One of the greats of the church has to be St. Francis of Assisi.  As an early monastic, he taught those in the brotherhood to live simply and rely upon the Lord.  He believed if it was good enough for Jesus, it was good enough for us.  Jesus taught the disciples to go out and share God's love while living simply -- at least initially.  He was trying to show them how to rely upon the Lord while at the same time trying to demonstrate to those whom they would encounter who God really is -- the sustainer of us all. 

In today's text, Jesus tells them in verse three, "Take nothing for the journey -- no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.  Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.  If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them."

What might that mean for us? Is it even possible today to do without things?  You bet it is!  In fact, the book of Proverbs points out to us the importance of living within God's provisional boundaries rather than our own: "Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die:  Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, "who is the Lord"? or I may become and poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God." (Proverbs 30.7-9). If we have too much, that's bad; if we have too little, that's bad too.  In either case, we have the temptation to take matters into our own hands, which pushes God out of the picture. The disciples are being taught a valuable lesson here.  God provides for and sustains us in our lives -- that's the lesson. 

Have you ever noticed that the problems we face in this world are always when we have deviated from doing things God's way? I've heard people complain, "I did it God's way and I didn't get what I want!" If you can say anything close to this with a straight face, you weren't doing it God's way to begin with! You might complain about being inconvenienced in life, but what is that discontent about anyway? It is not being thankful for what God does provide that you chose to ignore for the sake of you. For instance, your car is in an accident and now you don't have one to drive.  Should you go out and buy another one? Maybe. But look at the other alternatives: God has put Christian brothers and sisters in your path who might be glad to take you places once in a while; this might be a good time to get out the bicycle again (you've been meaning to ride the exercise bike in the house anyway -- why not get on one that will actually take you somewhere?); heaven forbid we use the most common transportation known to man (a wonderful invention by God) -- your feet.  Heaven forbid we should have to walk somewhere. What do we usually do? Many people I know will drive 5 -10 miles to a gym so they can get on a treadmill and walk 2-3 -- and pay for the privilege of doing it!

The point is this -- God is sending us out to minister to those around us too.  Perhaps we should rely on God's provision as well. As you go, go with the express intention of relying on what God provides along the way.  You might be surprised that you will learn more about God as you introduce him to others!  Think about it...