The point of this devotional is to show you that the apostles were just ordinary men like us. However, they trusted in God and let the Holy Spirit work through them. Just like you can. With the gifts of the Holy Spirit at your side you can be like the apostles.

Jesus put a lot of thought and care into each apostle He chose. He had a great plan for each of his apostles just like He has for you.

The apostles were alike and very different in their own ways. They had similar character traits while some of the apostles were complete opposites.

Let’s take a look at some of the different personality traits of the apostles.

Some key points to keep in mind

• We can identify with the apostles but we should look to Jesus to identify with us.
• We can learn from the apostles, but it’s only Jesus who can change us.
• The apostles depended on Jesus just like we do.

Bold and Passionate.

2 Corinthians 10:17
Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

In today’s given society men are called to be bold. You can say a man is even defined by how bold he is. If no boldness is shown a man’s reputation could even be challenged. You all have experienced it sometime in life. Come on why won’t you do it? What are you a chicken?

Let’s face it peer pressure can be real tough to overcome. Being bold can be something you or forced into out of your will or it could be something that just comes natural to you like it did for Peter, James, John and Simon the Zealot.

Now let’s take a look at all four apostles.

Peter

Peter was bold and passionate. He took great passion in making sure things were done correctly. This was not always the case. As the bible tells us Peter was once the opposite of bold. I am referring to when Peter had the chance to stand up for Jesus but didn’t. See Matthew 26:69-75

Peter was in a bad place. He let down Jesus not once but three times. Peter had three opportunities to stand up for Jesus and he failed all three times. When Peter realized what he did he had a very troubled heart. This is not God wanted. A broken Peter is no heavenly good. God wants us to live the abundant life. He wants us to be filled with joy. He wants to be in good fellowship with Him. It is us up to us to seek reconciliation with Jesus. This is what Peter did and as a result he was able to fulfill God’s mission for His life. That mission was to establish the church of Jesus Christ. Without restoration and forgiveness from Jesus this could have never happened. Peter went on to be the rock of the church. He delivered the message of the gospel with boldness and proclaimed the work of the cross and as result 3,000 people were saved in one day.

Verses to read - Matthew 4:18-20; John 6:66-69; Matthew 14:28- 31; 16:13-19; Mark 8:31-33; John 18:10-11; Matthew 26:69-75; John 21:15-19; Acts 2:14-21; Galatians 2:11-14

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James and John

James and John were known as the sons of thunders. The bible is not really clear to why Jesus nicknamed them this. One can only assume it was because they brought passion like thunder. The bible gives one example of this. One day Jesus was traveling through a samaritan village. He was not only rejected but also mocked. James and John reacted so quickly and wanted to attack the men. They were acting like bodyguards of Jesus. They clearly missed the message of Jesus always acting out of love and forgiveness. Instead they said Lord do you want us to have fire come down heaven to consume them? (Luke 9:51-56)

Jesus responded by reminding them that they would be making a greater impact for many generations to come. This is what they should be focused on.

To be driven by Godly goals for me it means to be focused on what would Jesus do. It means to be seeking God’s will in all in life. Praying to God and asking for wisdom. Let thy will be done not mine. It means being a man of integrity. Always trying my best to the right thing. Remembering that God is always watching me and how I don’t ever want to disappoint him.

When I think about being driven by Godly goals it reminds me of Paul. Paul went through a lot of trials but he didn’t let his circumstances stop him from running the race (Timothy 4:7). He kept faith in all the trials and persecution he went through and so can we. So for me it boils down to keeping the faith. Walking by my faith. Even when I can’t see and things seem so dark. Keeping that heavenly mindset that God has great plans for me. As a result I can relax and throw my worries at the feet of Jesus because he really cares. By doing so I can focus on doing good works and using my new liberties to further God’s kingdom.

Verses to read - Mark 1:19-20; Matthew 20:20-28; Luke 9:51-56; Heb. 10:24 and I Tim. 1:5; II Tim. 2:4; Phil. 3:8.

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Simon the Zealot

The bible doesn’t say much at all about Simon the Zealot. He is just referenced to being with the apostles and/or Jesus. All we can really go by is his nickname. He was zealous about something. One guess is that he may have belonged to a Jewish sect known as the Zealots, who was looking for a Messiah to violently overthrow Rome. Or he can be zealous about the Mosaic law or for the teachings of Jesus.

Either way he built a reputation for being a zealous man. I hope to think he strongly believed in convicting others around him just like the Holy Spirit does to us daily.

It is up to us to stand in our convictions. To allow Jesus to help us and overcome the work of the enemy. Who’s goal is to condemn us. We have the promise in the bible in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for anyone in Christ. So that is what helps up get back up when we have fallen to the lies of the enemy.

To stand in our convictions requires us to constantly connect to our power source. We need to confess our sins and stay in good fellowship.

Jesus will challenge our convictions when it doesn’t line up with the gospel. This is where we need the help of the Holy Spirt to discern what is God’s will for you. The enemy will try to confuse us by feeding us lies and getting us to not serve in ministry. However, God has also promised to equip us for good works. So if the Lord is calling you to a specific ministry and you end up convicting yourself out of doing it. I feel this is when Jesus would challenge us.

Going back to Simon the Zealot we can determine that at some point he demonstrated human zeal. Let’s compare his zeal to the zeal that Jesus demonstrated in John 2:13-17.

We know that Jesus was fully human and fully God. So as a result he definitely had emotions like we do. That was Jesus zealous about? Jesus was zealous about doing only what was in the father’s will. In John 2:13-17 is one of the very few times we see Jesus get angry. This is when he found the people in the temple using it for their own game and not for the Father’s gain. Jesus drove them out and warned them not to use the template again for their own gain.

Jesus had a righteous anger. He was only mad when bad things happened. Jesus was zealous about showing love to all people. As far as Simon the Zealot we are not really told what he is zealous about. In the the show the chosen they show Simon zealous for the jewish people and freeing them from Roman rule.

Motive for being bold and passionate

After reviewing a few of the apostles who were bold and passionate. We learned that they had different motives for why they were bold. For Peter it came from his personality. It was his natural for him. While, for James and John the bible gives us a few details that maybe they were motivated by their parents. As their parents pushed them to always do the right thing. For Simon the Zealot it was his principles that pushed him to be bold and passionate.

These all seem like good motives but our best motive to be bold should be for Jesus’ Kingdom. When we think heavenly we can do so much earthly good. Jesus when he was here on earth. He was always very intense in his teachings and in the love He demonstrated to all the people he encountered.

This is how we should be. We should not sleep but do everything we can to prepare for Jesus second coming. With the goal to spread the good news of the gospel before its too late. To step into any ministry we are being called to do. As one day we will go to heaven and we want to hear “Well done good and faithful servant”

Cautious and Contemplative

Jesus not only used to love men that were bold and passionate but also men that were cautious and contemplative. Regardless of which personality you may feel you are more aligned with. Jesus will use you to do mighty works as long as you are willing.

Some apostles that were cautious and contemplative were Nathaniel, Philip and Thomas. They were willing to do good works but sometimes would get caught up in too many details. They took pride in being sure about everything. They didn’t want to make mistakes. These kind of apostles were the ones that Jesus had to push. He knew there capabilities. He knew that He would have to push them to be more bold.

This is just like us. Sometimes we are willing but we don’t let our faith lead us. This could create a bad situation where we just sit by and not take action. We sit in doubt. We spend too much time planning. We let the enemy confuse our thoughts. This is where we need to turn to Jesus. We turn to Him in prayer. We take up our cross and deny ourselves and let the Holy Spirit lead us. Remember when we are weak God makes us strong (2 Corinthians 12:10)

This is what happened with Nathaniel, Philip and Thomas. Let’s take a look at each of the apostles.

Nathaniel

Verses to read: John 1:43-51

For Nathaniel his cautious attitude made him spiritually blind. He needed the help of Jesus to help him have a greater vision of that God would do through Him. The bible tells us though that He did believe in Jesus when Jesus told him that He saw him under the fig tree.

Philip

Verses to read: John 6:1-15; 14:8-14; Acts 8:4-40

For Philip, its possible to think that his cautious and contemplative behavior is what caused him to be so spiritually blind. So blind that he had been with Jesus. That he was with God and he didn’t even know. Philip didn’t know that Jesus was God. That the father and son are one. In John 14, Philip tells Jesus “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” This prompted Jesus to teach the apostles that they needed to believe that Jesus is God. Philip had been with Jesus and witnessed Jesus do many good works. Was that not enough Philip to believe that I am God?

That was not the only time Philip needed to be pushed by Jesus. In John 6 when Jesus fed the 5 thousand people. Philip was tested by Jesus to see how he would respond. Again Philip was caught up in contemplation thinking too much about details on how they get enough bread. When he should have been focused on the power of Jesus instead.

Thankfully Philip learned to be more bold and lean on that power of Jesus. As he went on to do great works in helping establish the church of Jesus Christ.

Thomas

Verses to read:

Thomas was just like Philip in the sense that he got caught up with too many details and didn’t walk by faith. He contemplated so much that his thoughts turned to doubt. This is what led him to earn the nickname doubting Thomas. Thomas doubted things such as how to get to Heaven. He even doubted Jesus had really come back from the dead! For Thomas it took him physically seeing Jesus again for him to believe that Jesus had resurrected from the dead.

Jesus had to intervene many times for Thomas to need to believe. Don’t let that be you!

It could be good to be cautious and contemplative but not to the point where it blocks you growing in your faith. Planning could be good but allow your faith to lead you. Most importantly praying and letting the spirit lead you.

What the bible has to say regarding being cautious and contemplative

1Kings 3:9-12 / Psalms 24:4-5; 27:14 / Proverbs 19:2 / Matthew 22:37 / Mark 9:24 / John 11:17-37 / Acts 17:11 / Ephesians 5:15-16 / Jude 22

Practical and Productive

Being practical and productive sounds great. For some men this is true. They take great pride in being organized. They discipline themselves. They find answers quickly vs spending too much time contemplating plans. They may have started being cautious and contemplative but learned to be practical and productive.

Most men like to have order in their lives by being practical and productive. Let’s take a look at three apostles, Matthew, Andrew, Judas, who were practical and productive.

Matthew

Little is said about Matthew in the bible. Except for the account he gave of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew. We do know that Matthew was a tax collector. Tax collectors in the bible times were not very liked by the people. They were hated. They were considered sinners and also traders since they were jews working for the romans.

Tax collectors were not payed directly by the Romans. Tax collectors made their earnings by collecting extra money from the people. This is another reason they were not liked. For Matthew its fair to say he was living wealthy. He most likely had a lot of possessions and dressed fancy. Matthew probably didn’t have to worry about much. He had all the food he wanted to eat. When he wanted it. Life was good. Matthew was successful and rich. He didn’t need much help.

At least that is what he thought till he met Jesus. Something about Jesus caught his eye. As when Jesus told Matthew to follow Him. Matthew did. He straight up left his existing life behind to become an apostle of Jesus. Matthew must have realized he was rich in the wrong things. All of a sudden he didn’t care about being successful. He realized that he is putting his heart towards the wrong treasure.

Matthew decided to follow Jesus and most likely observed Him committing many miracles. Matthew recorded all he saw and gave a great account of all the details of the ministry of Jesus. Doing so definitely required a lot of planning, which comes naturally to a man that is practical and productive.

Andrew

Verses to read:

Andrew was a more of a behind the scenes kind of guy. The bible doesn’t mention him much. It does mention that he met Jesus first before his brother Simon Peter. It was Andrew that believed that the messiah had come. It was Andrew who brought Peter to Jesus. It was in John 12 we are told that it was Andrew who brought some greek people to see Jesus.

So one could say that Andrew was practical that he would bring any matters that came up to Jesus. That when people wanted to see Jesus he delivered them to Jesus vs making assumptions like some of the other apostles have done. Andrew counted on Jesus that is what made him practical and productive.

Judas

Wait are you seriously including Judas as being a practical and productive apostle of Jesus? Let’s think we are not looking at apostles to be like them. We are looking at how the apostles learned from Jesus. For Judas he must have been practical and productive to have such a prominent role as the treasurer. He was responsible for managing the finances. A role that swallowed him up. His love for money became bigger than his love for Jesus. His love for money became became an idol. It pulled him away from serving Jesus and eventually led him to betray Jesus.

Inconspicuous and Indispensable

To come