April 22, 2020
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
 Therefore, 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 who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
New International Version (NIV)
One of my favorite recent memories at Tallowood was when Charlie Blackmon brought the Royal Ambassadors (R. A.’s) to pray for me.  Frank Gamboa was my Royal Ambassador leader at a church in Germany.  He was the first to tell me that I was an ambassador for Christ.  We repeated it as part of our R. A. Motto. Growing up in other countries, I came to understand the importance of an ambassador.  The ambassador represents his country by living in a foreign country.  The embassy where he lives is the sovereign territory of his home country.

So what did Paul mean when he called Christians ambassadors for Christ?  In another letter he told the Philippians that “our citizenship is in heaven.”  Paul wrote this as one who already had dual citizenship as a Jew and a Roman.  By God’s grace, Paul announced that a new creation had come for all who are in Christ.  God not only reconciled us to himself through Christ but gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 

Think of our church as an embassy of heaven on earth.  We are citizens of a new Kingdom because we serve a different King than the world around us.  Our King has sent us to the world with a proffer of peace.  We who have been reconciled invite others to be reconciled to God.  Upon what basis does God offer peace?  He paid the price.  God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  Every time we implore others to be reconciled to God, we are inviting them to citizenship in a new Kingdom. 

When every other kingdom is gone, there will only be one King.  His name is Jesus.  We are his ambassadors on foreign soil.  Every person in this world needs to be reconciled to God.  In Jesus’ name, let us invite them to find peace in Christ.
Pray with me:         
Father, we thank you for reconciling us to yourself through Christ.  Let us live our lives as citizens of your Kingdom today.  As ministers of reconciliation in your Royal cabinet, help us to share the message of reconciliation with others today.  Make your appeal through us.  Let our hearts be ready to share your good news with our broken world.  We pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.  
Join us in memorizing the Word.  Scripture for this week:    
Matthew 5:33-35
Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’  But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan.  Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG 
We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week.  In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year.  Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.  
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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