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Ambassadors for Christ

21. Aug 2024 On The Way In Love
We are called to be ministers of reconciliation, ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor 5:18-19). Jesus commanded us to “Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15; NKJV) and to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19; NKJV). To preach is simply to clearly proclaim the gospel, the biblical account of Jesus and salvation. A disciple is someone who follows and learns from a teacher, in this case, Jesus. What we are to proclaim is found in God’s Word, the Bible. God’s word is truth and life (John 6:63; 17:17) and, “the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Free from all the effects of separation from God and sin in our lives.
You may be thinking, can I really be that ambassador? I love the account of Isaiah being called to go out as a prophet (Isa 6:1-8). Isaiah felt unworthy as a sinful man in the presence of the glory of the Lord but a seraph touched his lips with a live coal from the altar in the temple cleansing Isaiah from sin. Isaiah was then able to say, “here am I! send me” (Isa 6:8b; NKJV). You might say, “I’m not Isaiah.” Yes, but as a Christian we are forgiven (Col 1:14), restored to fellowship with God (2 Cor 5:18), we have the power of the Holy Spirit living in us (Acts 1:8), and we have authority over all the works of the devil (Luke 10:19). The Holy Spirit empowers us to witness (Acts 1:8) and gives us divine appointments to share the gospel (John 4:4-42; Acts 8:29) and even the words to share (Luke 12:12). Let’s do it!

The Love of God

19. Aug 2024 On The Way In Love
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you. Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isa 49:15,16; CSB). The AMPC version says, “indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture) of you” for the word “inscribed.” I know it is hard to get our finite minds round this concept but we just have to accept that it is true and therefore believe it. If you never had a mother or felt rejected or separated from her love then verse 16 above should really encourage you. This is how much He loves you. God’s love for us is unconditional or agape love. He loves us no matter how much we mess up and regardless of our education, status in life, background or anything else.
1 John 4:16 tells us, “We have come to know and believe the love God has for us” (CSB). John 3:16 tells us that God’s love for us was so great that He sent Jesus to die for us (see also Eph 2:4,5; John 15:13; Rom 5:8). Romans 8:35-39 assures us that nothing at all can separate us from God’s love and 1 John 3:1 explains that it is because of God’s love that He made us His children. Jeremiah writes that, “God has loved us with an everlasting love” (Jer 31:3; NKJV).
If you are still not convinced, meditate on all the scriptures about God’s love for us until you get a revelation of it in your heart and then you will be able to believe it and it will start to seep from the inside out!

Kick those Skeletons out

16. Aug 2024 On The Way In Love
As Christians, we may sometimes remember words or actions from our past that we are not proud of. The devil can try to sow those thoughts into our minds (John 13:2; Acts 5:3). We sometimes refer to them as “skeletons in our closet.” However, let’s be clear, Jesus paid the price for our sins and won forgiveness for us. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:14; NKJV). That’s forgiveness of all sins, past, present and future! The apostle Paul also wrote: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new’ (2 Cor 5:17; NKJV). Now that’s encouraging! As Christians we are God’s beloved children (John 1:12) and there is no condemnation for us (Rom 8:1). The apostle Paul (Saul) persecuted Christians to the point imprisonment and death (Acts 7:58; 8:1-3). However, God (Acts 9:3-19), forgave Paul and used him to grow the early church (Acts 13:2-28:31). Paul did not look back at his previous life but pressed forward to be all God had for him (Phil 3:13-14). Jesus told us to be like a man ploughing and look forward, never backwards (Luke 9:62). You may be thinking that’s too hard, but we can be confident that God who, “began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6; NKJV). What is our part in this process? We need to get into God’s word, memorize it and do it, then we will be blessed with God thoughts (James 1:25) and we can kick those skeletons out of the closet!

But God

14. Aug 2024 On The Way In Love
Have you ever had a “but God” moment! Joseph in the Old Testament certainly did (Gen 37-50)! We are all probably familiar with how he was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. Acts 7:9 tells us, “But God was with him” and Joseph wound up as the right-hand man to Pharoh. When his brothers came to him for food in a time of famine he said to them, “As for you, you thought evil of me, but God meant it for good” (Gen 50:20; AMPC). God so turned things around for Joseph that many lives were saved because of him. Then there is Noah, “But God remembered Noah” (Gen 8:1; NLT) and saved him and his family from the flood. Also, Jonah, “But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!” (Jonah 2:6; NLT), referring to God rescuing him from the great fish that swallowed him.
In the New Testament we have some more. “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Rom 5:8; NLT). Then in Acts 3:15, “You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead” (NLT; see also Acts 13:30). We have yet another “But God” in Eph 2:4,5 referring to God’s mercy and love in making us alive in Christ.
You may be going through a trial right now and greatly in need of a “But God”, keep in mind that Romans 8:28 says that God causes all things to “work together for good.” You may not get the “But God” right away but stay in faith and be expectant because, “But with God all things are possible” (Matt 19:26; ESV).

Prayer

12. Aug 2024 On The Way In Love
It is written concerning the early church that, “they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers “(Acts 2:42; NKJV). Prayer here refers to a solemn request directed to God. Jesus gave His disciples a model prayer on which to base their prayers (Matt 6:9-14). This prayer starts and ends with words of praise and worship. The prayer contains a request that we could live here on earth in God’s kingdom just like it is in heaven. We are to pray that our needs and those of others be met. Jesus also directed us to ask God for forgiveness as we forgive others. Finally, we are to ask God to protect us from temptation and all the evil attacks of the devil.
We can ask anything as long as it is in line with God’s will and the promises in His word (1 John 5:14-15). Our prayers are to be spoken to God in Jesus name (John 14:13) and must be asked in faith (Mark 11:24). James, the brother of Jesus, made it clear that there is no room for doubt in our prayers (James 1:6). It is good to have a specific time each day to pray in a private place, or the “secret place” as the apostle Matthew calls it (Matt 5:6). However, we are also encouraged to pray everywhere (1 Tim 2:8) and at all times (Luke 18:1, 1Thess 5:17). The apostle Luke recorded that Jesus prayed all night! (Luke 6:12). Praying in agreement with others is also powerful (Matt 18:19-20). God knows our needs before we ask Him (Matt 6:8), but He wants us to ask, let’s do it and see His kingdom established here on earth!

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