Scripture
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
~2 Corinthians 5:20
Quote
The quality of my life matters immensely because I represent Christ. If I do not love, I make Jesus look unloving to the world.
~Timothy Keller
Joe David delivered a very good message last Sunday but I didn’t enjoy it because I was being convicted of my sin as he preached. It was an anointed message but I didn’t enjoy it because of my own personal guilt. I feel the same way about this blog. It is one that I had rather not write. In ancient times, communication was carried out by envoys, ambassadors, couriers and heralds. Four different terms for the same job. Example: A king had ambassadors who worked in his court who were there to record messages, take them to the assigned person and then bring back a report of what the other person said. Now you can imagine how important honesty was for an ambassador. Wars could be started if the ambassador got one word wrong or even spoke out of context.
First of all, that puts a lot of pressure on those of us who preach the word and it should bring a sense of relief to those who don’t. We have to get the truth right or we can fowl up a lot of people. I love what the people said about John the Baptist… “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man [Jesus] was true.” [John 10:41] This is high praise in my opinion. Of course no one can say it because no one knows but I would love it if someone could say at my COLS…“Bro. Jack never did anything that is associated with greatness but everything he said about Jesus was true.” You and I both know that I’ve not always told the truth and I was convicted about my dishonesty when I read Keller’s devotion yesterday. I want to know and tell the truth when it comes to Jesus but that is only one side of the coin. An ambassador represents his master/king in his demeanor and behavior. Uh, that hurts! I know for a fact there is too much Jack and not enough Jesus in my life. I read the Psalms daily and I am much closer to David in attitude than Jesus. I tend to dislike those who dislike Jesus. People talk about how I much I love my grandchildren, foot fussy fire, a heathen can love grand children. A man who cannot love his grandchildren is beyond redemption. I don’t have any trouble loving my wife, my children, my grand children, my neighbors, my church members or friends. I have a lot of trouble with folks like Soros and Pelosi. God is at work in me, I have prayed for Jimmy Carter several times in the last few months; maybe there is hope. I hate the thought of embarrassing my Savior but I fear I have done just that more than once.
The days and weeks fly by when you get 17 and there are tons of things to be done but you have only ounces of energy to do them. We had 42 at mid-week worship last night…18 young people. My goal is to have twice that many within a year. We had a good service. No one wanted to go home.
I have not heard from Spencer today but Tracey is supposed to go home this evening. Keep praying!
A guy called in from Huntsville to the Rick and Bubba show this morning and suggested we put snipers on the tops of the building and wing a few of the protesters; he said he thought that would stop it. He didn’t want to kill them, just shoot them in the leg. If they were protesting in China, they wouldn’t get shot in the leg. What amazes me is how ignorant people can be of the truth. How much time would it take a person to do a little research and connect the dots? Too many people rely on the nightly news. Young people are not afraid of the virus; they don’t get their info from the TV. They have figured this thing out. The entire thing has been a political propaganda hoax. The flu kills more people, thousands more, than the Covid.