February 12, 2010, Mark 13

KEY VERSE
“Then he selected twelve of them to be his regular companions, calling them apostles. He sent them out to preach, and He gave them authority to cast out demons. These are the names of the twelve he chose:
Simon (Peter)
James and John
Andrew
Philip
Bartholomew
Matthew
Thomas
James
Thaddaeus
Simon (the Zealot)
Judas Iscariot

(Mark 3:13-19)

CENTRAL TRUTH

These twelve disciples were just ordinary everyday men who became extraordinary because of Jesus!

TRADING ORDINARY FOR EXTRAORDINARY

At first glance I thought this passage was going to be incredibly hard to write about. And then I took a second look and realized that there is so much more to it than what is written. I chose to look at the disciples because I know that everyone reading this, including myself, feel like (at least most of the time) that we are just ordinary people. “God can’t use me, I don’t have the right job or I’m not this or that.” The truth is God uses ordinary people everyday and turns their ordinary life into an extraordinary life.

Let’s look at a couple of them.
Simon Peter: He was an impulsive fisherman who later became bold in preaching about Jesus. His life showed us that Christians falter at times, but when we look to Jesus he forgives us and strengthens our faith.
Thomas: He had courage and plenty of doubt. Through his life we learned that even when Christians have serious doubts, Jesus reaches out to them to restore their faith.

These are just two of the many men whose lives were transformed by God’s mighty power. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hang up this ordinary life for an extraordinary one!