Marilyn speaks: "It's not the man"

Amen, Jer! Your email sharings are not just encouraging, but very insightful as well. Also you write in a conversational way which warms my heart, it's like i can imagine you talking to all of us in a bibletalk setting or morning devo. :)

Just some background info about the 12 apostles that Jesus had picked out... have you ever wondered why twelve? Why not eight? Or twenty? Like what Jer shared, why not every single person in the crowd then?

The number twelve is filled with symbolic importance. There were twelve tribes in Israel. And the religion of Judaism of Jesus' time represented a corruption of faith of the Old Testament. Israel had abandoned God's grace in favor of 'doing good works'. Their religion was legalistic, filled with hypocrisy, self-righteous works, man-made regulations and meaningless rituals. Therefore, in choosing 12 apostles, God was in fact appointing new leadership for the new covenant, judgement against the 12 tribes of Old Testament Israel.

None of the 12 apostles Jesus chose were from any religious background. They were common men, fishermen, tax-collecters etc. They were like us. In this world, there are no intrinsically qualified people. God Himself must save sinners, sanctify them, and then transform them from the unqualified into instruments He can use. Just like the 12 disciples...because of them, 2000 years later, millions of people know God! Sometimes, Satan will attempt to convince us that our weaknesses render us useless to God and His church. But God chooses the humble, the lowly and the weak so that there's never any question about the source of power when their lives change the world.

It's not the man, it's the power of God in the man.

Dear lambs, let's be cranking the ministry and save at least 2 men and 2 women this semester :)