Ambassadors For Christ

Leslie is one of our many faithful
ambassador's of Christ at Zion. I
give thanks for his service to God
and for representing Christ
no matter where he is.
 

"So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinth 5:20

What exactly does it mean to be an ambassador of Christ? How are we to represent him?

 

While I served as a chaplain at a juvenile correction facility, I often asked the question of the young men, who purported to be Christian, if they were going to continue to represent their old gangs or if they would represent Jesus. I recall a story one young man shared about how he had become involved in a gang fight outside of a church. He and his friend had worn their colors to worship as did a couple of rival gang members. Imagine that! They all belonged to the same congregation. After he told the story, and hearing it spoken aloud himself, he realized how fully he had put his gang affiliation before God and before the family of God. He had been practicing idolatry in a house of worship. He had been blatantly representing his gang rather than Jesus in the church of Jesus Christ.

 

Most of us are a little more cautious about our conduct inside of a church building. We want to look and act like representatives of Christ within the context of a congregation. But, what about outside the church building? The Church is; after all, not a building. Who or what are we ambassadors for when we go out into the world?

 

May God help us to be more aware of our call to be ambassadors of Christ, proclaiming the Good News of his Kingdom for all who would believe in him.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Romans 1:8-17 I Love To Tell The Story

Romans 1:8-17 NIV
I was having a hard time falling asleep last night so I turned the television on and flipped through the Christian Evangelist type stations. That "fluff and stuff to please itching ears" is usually enough to put me to sleep. However, I ran across one that seemed to be making sense. In that, I mean that he was actually proclaiming the gospel and not soliciting money for the program to make you rich! What initially caught my attention was that he was asking: why, if we all like to sing the hymn, "I Love To Tell The Story," then, why don't we tell the story?

Why isn't it told more? Why isn't the story of Jesus shared with everyone? Are we, are you, ashamed of the gospel?

Paul, even in the face of death, was not afraid to share the gospel with everyone, both to Greeks and non-Greeks, to the Jew and to the Gentile. Paul wanted the whole world to know that righteousness that comes by faith in God; by faith in the one who loves the world so much that he was willing to die in our place, in your place. If you love your neighbor; if you love your family; then for their sake, tell the story of Jesus and his love.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Song of Songs 5 - Get Out Of Bed; Answer the Door

A couple of days ago, I wrote about knocking. In light of our reading today, I will repeat that. When Jesus knocks, get up and answer the door!

As the woman in this love story sleeps, she is awakened by the knock on the gate and the call of her beloved. But, her slumber was deeper than she thought and she answered the door a bit too late. She has missed her beloved.

Here is your beloved, standing in your garden, knocking at your door. What are you doing? Sleeping? Don't miss the opportunity to be wrapped in the arms of the one who loves you above all others.

"YOLO," was how my granddaughter responded when I asked her about sleeping in 'till 9 a.m. the other day. She had a few things she had promised to take care of that she ended up not having time to take care of because she slept in. "YOLO" or "You only live once" was her reply. My response was "Then get up and live life."

If you're going to sleep all day, I guarantee that you will miss out on the best things that life and love have to offer.

"...“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Eph 5:14 NIV)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Ezra 8 - You Are Free!

Well, here's a puzzle this morning:  Who wrote the book of Ezra?  I realized as I was reading the chapter this morning that the author is now speaking in the first person rather than the third.  I have always assumed it was Ezra who wrote it, but if he wrote it, the transition from third to first person is kind of confusing to me.  I know that if this were being discussed in the Bible Study on Wednesday mornings, we'd have a great time trying to figure it out.  But, in the end, does it really matter?  It is a great story - history well worth reading.

As I read the first section of the chapter with the list of fathers and their children who left captivity together, I wondered how many Christian parents today desired that their children would be able to live without bondage to the false gods of this world and live freely in Christ. 

May God help all whom we love to understand, to see, that Christ freed them from sin, death, and the power of the devil, to live life in him and to live it abundantly. 

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."  Gal 5:1 NIV