Are You A Friend of God?
Good Morning Friends,
Well to be a friend, one has to be in some kind of relationship and that goes for being a friend of God too. But let’s face it you and I did not wake up one day and say, “I think I am going to make God my friend.” It just does not work that way. God gives you an invitation. Are You A Friend of God?
Scripture: I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
John 15:15 (NRSV)
But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
Isaiah 41:8 (NRSV)
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then he would return to the camp; but his young assistant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the tent.
Exodus 33:11 (NRSV)
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 13:8-10 (NRSV)
Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.
Galatians 6:2-10 (NRSV)Top of Form
Message: Many things in this world could cause us to wonder. But one of the most striking is that God should want to call us His friends. That Jesus would call us friends somehow defies imagination. That the Cross is the highest symbol of friendship boggles the mind. That Jesus would bear our burdens, even unto death, is truly a witness to God’s amazing grace but also as a guide to what it means to be a friend. When we carry another’s packages, lift another’s load, we don’t really give it much thought. We just act and this action somehow gives us time, frees up time, so that we can then share in a friendly conversation.
We all may not gain wealth but we all have burdens… So, when we cast our burdens to the Lord He can guide us as to whether He wants us the share, shoulder or shed them. Each act builds the opportunity for the development of a friendship. And here the law of sowing and reaping always applies. Brothers and sisters,
we need to fulfill the law of love… We need to love as Christ loved and loves us. This act builds the Kingdom, strengthens the body of believers and engages us to do together what would be impossible alone. If we try hard to live by the law of love; love for God and love for man, we will honor God, obey Him, and do no wrong to our neighbors.
Here we learn to celebrate the joy that we as Christian friends share in a relationship with Jesus.
So, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
Pray we have new hearts that guide us in the Spirit to accomplish the will of God’s perfect love. Pray our faith blesses us with a love will never disappear. Pray our hearts listens to God with a surrender to the simple life of the Holy Spirit. Pray our lives are filled with compassion. Pray we live in the generosity of forgiveness. Pray the light of Jesus in us visit all those who are in darkness and show them the way of love. Pray that we shed the burdens we should shed. Pray we share the burdens we should share and shoulder those burdens we need to shoulder. Pray that we help to restore those who have faltered in the faith though the patient, kind and loving acts of Christian friendship. Pray that we not be tempted in the process but do what is noble, right, lovely, praiseworthy and excellent. Pray that we have compassion on others and when the relationship gets time consuming, expensive and just plain hard, know that it is Jesus we serve. Pray we are yoked to Jesus as He teaches us and lightens the load. Pray that we look into the perfect law of love and the light it brings into the world of pain. Pray we have a heart for God. Pray we are devoted to God in praise and thanksgiving and worship asking for nothing in return. Pray we share with others because God has loved us. Pray we consider ourselves friends of God. Pray
we realize that friendships build the accountability, unity, faith and body of believers to work in fellowship for the Kingdom of God. Pray we build bonds of Christian friends as friends of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 