Tuesday; October 24

I have been a Texas Rangers fan for most of my adult life, but for the next several days I am going to be a vocal supporter of the other team from the Lone Star state.  Though the years I have watched as the Houston Astros have fielded some really bad teams – in fact, a few years ago I actually felt bad for the franchise – but, this year is different, it is something special.  As you look at the 2017 version of the Astros you don’t see a lot of long time, big name superstars, but you do see a bunch of good players willing to come together at this moment in their careers and make something happen. 
As I thought about this year’s Astros team it got me to thinking about another rag-tag group of people who had some success.  Did you ever notice that Jesus didn’t have a lot of high-profile religious personalities amongst His closest disciples?  As He configured a team that would change the world, He found people who were willing to pull together and follow Him toward a path to success.  Maybe the most compelling thing they had was their commitment to Him.  I would imagine that a dozen stories could be summed up in the one told about Matthew, “As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he got up and followed Him.” (Matthew 9:9)
I appreciate the story of Jesus’ disciples because it provides hope to the Lord’s church thought history.  As long as there are focused, good people who are willing to follow Jesus we will be successful in our quest to change the world.  Sure, it is nice to have educated, charismatic leaders in the church, but its success is based upon good-hearted, God-fearing people who are willing to answer, “Yes, I will follow You.”.
Think About It!

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