So much to write about today! I could write about the weather. Miserable cold. Supposed to reach all the way to Central Florida. Back in the 1970s they tried to scare us by saying there was going to be so much pollution that the sun's rays would be blocked and we would freeze to death. Then in the 1990s, when we weren't freezing after all, they said we were in the midst of global warming and we were going to fry. But that didn't happen, either. Some glaciers melted, but some also had their ice increase. So, then they said climate change, and we are going to die. Well, I don't see much in the way of change except for the regular seasonal change. Weather has always been unpredictable.

Oh, wait, I know! The National Championship Game! Well, I guess I won't write about that, mostly since I don't really care and didn't even watch the game. But, I do feel it is my obligation to point out that Ohio State beat three Indiana schools by a combined score of 117-38 on the way to winning the National Championship game. And, if OSU can play enough high school teams, their basketball team might play .500 ball this season. 

We did greet a new president. I didn't watch it on TV or listen on radio. When I got back from my morning appointments, I lit up my computer. It was interesting. Fox Online had wall to wall reporting of the day's events. But I always check the liberal outlets for news, too, and then I make up my own mind. One of those outlets carried weather news, information about the Big Game that night and lots of mindless fluff, but nothing about the inauguration. It was actually funny. The first article of the day that they ran was one that said Mrs. Trump was standing next to her husband during the swearing in holding a stack of Bibles and the president didn't lay his left hand on them. The 'stack' was two Bibles (I don't know, but I imagine one was hers and one was his.) Donald Trump is human and I assume in the excitement he simply forgot. The Bibles were there, so they were part of the plan. What was sad was that this outlet has openly made fun of Christians and Jews and then they act offended that the president did not lay a hand on the Bibles. 

I could write about all of that, but another thought has been perking around in my head. 95 out of 190 USA Ambassador posts around the world are not currently filled. Half of all nations that we have diplomatic relations with have no US Ambassador to represent our country. There are many reasons, but those gaps need to be filled. It is not just a matter of putting a body out there, either. The American Foreign Service has to train people. There needs to be serious background checks. They are representing the United States, for heaven sakes! They must present our country in a sterling way. And when they get to their embassy, they MUST be near perfect. I looked up how many Ambassadors our country has had that have been expelled by their host country. Some have been expelled because the host country doesn't like the US anymore. A few have been expelled because their transmissions to Washington reporting about the activities of the host country (which falls within their job) were intercepted by the host country and they took offense. However, I did not come across a single incident of an Ambassador being expelled for committing a crime or acting in a lewd or immoral way. I have to believe that with Ambassadors all over the world and 248 years of exchanging Ambassadors with other countries, someone has slipped up. But if so, it has not happened very many times. Our Ambassadors know how to act!

In 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, we have this; 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are Ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake He made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.    

I hope you get the meaning of this passage. God has a ministry of drawing the world to Himself and He has chosen us to do the actual work. You, me and every other believer who lives or has ever lived has the title of Ambassador! What an honor! What a high calling! And yet, over the last week, have you let that office down? This last week I was talking to a lady who says she is a believer. She got caught up in her rant and fired off a couple of sentences that could turn the air blue. She caught herself, dropped her head and said, "Pardon my French." I told her I know a little French and I am certain those words were not French. And then I told her this, "If you want people to treat you like a Christian, you have to act like a Christian." You get frustrated or angry, what comes out of your mouth? If someone badmouths you, do you heap coals of kindness upon their heads? When the world slaps you, do you turn the other cheek? 

Are we effective Ambassadors?