obey

Mark 3:13 Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him. 14 Then he appointed twelve of them and called them his apostles. They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach, 15 giving them authority to cast out demons. 16 These are the twelve he chose:

Simon (whom he named Peter),
17 James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder"),
18 Andrew,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Thaddaeus,
Simon (the zealot),
19 Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).


(Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus gave Judas the authority to cast out demons?)


Look at that list of people. Could there be a more diverse or obscure (up till then) bunch?

Most of them we know little to nothing about who they were when Jesus called them.

Most of them we know little to nothing about what happened to them after Pentecost.

My Life Application Bible says that Jesus picked these people for one reason only - He knew they would obey Him.

Here's how dictionary.com defines obey...
   1. to comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of: to obey one's parents.
   2. to comply with or follow (a command, restriction, wish, instruction, etc.).
   3. (of things) to respond conformably in action to: The car obeyed the slightest touch of the steering wheel.
   4. to submit or conform in action to (some guiding principle, impulse, one's conscience, etc.).


Sometimes it's not really glamorous to obey.

Sometimes it's downright scary.

Other times it just doesn't make sense.


But in the final analysis, Jesus is concerned with one thing about obeying...

That we obey Him.


And, bottom line, we're not responsible for the consequences of our obedience.

He is.


Think about it...