Draw Near to Hear, then Preach

In Mark 3 we find a group of people who are no longer interested in having Jesus around.  Their only aim is to destroy Him.

Mark 3:2 (ESV) And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.

Some people are like that with God.   You could see the beauty and majesty of God all over the world. You could hear the testimonies of changed hearts on every Continent and almost every Country.  You could hear the stories and see the lives changed by the power of Jesus' Name.  And still, all they seek to do is accuse and excuse, misjudge and destroy.  That's exactly how they treated Christ.

But in the midst of this hostility Jesus calls to him 12 men "He wanted to be with Him that He might send them out to preach."  That's what it means to be chosen by Jesus.  You aren't just chosen for your own sake.  You are chosen for His sake.  To preach.  To leave no one without a testimony of God's saving Grace in Christ Jesus.

And how are we prepared to preach?  By being with Him.  He called the to himself to be "with Him."  He wanted to be around them and to let His person rub off on them.  That is where good preaching starts.  It is borne out of a close and intimate relationship with the Risen Christ.  Notice by the end of the Chapter, Christ exalts his new found relationships to the 12 even above his natural family.  That is the nearness and exclusivity Christ calls us into and where life change takes place.  

Want to change your life?  Let Christ draw you near.

PRAYER:

Father, this is the point of this year's devotional method.  I want to be close to you.  I see how these devotions are changing my heart and affecting my life in amazing ways.  Thank you.  I ask that you draw close to me.