What Makes Me Happy

 Luke 10:1 ... the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

Here are seventy-two people, nameless and anonymous to us, who were sent on a special mission for Jesus.  

Given the number of teams (36), they must have covered almost the entire county of Israel with their introductory message of the Messiah.  They could give first-hand knowledge and experience to people who were hearing all the rumors about this man who could do miracles and who had such radical ideas and teachings.  

Their job was a challenging one. Jesus told them upfront that it would be like walking into a pack of wolves.

And they were successful.  They not only told about Jesus and His power, they even had seen God give them some of that same power and authority over demons.

We do not know completely what impact they had because we never hear any more about them.  

They are, however, a great example to me of those who obey Christ’s commands and whose temporary ministry is blessed by God.  

My name doesn’t have to be remembered; what I do for God in obedience is what matters.

The fact that my name is written in heaven gives me delight.

"He said to them, ... do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." ~ Luke 10:20  

God can still use me in His appointed way to introduce Him to people. That makes me happy.

Being Like My Teacher

 Luke 6:40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.

There is no doubt about the effect a good teacher has on his students.  

As I look back over my own experiences with teachers, I can see how much influence some of them had on me, either in how I understand a fact or in how I respond to an issue. 

⦿ Olive was my 7th grade English teacher. She instilled the love of grammar in me. She is the main reason I pursue correct grammar in writing and speaking.  

⦿ Shirley, my librarian mentor, is the one who showed me how to use my interest in organization of information as a tool to serve the Lord.  

⦿ Doris, my mentor when I joined the Auxiliary of the Gideons International, inspired me with confidence to be a leader through my Auxiliary ministry opportunities.  

⦿ Last, but certainly not least, my parents are the ones who showed me how to be willing to do, to TRY, anything as a way to honor God, even if I wasn’t the best at a particular activity.  

All of these teachers or mentors influenced me in some way to strive to be better, to do better. I see a bit of each of them in me now, all these years later.

Which reminds me that as I allow Christ to teach me, I will emulate more and more of Him as well, and that should be my main goal. 

I must keep learning how to be more like Jesus. 

I will keep learning how to show the people around me what Jesus is like.

I want to be like my teachers.

Disciple or Apostle?

 

Luke 6:13 ... He called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles.

What exactly was Jesus doing here?

We don’t often make a significant distinction between “disciple” and “apostle” so when I read this verse, I decided to look up the meanings of those two words to understand what was happening.  

A DISCIPLE is a student, a follower, a learner.

An APOSTLE is a delegate or ambassador, a representative.  

The implications of this distinction are huge when it comes to one’s relationship with Jesus.   

Up until now, the twelve men named were learning from Jesus. They were His DISCIPLES.

Now He was putting them in an advanced position.   

They were merely following Him before and now they would be acting as His representatives.

They would be speaking with His authority.

They would be acting on His behalf.  

 It makes me stop and think harder about my own relationship with Christ.   

Am I a DISCIPLE or an APOSTLE?   

Am I just a follower, or am I His representative to others? 

Lots of people continued to be Jesus‘ disciples during His ministry but these twelve men took on a higher level of commitment.

I want to be that committed to following Jesus. 

I want to be His representative to the people around me.