A
FRIEND IN JESUS
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 ONE YEAR
Matthew 16:5-18:35;
Job 13:17-14:6
Lord please help me to always obey you inJJesus name amen.
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