Armed with Armor

13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. -Mark 3:13-15

In today’s passage, we see Jesus appointing twelve apostles from all the disciple who were following him.  He pulls out of the crowd, a select few, giving them the charge to preach and he gave them authority to drive out demons.

It is no mistake that Jesus did both things.  You see whenever Jesus is talked about, Satan is near.  He will do his best to distract people from the gospel message.  Jesus is not concerned though, he has all authority over Satan and his demons.

The disciples Jesus picked were not perfect men.  We see time and again how they failed Jesus. Jesus does not need perfect people he needs loyal people.  Men who won’t walk away when times get tough, because they were going to get tough.  He picked men who would trust that God had a plan and it wasn’t always going to be what they expected.

Jesus knew that our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the evil forces in our world. Jesus picked men who could be taught to understand where the fight lies.

We all need that same understanding.  If we are going to talk about Jesus, Satan will be near, trying to distract those around us.  Our fight is not with our neighbor though, it is with the devil and his demons. We need to put on the armor of God daily and stand firm against the devils schemes.