“Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. ¹³ And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, ¹⁵ and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” Luke 6:12-16

We often think that spending one hour in worship and in prayer, praise and thanksgiving at church is truly a great feat. But when we consider that Christ often spent whole nights engaged in these same practices, well, it makes us rethink what it means to worship, Amen? In serving G-d, our concern should be not “How long will this take?” but “How can I make the best of the time that G-d has given to me?”

The twelve apostles are named in this text, and never were a group of people so privileged, yet have come from such a varied and rich lack of experience for what they have been called. We will learn that one of them had the devil in him, and will prove to be a traitor. Others will come long distances to hear Jesus – and they will learn that it is indeed worth their while to hear the word of Christ. Others will come to be cured by him, and be healed by him. All who encounter Jesus will learn that there is a fullness of grace in Christ, including His love mercy and grace that is enough for all. 

We continue that calling – to follow Christ.

Pastor Dave