He is a Friend

Proverbs 18:24 “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”-

Social media Facebook calls your list of connection, friends. The word is use very loosely to mean anyone that you might know or have met. My current list of “friends” is 717 people. Many of these are family members, students I taught, people I went to high school and college with, people I work with, neighbors I have known for a long time, and a host of Christian people I have known from my church affiliation over the years. Some of these people at one time were close friends that I have shared my heart with and have prayed for me during hard times. Time and distance has taken us down separate paths in life with different goals and aspirations. People change and the bond of friendship often loses their grip. Friendships are betrayed and choices are made to “unfriend” and break the bond of friendship. There are a few of these that I still consider close friends that I believe will always be there over the course of time. I cherish these friendships, but even those can change. But there is one friendship that will never change. Jesus, a friend who will stick with you no matter what happens in life. He will be with you in the dark times.  He is a friend who knows all about you, He knows your weaknesses and your strengths. He has your back when it looks like everyone else has forsaken you. He is a friend that only desires what is good for you, and will led you to a land unerring. “What a friend we have in Jesus, can we find a friend so faithful...who all our sorrows share..take it to the Him prayer”

Divine Forgiveness

Eph. 4:32 “and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”-

Real forgiveness is divine. Forgiveness implies that there is no animosity toward the person that did you wrong, or treated you unfairly. It is one of the most difficult Christian attributes to demonstrate when the heart is hurting and breaking. We were made with the emotions to love and hate. To hate is not wrong, we hate sin, we hate what sin has done to our society, and how it has affected those we love. When someone is hateful, we abhor the hate they manifest. It is difficult to separate hate and the one who is hating, or hurting. How can we forgive such a person who only thinks of themselves and lives to only gratify their lustful desires. God loves the hater (sinner) and died on the cross that the hater may know forgiveness and know eternal life. This is divine forgiveness that comes from God. In the human, such forgiveness is not found. Living in the Vine means that God’s love lives within us. We are instrument and vessel that He uses to show others how God loves. If we hold bitterness and resentment toward others, we have failed to show God’s forgiveness to them. Let us put aside our pride and be kind and tenderhearted toward those who may hurt us. In most cases, those that hurt others are also hurting. Christ desires to forgive and heal those that hurt.

The Enemy of the Soul

Psalm 35:24 “Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.”-

David faced a lot of opposition from those that should have loved him most. It is tough knowing that your own flesh and blood seeks to hurt you without a righteous cause. Sin in the hearts of people causes them to lash out with cutting words and find ways to make life unpleasant. We search our hearts, asking God to examine if there is anything we may have said or done to cause such hatred. We may not have anybody that is out to get us, but Satan is the accuser of the brother and desires to bring destructions to our lives. He seeks after the apple of God’s eye and despises those who put their love and trust in God. He rejoices when a follower of Christ take another path, when those that are called Christian become bitter against each other. Satan desires to divide the power of the people of God by bringing division that is founded on things that are not worth dying for. “Lord, create a new heart within me, don’t allow Satan, the real enemy to use me in a way that will hinder the kingdom of God. Help me to seek righteousness and holiness. Defeat the power of the devil, so that your name may be glorified”. 

The Fear of the Lord

Psalm 34:4, 7 “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears...The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.”

Fear is a nature instinct of human nature. We become afraid when we sense that our lives are in danger. Confronting a stranger(s) that appear to have ill motives in mind is cause for us to run and hide. We like to be safe and secure in our home and places we go. The sound of strange noises in our home in the middle of the night will wake us up and our hearts become fearful that someone is in our home. We grab a bat, a gun, anything that will protect us from the intruder. Such response is natural and God given. But then there is fear that Satan binds us with. Fear of the unknown, fear that God does not care, fear that we are all alone to fight the battle of life on our own. This fear is born from our inability to trust God to take care of us and deliver us from these thoughts. David, the psalmist sought God to remove these thoughts from his mind. He wanted the peace of mind that God was in control and that He would protect him from bad things happening. Fearing God is not to be afraid of Him, but to recognized that God is great and mighty, He is holy and able to do anything. We serve a God who created us in His image and as our Creator we fear Him. We fall down before Him is awe and adoration knowing He is God and He is able to surround us with His presence. To know God is to fear God, for in our fear of Him, we have surrender our lives into His care. 

In The Desert

Mark 6:31 “ And He said unto them, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.”....

There is no rest for the wicked, but there is rest for the people of God. Real rest of soul, body, and mind is found in Jesus Christ. That is spiritual rest from the cares of life and the things that trouble us. But God is also concern that we don’t over tax our bodies to the point that we are no longer any earthly good. This is no reason to be irresponsible, but a reason to take time from the duties of life and allow the mind and body to heal from the demands that press on us from day to day. We all need a desert place, a place away from the call of duty. A place to renew our spirits and regain our strength to be the person God wants us to be. In the desert, we can get quiet before God and find real rest for the soul. In the desert, the distractions of life are put away and we can let our body and mind be relived of the stress of responsibility that weighs on us daily.  We are not called to live in the desert, but to rest there. Tomorrow we return to life’s duties, but today, we rest in God. 

Waiting on God

Psalm 25:5 “Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day.”-

Waiting is not my strong suit, especially when it appears that it is time wasted doing nothing. But to wait on God does not mean that we sit around and waste time. Waiting on God gives us an opportunity to renew our strength in Him. Time to reflect and examine our hearts before God. Time to seek Him in the stillness of the night. Waiting for Him to do great things, and contemplating how He will do it. The timing of God is always right and He know just the right time to make things happen. Our humanist want to see things happen now. We become impatient when progress is not being made and it looks like we our marking time. Marching in place and going no where. But they that wait on the Lord, shall have their strength renewed day by day. They let go and trust God for the future and believe that He has all things under control. 

Chariots and Horses

Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”-

In the society we live, we depend on “chariots and horses” to make a living. It is a challenge for a society that is prosperous and seemly having little need to rely on God to supply their needs. We have plenty and have need of nothing. Obviously, not everyone in our society is wealthy and secure. There are many who have little and survive to make ends meet. But, as a culture, we trust that our jobs will be there tomorrow and that we will not go hungry. It is hard for people to see that they need God. It is not until the chariots and horses and taken away that people realize that there is more to life than things. It is important that those who serve God keep things in prospective. It is God that supplies our needs. I’m thankful for the material things that God has provided and the many blessing that they bring, but Jesus is really all we need. Someday, we all may be tested. I admit, if that day ever comes, it will not be easy. But I pray that God will help me to hold loosely to the things of this world and cling to Him for the things that really matter in life. Jesus, family, friendship are what make life worth living. No time to stress out over things. May I learn to trust in the name of the Lord and hold on to those things that matter to Him.