GET TOGETHER – The Best Friend Forever
Pr 18:24 ¶ A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (NKJV)
The other night on Facebook I posted about how God has blessed J.J. and I with so many wonderful friends. Friends are a great gift and blessing from God. I must admit that I have not always been a perfect friend to some of my friends. And that was especially true before I came to Christ. And even since I came to Christ there have many times that I have fallen short of being the friend to one of my friends in a time that they may have needed me. Perhaps all of us may have at times either before we came to Christ, or after we came to Christ have missed an opportunity to be a friend to one of our friends that were hurting and needed a friend at some time.
One day this week I was with one of my real good friends somewhere. All of a sudden, I started singing What a Friend We Have In Jesus. My friend joined in and began to sing the words from some of the verses. Here are a couple that I remember us singing:
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Isn’t it great to know that our Lord, our Savior, our Master, our King is our Friend? Think about it. The Creator of the universe is our Friend and is on our side. The Bible tells us that Abraham was a friend of God. Jas 2:23 “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.” (NKJV)
As New Covenant followers of Jesus Christ we are blessed by being friends of God. As our Friend he will stick closer to us than a brother. That is close!
Today perhaps you are going through a challenging time in your life. There may be some of you who feel like you are all alone. I have some good news for you. Take some time to talk to the Lord as a friend. He knows everything about us. But He loves to engage in friendly intimate conversation with us. He will listen to you and He will speak to you. No matter if you are in the car, your shower, your front porch wherever you may happen to be He is there for you. And never forget the promise that His Friendship is forever! And through Him we can all be friends forever! Now will you join me in singing the rest of this ageless hymn by Joseph M. Scriven that is filled with so many great truths :
Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
May we ever, Lord, be bringing
All to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
There will be no need for prayer—
Rapture, praise, and endless worship
Will be our sweet portion there.
Let Us Pray
Lord Jesus we thank you that You are willing to be our Friend. Thank you that there is nothing that we cannot come to You about. We love You and we thank You for being willing to meet us wherever we are and take us to wherever that You want us to go. May we all take that time to be with You friend to friend.
In Jesus Name
Amen
It is a blessing to call all of you friends. If it was not for Him the greatest Friend that anyone can have, we wouldn’t have the blessing of being friends with one another.
Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston
