Coffee With The Lord

You’ve seen them – and so have I – those wonderful, godly, gracious individuals who under great pressure, pain, and even persecution exemplify Christlikeness in every way!  “SAINTS” in every sense of the word!  Graciousness describes them … God’s grace is how they do it!  I aspire to be like them!!  This morning I read Apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 6.2-10 and prayed, “Oh Lord may those words be true of me!!

“We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.  Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”  (2 Corinthians 6:3–10 NIV)

Help me Lord to be like that!

You’ve seen ‘em on television… hawking merchandise with an excited, high-pitched, feverishly paced voice.  I don’t know about you, but It always leaves me a little nervous, tired and skeptical about the product and the messenger … almost too good to be true.  And then the guy doing the ad is going to throw in another item, just like the other one, for good measure, if you call the 800 number on your screen right away.  Representatives are waiting…

I’m so glad the message of the gospel is not like that!!  I never want to present it like that!!  It’s not “too good to be true” … IT IS TRUE (and it cost our Heavenly Father His Son, and Jesus our Savior His life, and it’s available to anyone who will turn from their sin and receive God’s gift of eternal life through faith!?

What a deal!  A whole new world of possibilities to anyone who will receive it!  I’ve experienced it!  And I recommend it!  I feel like I’ve got a responsibility to share it!  Jesus provided it!  God stands behind it!  And it’s available right now to anyone who will accept it!!

Hey, I’m not hawking merchandise… God is offering eternal life, reconciliation to Himself, forgiveness of sin and righteousness to anyone who will receive it!…

Thought about all of that this morning as I read this guarantee in the Bible this morning…

“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: BE RECONCILED TO GOD!!  God made him [Jesus Christ] Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. ¹ As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain… I tell you, NOW is the time of God’s favor!  NOW is the day of salvation!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17–6:2 NIV)

Take it from me… This is a REALLY GOOD DEAL!

An “ambassador”… can you picture yourself as being one?

I can imagine what one might look like… distinguished carriage, well behaved, involved in activities that reflect well on the nation they represent.  Their behavior would represent, in the best possible light, the values and concerns of their king, president or sovereign

Here’s a definition of what an “ambassador” is…

“An accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.” (The Oxford Dictionary)

Or… “An official representative of a king or government…As the imprisoned representative of Christ at Rome Apostle Paul calls himself an ‘ambassador in chains’ (Ephesians 6:20) and in 2 Corinthians 5:20 he includes, with himself, all Christians as ‘ambassadors for Christ’ commissioned by Him as their sovereign Lord for the ministry of reconciling the world to God.  The Bible contains no finer characterization of the exalted and spiritual nature of a Christian’s vocation than this…”ambassador for the King of kings and Savior of the world! (D. M. Pratt in ISBE Vol. 1)

In my Bible reading this morning I read this description of EVERY BELIEVER as an “ambassador for Christ” and their primary responsibility…

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, WHO THROUGH CHRIST RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF AND GAVE US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, AND ENTRUSTING TO US THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION.  THEREFORE, WE ARE AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST, GOD MAKING HIS APPEAL THROUGH US. WE IMPLORE YOU ON BEHALF OF CHRIST, BE RECONCILED TO GOD!  For our sake He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”  (From 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 ESV)

So I want to do my job well!  As an official representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to carry myself with dignity and behavior that befits my high calling.  Nothing but a righteous lifestyle, speech that is honorable and Christ-honoring, and activities that express the values of the Kingdom of God and God’s love for the world will do!  I want my everyday activities as His ambassador to be all about “the ministry of reconciliation (the reconciliation of people everywhere to God through faith in Jesus Christ)! … So if you ask me what I’m engaged in – what work I do – my central mission in life… I’m going to say I am “AN AMBASSADOR FOR CHRIST!” 

O Lord, help me to fulfill my calling and mission in life well!!!