Saturday, September 13, 2008
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Time Changes Everything
"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).
When Jesus began his mission on earth, he began by teaching the things that God had taught him and as a result, people began to follow him. He even went to certain people like Peter and John and their brothers, Andrew and James, and invited them to follow him, telling these fishermen that they would embrace a new calling and become "fishers of men" (Mark 1:16-20). Over those first few days and weeks, he gathered a band of disciples, people who followed him around. And eventually, after a night spent in prayer, he called twelve of them and designated them as apostles. Their mission was simple: 1) that they might be with him; and 2) that he might send them out (Mark 3:14).
Lots of people followed Jesus around and showed up for teaching times and were even there for the miracles and healings. It is no different today. There are still lots of people who go to church every Sunday and spend a few minutes most days reading their Bible or praying. They probably go to a pot-luck every once in a while and may even attend a week of special meetings once a year or so. We really know nothing of most of these people in Jesus day, and the impact of this group of people on the world around them is still rather minimal today.
I have to ask myself, and we all do, what I want to be in life, in the Christian life? Do I want only to be ordinary, like everyone else, or do I want to be something more? Am I trying to just get by, with minimal effort, or do I desire to put in that little bit extra to see greater results? It is still true that, you reap what you sow. And it is always true that it is the little bit extra that makes the difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary. Might I suggest that the fact that you are reading this means that you are one of the ones who wants more out of your faith walk!
In the story that precedes the verse quoted above, Peter and John had been preaching in the Temple, which wouldn't have been so bad were it not for the fact that they were teaching that Jesus had risen from the dead (Acts 4:2). So the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council made up of Pharisees and Sadducees, put them into prison and then called them to give an account the next morning. Peter didn't miss a beat but, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to preach a similar message to them. Their courage was obvious and undeniable, and "they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). They had seen this kind of courage in front of them not too many days earlier in another man that they had crucified and here were Peter and John proclaiming this crucified man as raised from the dead and saying that,
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
The secret to Jesus' ministry was time with God. The apostles were changed men because they spent time with God and with Jesus. And, more than just a few minutes here or there or an hour a week in a building dedicated to him. Our calling is to be with him so that he might send us out. We are called to be with him full-time. He gets all of you and me. Jesus said that he will never leave us or forsake us and that he had given us the Holy Spirit as a full-time companion. His commitment to you and me is full-time. What is our commitment in return. Does he have all of my time, no matter what I am doing or where I am? Does he have yours? Am I willing to be sent out? Are you?
Time changes everything! Our attitude changes everything. Am I conscious of Jesus and his presence in my life all of the time, or even most of the time? Do I talk to him often throughout my day? Do I listen for him? All day long, not just for a few minutes in the morning? Jesus is the extra bit that changes a disciple from ordinary to extra-ordinary. We have been called to be with him and I can't think of a better place to be or a better way to live, every minute of every day in the presence of my loving Savior and friend, Jesus Christ.
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