God crushed His Son; Christ relinquished His majesty; then gave Himself up for us so that we might be His people—holy and righteous (1 Thess 2:10), full of mercy and grace (James 3:17), and to proclaim His excellencies to the world (Ps 9:1-2, 40:5, 116:12-14; 1 Peter 2:9).

God didn't save us so we could be free to do whatever we want, knowing we're forgiven of all sins: past, present and future. Neither did the Father do this so that we could haphazardly wander around this earth, mooning over all we want and don't have (like the rest of this world).

Just as the honor of being assigned as an ambassador of an earthly country should not be taken lightly, so we also, who are in Christ, should not take our high calling as children of the Most High God lightly.

An earthly ambassador is chosen to live in a foreign land to represent their country, while maintaining every attribute and character of their homeland. An ambassador does not lose or forget who he/she is merely because they live in another country for a time, rather, they honorably and proudly represent their country and their people.

A good and wise ambassador never conforms him/herself to their visiting country or their customs, because they know this is not their home, but a temporary assignment. Instead, they proudly adhere to and keep the customs of their country; which they love.

As God's holy and dearly loved children, we have been recreated, the old has gone and the new has come (2 Cor 5:17). We are no longer of this world, but by God's grace have become citizen's of a new country; Heaven, our true and eternal Home (Philippians 3:20-21).

By washing us with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, God the Father made us something we could never make ourselves—children of the Most High (1 John 3:1). This high calling has also made us ambassadors of Christ Jesus; representatives and heralds in this world for the King of kings and Lord of lords. Therefore, let us walk in the new life we now possess (Romans 6:4) rather than revel in our old debased thinking and wallow in our old, self-absorbed ways.

I love this exhortation from John MacArthur (Drawing Near), "Biblical holiness (sanctification) is often misunderstood, but it needn't be. When the Holy Spirit delivered you from the domain of darkness and transferred you into the Kingdom of Christ, you became His special possession. That doesn't mean you're sinlessly perfect, but it does mean you're no longer a slave to sin, the Devil and death. That's positional sanctification. Practical sanctification is the decreasing frequency of sin and the increasing frequency of righteousness as you progress in your Christian walk...Sanctification should not be confused with false standards of holiness...attempt[s] to be holy through external means...True holiness begins with a love for Christ Himself. That's what compels you toward greater sanctification...In Him [Christ] you were saved, which is the beginning of sanctification, and in Him you have every resource necessary for progressing in holiness."

Thank God today for His extreme kindness, mercy and love demonstrated to you through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then resolve to diligently pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the name of the Lord from a pure heart (2 Tim 2:22). And rejoice in your holy calling knowing that without holiness, no one will see God (Heb 12:14).

"His [God's] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that though them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in this world because of sinful desire."

~2 Peter 1:3-4

Be mindful, that as a Christian, you're granted the glorious and magnificent gift of living coram Deo (latin for "in the presence of God").

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I encourage you to share the Word of God wherever He's given you influence. The Lord bless you.

As children of the Most High God, we're called to be doers of the Word, not merely hearers, or agree-ers.

We can’t behave like little plastic bobblehead dolls: Stiffed-necked and immovable; only nodding our heads in agreement for the sake of false peace, or to appear holy and righteous, yet with no resolve to put anything we hear/read into practice.

Jesus said, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” (Matthew 15:8) In 1 John 3:18 we're given this excellent exhortation, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

Just talking about God and all the “right” and “good” things to do, does not make us doers of the Word; it only makes us wind bags. And like wind, all our talking comes and goes, but there’s no lasting effect in our lives or others (James 1:22-25), because there's no power coming from it by the Spirit of Christ; since creating anything false only comes from the Devil or our flesh, but not from our Father above.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them....Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is...What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

~Ephesians 2:10; 5:15-17; James 2:14-18

It's good to pray for others and agree with sound doctrine and biblical teaching, but without actually practicing what we profess to agree with, or actively and intentionally love those we are praying for, we prove we are merely Pharisees in sheep’s clothing.

It seems being merely hearers and agree-ers is a more prevalent problem here in the United States where most of us do not purposefully strive for holiness (1 Peter 1:13-16, 2 Peter 1:5-8), but live merely hoping they do not offend God—which of course, offends God.

Most of us live in lavished comforts and don't really know what true persecution looks or feels like here in America. We think if someone rebukes us for a sin—we're being persecuted; while there are multitudes of Christians all over the world who would scratch their heads at many, if not most of us here in the United States who call ourselves children of the Most High God. If you want to know about true Christian persecution, that is, suffering for doing what is right by Christ, then read about Stephen in Acts 7, or the stories of the Puritans like George Whitefield, John Flavel, or other books and magazines that tell of horrid and faithful tales of real people who really know what it means to suffer for doing good (1 Peter 2:19-23).

Who knows, perhaps our wise and merciful Father God is allowing us to feel just a small sense of persecution and worldly pressures within our country in varying ways, to help His children who live here, rise up above mere head bobbing, and fight the good fight of faith for: our families, spiritual children, friends, and co-workers.

Sure, there are many Christian TV shows, radio stations and other forms of Christian para-church ministries and outlets, but sadly, I've been finding that many of these people stand for God's truth a lot better behind a mic, a camera or computer screen than they actually do in their personal lives.

When it's time to roll up our sleeves and obey, live and teach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:18-21, 26-27), we shy away from it because it just seems so mean to love someone enough to confront sin in their lives, feed them with God's Word, and intercede in prayer for their eternal good (Proverbs 17:17, 27:5-6). No, that'll just make people feel uncomfortable and well, they might not like, follow or subscribe to us anymore, so we can't do that. No, we'll only say all the nice "encouraging" things that tickles ears and only make people feel good, but does nothing to exhort them do good because God's call to holiness and righteousness has no place in the prevalent nominal Christianity of our day.

"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness."

~1 Timothy 6:11

As co-heirs with Christ Jesus our Lord, let us remain steadfast in our devotion to our heavenly Father and seek every opportunity He has laid before us to pray for, bless, love and do good to others (the way God commands, not the way that suits us) while we still have time. None of us are guaranteed our next breath; neither you, me, nor the people God has providentially placed in our lives. So be wise, and make haste to intentionally pursue God's righteousness, seek godliness and love others enough to do what's right, regardless of how they may react.

Love God and others, more than you love yourself (Mk 12:30-31).

"Let us take heed that we are among those who really follow Christ, and abide with Him. It is not enough to hear Him preached from the pulpit, and to read of Him as described in books. We must actually follow Him, pour out our hearts before Him, and hold personal communion with Him. Then, and not until then, we shall feel constrained to speak of Him to others. The man who only knows Christ by hearing of the ear, will never do much for the spread of Christ's cause in the earth."

~J.C. Ryle
(excerpt from: Expository Thoughts on John
concerning John 1:35-42)