A Chosen Friend

 

I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.  When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.  I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!  This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.  You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.   John 15:9-16

My wife is my best friend.  We have lots of fun together.  We fight and argue.  We have had nights where I slept on the couch, and a few where she put me there.  Deservingly.  I will never forget how we started dating.  We worked together at Burger King, and she asked me out.  Well let me rephrase that.  She told me I was going to take her out for her birthday.  I do not remember having an option in the matter.  The funny thing was I had to cancel the date because I was forced to work that night.  She was so mad!  I promised to make it up to her and be her date at the company’s Christmas party.  That was December 23, 1983.  We dated off and on for twelve more years before we got married.  We have three children and soon to be nine grandchildren.  Our lives are filled with joy and lots of love.  I am forever grateful that she chose me to take her out, and happy she graciously accepted to be my wife.  But if you let her tell you, she will say she ‘let’ me marry her.  As the years have passed, I realize how special it was that she chose me.  It gave me context to understand how it is equally as special to know I did not just choose to be a follower of Christ.  He first chose me as He has chosen each of you.

We are all chosen by Christ as His friends.  In today’s verses, my initial inclination was to be drawn to the middle, where Jesus talked about the greatest love of one laying down their life for their friends.  Of course, this was a precursor to the crucifixion.  However, reading the whole paragraph delved into not only a much deeper love Jesus had for His disciples but also the love He wished for them to show each other and the world.  It was a selfless (lay down one’s life), submitting (do what I command), freeing (I no longer call you slaves), and trusting (a master doesn’t confide in his slaves) kind of love.  Reading these verses give us a clear indication of what a healthy and loving relationship is like.  But first, it requires a choice.  I never really caught onto the part about Jesus choosing the Apostles.  This is truly significant because remember in Mark 1:17, Mark 2:14, and John 1:39, 46, He asked them to ‘follow’ or ‘come.’  We often believe that we found God and are grateful we were given a new life to follow Him.  But the real prize is realizing that He chose us first!  This fact is amazing to me, and we know this to be true because David spoke of such saying:

You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!  Psalm 139:16-18

We are never separated from the love of God if we choose to follow Him.  Last week, I spoke of how God delights in us.  Today, we are to rejoice in how God loves us.  It is complete and without fail.  I now understand how Israel Houghton wrote in song, “I am a friend of God.  He calls me friend.”  Jesus said it.  Before we said ‘yes’ to Him, He chose us!  Whenever you begin to doubt your place or situation, never forget this.  What in your friendship with God needs repair?  How can you befriend someone as Jesus befriended you?  My prayer is that we remember that we did not just choose God as our savior.  He chose us as a friend.  Amen.

Being Childish

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.  So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."  Matthew 18:1-4

Sometimes, God gives you such clarity that writing seems almost too easy.  The other day I was just hanging out with friends and family.  As I sat around, I noticed there were two distinct groups forming.  I do not know if they noticed it, but it was very similar to many situations we see today.  Men and women.  Progressive and Conservative.  Young and old.  Black and white.  We always gravitate to those who we are most comfortable with, and this was certainly the case here.  This dynamic continued until one young mother brought a little baby into the equation.  Suddenly, everyone gravitated to that baby from both sides.  They grinned at this beautiful bundle of joy, and for that moment, everyone was together.  There were no longer separate groups.  All were one.

It brought me to the idea of these verses on the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.  God knows more than we do.  However, we often focus on the words, and we are not as clear on the application.  As I saw what unfolded before my eyes, it gave me a whole new insight to these verses.  Yes, God’s word is always true.  However, we always gain greater wisdom in seeing it in action.

The mentality of a child truly leads to greatness in the eyes of God.  Jesus talked about turning away from sin and becoming like children.  My first instinct was to say, “But children sin all the time.”  They will not always tell the truth.  They can be emotional and self-centered.  They do not always understand right from wrong.  However, that is why Jesus was incredibly wise in separating sin from the children.  We should be smart enough to know that we must turn away from sin.  This allows for the second part of these verses.  If sin is removed, what are we left with in a child?  Innocence, love, and joy are the initial responses that we would come up with.  It explains why a little baby is such a unifying force in any situation like the one I encountered.  We all are drawn to these things.  To be blameless, loved, and happy are things we all strive for.  The one thing that is not as clear is the word ‘dependent.’  A child is dependent on the care-taker.  It cannot survive without them.  Thus, a hidden gem in these verses is that the greatest in Heaven understands that they cannot achieve much of anything without Christ.  This is further underlined by Paul in his letter to the Philippians saying, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)  We could even add things such as growing and thirsting for knowledge like the Samaritan woman as Jesus said to her, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

Then finally, there is humility.  A child is incredibly powerful as I’ve just outlined, and yet, knows nothing of that power.  That’s Moses when he looks to God after He commanded him to lead the Israelites from Egypt and asks, “Who am I?” (Exodus 3:11)  It’s Paul when he breaks down sharing his own struggle with sin saying, “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” (Romans 7:19) Humility simply is about knowing you are a child of God while understanding you are not Him.

Jesus is such an amazing teacher.  In today’s verses, He showed how one so little can be so strong.  The other day, God was able to reveal to me how one so little can be indeed as powerful.  Let us go today and beyond learning how having child like characteristics can be both life changing and empowering.  What inspiration can you draw from your childhood?  What child like characteristic can help you to get closer to God?  My prayer is that as adults we find strength in being ‘childish.’  Amen.

Thursday Devotional - Another New Sister!

Last Friday I came home from work to another new sister!

James and Sarah were playing together when James asked: “Do you want to be a Child of God?”

Sarah: “Yes.”

James: “You need to ask Jesus into your heart in order to be a child of God. do you want to ask Jesus into your heart?”

Sarah: “Yes.”

This wasn’t the first time James had asked Sarah similar questions. In the past, she had said no or ignored the question.

Joe overheard the whole exchange and stepped in to talk with Sarah about what it means to ask Jesus into our hearts and to ask about her understanding of what Jesus did for us. Sarah knew Jesus died on the cross for our sins and she was able to identify some of her own sins and her need for a Savior. She prayed in her own words, asking Jesus to forgive her and come into her heart! She is not only my daughter, but now my sister in Christ, a child of God!

Romans 10:9-13 ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Have you believed in your heart and professed with your mouth that Jesus is the resurrected Lord?

If so, you are saved from eternal destruction and a meaningless life and are a child of God!

If not, what is holding you back?

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Born and Adopted Twice

Several weeks ago James announced he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart! Excitedly, Joe and I stopped and talked with him about what that meant! James knows who God is, knows he can talk to Him at any time and loves to pray. He also knows that Jesus died on the cross, but we weren’t sure he had a good grasp yet on what sin is and why Jesus had to die on the cross for our sins. So, we talked about sin and asked several questions about his understanding. Suddenly, he looked up at our elephant lamp and started asking questions about the elephant. That was the end of our sin conversation, at least for the moment!

We’ve had several more conversations with James and Sarah about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, what sin is, that Jesus isn’t still dead, that followers of Jesus want to obey Him, but we still sin and need to ask forgiveness for our specific daily sins, etc. 

Well, Monday at dinner Sarah looked outside at the darkness and said she was scared. I asked what she could do about being scared and she said “go to church.” James then interjected and told her she could talk to God and Jesus. I confirmed “Yes!”

Then, James stopped eating and said he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. Unprompted, he said “Jesus, will you come into my heart?” [pause] “Jesus said yes!” We then talked through what having Jesus (through the Holy Spirit) in our hearts means - He forgives our sins and helps us love and obey Him. James was able to tell me what some of his recent sins were. At some point in the conversation I asked James what he wanted Jesus to do for him (to test the genuineness of his faith) and he said “forgive my sins!” So, I said he could also pray and ask Jesus to forgive his sins and help him love and obey God. He immediately and voluntarily prayed on his own in his own words about all that!!!

I hugged James and told him he was a child of God! After dinner was over, James got down and hopped to the bathroom to wash his hands, chanting “I’m a child of God! I’m a child of God!” Yes, I believe James’ faith is genuine. He has been born again and adopted into God’s family!

John 3:3  In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

John 3:14-15  Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

Ephesians 1:5-8      ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us, with all wisdom and understanding.

James has been born and adopted twice!  

Alice