Hamsters of the Brain
Sometimes I get a bug up, uh in my ear. A topic that causes the hamster wheel that is my brain to whirl around relentlessly. The problem is when I have so many ideas and thoughts that all the hamster wheels are going and not in the same direction.
I usually have many projects going at once, but my follow through is not always (as in never) very good. Currently I run a money losing business, I am building a doll house, I am writing this blog, and I stick in a round of dishes, laundry and toilet cleaning in between as the mood strikes me. Then occasionally my husband makes a bid for my attention so I spend a day motorcycling with him.
So today, which spinning wheel will I try to grab the hamster out of and address?
During my Bible studies, which like my brain are often random, I started wondering what is the difference between a Disciple and an Apostle. Raise your hand if you know. I had some ideas, but felt like maybe I needed to be clearer on it.
First I went to the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus.
Disciple - One who follows opinion or teachings of another. Syn: pupil, follower, convert
Apostle - One who actively supports a cause. Syn: advocate: promoter, booster
Not really that clear in terms of the Bible. (When I read the word promoter all I could think of was Don King promoting wrestling with his wild hair )
So I hopped over to the dictionary side.
Discipleship - an adherent of a school or individual
Apostle - One sent on a mission or initiates a great moral reform
OK, that is a little better. But Jesus had hundreds of Disciples. He had those twelve special buddies he hand picked. They were Disciples also, but they were like the lead guys that he was teaching, his besties that he hung with most of the time. He kept trying to teach them, but some days they acted like they just got off the short bus and were clueless.
The Greek word for Disciple means student, learner, or pupil.
The Greek word for Apostle is a delegate or messenger sent forth with orders.
So who is a Disciple of Christ these days? Do you know any? Could you be one? Luke in Chapter 14 has a bit to say on the qualifications. I won't write them all here but you can look them up. Luke 14:26-26, 33
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24).
So, I might have a ways to go on that one. I can't even make it through Lent without coffee and chocolate. Sacrifice, and take up the cross...that is a phrase that will become another hamster.
So who is an Apostle? Not me, and not you. Apostle with the capital "A" was a title for 12 men only. There is no one alive right now that can be one. The only capital "A" Apostles had a qualification that none of us can obtain. This is explained in Acts 1:21-22.
After the betrayal and death of Judas, there were only 11 guys left. The Bible is big on numbers, 7 days, 40 days and nights, 10 commandments, 12 tribes, So, they needed a twelfth guy and he had to fit in and know what was going on. There was no time to break in a complete newbie.
...one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
So that pretty much lets out anyone who is alive today. By the way, they chose Matthias. He was the only one not chosen directly by Jesus, and was chosen before they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit (I think).
Then the Apostles were given the gift of the Holy Spirit and a special commission to spread the word through out the world.
And man, did those guys travel.
The word Discipline means training. I am not a Disciple, but I hope to keep learning, being trained in the Word. It's tough, I left writing this blog three times, with the excuses of dishes, laundry, or whatever.
I am praying for you all my friends, for the unsaved, for my ministers, The Roes and Pastor Grupp. I hope you pray for me.
I usually have many projects going at once, but my follow through is not always (as in never) very good. Currently I run a money losing business, I am building a doll house, I am writing this blog, and I stick in a round of dishes, laundry and toilet cleaning in between as the mood strikes me. Then occasionally my husband makes a bid for my attention so I spend a day motorcycling with him.
So today, which spinning wheel will I try to grab the hamster out of and address?
During my Bible studies, which like my brain are often random, I started wondering what is the difference between a Disciple and an Apostle. Raise your hand if you know. I had some ideas, but felt like maybe I needed to be clearer on it.
First I went to the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus.
Disciple - One who follows opinion or teachings of another. Syn: pupil, follower, convert
Apostle - One who actively supports a cause. Syn: advocate: promoter, booster
Not really that clear in terms of the Bible. (When I read the word promoter all I could think of was Don King promoting wrestling with his wild hair )
So I hopped over to the dictionary side.
Discipleship - an adherent of a school or individual
Apostle - One sent on a mission or initiates a great moral reform
OK, that is a little better. But Jesus had hundreds of Disciples. He had those twelve special buddies he hand picked. They were Disciples also, but they were like the lead guys that he was teaching, his besties that he hung with most of the time. He kept trying to teach them, but some days they acted like they just got off the short bus and were clueless.
The Greek word for Disciple means student, learner, or pupil.
The Greek word for Apostle is a delegate or messenger sent forth with orders.
So who is a Disciple of Christ these days? Do you know any? Could you be one? Luke in Chapter 14 has a bit to say on the qualifications. I won't write them all here but you can look them up. Luke 14:26-26, 33
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24).
So, I might have a ways to go on that one. I can't even make it through Lent without coffee and chocolate. Sacrifice, and take up the cross...that is a phrase that will become another hamster.
So who is an Apostle? Not me, and not you. Apostle with the capital "A" was a title for 12 men only. There is no one alive right now that can be one. The only capital "A" Apostles had a qualification that none of us can obtain. This is explained in Acts 1:21-22.
After the betrayal and death of Judas, there were only 11 guys left. The Bible is big on numbers, 7 days, 40 days and nights, 10 commandments, 12 tribes, So, they needed a twelfth guy and he had to fit in and know what was going on. There was no time to break in a complete newbie.
...one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
So that pretty much lets out anyone who is alive today. By the way, they chose Matthias. He was the only one not chosen directly by Jesus, and was chosen before they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit (I think).
Then the Apostles were given the gift of the Holy Spirit and a special commission to spread the word through out the world.
And man, did those guys travel.
The word Discipline means training. I am not a Disciple, but I hope to keep learning, being trained in the Word. It's tough, I left writing this blog three times, with the excuses of dishes, laundry, or whatever.
I am praying for you all my friends, for the unsaved, for my ministers, The Roes and Pastor Grupp. I hope you pray for me.
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