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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, September 16, 2018
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Subjecta:The Twelve Apostles Bible Verse:Matthew 10:1-4 "And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; a Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him." Message:
We might wonder why Christ chose twelve apostles. Most people naturally associate the number with the tribes of Israel. There were twelve patriarchs or subordinate heads of the Old Covenant, so there would be twelve of the New Covenant. But the number is of little practical importance to us, today. It is the men and their work that fascinate us.
They were, first off, mostly “blue collar” workers, men who labored with their hands — like Jesus himself. They were ordinary men called to extraordinary deeds. Most could not read or write. Christ promised that the meek would inherit the earth; appropriately, he called the meek to spread the message.
There are three oddballs in the mix. First, Matthew himself. As we have discussed, he was different in a number of ways. He carried political baggage, being not only an employee of Herod (as a client king of Rome) but, even worse, a tax collector. He was white collar. He was educated, at least sufficiently to read and write Aramaic and Hebrew and to do accounting.
Second was Simon the Zealot. There were five primary political factions among the Jews: Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots, and what might be called Herodians (who overlapped the first two). Keep in mind, politics and religion were inseparable for the Jews. The Zealots were a small, semi-secret sect of violent anti-Herodian revolutionaries. They were dedicated to ridding Israel of Roman colonization. One might compare them in organization to the Maumau in Kenya or the Thuggee (Thugs) of India, although the religious aspect was a bit different.
Consider this: if Simon had met up with Matthew in a dark alley (before their call), he would have stuck a knife in Matthew's belly.
Third, Judas Iscariot clearly occupies an odd spot. Nobody is sure why he was called “Iscariot”; there are at least six competing explanations, including one (probably incorrect) that would make him a member of a revolutionary assassins called the “iscarii”, similar to the Zealots. Most likely, he got the name simply because his father, Simon Iscariot, came from Kerioth, the name of several towns and also a region to the north.
But the critical inquiry is not who they were, but what they did; for lacking their call as apostles, they would be utterly lost to history. To a man, they accomplished extraordinary things, making long journeys, becoming great speakers, leaders, and healers and, with the exception of John, dying violent deaths: Judas by his own hand, and eleven others (including Judas' replacement, Matthias) slain as martyrs.
Meditation : . Prayer : Oh Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you"; I pray that I and your whole church, the body of all faithful people, will know your peace, and live in harmony and unity, one with another, in accordance with your wishes. This I pray to you, who lives and reigns forever....Amen |
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