Although I know Jesus is my Lord and Savior, I’ve come to know him by his humility and wisdom. In the gospels, we see Jesus as a humble servant, healer, and protector. This is the Jesus that I know and love.

But I feel like I’m not giving Jesus his just due. I know in my mind that Jesus is the King of Kings, but I also want to feel this in my heart and soul. Perhaps I’ve read too many novels, but when I think of a King, I think of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable. Men in their suits of armor, riding on their mighty destriers, to save King and Country.

I’d like to share how Revelation 19:11-17 describes the second coming of Christ:

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

These passages fire my imagination, as I hope they do yours. I invite you to join me this week as I think about the Warrior Jesus, who will once again protect his people but in a much different role.

We are celebrating my mother’s 89th birthday tomorrow and I have so much to be thankful for. Proverbs 22:6 directs parents to “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” And my mother did that and more.

Ever since I can remember, my mother has always been in my corner—encouraging me, believing in me, and most of all loving me.

I had a speech impediment when I was young, and a horrible lisp, which made it difficult for people to understand what I was saying. Thankfully, I started working with a speech therapist when I began first grade. Every day after school my mother would patiently go through all the “speech” drills I was given for the week. Every single day my mother encouraged me to be better and that never stopped.

During my “dark years” as a single parent, I would take long walks with my Mom when my children were with their father. I treasure the memory of those walks, when I would pour out my hopes and dreams, my failures and disappointments. My mother would listen patiently, offering advice but never judging my mistakes.

I’ve tried to emulate my mother by being a loving, patient mother to my own children. But there will never be anyone quite like her.

There are so many children in the world who aren’t loved or cared for. This is heartbreaking, because I’ve been blessed with a loving and caring mother. I can’t imagine my life without this strong, intelligent, loving woman who God chose to be my mother.

I’m not sure if any of you have had a bad customer service experience lately, but it seems like I’ve been a lightening rod for people who don’t care about me or my needs. Today was no exception. I was arguing on the phone with a customer service representative (CSR), and I became incensed over my rights as a customer. Have any of you had this type of experience or is it just me?

The CSR put me on hold, and I had a few moments to calm down. My first thought was, “What am I doing?” and the second thought was, “What kind of ambassador am I for Christ?”

I took a deep breath, and wondered what the CSR would think if she knew I was a Christian? That immediately humbled me. I’m supposed to be a representative for Jesus, an Ambassador to the world. And I’m having a meltdown because something didn’t go my way.

As a Christian, I’m supposed to exhibit love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). In my five-minute conversation with a stranger, I was anything but kind, gentle, and in control. Once again, I failed.

But then…I remembered who I am. (Remember the Week 30 blog?) God is using me to reach other people just like me. “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

I may have failed in my five minute conversation this afternoon, but God always gives us other opportunities to share his message. I’m not perfect, but the good news is that God doesn’t expect me to be perfect, just obedient. I think that’s good news for all of us.

Sometimes I just don’t understand the men in my life. They are much more complex than women. They can spend hours by themselves playing a game, work for hours without eating a single morsel, and can have a five-minute conversation that for them seems like an eternity. Can anyone relate?

Last week I searched scripture to find out how God sees women. This week I wanted to know how God views men, so I went to our Instruction Manual (the Bible) for answers. What I found didn’t surprise me, and it did give me an opportunity to see how God rests so much responsibility on the shoulders of our men. For example:

Men must be strong, yet loving. In 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, the verses say, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”

Men are expected to provide for their families. They are expected to work for a living, and provide for relatives who are unable to care for themselves. In 1 Timothy 5:8, the verse says, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Men are expected to love their wives as much as Christ loved us by giving his very life (Ephesians 5:25). To me, that means my husband should love me unconditionally, and be willing to sacrifice his life for mine.

Men who desire to be leaders in the church should be above reproach, faithful to his wife, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money (1 Timothy 3:2-3).

Men were made to be leaders, protectors, and providers. Sometimes I don’t give my menfolk enough credit for being who they were created to be. This gives me a new appreciation for the men that I hold dear: my husband, father, son, son-in-law, brother, and grandson. I know you have men that you love, too. Join me this week as we celebrate the men in our lives and appreciate how and why we were created differently.