When you are a friend of Jesus, your relationship becomes a healthy, maturing believer walking with Him in all areas of your life.
Jesus had many followers. He called twelve of these followers to be His apostles, those He would train to carry on His ministry. Shortly before He knew He would be arrested and sentenced to death on the Cross, He shared with the Twelve how special they were to Him. They were more than just His disciples, they were His friends (John 15:15).
We can read in the Bible that Jesus wants us to be more than His followers or servants. He wants us to be His friends. If we accept His offer of friendship, we begin to follow not only in His footsteps, but allowing Him to walk along side of us as we journey here on this earth. We begin to take on His character, His fruit of the Spirit. We begin to look different, act different, walk different, talk different.
Friendship requires loyalty. Jesus called every believer to this kind of consistent relationship. He expressed His expectation that those who would be His friend would "continue" and "remain" in His love. Imagine. We walk in His love and His love overflows from us into a world that is longing for love in all the wrong places. We are a reflection of Him and His friendship!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Friends, Best Friends (Part 4)
Two words fit well with the term "friend." One is necessity. Though some feel they do not need friends, the opposite is true. We all need close friendships. The other word is cherish. To be sure, each of us can be indifferent or careless about friends. That is a great mistake.
I am reminded of the scripture, Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loveth at all times..." To have friends, you must be a friend. To take these friendships to a deeper level, open your life to the people with whom you want to have friendship. Those who remain aloof from others find it difficult to develop deep friendships.
There are several areas of knowing if you are a good friend:
1) Be hospitable. Martha did a simple thing - she "received Him [Jesus] into her house" (Luke 10:38).
2) Be a good listener. Mary, Martha's sister, chose the good thing; she was happy to sit at the feet of Jesus listening to all He said (Luke 10:39).
3) Recognize the value of friends. Life's road is better traveled in the company of friends than alone. "Two are better than one" (Ecclesiastes 4:9).
4) Pray for your friends. Jesus prayed for His friends; He is our Example (John 11:41,42).
5) Have a "Circle of Friends." The comfort and joy that Jesus gave to Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Peter, James and John as a Friend that sticks closer than a brother is always more than enough to encourage us to press forward.
Let me encourage you to find ways to let your friends know how you feel about them and how much you appreciate them. Each is a precious gift from the Author of friendship.
I am reminded of the scripture, Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loveth at all times..." To have friends, you must be a friend. To take these friendships to a deeper level, open your life to the people with whom you want to have friendship. Those who remain aloof from others find it difficult to develop deep friendships.
There are several areas of knowing if you are a good friend:
1) Be hospitable. Martha did a simple thing - she "received Him [Jesus] into her house" (Luke 10:38).
2) Be a good listener. Mary, Martha's sister, chose the good thing; she was happy to sit at the feet of Jesus listening to all He said (Luke 10:39).
3) Recognize the value of friends. Life's road is better traveled in the company of friends than alone. "Two are better than one" (Ecclesiastes 4:9).
4) Pray for your friends. Jesus prayed for His friends; He is our Example (John 11:41,42).
5) Have a "Circle of Friends." The comfort and joy that Jesus gave to Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Peter, James and John as a Friend that sticks closer than a brother is always more than enough to encourage us to press forward.
Let me encourage you to find ways to let your friends know how you feel about them and how much you appreciate them. Each is a precious gift from the Author of friendship.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Friends, Best Friends (Part 3)
No friendship is perfect. Earthly friends sometimes fail, but good friends do not discard one another because of imperfections. Neither does Jesus. He is our example of the friend that is described in Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loves at all times..." A friend's love is loyal and constant, and does not leave us when things become unpleasant. I believe in the sowing and reaping biblical principle. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want to have trustworthy friends, be a trustworthy friend. When you give your word to do something with a friend, keep your word, and do it with joy. When your friends decide to up and leave your friendship, Jesus is your closest Friend, and He will send another person into your life that will replace that missing friendship. Many times, although we don't like that change, God is taking us to another level of trusting Him to be first place in our lives.
Friendship calls for the realization of who our friends are. It is hard to enjoy a close friendship without recognizing who a person is. Discovering that a friend has been less than truthful with us about who he or she is can put a strain on the friendship. We expect friends to be honest with us. If not, trusting a friend is difficult. This is also true in our friendship with Jesus. If we say He is our Friend, we must understand who He is and allow this recognition to shape our response to Him. Only when we have this understanding can we really enjoy the close friendship He offers us.
We may all blush at the shortcomings of our friendship with Jesus. After all, friendship with Jesus is defined by obedience (see John 14:23). If we have disobeyed Jesus - and all of us have at some time - we fell short in our friendship wiht Him. Peter denied Christ three times, yet Peter's example reminds us that Jesus' friendship can continue beyond our failures. Like Peter, we must return to our Lord after our failure, ask His forgiveness, and recommit ourselves to follow Him. When this happens, friendship with Jesus and others will be renewed. Putting Christ first place, eveything else will fall in place.
Friendship calls for the realization of who our friends are. It is hard to enjoy a close friendship without recognizing who a person is. Discovering that a friend has been less than truthful with us about who he or she is can put a strain on the friendship. We expect friends to be honest with us. If not, trusting a friend is difficult. This is also true in our friendship with Jesus. If we say He is our Friend, we must understand who He is and allow this recognition to shape our response to Him. Only when we have this understanding can we really enjoy the close friendship He offers us.
We may all blush at the shortcomings of our friendship with Jesus. After all, friendship with Jesus is defined by obedience (see John 14:23). If we have disobeyed Jesus - and all of us have at some time - we fell short in our friendship wiht Him. Peter denied Christ three times, yet Peter's example reminds us that Jesus' friendship can continue beyond our failures. Like Peter, we must return to our Lord after our failure, ask His forgiveness, and recommit ourselves to follow Him. When this happens, friendship with Jesus and others will be renewed. Putting Christ first place, eveything else will fall in place.
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