Mark 3
“And [Jesus] went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons” (Mark 3:13-15).
The crowds are growing greater, and Jesus needs a team of dedicated assistants who he can trust to carry out his work and reach these crowds. So he appoints twelve men. These twelve are to be “with him” (v. 14). Then they will go out and preach (v. 14).
Because of the great number of people in the world today, Jesus more than ever needs dedicated assistants to carry out his work. He needs disciples who will spend time with him, who will be especially close to him, and who he can train. It is these who will go out and preach. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (Matt 9:37).
Father, I pray for more disciples and disciple makers who will spend time with Jesus and be especially close to him. May Jesus train these disciples to carry out his work today. Here are some men and women whom I pray will go to the next level in their discipleship: Cam, Hunter, Elliot, Matthew, Garth, Rovin, Shane, Nick, Jamal, Jacob, Josh, Dave, Noah, Nic, Andrew, Annalise, Sophia, and myself. May these believers spend more and more time with Jesus and get trained by him. In Jesus’ name, amen.
- Jeff Coleman