Category: Purpose

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Is Hope Gone?

When we go through a long battle or struggle we are tempted to lose hope and throw in the towel. However, when we keep our focus on God’s unfailing love hope is revived and our faith is strengthened…

One final example I would like to share with you comes from the life of Samson. I am not sure if you are familiar with Samson’s life so I will recap it for you.

His parents were visited by an angel who told them that they would have a son and he would be used by God to lead the people of Israel. Samson single-handedly defeated one thousand Philistine soldiers and his weapon was the jawbone of a donkey. There was another occasion when he lifted the city gates and their door posts and “he carried them all the way to the top of the hill that overlooks Hebron, where he set the doors down, still closed and locked” (Judges 16:3)

During this time, the Israelites were being ruled by the Philistines. The leaders of the Philistines became so angry with Samson that they hired a prostitute, that Samson loved, to discover his source of strength. They knew there had to be a secret to his strength because he was undefeatable.

Delilah spent every waking moment trying to get Samson to tell her his secret. He finally gave in to her constant nagging and told her that he had never had his hair cut because it was a sign of his commitment to the Lord.

“Delilah started nagging and pestering him day after day, until he couldn’t stand it any longer. 17 Finally, Samson told her the truth. ‘I have belonged to God ever since I was born, so my hair has never been cut. If it were ever cut off, my strength would leave me, and I would be as weak as anyone else.’…”  Judges 16:16-18 CEV

The Philistines came and cut Samson’s hair while he was sleeping. When he woke up his strength was gone. The Philistines poked out Samson’s eyes, imprisoned him and then tied him to a millstone and made him grind grain like an ox.

During this time Samson’s hair was growing back but they did not notice. The Philistines had a big party and were praising their god, Dagon, for helping them to defeat Samson. To make the ridicule worse, they brought Samson out to be mocked in the temple of their god. Samson was led by a young man to the temple columns. As he stood there, he stretched out his arms and placed them against the columns.

“A young man was leading Samson by the hand, and Samson said to him, ‘I need to lean against something. Take me over to the columns that hold up the roof.’

27 The Philistine rulers were celebrating in a temple packed with people…They had all been watching Samson and making fun of him. 28 Samson prayed, ‘Please remember me, Lord God. The Philistines poked out my eyes, but make me strong one last time, so I can take revenge for at least one of my eyes!’

29 Samson was standing between the two middle columns that held up the roof. He felt around and found one column with his right hand, and the other with his left hand. 30 Then he shouted, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ He pushed against the columns as hard as he could, and the temple collapsed with the Philistine rulers and everyone else still inside. Samson killed more Philistines when he died than he had killed during his entire life.” Judges 16:26-30 CEV

The enemies of Samson thought they had defeated him. All hope was gone. But God!

In his death Samson had once again become an “overcomer”. His enemies had no power over him. God was his strength and his deliverer.

The circumstances of life may look overpowering, but God is a promise keeper not a promise breaker. He has given us His word to be our protection and our strength.     

“The Lord God will save them on that day, because they are his people and they will shine on his land like jewels in a crown.” Zechariah 9:16 CEV

Through Christ we overcome. Through Christ we always triumph!

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And the Winner Is!

I used to wish I could play on a winning team, be a gold medal winner or the world champion of something. I always wanted to be the best at whatever I did. The song “We are the Champions” played over and over in my dreams.

I was telling my husband that the only trophy I ever won was at a speech tournament. I was never very athletic, so I never played school sports and although, I was on the honor roll all through high school that never earned me a trophy. But Speech Club was my thing!

My senior year in high school I started going to speech tournaments. I had always had a gift for talking so I was a natural. My focus was extemporaneous speaking and that was when I took first place and won a trophy, I was also awarded a speech scholarship for college.  

I did not realize those desires for success and leadership were placed in my heart by my Heavenly Father. In fact, honestly, I felt I was being prideful to want to be noticed and recognized for doing something well. It was not until much later that I learned the desire to excel was placed in my heart by God.

“If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.” Deuteronomy 28:13 NLV

When God first created man, he was created with the qualities of leadership and authority. God created Adam to have dominion over the animals and all that was in the Garden. As a result of the fall man became subservient to Satan and his powers.

Through a very intricate plan, God, the Father, was able to return all power to His creation. Jesus died, was buried and when He rose again, He came back with all the power in heaven and earth.  Before ascending into heaven, Jesus returned this power to his followers and told them to go into all the world telling what they had seen Jesus do. The disciples were to repeat those same works.

“Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19 Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.” Matthew 28:18-20 CEV

…The disciples followed that commandment of Jesus and they saw the power of God at work in their lives just the same as it was in Jesus’ life. They then carried Jesus’ commandment to the next step – they gave Jesus’ instructions to all believers.

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 NKJV

“In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us.” Romans 8:37 CEV

These verses tell us that we are more than conquerors or that we have won more than a victory. When we are a conqueror, we are the winner!

And the winner in life’s circumstances is you and I because of Christ and God’s amazing love. Give God the glory!

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Dressed For Success

Yesterday, we were looking at David and his confidence in God’s promises. We can have that same confidence but not everyone will appreciate it. Some will think we are arrogant or prideful…

      David’s brothers were listening to all this and they thought he was being a cocky, young kid. But someone who was listening to the conversation took David seriously and brought him to King Saul. The king tried to discourage David from his convictions, but David’s words were clear…

  “I can kill this worthless Philistine. He shouldn’t have made fun of the army of the living God! 37 The Lord has rescued me from the claws of lions and bears, and he will keep me safe from the hands of this Philistine.” I Samuel 17:36-37  CEV

      King Saul consented. He wanted David to wear his armor, but David said it was too big, too heavy and made him too clumsy. With that, he left the king and went down to the stream with his sling and picked up five smooth stones. He put the stones in a bag and headed straight for Goliath.

      Goliath scoffed – he was insulted that the king of Israel would send a kid out to fight him. He told David he would kill him and feed his carcass to the birds.

      David did not flinch! …He knew he was representing God and he was confident…

      “David answered: You’ve come out to fight me with a sword and a spear and a dagger. But I’ve come out to fight you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful. He is the God of Israel’s army, and you have insulted him too! 46 Today the Lord will help me defeat you. I’ll knock you down and cut off your head, and I’ll feed the bodies of the other Philistine soldiers to the birds and wild animals. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a real God. 47 Everybody here will see that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save his people. The Lord always wins his battles, and he will help us defeat you.” I Samuel 17:45-47 CEV

      This is what righteous thinking will do for us. Confidence in God and His promises becomes our body armor…we go out to face the enemy in the name of the Lord All-Powerful!

      And as they say, the rest is history. Goliath came at David and David ran toward Goliath. You can almost feel the ground shake. Soldiers on both sides of the valley were breathlessly watching. They knew David only had seconds to live. Goliath would rip him limb from limb. And then…

      “He put a rock in his sling … When he let go of one strap, the rock flew out and hit Goliath on the forehead. It cracked his skull, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 David defeated Goliath with a sling and a rock. He killed him without even using a sword. 51 David ran over and pulled out Goliath’s sword. Then he used it to cut off Goliath’s head.” I Samuel 17:49-51 CEV

      David’s actions infused the soldiers of Israel with boldness and the Philistine soldiers with fear. In short order the Israelites were victorious, and the Philistines were dead.

The same righteousness, right standing, that God gave as a contract promise to Abraham has been given to us.  It is another facet that makes us sparkle in a world of unpolished gems. We can be as confident as David when we approach the Goliath’s of our world. David did not allow himself to consider anything but God’s promise. Righteous thinking stops compromise.

We ARE the righteousness of God. Let us stand strong for Him!

“I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10 NLT

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A Clear Conscience

So many times we are stymied in life’s endeavors because of the voices we hear in our head and not the leading we feel in our hearts.

God’s righteousness makes us saints, not sinners. We were sinners but once we are saved by grace our position changes – we become saints. The introduction at the beginning of each of the letters in the New Testament greet the saints with grace and peace. Paul, Peter, James, and John all recognized the place of spiritual authority that the believer occupies and addressed their writings to the instruction and edification of the saints.

When we were sinners our righteousness was as a filthy, dirty rag. Now we are clothed in His righteousness, possessing His divine nature, and made to rule as priests and kings in His kingdom.

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22 CEV

A righteous man no longer needs to be plagued by an evil conscience; his conscience has been cleansed. Our example for righteousness is Jesus Christ. We are to be imitators of Him. The way He acted, talked and the things he did should be reflected in our lives too. The compassion He showed, the forgiveness He gave, His tenderness toward people and His hatred of sin, His uncompromised stand on God’s Word need to be a part of our daily lives.

Before we leave this chapter, I would like to remind you of the story of David and Goliath. David, a young shepherd, was sent by his father to check on his older brothers who were off to a battle. His father gave David roasted grain, bread and cheese and sent him off.

When David arrived at the army encampment, he was taken back by what he saw. When he went out to meet his brothers a giant from the opposing army came out to taunt and ridicule the Israelite soldiers.

“Goliath went out and shouted to the army of Israel: Why are you lining up for battle? I’m the best soldier in our army, and all of you are in Saul’s army. Choose your best soldier to come out and fight me! 9 If he can kill me, our people will be your slaves. But if I kill him, your people will be our slaves. 10 Here and now I challenge Israel’s whole army! Choose someone to fight me!  11 Saul and his men heard what Goliath said, but they were so frightened of Goliath that they couldn’t do a thing.” I Samuel 17:8-11 CEV      

David was but a teenager and the men around him were seasoned soldiers, but David had something the rest of them did not. He had confidence in the promises that God had made to Abraham hundreds of years before. God had made an unbreakable covenant with Abraham and all his descendants…

“I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God. 8 I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family forever, and I will be their God.

9 Abraham, you and all future members of your family must promise to obey me. 10-11 As the sign that you are keeping this promise, you must circumcise every man and boy in your family.” Genesis 17:7-11 CEV

It was this promise that God made to Abraham, that was going through David’s mind when he heard Goliath curse the armies of Israel. David’s body was marked, like all Israelites, to remind them of God’s promise. Look what he said:

      “Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes the disgrace [of his taunting] from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God?” I Samuel 17:26 AMP

David was saying “this man doesn’t have a covenant with God, we do!” 

And we have that same covenant, we have God’s promises for every situation. Let’s not allow life’s giants to frighten us into standing on the sidelines. Let’s go forward knowing that we are righteous, like David, in God’s eyes.

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Something’s Missing

I used to imagine myself dressed in the armor of a knight. I saw myself going out to fight some giant or fierce dragon only to discover that I had forgotten part of my armor. I would have the helmet, the sword, and the leggings but I was missing my breastplate. I had nothing to protect my vital organs.

One day I was reading in Ephesians. In the last chapter of that book Paul gives a list of the armor that God has given us. There was a verse I had been missing. It all but jumped off the page at me.

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” Ephesians 6:13-15 NLT

That was it! I was missing my body armor. Another translation of this verse calls it the “breastplate of righteousness”. I had never considered myself righteous – Jesus is the one who is righteous. Righteous means that we are in right standing with God; so much of my life I wonder if I was good enough for God to love me.  I wasn’t alone.

For years Christians have been duped into thinking of themselves as second rate or lower-class citizens. I certainly had. This is completely contrary to God’s view of His children.

 “When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new! 18 All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him. 19 I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people. 20 So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is like God is calling to people through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. 21 Christ had no sin, but God made him become sinso that in Christ we could be right with God.” II Corinthians 5:17-21 ERV

Oh, my goodness, did you read that? Our Father has made us new. He has placed us in right relationship with Himself. He is not holding us guilty for our sins because Christ took them and their penalty. Now He is asking us to tell others that they can be right with Him too.

This should remind us of the diamond cutter removing the dirt and crud that was encrusted around the precious stone. Cut away the sin and the Father’s right there polishing us, another facet is shining.

Since that day, I have never imagined myself without my body armor. I am righteous because Jesus took my sin making me right with God.

…We have been made righteous – we are “right with God” because of Jesus. Let’s show the world our true value and worth. We are bright, shiny, new because of Jesus!

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Don’t Be Intimidated

For the past number of years we have become keenly aware of bullying or intimidation. Many have been bullied as children and still others as adults. There is a spiritual intimidation that will sideline us if we aren’t aware of it and that is the feeling of unworthiness…

Down through the generations Satan has deceived us and stolen our rightful inheritance. We have been caught in a trap of feeling we have to earn God’s favor. We feel unworthy to receive what He has provided. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor and blessings; He gives them freely, that is why it’s called grace.

 If Jesus would have walked the earth feeling unworthy, He never would have had the courage to attempt any of the miracles He did. Jesus knew who He was and what was available to Him. He did what God, the Father, had sent Him to do.

As we begin to realize our position of joint heirs, we will see miracles now. Jesus is no longer walking the earth and if His power is to be seen, it must be seen through us. Jesus is waiting for us to draw upon that power and release it in the earth as He did.  We are to walk boldly and start using the unlimited power that rests upon us!

The only time Jesus could not do any mighty works was when he was with people who didn’t believe in His power as the Son of God.

      “Then Jesus said to them, “People everywhere give honor to a prophet, except in his own town, with his own people, or in his home.” 5 Jesus was not able to do any miracles there except the healing of some sick people by laying his hands on them. 6 He was surprised that the people there had no faith. Then he went to other villages in that area and taught.” Mark 6:4-6 ERV

The same applies today; if we aren’t willing to believe that we are joint heirs with Christ then the work of Jesus will not get done.

One other part of our inheritance mentioned in Romans 8 is that we share in Jesus’ sufferings…

What kind of suffering does this include? In the early years of Christianity, it meant slander, beatings, imprisonment, and death.

      “People will insult you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do that, know that great blessings belong to you. 12 Be happy about it. Be very glad because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did these same bad things to the prophets who lived before you.” Matthew 5:11-12 ERV

The suffering that Jesus experienced was not sickness, lack or failure. He had to endure the critical and harsh words of those He came to save. The ridicule and verbal taunting were part of his daily experience. The greatest suffering of all was the knowledge that He would be separated from His heavenly Father when he took the punishment for our sin on the cross. Jesus died to purchase our freedom from the devices that Satan would like to use to destroy us.

In the early days of the church, believers were called “Christians”. This was meant to be a defamatory word, it meant they were acting like little Christ ones. Their lives reflected all the qualities seen in Jesus; they were just like Him! Today we too need to be Christians both in word and in action – little Christ ones. Is there enough evidence in our lives to bring that charge?

Satan had no power over Jesus and he no longer has any power over us when we realize what we have inherited.

When we learn who we are and what we have inherited we can walk free from intimidation. We will keep our heads held high and display the brilliance of character and power that we have received from our Father!

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Happy Kids!

We are going to continue for a few more days looking at what God, the Father, has provided for children, for us. He has planned for us to live joyful lives…

Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as a good gift. A gift from the Father.  The Holy Spirit was sent to help us. He is also called the Comforter, and by definition, that means counsellor, intercessor, advocate, strengthener and standby. He intercedes for us.

This verse also says the Holy Spirit will remind us of all things Jesus spoke and He will teach us all things. When the Holy Spirit comes to our aid, He reminds us of God’s Word and instructs us on how to show our love to the Father.

The Father only gives us good gifts. He is not looking to make our lives miserable or downtrodden.

      “Now you are sad, but I will see you again, and you will be happy. You will have a joy that no one can take away. 23 In that day you will not have to ask me about anything. And I assure you, my Father will give you anything you ask him for in my name. 24 You have never asked for anything in this way before. But ask in my name, and you will receive. And you will have the fullest joy possible.” John 16:22b-24 ERV

      “Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17 ERV from

As I said, our Father is wanting to place His best at our disposal. Let’s look at one other thing the Holy Spirit does for us. He fills us with the power or ability that we need to victoriously defeat Satan, our enemy, who tries to deceive us and steal our inheritance.

      “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes into your life. You will tell about Me in the city of Jerusalem and over all the countries of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NLV

With the Holy Spirit constantly reminding us of God’s Word and giving us the power to follow it, failure is less of an occurrence in our lives than when we try to do it all on our own. Now, that is a good gift!

As sons of God, we have been given the same power as our older brother, Jesus. It is only through our ignorance of the Word and/or our willful disobedience of the Father’s instructions that Satan can steal our power.

      “Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so, you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.” II Peter 1:3-4 ERV

These verses plainly state that we have been given everything we need for life and godly living. The Father’s exceeding great and precious promises have been given so that we might reflect God’s divine nature. This is a facet of our relationship with Him. He wants us to be victorious while we are here on earth as well as in heaven. He wants us to imitate Him, just like Jesus did.

The Father has placed His light in us so that we can shine brilliantly, “Like A Diamond”, and as His joyful children we bring the light of His goodness to the world.

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Beautiful & Useful

Recently our daughter was telling her dad and I the story of a couple vintage clocks she has in her home. One is a grandfather clock, with Westminster chime, that we had inherited from Dave’s grandfather. The other is antique mantel clock which her uncle had inherited upon his mother’s death.

Our daughter received our grandfather clock when we were moving from Idaho to Montana quite a few years ago and then she received the mantel clock from her uncle about five years ago. Both clocks had fallen into disrepair. Neither would chime correctly and so they sat silent.

Beautiful but not useful.

A while back she called a man who specializes in vintage and antique clock repair. He came to her home and examined each clock. He said they each needed a little love and a little adjustment. In about an hour both clocks were chiming correctly and keeping time.

Beautiful and useful!

As she told us the story she was in tears. She was so happy to have them working the way they were intended. He went on to tell her how to care for them properly and said they would continue to work for a long time without any further need for repair if she followed his instruction.

What they had needed was the touch of a master’s hand. There wasn’t anything hopelessly wrong with the mechanics of the clocks but without the knowledge to correctly adjust each one they would have remained silent.

Isn’t that the way it is with us? Through the stresses of life we either get wound too tightly or we ignore the important inner workings of our heart, our soul and we go silent or worse yet we chime at the wrong time and mislead those who hear us.

“In a large house there are things made of gold and silver. But there are also things made of wood and clay. Some of these are used for special purposes, others for ordinary jobs. 21 The Lord wants to use you for special purposes, so make yourself clean from all evil. Then you will be holy, and the Master can use you. You will be ready for any good work.

22 Stay away from the evil things a young person like you typically wants to do. Do your best to live right and to have faith, love, and peace, together with others who trust in the Lord with pure hearts. 23 Stay away from foolish and stupid arguments. You know that these arguments grow into bigger arguments. 24 As a servant of the Lord, you must not argue. You must be kind to everyone. You must be a good teacher, and you must be patient. 25 You must gently teach those who don’t agree with you. Maybe God will let them change their hearts so that they can accept the truth.” II Timothy 2:20-25 ERV

The Lord has chosen us to be useful for special purposes. The Master will clean our hearts, making us new and ready for good work. We also have a part in this process. We need to stay away from things that will stop us from being effective.

The clocks I told you about will be silenced once again if they don’t receive a loving touch every few days. Likewise, we need the Father’s touch on our lives continually so that faith, love and peace chime clearly for all to hear.

We can be beautiful and useful. Fit for the Master’s use.

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Direction for 2021

At the end of the day we’ll all be heading into a New Year. Many will be glad to leave 2020 behind.

We have a cowboy preacher friend who used to say “If God says go north He will provide, if you go south you’ll think you died”. Now that’s not in the Bible but it’s still good preaching.

Let me tell you about a man named Jonah. The Lord wanted Jonah to go to a town called Ninevah and preach a message of repentance. Jonah decided he didn’t want to go and so he hopped the first ship leaving town and went the other way. A storm came up and the ship he was on almost sunk. Jonah admitted to the sailors on board that he was running from God and told them if they threw him into the sea the storm would cease and they would be saved.

So that’s what they did and they survived the storm. Jonah on the other hand became lunch for a great fish. I refer to this fish as the first manned submarine. Three days later the fish arrived at the shores of Ninevah and spit Jonah out on the shore. Jonah preached to the people there, they repented and were saved.

It was Jonah’s choice not to follow God’s leading and it was his choice that nearly brought destruction to everyone aboard the ship. But when Jonah repented for running from God he had a personalized escort to where he needed to go.

The Lord told Abraham to leave his home country and go to a new land. That new area was the place where Abraham prospered in lands, sheep, cattle and he became a father. His decendants eventually became known as the Israelites, who were God’s chosen people.

I could give you story after story of people who did and didn’t follow God. Suffice it to say, it’s better to let the Lord do the leading. He has infinitely better foresight than we do.

“I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea…
18 But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. 19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland…Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed.” Isaiah 43:16-20 NLT

There’s a new year before us. Let’s forget the disappointments and discouragement of the past and move forward into 2021 looking for the path and the plans the Lord has for us.

“The Lord is my Shepherd. I will have everything I need. 2 He lets me rest in fields of green grass. He leads me beside the quiet waters. 3 He makes me strong again. He leads me in the way of living right with Himself which brings honor to His name.” Psalm 23:1-3 NLV

When we follow His leading we will always be going in the right direction. Now that’s the way to have a prosperous new year!

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Cultivating Friendships

Relationships are like beautiful gardens. The seeds are planted but must be watered and pruned so that they can grow in a healthy and productive way.

It’s so great to spend time with friends. Those special people who have been with you through life. They have seen you cry, laughed with you, encouraged you, picked you up when you were down and even corrected you and set you on the right path again. Friends are one of life’s most valued treasures.

John was one of Jesus’ closest friends. John had been with Him from the beginning and it was John who was standing with Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the foot of His cross. He loved Jesus. In the first few verses of I John he reveals his purpose for writing this letter.

“We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so that you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing to tell you these things, because this makes us truly happy.” I John 1:3-4 CEV

That’s how I feel each morning when I share my thoughts with you. I write this so that you will be truly happy.

The joy found in friendship/relationship with Jesus is indescribable, complete and will sustain you even in the toughest times.

Jesus is the one who initiates relationship with us; He’s the one who developes the friendship.

“I no longer call you servants, because servants don’t know what their master is doing. But now I call you friends, because I have told you everything that my Father told me.” John 15:15 ERV

This past year has kept us from many of our dear friends but social distancing can’t stop us from pursuing our daily relationship with Jesus. The Bible tells us that there is one who sticks closer than a brother. That One is Jesus.

When fear and depression sweep in like a tidal wave He is there. When inexpressible joy elevates us to the heights of emotion He is there. When our daily walk has us on an even plain He is there.

Maybe you’ve thought that God was too big or that you were too insignificant to have a real relationship, a friendship, with God. King David wrote these words. He marvelled at the thought of God’s pursuit of relationship with him.

“If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. 11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 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.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” Psalm 139:7-18 NLT

Maybe it’s been a while since you just sat and shared your morning coffee with Him or talked through things on your morning compute but He’s there waiting. Take Him with you on your camping trip, your next ride or hike; share a wave with Him as you surf or let Him go with you as you cast a line.

Friendship with Him is definitely worth cultivating. I guarantee if you draw close to Him He won’t walk away.

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