16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Mark 3:16-19

What a ragtag bunch of guys! Who knew that they would all change the world after the Lord left. Yes, even Judas left his mark. These guys really didn’t have a lot going for them when He selected them, which I’m sure was the point. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when touched by the Master. Yes, they made plenty of mistakes along the way and I’m certain many times just wanted to go back to what they knew best.

But they stuck with it and were empowered by the Holy Spirit to do life changing things.

And the same Holy Spirit lives in us. Of course, those were different times and it called for different methods and strategies and creativity, but the Holy Spirit was with them.

That’s the key. Without the Spirit of God, they (or we) are nothing and can do nothing even remotely as remarkable as they did.

Again, ordinary people can do extraordinary things when touched by the Master.