? The apostle Paul wrote an impassioned letter to the Corinth church, exhorting them to more faithfully follow Jessus. He instructed them on ways to correct their errors. And then he comes to the only way the church will become Jesus’ true disciples. 1 Corinthians 13:13-14a And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts. God loves you. He has gifted you to know him as your Savior. He has told you what he wants you to do. Do you have faith, hope and love to do his will? Why did Jesus send his disciples to preach the gospel and defeat Satan with only a walking stick? He wanted them to know it was their faith, hope and love in their fundamental relationship with him that would give them success. When the 12 delivered the message, they began to know what God-centered faith, hope and love will do. Comments are closed.
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AuthorBob James Archives
January 2025
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