Jesus sends the twelve disciples on a journey to preach the gospel and heal the sick. I can imagine their excitement. (Luke 9:1-6) But Jesus disrupts their comfort zone when He tells them to not take anything with them. This cuts to the core of their belief system. Do they really believe that God can take care of them?

This was not Jesus telling them not to plan for the future but He was forcing them to look at where their trust really was. How would you do today if the Lord directed you to take a journey with nothing; no staff (protection), no bag (no iPod), no money (or credit cards), and no extra tunic (no change of clothes)? You would have to totally depended on the Lord for everything.

There is another aspect to this story as well. The disciples had to evangelize. They had to talk to people. With no money or food, the only way they were going to get food and a place to stay was by talking to people and doing the job that Jesus had given them. Hunger can be a great motivational tool. Jesus wanted the disciples to focus on the job.

What does that mean to us? We need to examine our lives and see where our trust is and get back to work fulfilling the Great Commission. Have a great day. Pastor Bob