Heading Home

This is not theology and is by no means complete. It is merely a thought-provoking (and fun) illustration that I thought you might enjoy…

In days gone by, when a king or a sovereign of a country wanted to spread his authority and influence to a new territory, he sent his son as an ambassador (or he sent an ambassador) to represent his kingdom in a foreign land and set up a foreign mission office or embassy.

An ambassador is a citizen of a country and is chosen or appointed by the ruler of his country. He is sent to a foreign land to represent his ruler on an official mission to establish a base of operation for transacting business for the home government.

During his stay, he lives in the embassy, which is the site of all official business conducted for the government it represents. The embassy is a gated community, the ambassador’s safe haven from any enemies or intruders.

Unless invited, a citizen of the foreign land (as an enemy) may not enter the sealed off district without the consent of its ambassador, because the representative of the kingdom has control of the gate.

Therefore, to enter the front gate, a citizen of the foreign land must first get permission or be issued an invitation by the ambassador. The ambassador has been given the keys of authority to lock and unlock the gate.

The ambassador is sent to represent the traits, customs, and so on, of his ruler and his country. Where the embassy of the kingdom exists, the language of the kingdom is spoken. The ambassador’s speech then reflects on the king. The land of his birth can be distinguished the minute he opens his mouth. His accent and language are a give-away, for he is speaking the language of his kingdom, his homeland tongue.

While on this foreign mission as the ruler’s spokesman, the ambassador carries the authority of the word of the ruler of his country, upholding the commands and laws of the homeland. He is critical to the ruler’s efforts of establishing a forefront of the ruler’s presence in a foreign land.

Our personal application: The Father, the King of heaven, sent His Son as His Ambassador to extend His Kingdom on earth.

As the king appointed or chose those whom He desired to represent him to other nations, we have been appointed as well. As Jesus said to the disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.” (John 15:16 NKJV)

We were all “aliens from the commonwealth” (Eph. 2:12 NKJV) until we became naturalized or citizens of the Kingdom. We are “fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,” (Eph. 2:19 NKJV) living as outposts in a foreign land, in the land of the enemy.

Our Sovereign Ruler has endowed us with the rights, freedoms, privileges, immunities, and duties of citizenship of the Kingdom. We also have the right to be protected by the Kings’ army to defend us from any enemy that would attack the embassy gate. But we are also expected to obey our duties as citizens.

Within the confines of our gated community, we are protected; it is our safe haven. We have control of the gate. We have the keys of the Kingdom.

We carry the authority of the Word of our Sovereign while we are on our mission for Him. We play a critical role in His efforts to expand His Kingdom to others.

As a citizen of God’s Kingdom, what we say reflects on our King. The words we speak will identify which kingdom we represent, letting everyone know our native Homeland. We are to exhibit the character of the One that sent us, reflecting graciously on the Sovereign of our Homeland.

As the law outside the compound of the embassy is the enemy’s territory, so we are to stay out of the world’s manner of doing things. The world’s system has no place in a believer’s life.

As we have been chosen and have accepted this responsibility, we carry on the mission of our Ruler amidst diverse and hostile natives. We represent our King as ambassadors to a world of foreigners.

We are to make known the dominion of our King, to give His perspectives on life, to show others what life is like in the Kingdom in which we live, and to recruit new citizens for the Kingdom.

As Jesus sent the disciples out into the world to spread the influence of the Kingdom, He has also sent us to do the same. Therefore, having been commissioned by God to do the business of the Kingdom, we are to go to foreign places to represent the Name and the work of the Sovereign One sending us...

“Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this-that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” (Matt. 28:19-20 TLB)

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else.”(Matt. 6:33a NLT)

***Well, I guess this may become my annual birthday post. To commemorate this occasion, I am giving away $100. If you would like for your name to be put in the pot for the drawing, leave a comment at the end of this post or in the comment box in the sidebar. May you have a safe and fun holiday weekend!***

As I worked on what would be my next post, for some reason, which I’m sure was the Lord, a detour sign raised up and lead my thoughts to birthdays. Not only is it our country’s birthday on July 4, but it is my birthday on July 5.

My birthday, I can forget. Our country’s birthday, I cannot forget.

I thought about…celebrating our country’s birth day. I know there will be numerous blog posts for this occasion, but, as I thought back over the years, great memories came flooding back.

I thought about…when my parents were alive. They belonged to several groups of friends, but one group in particular had been friends since before World War II began. Most of the men joined some branch of the services. My dad joined the Navy and that is where he met my mother. Dad played the trombone for the Navy band and Mom was a secretary.

This group of friends always gathered for special occasions and July 4th was no exception. After several years of it being held at different homes, it finally settled on my parents to hold the celebration at their home.

This was usually a huge gathering of families with some having four generations attend. My mother loved to go all out with the decorations for the tables. Red and white checked tablecloths, blue napkins, flags, flowers…everything red, white, and blue. One of the men, whose birthday was on the 4th, always shared a large cake with me. He’s no longer with us either.

I think about…the year this country celebrated the great bicentennial and watching on the television the awesome festivities, which included an international fleet of tall ships in New York City’s harbor and the beautiful array of fireworks over the Statue of Liberty.

A wave of patriotism and nostalgia swept over the nation. People decorated practically everything from the front doors of their homes or businesses to their mailboxes and even fire hydrants.

Flags hung everywhere or were painted on. Trains were painted in stripes of red, white, and blue. NASA painted the flag and the bicentennial symbol on the side of its vehicle assembly building.

Commercial products by the score displayed packaging of red, white, and blue. Many paid a fee to use the trademarked bicentennial star. Some the TV coverage lasted for fourteen hours. Disney went all out, even changing the theme of their nighttime parade.

I remember all the celebration but I don’t remember the stories of the pilgrims, the ones who started it all. If there were stories, they didn’t stick in my memory.

So, I thought about…the reason that the pilgrims embarked on such a dangerous journey to leave their home to settle in some strange land.

The pilgrims were a religious group who left England as they had been persecuted by the Church of England. As they were about to set sail for Holland, John Robinson, as the pastor of their church who was staying behind, preached before they left on Ezra 8:21. Ezra 8:21-22 says, “When I declared a fast while we were at the Ahava River so that we would humble ourselves before our God; and we prayed that He would give us a good journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled.” (TLB)

As they also found their religious liberty curtailed in Holland, they decided to go back to England and set out for a New England. They left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620, sailing for a new world of promise.

Aboard ship, they found that the sailors resented their daily prayers, hymns, and scripture reading sessions, but, in the end, the sailors admitted that the pilgrims were strong and brave.

When they disembarked and stepped on shore at Plymouth Rock, they knelt in prayer and held a prayer service. Prayer was the basis for all they had done and all they would do.

I then thought about…those prayers of the pilgrims that undergirded the foundation of this nation and brought about the reason for celebrating Independence Day.

I thought about…the great freedom of religion this country has enjoyed through the efforts and courage of those 102 people. However, are our rights and privileges as Christians in this nation being eroded? Have prayers for this country ceased?

I thought about…praying as the first settlers did. Do we bend our knees for our country? Do we pray for our President and all who are in authority? Do we pray as Paul instructed Timothy, “Pray much for others; plead for God’s mercy upon them; give thanks for all He is going to do for them. Pray in this way for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility, so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord” (1 Tim 2:1-2 TLB)?

I thought about…all the precious souls who put their lives on the line for this country that we might enjoy the freedoms and privileges that we do. God bless all of you!

I hope you will watch this wonderful video of Red Skelton and his pledge of allegiance…


Happy Birthday, USA!

~~Happy Independence Day, everyone!~~

Well, this will be a first for me. I do not write about political issues. I rarely even discuss politics outside my close family unit. However, I feel the Holy Spirit nudging me to say something for unity’s sake.

One of the natural characteristics of my personality is peace and being a peacemaker. I’m sure the Lord is using this to nudge me.

This election rubbed me the wrong way. Most elections do. I hate the name calling and insults slung by opponents. And I hate all the negative ads. However, this time, it was different. I have never heard such bitterness and outright vile emotions and comments on both sides. I am so glad the door has closed on this election and the bickering is over. Now comes the real test, where the rubber hits the pavement, as they say.

When I saw this quote, I knew it was perfect for what I had to say. John Quincy Adams said, “Duty is ours, results are Gods.” We have accomplished half of our duty by putting our privilege to vote into action.

We have a new President of the United States. Whether you joined in the jubilation over the outcome or you went into your corner and pouted, you and I and the rest of the country now need to join together and make an effort at unity.

Now on to the second half of that duty…everyone working together, standing shoulder to shoulder in acceptance and kneeling knee to knee in prayer for the President and all his decisions.

Scripture is clear on this. Paul wrote to Timothy, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.” (1 Tim. 2:1-3 NIV)

Whatever our leaning…to the left or to the right…we are to first pray for the President and to keep a watch over what we say about the leaders of our country. The Word says, “Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath, and don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.” (Eccl. 10:20a Msg)

The Law stated, “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.” (Ex. 22:28 NIV) The consequence of doing so was the punishment of being stoned to death. And no, we can’t go back there!

In reading a number of blogs that have posted on the election, my favorite is by Michael Hyatt, president and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. Falling in line with these scriptures, he listed these four things that he vowed to do for the new President…

1) I will pray for him and our country.
2) I will assume his motives are good, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
3) I will not speak ill of him, even if I don’t always agree with him.
4) I will cast off the spirit of cynicism, and be a positive force for good.

I, too, take this stand. Will you join me in doing the same?

~~Blessings, Lynn~~