Jesus knows our pain. He knows exactly how we are feeling, and He wants to surround us with His love, peace, and comfort. Whenever we are faced with mean words or comments about our faith, we need to look to Him.

A strong economy can open doors, but it can’t anchor your worth.

The church doesn’t need perfect people—it needs willing ones. Discover how your spiritual gifts can strengthen the body of Christ and why your role in the church truly matters.

The Bible teaches us that the original apostles of Jesus were Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Judas Iscariot, Matthew, Thomas, James, the son of Alpheus, Bartholomew, Judas Thaddeus, and Simon Zelotes. Among these were fishermen during the time of calling, i.e., Peter, James, John, and Andrew.It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named apostles. (Luke 6:12-13) Twelve men responded to the call to be disciples of Jesus. They were Jews, uneducated commoners, and simple men of faith who gave up everything to be followers of Christ. Jesus spent three years training these men to be leaders. Jesus planned to eventually have the disciples take over and carry on the work He had started.What we know to be true about Jesus is that He chose ordinary and unrefined men to be his apostles. They were the commonest of the common. They were from rural areas, farmers, and fishermen. Christ purposely passed over the elite, aristocratic, and influential men of society and chose mostly the men from the dregs of society. That’s how it has always been in God’s economy. He exalts the humble and lays low on those who are proud.The Names of the 12 DisciplesWe find the disciples' names in the Gospel books of Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:14-19 and Luke 6:13-16.You didn’t choose me. I chose you. (John 15:16)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew (Nathanael); Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus (James the Less), and Thaddaeus (Judas, son of James); Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him. (Matthew 10:2-4)Now that we know their names let's take a deeper look at the life story of each disciple.Although the disciples were different, they were known for their unwavering faith when the Early Church began. Need to strengthen your faith in this season? Download our FREE 30-day guide to grow your faith today.Photo credit: ©GettyImages/jovanjaric

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