Our Best Friend Is Jesus

Our Best Friend Is Jesus

By Dr. Charles Stanley

John 15:9-17

Years ago the Sunday School teachers in my church would teach preschoolers a little chorus that included the line, “My best friend is Jesus.” As those children grew into adulthood, they naturally put aside juvenile songs like this one. But sadly, they also frequently seemed to grow out of the idea of Jesus being a friend.

As believers learn more about God, they rightly elevate Him to be the Lord of their lives and acknowledge Him as sovereign ruler over all the earth. It is easier to think of One so high and mighty as Creator, Savior, and Lord than to “lower” Him to the position of Friend. But Jesus makes a point of telling His disciples that He is both a transcendent deity—the Son of God—and their companion (John 15:15).

The offer of friendship extends to modern disciples as well. Like the original twelve followers, we are privileged to say that Christ laid down His life for us in a supreme act of love and devotion (v. 13). What is more, His Spirit reveals the truth of Scripture to our hearts so that we can learn more about God and His ways. In other words, Jesus has made known to us the things He heard from His Father. A man doesn’t tell secrets to slaves; he tells them to his friends (v. 15).

Teaching children to sing of their friendship with Jesus is a wise idea. But I wonder when some grown believers will learn to sing of that special relationship again? May we never become so religious, so pious, or so full of our own maturity that we will not say, “My best friend is Jesus Christ.”

John 15:9-17

Years ago the Sunday School teachers in my church would teach preschoolers a little chorus that included the line, “My best friend is Jesus.” As those children grew into adulthood, they naturally put aside juvenile songs like this one. But sadly, they also frequently seemed to grow out of the idea of Jesus being a friend.

As believers learn more about God, they rightly elevate Him to be the Lord of their lives and acknowledge Him as sovereign ruler over all the earth. It is easier to think of One so high and mighty as Creator, Savior, and Lord than to “lower” Him to the position of Friend. But Jesus makes a point of telling His disciples that He is both a transcendent deity—the Son of God—and their companion (John 15:15).

The offer of friendship extends to modern disciples as well. Like the original twelve followers, we are privileged to say that Christ laid down His life for us in a supreme act of love and devotion (v. 13). What is more, His Spirit reveals the truth of Scripture to our hearts so that we can learn more about God and His ways. In other words, Jesus has made known to us the things He heard from His Father. A man doesn’t tell secrets to slaves; he tells them to his friends (v. 15).

Teaching children to sing of their friendship with Jesus is a wise idea. But I wonder when some grown believers will learn to sing of that special relationship again? May we never become so religious, so pious, or so full of our own maturity that we will not say, “My best friend is Jesus Christ.”

And She Was Sore Afraid

And She Was Sore Afraid
Laura MacCorkle

The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? …For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock … I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.  - Psalm 27:1,5,13-14

Sorry, there's no catchy intro for today's devotional. No special personal story to tease. No witty comments to keep you invested. Just some raw and unrefined honesty. And here it is:

I am afraid.

Yes, I am afraid. Perhaps it's a result of spending too much time watching cable news in the past week or so. Or maybe it's due to the fact that so many friends and family and acquaintances of mine are experiencing hard times right now as well: job loss, illnesses, marital failures, devastating sin issues, home foreclosures and on and on.

I confess that I have found myself mired in the hopelessness and despair of it all. And I am sad and feel very small. Does anything really matter any more? Is my witness making a difference? Is God really in control of all of this? Does he care? And is the world just going to crash and burn anyway?

I know that this is where the enemy wants to keep me: stuck in my fear with emotions and dismal circumstances blurring my vision. He doesn't want me to remember that I have a lifeline—the hope for eternity that is found in God's Word.

But ha! on the enemy. That's where I'm going right now, and I'm taking you with me. Let's take this fear, measure it against Truth and see what the Great I Am, the Alpha and the Omega and our Jehovah-jireh has to say:

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you (Psa. 9:9-10). Yes, I will seek the One who is secure and offers me protection! He is my safe place.

"Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me (Psa. 50:15). Yes, I will cry out to the Lord! Help me, my great Protector! You are worthy to be praised!

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe (Prov. 18:10). Yes, he is my mighty and unfailing fortress! Of whom shall I be afraid?

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal (Isa. 26:3-4). Yes, I will meditate on the Truth found in God's Word! I will think on the eternal, unchangeable God and not what I see happening around me. His perfect peace is available to me!

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God (Isa. 50:10). Yes, I will trust in my God as I obey what he is asking me to do! He is all I need to guide me when life is confusing and my way is not clear.

I know I can't be the only one who has been "sore afraid" as of late. And perhaps these verses will encourage you today as well. When we focus on the Lord instead of whatever or whomever makes us afraid, we can be confident in he who is our light and our salvation and the stronghold of our lives.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Are you afraid? What is causing you to forget who God is and how he has provided—and will continue to provide—in your life? Spend some time meditating on Psalm 23, and remember that the Lord is the great shepherd of the sheep and that HE is watching over you!

The Amazing Reality of Who We Are Now Because of Jesus

The Amazing Reality of Who We Are Now Because of Jesus
by Mark Altrogge

One of the incredible results of Jesus’ resurrection is that God makes believers into completely brand new creations.

The Bible says we are completely new creations – we aren’t simply reformed or refurbished. We’re brand new.

We aren’t just the same old people who have now made resolutions to change or improve. It’s not like Jesus bought an old piece of beat up dirty furniture in a junkyard, washed it off, and is now beginning to sand it and polish it up.

No. That decrepit rotten piece of junk is gone. It no longer exists. Now there is a brand spanking new, beautiful creation in its place. God tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

When God saves us, he not only washes all our sins away, but he joins us to Christ. He makes us one with Christ. When God looks at us he sees Christ. When he looks at Christ, he sees us in him.

We aren’t just refurbished old creations – we are completely NEW.

We are nothing like we were before. We are NEW creations in Christ. We have to remember this – the old has passed away. It’s gone. The new has come.

But we don’t always feel like new creations. When I first prayed to receive Christ, I expected fireworks or goosebumps, but didn’t feel any different. I still felt like the old me. I still felt tempted to sin. I didn’t realize that for right now, while we are still in these earthly bodies, we can still be tempted to sin. We will still have desires and cravings from what remains of our sin nature in our bodies.

But we ARE new. Whether we feel like it or not.

We must believe God’s word. Early in my Christian life, I felt like it would be impossible for me not to sin. Then I heard someone teach that believers are no longer slaves of sin. As it says in Romans 6:12-14:

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

Did you catch that? Sin will have NO DOMINION OVER YOU!

And why not? Because we are no longer under law but under a whole new system – we are under grace. We are new creations, no longer enslaved to sin, no longer under its dominion. We don’t have to sin. We don’t have to obey it’s urges, no matter how strong they feel.

God isn’t simply refurbishing the old us. He has created us anew and is shaping us more and more into the likeness of his Son:

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”-2 Cor 3:18

We are new creations, and God is taking us from one degree of Christ’s glory to another. We are one with Christ, and God makes us more and more like him every day.

This is incredible! Even the highest seraphim in heaven can’t claim to be new creations.

The angels around the throne aren’t being transformed into the likeness of Christ. The most glorious angels have not been adopted by God as sons and daughters. They can’t call God “Father” like we can. And they are not one with Christ the way we are.

When God gave Isaiah a glimpse of his glory, he saw the seraphim:

“Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.”- Isaiah 6:2

These glorious heavenly beings who had never sinned had to cover their faces – they could not look upon the infinite glory of God.

Yet look what God says we will experience:

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”- 1John 3:2

We are now God’s children, and someday, we shall be like Jesus – clothed in his glory, and we shall see him as he is!

We shall gaze directly upon the face of Jesus Christ in all his infinite radiant glory.

And we will never grow tired of taking in his beauty, because his beauty is infinite. For all eternity he will show us new, amazing, astounding, breathtaking, mind-blowing, vistas of his glory and majesty.

Why? Because Jesus died for us, then rose from the dead to make us who believe in him into new creations.

Someday we all will die unless Jesus comes back first. But because Jesus rose from the dead, believers will rise from the dead. We will have new glorious heavenly bodies. We will be like Jesus and see him as he is. In the meantime, though we live in this dying world, WE are right now, new creations. We have imperishable, everlasting life. The old is gone, the new has come. Jesus isn’t just sanding and polishing up the old you. You are a brand new you.

A Prayer for Extraordinary Impact

A Prayer for Extraordinary Impact
By Lysa Terkeurst

“After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.” Judges 3:31 (NIV)

I am a woman who wants to make a difference for Christ in the world. I want my life and legacy to count for something with eternal significance. I want to stand before God one day knowing I fulfilled the purposes He had for me. But there’s always this nagging sense inside of me that the world’s problems are too big, and I’m too small. Can you relate? That’s why I’m so fascinated with Shamgar.

Tucked into this one verse, we see three things Shamgar did that resulted in his life having extraordinary impact:

1. He offered God his willingness.
2. He used what God had given him.
3. He stayed true to who he was.

And in doing those three things, it was enough. God used him to save the nation of Israel.

Oh, how Shamgar’s story stirs my soul. He was an ordinary person, in an ordinary place, doing an ordinary job. The thing that made him extraordinary wasn’t anything external. It was his internal drive to do the right thing and be obedient to God, right where he was. His job was to be obedient to God. God’s job was everything else. The same is possible for us. If we are obedient to God in the midst of our ordinary lives, extraordinary impact is always possible.

I love that God’s hand is never limited by what we have in ours. Do you long to live a life that has extraordinary impact? I pray you will grab hold of the encouragement found in Shamgar’s story.

Offer God your willingness. Even if you feel small … even if you feel unlikely … even if everything in you is screaming you’re not someone who can be used by God … simply offer Him your willingness.

Use what God has given you. What’s in your hand, sweet friend? What gift, what talent, what ability? Whatever it is, take time to sharpen it. And choose to believe God can use it when you humbly offer it up to Him.

Stay true to who you are. God didn’t ask Shamgar to be anyone other than a farmer. He’s not asking you to be anyone other than who He designed you to be, either. You do you, and then watch with humble amazement as God uses your willing, obedient, ordinary life to accomplish extraordinary things in His name.

Lord, thank You for reminding me that You can use anyone and everyone. I willingly offer You all that I am and all that I have — choosing to believe that who I am is enough to be used by You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Christmas: When Your Heart Grows Three Sizes

Christmas: When Your Heart Grows Three Sizes
This devotional was written by Jim Liebelt

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

In Dr. Seuss's classic Christmas tale, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch suffers from having a small heart. The source of his heart problem is his lack of understanding the meaning of Christmas. As the story goes, the Grinch tries to put a stop to Christmas, but in the end, he comes to understand what Christmas is all about and his heart grows three sizes! This heart change makes a big difference in his life.

I'm not sure what Dr. Seuss' intentions were when he wrote the story back in 1957, but it certainly comes across as a Christian parable to me that parallels the change that takes place in a person's life when he or she comes to understand the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus, God's Son, who was born to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). When the light of the Good News of Jesus dawns upon the heart of a person, God replaces the old heart of stone, with a new, fleshy heart - and a new person emerges. As the Apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

"Welcome Christmas - While we stand - Heart to heart - And hand in hand." It might just make all the difference in the world.

Holy Child of Bethlehem, 
Descend to us, we pray; 
Cast out our sin and enter in; 
Be born in us today!

We hear the Christmas angels 
The great glad tidings tell; 
O come to us, abide with us, 
Our Lord Emmanuel! 
(from O Little Town of Bethlehem)

We celebrate Christmas because of the power Jesus brought to change our hearts.

Going Deeper: 

1. Give an example of a time when you changed your mind about something. 
2. How did the words or actions of others influence your change of heart? 
3. Towards the end of the story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," what happened that caused the Grinch to change his mind about Christmas? What lessons might we learn from the story? 
4. How has understanding the true meaning of Christmas made a difference in your life?

Family Time: Gather your family together and watch the classic half-hour Christmas cartoon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Then, using the content above, lead your family in a discussion about how Jesus has the power to change our hearts.