Tag Archives: friend

Don’t wait until Friendship Day to celebrate (John 15:12-17)

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Today’s Podcast


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  1. Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
  2. Topic Introduction with headline.
  3. Scripture
    1. John 15:12-17
    2. Jesus: My commandment to you is this: love others as I have loved you.  There is no greater way to love than to give your life for your friends.  You celebrate our friendship if you obey this command.  I don’t call you servants any longer; servants don’t know what the master is doing, but I have told you everything the Father has said to Me. I call you friends.  You did not choose Me. I chose you, and I orchestrated all of this so that you would be sent out and bear great and perpetual fruit. As you do this, anything you ask the Father in My name will be done.  This is My command to you: love one another.
  4. Devotional
    1. Friendship day is August 6th this year. You might not even know we have a friendship day, but there is it.
      1. Jesus tells us to celebrate friendship with Him if you obey His command to love one another.
      2. That’s one real friendship is all about
      3. Love God and love each other as we love ourselves
    2. But what is friendship?
      1. The history of friendship day is a little shady, a little commercial.
      2. Joyce Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards 1930 to sell cards to send to friends
      3. Definition of friendship
        1. the emotions or conduct of friends; the state of being friends
        2. a relationship between friends
        3. a state of mutual trust and support between allied nations
      4. Friend
        1. a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another person
        2. a person who is not an enemy
        3. a person who helps or supports something
    3. We don’t have many real friends in our society today; we live in isolation in crowded places
      1. Go to any restaurant or park or place where groups of people are gathered
      2. Watch their interactions
      3. Most are tied to their smartphones texting
      4. We isolate ourselves from each other without human touch and emotion
      5. We can avoid commitment by cutting the phone connection
    4. Jesus said no greater love than to give His life for a friend
      1. Does that mean death?
      2. In His case it did
      3. But it might mean life; servanthood; caring enough to be present in times of need
      4. Give life when life crashes in around a friend; when they need help or support for something
      5. “A friend in need is a friend indeed” as far as Euripides in 424 BC
    5. Friendship Day is not the time to celebrate friendship
      1. Today is the day
      2. Everyday is the day to celebrate friendship
      3. Be a friend
      4. Give your life to someone in need; serve with love and make a friend
      5. Jesus expected nothing in return for His friendship and says we are to be like Him
      6. Hard steps to follow but that is the command He give and it starts with love
      7. He loves us so we can love others and express genuine friendship to those around us
    6. Go celebrate a few months early
  5. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Do what you’ve come to do (Matthew 26:50) June 27, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Leviticus 7-9

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 26:50
Jesus: My friend, do what you have come to do.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We know the scene well. Judas’ name is more familiar than Hitler’s. He followed Jesus and was part of the inner circle, one of the twelve. He knew Jesus better than most as the Master shared intimate information with those twelve. But something went wrong. Judas let greed or idiology or something get to him and he sold out his loyalty to the Master for just thirty pieces of silver. Despite all he had seen and heard from this man he traveled side by side with for three years, Judas betrayed Jesus to the chief priest who wanted Him dead.

Jesus knew he would do it. He identified him as the one, though the other disiciples had no idea it was Judas until it was too late to stop him. Judas slipped out of the Passover supper with the Jesus and the other disciples thought he was going on some mission as the treasurer of the group. Instead, he headed to the chief priest and gave him the sign he would use to betray Jesus in the garden. A company of soldiers accompanied him to the garden where Jesus prayed. Judas approaches Jesus and places the kiss of betrayal on His cheek. The greeting between friends. The betrayal that would begin the most excruciating ordeal of Jesus short life.

Jesus greets Judas with just a few words, “My friend, do what you have come to do.”

There are a couple of things to notice in this very short exchange between Jesus and Judas. First, Jesus called Judas friend. Jesus knew what he did and why. He knew his heart. He knew all that was about to transpire because of that betrayal. Yet Jesus still called him My friend, and I’m sure Jesus meant the words. He counted Judas as His friend.

That tells me Jesus loves us all. Saint and sinner alike, Jesus loves us. He gave His life for all of us. If He calls Judas His friend, He calls all of us friend. We are part of His creation and so He cares for us. He loves us and would do anything for our good. In fact, He did. He gave Himself to pay the penalty we should pay for our sins. Jesus doesn’t count anyone as His enemy, only His friend.

So what does that say to us? How can we spew the vitriol that sometimes comes from the mouths of so-called Christians against this group or that group when Jesus taught us to love our enemies? Does that mean Jesus condoned their actions? Never. Does it mean we condone a sinner’s actions? Never. But how can you win someone to Jesus unless they understand that you see them as a friend, not an enemy? Jesus gave us the example to follow when Judas came to Him in the garden and placed the betrayal kiss on cheek.

Is it easy for us to call everyone friend or to treat everyone as a friend? No. It’s not something we can do in our own strength. We need something beyond ourselves to demonstrate that kind of love. We need God’s Spirit living in us to enable us to love like He loves. We can’t do it alone. We need the resurrection power of that first Easter morning helping us see others as God sees them before we can truly call every person our friend. But it’s possible to do so and Jesus teaches us by His example in the garden with Judas.

The other thing I see in this short exchange is Jesus’ desire that we not procrastinate in our business with Him. Judas was a betrayer and would give His identity to those who would carry Him away to be humiliated, flogged, and crucified. We would probably want to delay the betrayal. Buy ourselves time to avoid the pain and the cross. We would try to push away the agony that was coming. But Jesus just said, get on with it. Stop playing around. Quit trying to pretend things are okay. Stand up and be counted. You are either with Me or against Me. Just own up to who you are. See, it’s only then you can see yourself and let God change you. It’s only then you can truly repent and turn toward Him for forgiveness.

For those who have come to know Jesus as Savior and asked for forgiveness of sins past, for those who have given themselves to Him as Lord of life, His words still carry an important message. Don’t procrastinate in our business with Him. He gave us a mission to do. Go make disciples. Baptize them. Teach them. Don’t wait around for all the stars to align before you do something about it. Get to it. Do His work and don’t dawdle.

Remember His words, “My friend, do what you’ve come to do.” He’s talking to all of us.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.