You are God’s ambassador

As you and I look toward a new year and a fresh beginning, I suspect you, like me, are wondering what God has in store for you. While I certainly can’t predict the future, I can remind you of one certainty that’s true for every committed follower of Christ, now and in the new year ahead:

No matter what comes in 2025, God has called you and me to partner with Him in reaching people for Christ and restraining evil in our culture.

In Ephesians 2:10, the apostle Paul painted a word picture of God’s purpose for us: “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” The Greek word translated as “workmanship” is poiema, from which we get the word poem.

Regardless of your age or social status right now, your life is like a poem God is writing—not to be put on the shelf somewhere but to be read by those around you! 

God wants others to see your life story and your stand for Him.

God has placed each of us in a particular home, family, and community. [First Name], if you and I are going to influence the culture in which God has placed us, we must embrace three biblical convictions:

1. God is alive and active in the culture. We see this conviction demonstrated by the Old Testament prophet Elijah. When he stood before evil king Ahab, he said, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand” (1 Kings 17:1). Elijah wasn’t serving a set of ideas; he was serving the living Jehovah God. God is alive, and He’s still active in our culture today.

2. We are God’s representatives to the culture. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul wrote, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us.” Our calling as God’s ambassadors is to articulate the King’s message clearly and boldly to those around us. 

God is still looking for men and women, like the prophet Elijah, to be His spokespeople to this world, and He promises to give His power and protection to those who stand with Him. The Bible says God “strongly support[s] those whose heart is completely His” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

3. God is able to change the culture. As this world continues to deteriorate and darken, we can get discouraged, feeling as if we’re not making a difference. The prophet Elijah, too, went through periods of loneliness and discouragement. But as we seek to carry out God’s purpose for us to influence our culture, we can rest assured that we’re not alone in this mission; we’re partnering with God!

We can trust in the power of God’s Word to change people.

We can depend on the Holy Spirit to work through us.

And we must practice the power of prayer. 

James 5:16–18 says, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.”

Elijah reminds us that one believer—empowered by the Word of God, the Holy Spirit of God, and regular communication with God—can be a real world changer. 

The same is true for you. I can’t wait to see what God accomplishes through your life this year! May He be glorified!

Sharing the Truth of God’s Word,

Dr. Robert Jeffress