The Church Mouse

“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:25)

I want to tell you about a little story I came across the other day.

It’s seems that When Jesus, returned to heaven after the resurrection. Saint Peter asked him.
“Who did you leave on earth to carry on the ministry?”
Jesus replied. “I left 12 good men.”
Saint Peter was excited. He happily said.
“They are the Chief Priests, right? (You know the leaders of the church.)
“No!” Replied Jesus.
“Well are they members of the Sanhedrin, right?” (Someone with authority.)
“No!” Jesus replied.
Looking alarmed Saint Peter said.
“We’ll, who in the world did you leave down there?”
Jesus took a deep breath and said.

“I left 12 uneducated men. Some of whom are fishermen. Right now they are scared and alone. But, I’m going to send the Holy Spirit to them. And then you will see what they can do!”

You see when it was time for Jesus to choose the ones who would be his apostles. He didn’t go through normal hiring practices of accepting resumes, conducting background checks, and interviewing potential candidates. Jesus used a better way: he prayed for God’s guidance in choosing his followers. (We should follow this example.)
The 12 men making the cut were not very promise looking to outsiders. Those on the list was:
a hothead named Simon Peter,
a doubter named Thomas,
a tax collector named Matthew,
and a betrayer named Judas.
None of these men were rich or educated or even people in authority.
Most of the men would trust Jesus only when he was with them.
Some would deny him when trouble came. All would abandon him at the time he was on the cross. Jesus knew all that. And still he was willing to grant these men his power to represent him.

The word “apostle” means “one who is sent.” In other words, the apostles were chosen by the grace of God to be sent as His representatives to the world, that needs a Savior.

You and I are not chosen because of our pedigree, race, or spiritual grace or wealth.

We are chosen to do things in his name that are beyond our imagination. The Master of the universe has asked the Father to fill us with the Holy Spirit. And when we are filled with the Spirit, we become filled with obedience and we then obey, often when are scared and feel like running the other way.
The King of kings has tapped us to be his witnesses. Jesus came to save sinners like you and me. He chose sinners like you and me, to be the best representatives of him. We may be the misfits in the world, but we are His! He sends to tell others about him.

Prayer- Father God, thank you for sending your son to die for us, that we might have eternal life. Help us Father, to be better messengers of your message. Father fill us and lift us up when we fall from your path. Help us to fulfill our task of show the world your love, mercy and grace. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

the Church Mouse
Work hard; Pray harder!