Time With Christ: Thursday, July 31, daily devotion - A Friend In Jesus

Topic: A Friend In Jesus (Thursday, July 31, 2014)

Memorise:

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. John 15:14

Read: 1 Samuel 20:16-17

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.
17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
Message:

A friend is someone who you share your heart with and who you can trust. A friend is also a person you like a lot. There are different categories of friends. There is a friend in need who is a friend indeed. This is a friend who helps you when you really need help. Ideally, friendship is reciprocal and the Bible enjoins those who have friends to reciprocate with a friendly attitude. Proverbs 18:24 says:

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

Jonathan was a friend indeed to David. He could perceive that David would succeed his father - Saul as king. Although this was a threat to his own personal ambition of becoming the king of Israel, nevertheless he loved David as his own soul. Are you a friend indeed? There are many so called friends who will always scheme to frustrate and destroy the destinies of others. Such people cannot be described as friends indeed. With such friends, who needs enemies? There are people who say they are your friends but will treat you badly. One of such persons is Judas Iscariot the betrayer. In Matthew 26:14-16, Judas Iscariot sold out the Lord Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver. What type of friend are you, Jonathan or Judas Iscariot?

Friends, no matter how sincere, can change. There have been cases of people who started as friends indeed but later became betrayers. There are also those who started as betrayers but later became friends indeed. The greatest issue is not who you are presently but who you will eventually turn out to be. Will you turn out to be a friend indeed or a betrayer? There are also situations where friends who are friends indeed disappoint. This might not be because such people are betrayers but because they are human. As human beings, we have our limitations, and there is an extent to which the most sincere of men can help. Who then is the best friend indeed? Jesus! He is the only one who will never disappoint. He knows the worst about you yet He loves you all the same. He is the best friend indeed. Since friendship should be reciprocal, who are the friends of Jesus? The Lord explains this in John 15:14, He said his friends are the ones that obey His commandments. Have you been doing whatever Christ commands? Such commandments include the injunction to live holy. Are you living holy? Do you follow peace with your fellow men? Everyone who claims to be a friend of Jesus should pay their tithes and offerings and also witness for Him. Are you His friend indeed?

Key Point:
The sincerity of our friendship with Christ hinges on obedience to His commandments.

Bible in a Year:
Matthew 16:5-18:35;