Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the Lord God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken. Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Memory of the month: Isaiah 41:13 For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”
Today's reading: GENESIS 20-22 MATTHEW 6:19-34
Friends
How many of us have been the kind of friend who has never let a friend down? Most of us have... Have you experienced the feeling of disappointment of being let down by a friend? I think we can all say yes to that.
It is a hard place to be. It is hard to work out of. But when we hurt a friend we know exactly why, usually. Sometimes we cannot understand why we disappoint because we have not understood the feelings of our friends and sometimes we cannot see just why our friends would disappoint us.
Understanding someone completely takes a rather deep knowledge of them and real brotherly love. When we think in those terms, it seems like a lot and that is what it is. Explaining friendship is a hard thing to do. Try it-really try.
Seeing someone with this kind of love is seeing with the eyes of the Lord. When we let something cloud that view is when we step into weak territory. When we let our feelings be exposed because we are too self-absorbed, we are tempted to do or say things which are hurtful. The one thing we all know is that when these mistakes are made, both sides hurt.
The best feeling seems to be when we get things right again. This feeling of reconciliation is such a peaceful and joyful place. I hope you can see where this is going?
(Jesus said:)
"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15
There's never been a friendship on this earth between two people that has known a friend so perfectly faithful as Jesus. No matter what happens-where we go or what we do-Jesus always calls us 'friend'. Doubt that? Just listen to this:
Going directly to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 50“Friend,” Jesus replied, “do what you came for.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him.
Jesus did not let the complete and utter failure of a friend keep Him from calling Judas, 'friend'. There is no greater example of the love of a friend than to forgive in the face of betrayal and Jesus knew all that was about to happen.
There was only one Judas. That is bad as it will ever be. But you and I have done things against God that would seem unforgiveable to the human heart and still Jesus calls us friend.
Jesus is our unshakable, eternal friend. Whatever we do or have done, Jesus says we will be forgiven and not only that but cleansed from all unrighteousness-all of it. He not only forgives but gives us the freedom to walk without guilt on our shoulders and our hearts. Nothing is sweeter than reconciliation with God.
1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
He speaks words of comfort and guidance. He lets His breeze blow through our lives with the sustaining power of His glory and nestles us in His complete peace-when we are humbled under His hand.
He restores our souls. Psalm 23
He has marked us as His friends for eternity. Ephesians 1:13
Jesus holds nothing against us; He never gives up on us, never loses faith in us, always hopes the best for us, and endures through every circumstance with us. 1 Corinthians 13
So, if we walk in the Light as He is in the Light(1 John 1:7), we start to take on His traits as a friend. Think about this today. You may have a great need to be reconciled with an old friend for some long-buried reason...make it right. Even if they don't act like they forgive you, do your part-Jesus always does His.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Forgive me for my weak human failure to be Your friend. Thank you for Your unwavering love and friendship. Let me be such a friend to my neighbors.
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