Jesus Sends the Twelve
Open Your Bible
Matthew 10:1-42, Acts 1:13, Ephesians 4:11-13
BY Kaitie Stoddard
Have you ever received a gift with no strings attached? Many of us may recall the joy of receiving Christmas presents as a child. When you’re young there are no expectations of repayment; the gift is freely given, and certainly, freely taken.
Do you also know what it’s like to receive a gift with strings attached? Maybe you “won” a free night at the hotel in exchange for a timeshare meeting or your friend loaned you their car with an unspoken debt to pay. It’s not so fun to receive a gift and find out later it wasn’t really free.
The gift of salvation can only be received freely like a child. Life “in abundance” is free to us because our generous God paid the price with His own Son (John 10:10). We couldn’t pay the fair value for such a precious present, even if we tried.
When Jesus sent out His twelve disciples for the first time, He warned them about the quid-pro-quo economy of the world (Matthew 10:8–14). Jesus was well aware that when you start healing people, driving out demons, or raising people from the dead, there will be loved ones willing and eager to compensate you.
But Jesus does not want people to believe they can buy God’s love or favor. The Lord doesn’t want you to confuse the gospel with a bait-and-switch timeshare meeting. Christ warned the disciples against the temptation to take those payments. He reminded them that they had received spiritual gifts without paying for them, so they should not charge others. “Freely you received, freely give,” He instructed them (v.8).
We might not expect our neighbor or coworker to pay us money for our encouragement or service, but do we secretly expect them to pay us back with social favors or reciprocated acts? Are there spiritual gifts the Lord has given you that He wants you to spill out onto others lavishly? If you’ve been given the spiritual gift of encouragement, encourage others in the faith freely. If God has given you the spiritual gift of service, serve with a heart of generosity (Romans 12:6–8).
Everything we have has been given to us. When we remember that our salvation, financial resources, and spiritual gifts are purely by the grace of God, we become stewards instead of hoarders. As followers of Christ sent into the world, we are given the same instructions as the twelve disciples. Give away the most valuable gift of God’s love at no charge because that is how we all received it—freely.
43 thoughts on "Jesus Sends the Twelve"
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Thank you for this reading. Father in heaven, I give You my mind and heart, help me to inline with Your will.
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♥️
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I am very late in commenting… but I got a lot out of today’s passages!!
Ephesians 4:13
*this is my desire!! Let it be so Lord!! Amen.Mathew 10:8-14
*freely I have received (no strings attached) freely I need to give (no strings attached). I love the simple and deep humility in this!! Don’t take, don’t acquire.. just give, as God gives to us!! Be obedient to Him, listen to what He is saying and follow through with it!! We need nothing but Him!! I also love that it says to find who is worthy and to stay there!! Stay in worthiness.. don’t let the gifts God’s given us (peace, assurance, confidence, faith etc) be taken away!! Shake anything that isn’t from God OFF and let it stay off!! Lord, help us dwell in Your worthiness!! Amen!
**love this definition of walking worthy by Got Questions:
“The word worthy has the idea of “matching up”: our actions should match our words, and our outward presentation should match our inward convictions. To “walk worthy” of our calling means to live up to that calling, to live in such a way as to honor God as we complete His course of action for us. In Colossians 1, walking worthy is tied to four personal characteristics:
1) being fruitful in every good work
2) steadily increasing in the knowledge of God
3) using the power of God to joyfully endure and patiently persevere, and
4) giving thanks to the Father for what He has done.
The command to walk worthy of our calling does not mean that we are to somehow merit or earn our position. Rather, Paul is exhorting believers to live their lives so as to prove they belong to Christ. They are to maintain a fidelity to Christ and live with integrity. True believers will display the fruit of the Spirit who lives in them (John 14:17; Galatians 5:22–23). Their daily lives match their message (the gospel), their position in Christ, and the character of Christ. They live their religion, not merely profess it. The reality of that calling is reflected in our daily lives as we rely on His divine power to “walk worthy.””Mathew 10:16-20
*may I always and unabashedly acknowledge and proclaim God no matter the cost!! Let me become a constant reflection of You Lord. Amen.
**speak out!! And a sword..this reminds me of Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
***also love the reminder that all the hairs on my head are counted & numbered! It reminds me that God’s eyes are on me at all times!! He protects and watches out for me.. it gives me great comfort that He KNOWS me every single detail, inside and out!! Makes me SO grateful!!!Mathew 10:21-34
*may I always and unabashedly acknowledge and proclaim God no matter the cost!! Let me become a constant reflection of You Lord. Amen.
**speak out!! And a sword..this reminds me of Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
***also love the reminder that all the hairs on my head are counted & numbered! It reminds me that God’s eyes are on me at all times!! He protects and watches out for me.. it gives me great comfort that He KNOWS me every single detail, inside and out!! Makes me SO grateful!!!Mathew 10:37-40
*very sobering and encouraging at the same time!! May I always choose God above everything and everyone else!!Hope each of you are feeling loved and seen by God!! My thoughts and prayers are with each of you!! Xoxo
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I need to pray about where God wants me to be using whatever gift I have that He has given me. I feel like I could be a leader. Always have been a follower and with my severe anxieties not sure what that will look like. Since joining this SRT community I have learned so much in God’s Word. And have looked at scriptures in a whole new way than I ever have before reading every day since 1/1/23 (read the Bible in a year with my chronological Bible and then starting with SRT studies in the Thanksgiving series). I can only give God the credit and glory for helping me and giving me the desire to read His word every single day for over a year. I feel so much more comfortable in knowing more of the plan of restoration and renewal that God had always intended it to be. Who knows…maybe I will start leading a women’s Bible study one day. I just k ow that I have a lot of love in my heart for others and for the lost. I just want to share what God has done for me and how much He loves me in spite of myself.
Many Hugs and much Love ❤️ SHES!!
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Love all of this! Reading it, it felt like God’s nudging you, with your call out about leadership, a bible study, leading through anxiety!❤️
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Thank you dear TINA for much wisdom in what you shared. This is my mother that you described. So much grief and resentment was on my end of the recipient growing up (in Asian culture and perhaps many other cultures too- where the parents have the ultimate say where they place the child to sit- as one of the proverbs and the child must obey). But on mom’s part, there was a big cost to her as well, which was her time, investment, finance, hope. She looked at me as the extension of her that I was to fulfil her dreams, her aspirations, even her uncommunicated expectations. I sat and ponder how this way of giving (human way) is so hurtful to both parties.
And praise God, The Holy Spirit brought me to these verses:
“Do not eat the bread of a selfish person; Or desire his delicacies; For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you” (Proverbs 23:6-7).
“When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you, And put a knife to your throat If you are a person of great appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food” (Proverbs 23:1-4).The Bible calls the giver “selfish” in this sense, and that gift “deceptive food”. I honestly do not want to be the victim of such deceptive gift. But as a child, I did not have a choice. There is a lot of grief when we do things human ways, versus godly ways. Giving and loving are just a couple of things, but very fundamental in all relationships. Loving God’s ways always comes with giving from the heart, and forgiveness to overlook the mistakes, love covers the multitude of sins. But my mom’s way, “because I love you so much, and you owe me this and this…”. May the Lord have mercy and change her heart and ways.
@KELLY (NEO): thank you for praying over my husband (caught your comment on the weekend ❤️), and thank you to other she’s who are still praying over our situation ❤️. A couple of church friends I reached out for help (men) .. they checked on him, and my husband’s reaction was embarrassment, and he was hiding away. He didn’t want to meet one invitation for coffee to talk about his struggles. And this man who reached out for coffee is a good Christian man who ran our Alpha group before. The devil is so sneaky to fill my husband’s mind with embarrassment and guilt. He also went on to deny that it was JUST a phase of sadness and there was no need for me to freak out. I find that extremely strange and twisted. I had to explain to him that he is so loved and can open up, and what happened was the devil, and not him.
Thank you again dear shes for your love and covering in prayers.Be blessed dear sisters.
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As for having a friend who always wants to pay for everything, I have another side to that. I have a friend who is always wanting to pay for stuff.. coffee, lunch, gas money for a ride someplace….. the problem is that she never just lets me do it for her. So, after a while I don’t want to do anything with her because I don’t want her to think I only do things with her because she pays for everything. So, the “joy” goes both ways. I think I just really need to have an honest talk with her and let her know I appreciate her generosity but that it’s making me feel a bit uncomfortable, too.
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MIA FAITH, continued prayers for you and yours.. sending you love wrapped so tightly in hugs you can feel the Fathers love!❤️
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@Laura Dianne – I love the story you shared today! ❤️ Thank you for the encouraging words! I appreciate them! :) We are believing as a community for your daughter to truly know the Lord, one day, in love. ❤️ Believing God to be at work in her life!
@Searching ❤️
@Mia Faith ❤️ praying peace and grace to you and your loved ones in this tragedy, still. God be near to your hearts. ❤️
@Rhonda J- God bless your ministries this week!
Thankful for each of you. Stay close to Jesus in all things. Love you :)
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