More Than a Manger

More Than a Manger

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  John 1:10-11

 

Here we are again at that time of year when we as Christians joyfully celebrate the birth of our Lord.  Few in the world know the great significance of this particular birth.  You know how people say so easily that if there is a God then why does He allow such terrible things to happen?  People remain bitter and estranged from God because they are believing the lie that He doesn’t care.  I used to think that way when my life took a dangerous turn to destruction, and I had no resources left.  I needed help and I cried out to God.  God heard my cries, and He delivered me even though it felt like it took a long while. I’ve had people tell me that they think that “religion” is a crutch that doesn’t hold you up for very long.  In my case, it doesn’t bother me when people want to think that because I know it isn’t true because it is much much more than a wobbly crutch. The faith I’ve been given and the relationship with Jesus as my Lord and Savior is a FIRM FOUNDATION.  

Maybe when people see the fragile baby in the manger who we call Jesus, they don’t realize He was the Son of God and He gave up His royal life in heaven for our sake and for the end result of offering up Himself to pay for our sins, something we could never do or would ever deserve. He came to this earth partly because of all the evil that is going on and so He could be with us up-close and personal, and help us get through all the difficult days we will go through.  When people say God doesn’t care or there wouldn’t be so much evil in the world, the truth is that the world is broken and people’s lives are broken, so they commit atrocities like drinking and driving, robbing people, and killing for drugs to name a few.  Is this God’s doing?  Absolutely not.  He does not cause evil or ever condone any of it.  It’s the devil who orchestrates all things that are evil leading to destruction and death.  He plants these ideas into people’s heads and like a puppet, they obey the subtle evil voices.  But praise God, the devil has been defeated by Jesus when He came to this earth.  This is what Scripture says in I John 3:8-10:

 

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (8). Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (9). In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. (10)

 

Now where is the finger pointing?  At the devil, and sinful man who follows the devils ways, and unregenerate souls cannot do right or be righteous because they are sinners by birth.  We are all born that way. It isn’t until Jesus replaces our sinful heart with a new clean one that we can become righteous, and this happens only through what Jesus did for us on the cross.

 

The most beautiful thing about our Savior Jesus is this - His love knows no bounds to those who reach out to Him.  You want to make it your number one goal in life to reach out to Jesus and get to know Jesus because He loves you and He will always fight for you and be on your side.  Not so with unbelievers.  Although He isn’t responsible for any of the evil in this world, we still have to do our part to invite Jesus into our life once He starts calling us.  We can NEVER say that God is responsible for what happens in this world that is ungodly and unrighteous.  He has done everything He can when He sent His only Son to die in our place to pay for our unrighteous sins, and now it is up to us to receive that atonement, and then go out and make a difference in this dark world as the Father bids.  So, remember when you see the manger scenes with Jesus that he is the sacrificial lamb that came to take away the sins of the whole world, including yours and mine.

 

I hope you will have a wonderful God-filled blessed Christmas and let your light shine bright in the darkness. You never know who is needing to see the light of the Gospel. 

And Suddenly … (My Christmas 2023 Blog)

I had heard that the year 2023 was going to be a year of “suddenlies.”  I didn’t understand it at the time although the thought of “natural disasters” came to mind. But as the year progressed, I noticed that a lot of people I know were what seemed like suddenly passing away. In the summer alone, I attended about 1 funeral every seven days. I mean no disrespect, but it was hard to keep track of them all. Then in the fall another few passed away. Instead of making birthday cards, or seasonal Christmas cards, I found myself making sympathy cards.  And I felt the sorrow of the families left behind, partly because many of these deaths happened so suddenly that the families had no time to prepare for the huge loss of their loved one. 

 

To top it off, not only am I grieving all these friends and acquaintances that have died so suddenly, I struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  And it’s been a very strange fall, and now it’s almost winter.  We have had very little snow, and so there is no reflection of light on the ground.  It has been unseasonably mild, and many days have been cloudy. I’ve noticed how dark it is and how early it is dark. I believe today it was dark by 4:00, and the sun came up at around 8:25.  For someone with seasonal disorder, it is a real challenge for me not to be overcome by the long stretches of darkness during these days of late fall and early winter. And it doesn’t help that there’s these disturbing things going on in our world right now. I pray for the Jewish people every single day, and that people understand that they need to defend the freedom we in the west have enjoyed these many years. Heaven forbid we should be threatened to lose that to some 16th century barbarism from the Middle East.  And with grieving all these people on top of that, I need extra light in my life, both physical and spiritual. 

 

Yet, it is when things seem the darkest, that God shows up.  He showed up during tumultuous times in Israel’s’ history at the time Jesus was born. I quote this most famous passage in Luke, a passage we have likely all heard at every Christmas pageant. I can imagine that it was all very sudden.

 

Luk 2:8  And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Luk 2:9  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Luk 2:10  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Luk 2:11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luk 2:12  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Luk 2:13  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Luk 2:14  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

He also showed up when Jesus came and began His ministry.

 

Jhn 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Jhn 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Jhn 1:6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

Jhn 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

Jhn 1:8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

Jhn 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Jhn 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Jhn 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Jhn 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 

I love this powerful passage of Scripture. I am always amazed at verse 10 and 11. I can attest to the fact that I did not truly know God until He revealed Himself to me.  When I realized He created everything and all the incredible detail that went into it, I began to realize how big, great, magnificent, all wise, incredibly creative, AWESOME as in fall on your face in AWE at the majesty of God, and much much more. I saw God in the form of Jesus and He was walking this earth. He was the picture of health and smiling, and not a single care in the world. I realized that the God I had envisioned previously was nothing like the God who revealed Himself to me as my Friend!!!  Oh what a Friend we have in Jesus!! I couldn’t fathom why he chose me to be His friend, and He wanted to spend so much time with me. To this day, I marvel that He is my Friend and talks with me as a friend does. 

 

And as for verse 11, I believe the majority of His people did not receive Him because they just didn’t want to count the cost.  Even His beloved disciples denied Him.  Oh how blinded we are if we can’t see Jesus in the light of His revealed Word.  We need to look for Him in the darkness of our world and the sometimes darkness of our circumstances.

 

I’ve had a rough year, there’s no denying it, and I hope there are no more “suddenlies” unless it is the Rapture, or otherwise all good news! Regardless, I know my world is one of light because I walk with Jesus.  To those that are grieving loved ones, hold on tight to Jesus. He is the one with the brilliant torch to light your way no matter how dark circumstances seem. Remember, the celebration of Christmas is every day because God’s timeless gift of His only Son Jesus has come to light our way.  But as it says in John 1:12, we must receive Him in order to experience His tremendous gift of light, eternal life, and fellowship with Him.

 

May you have a very Merry Christmas!

Should our Faith be Private?

Recently, I was involved in a discussion about being persecuted for our faith. I thought to myself, that maybe people aren’t persecuted because they’re not actually sharing their faith. When I read in the Bible, during Jesus’ time especially, that people shared their faith all the time. In fact, they couldn’t wait to share what Jesus had done for them. Sometimes Jesus told them not to tell anyone what he had done because He didn’t want to be chased down by the authorities for having done such unexplainable miracles and had garnered a huge following, which was a threat to their religious positions and financial gain. Also, isn’t it interesting how verbally sharing the gospel message is mentioned numerous times in the Bible, rather than “showing” by “doing.” There is power in the Word of God.  Every religion can demonstrate their goodness with good deeds, but nothing is more powerful and life-changing than Jesus working through His own children bringing the lost to Himself.  Sharing the Gospel, and even sharing our testimony without a lot of Scripture, is very powerful indeed, especially when we do so willingly and enthusiastically like they did in the Bible! 

 Why is it so important to share the gospel? Well, I can tell you why right away. It’s not hard to answer this question at all because there is a hell. For all of those who do not accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour, the horrible truth is: hell awaits.  Maybe you don’t have a concern for the lost; after all, they are the ones who are doing the persecuting. They don’t make it easy for us to love them and share the Gospel with them, do they? There are many more reasons why we should reach the lost. Because it is a commandment, because God loves every single person, and He died for every single person.  He wants them to know that.  How will they know if we don’t tell them?

 

2Cor. 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

2Cor. 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 

God loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten son. As his children, we are to love the world that is lost just as much. At least we don’t have to die for them, but we at least need to love them and share the good news with them, don’t you think?

 

Some people think they’re not qualified to witness. Well, that’s not true.  We may feel inadequate but so did Isaiah, Moses and almost all of the disciples.  It’s not about us and our talents. It’s about our willingness to obey Him in this very important area.  God has qualified you and I and if you have a mouth and you can speak, and even if you can’t, God has qualified you and He wants to use you wherever you are right now. He has not given us a spirit of fear but of love power and a sound mind; and just so you know, those verses are about witnessing. 

 

2Ti 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2Ti 1:8  Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

 

Recall the book of Acts in the beginning and how the first church reached thousands of people who became believers when the first Christians received power from on high.  The Lord does the same thing today to all who ask.  He’s going to send you power on high which will give you a boost to help you in your witnessing.  In fact, He’s going to be the one doing the witnessing; you’re just going be the mouthpiece, and the vessel He uses. So at the very least we each need to be open and available at all times to let our Saviour speak through us and love through us. That’s our job. There’s no option here; that’s our job.

 

Always keep in mind, your neighbour may be going to hell.  Many people have passed away this year.  Many more likely will.  If they are lost, they are going to hell. Some may have to go through the tribulation if they don’t get saved or die first, they have no future. They will be punished in hell. They will never communicate with God or their loved ones ever again, and they will be cut off from all of life.  They will never see or experience nature or see even a leaf or a blade of grass ever again.  There is no escape.  They will never see the light of day. They will go into a pit of darkness forever. They will not be remembered. Now this should be enough to make us cry and weep for them. What a doom and gloom future they have. Who are we to deny them the truth that there is a way out, that there is an escape?

 

And the truth is there’s no other way for them to get to heaven except through Jesus.

 

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

So this falls on us to share Jesus.  It  also says in the word that their blood is on our hands because we know the truth and didn’t share it. And we are to admonish other believers and warn them when they are gone astray, that they need to come back to the Lord. These are the sobering verses:

 

Eze 3:17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

Eze 3:18  When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Eze 3:19  Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Eze 3:20  Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Eze 3:21  Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

 

It is no surprise that Jesus last words on earth were the great commission; out of all the things we are to do as a Christian, it is the greatest example of sharing our faith that you’ll find in the Bible.  It is all about “Good News.” That is a huge job we all have, and God has qualified us and is counting on us to get the job done.  It’s interesting that I’ve heard lots of Christians say that they want the Lord to return due to the many troubles inflicted on us by this evil world system.  But the truth is, Jesus said He wouldn’t return until the Gospel had been preached around the whole world.  The sooner we get out there and share the Good News, perhaps the sooner He will return.

 

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Which Temperature are You?

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

 

Recently the Lord has been showing me that there are no true riches when God is excluded from them. What do I mean?  Well, have you noticed that even something as innocent and everyday as traveling without a real purpose other than to get away, that people are not getting the rest and relaxation they were looking for?  Their holiday was expensive, perhaps weather didn’t cooperate and now they are home left wanting.  Either wanting another and better vacation or the thought of getting back to work is too difficult to handle.

 

And then there’s Christian fellowship.  Sometimes we get so busy after church we just fly out of the building before we can even say hello to someone, and offer our love and prayer to those in need.  Now we seem to all go our own way and rush back into our busy lives even on the Lord’s day of rest.

 

One of the things I noticed was after Covid restrictions fell, people eased back into their routines of busyness and gone went the fellowship as we shared our griefs, anxiety, sorrow and even fears.  As difficult as the pandemic was, it drew us together with a common cause, and it also split us apart.  There are many repercussions and after- effects that followed, and are still prevalent.  It seems now that the Covid conversation is one we dare not bring up in case it breeds a disagreement on differing views, especially when it comes to the vaccine that was thrust upon us.  But this is not about Covid, this is about the state of our heart and what we love.  If anything, Covid was a testing of our heart.

 

As I’ve been pondering the opening verses, I’ve been praying and asking God to stir my heart to make it hot again. Somehow the busyness of my life that was ramped up in the last few months has dulled me to the things of God.  I feel challenged to check my heart and re-priorize my priorities and put God first.  I have become occupied from the things of this world keeping me busy instead of focusing on the Lord and the writing ministry He has given me.

 

If we read throughout Scripture, the Old and New Testament, God always requires that His children, in whatever capacity or title we have been given, are faithful and true to our wonderful loving and mighty God; true to Him and true to the calling He has placed on our lives.  When we turn to the things of the world instead, our hearts will turn cold towards God and hot towards something or someone else.  The Old Testament testifies again and again to this. Solomon is a good example.  His downfall were the many foreign women he took as his wives.  They were of pagan roots and did not honour the God of Israel. As a result His kingdom eventually fell into disrepute.  He did not leave a very good legacy to future generations.

 

What captivates us and takes us away from our loving Father and Savior Jesus?  Why are we afraid to give Him our all?  What can we do to stir the fire of the Spirit within us and and bring glory to God and bear fruit for Him?  He deserves all of our life and service, for He gave His life for us.  These are important questions to ask ourselves today.  The world will try everything in its power to dissuade us from following, living and speaking the truth of our almighty God.  The do this so that their own sinful lifestyles will not be exposed. And the following Scriptures challenge us to make a choice.  We cannot have it both ways.  It is all or nothing, hot or cold, and no in-between.

 

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

 

The things of this world are quickly passing away. Let’s spend the time with our Lord while we still can, and trust Him and love Him with our whole heart to keep us faithful to Him alone to the very end.

Renewing our Spirits

 

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Psalm 51:10-12

 For years we’ve been talking about revival. Then the pandemic happened, and everyone’s life was changed, some forever. Our way of life has changed in many ways. I believe revival has been put aside because renewal is what is needed first. What does it mean to renew a right spirit in us? Read on as we seek to answer this question.

I have been feeling a need for a change in my life. Covid restrictions drove me inside and away from public places and people. I found I was retreating into myself and finding comfort in just being at home. It eliminated the indecision and stress of going to all these different places and events. It’s just easier to stay home and recline on the couch, and maybe just watch some TV. So, it became easy to become almost anti-social. This likely started to dull the otherwise steady desire of my heart and spirit, removing the zeal, to reach those lost and in need.

Another thing the pandemic did, in the quietness of being at home, was it brought me face to face with me. After awhile, the dust settled from all the activity I was involved in, and I found myself in a state of sorrow for the social life and near-future dreams I had to give up, not to mention plans of travel. The sorrow was natural, and yet for a Christian who is to love God first and foremost and with all my heart and soul, the sorrow for the things of the world, and even involving other people, was highlighted. In fact, it was a red light for me.

Indeed, I needed God to renew a right spirit within me. For one thing, if we take the things of the world this seriously, then perhaps we have walked out of the light of the Lord and strayed away from His intended plan for our lives. I realized I had set my affection on the things of this world. They meant more to me than I realized. These verses explain what I’m talking about:

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 What is wrong with liking the things of this world? Well, for one thing, Jesus said we can’t serve two masters; we will hate one and love the other:

Mat 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

We can’t serve God and anything else. To emphasize this even further, take a look at these strong verses:

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

I believe travel is one of the greatest worldly temptations some of us face. I’m talking about getting away. Globally, it has affected our environment, our health, our economy and so on. I read two different sources of information to confirm this. One was about the carbon tax and how, now that it is imposed on us Canadians, goods are now manufactured thousands of miles away adding to the environmental problem already there, creating even more pollution world-wide! We are sinking deeper into recession with an outrageously high cost of food and fuel.  It is staggering the cost of living!  The other was how our health is and will be affected as the world interacts with each other at a dizzying speed, spreading diseases and bringing strange species into each other’s countries. I believe the Tower of Babel happened for more reasons than we realize. 

Getting back to the opening verses. King David realized he had sinned, and he realized he was out of alignment with the God he loved. Out of that love, David essentially said, “I want my relationship restored with You. I want to experience the joy of my salvation.” This cannot happen without repentance — a sorrow for sin, rather than a sorrow for the things of this world that we may have lost. We wanted revival, but first God had to clean up our hearts and highlight what is really there. In this new year coming, 2023, in spite of all the bad news we may be hearing and dire predictions about our economy, one thing will matter for eternity—and that is the state of our heart where God is concerned. Let’s make a New Year’s resolution to ask God to create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us, making those two things a priority.

Is God With Us? And Why? - Part 2

A Christmas Meditation 

 

In Part 1, I introduced the idea of God wanting to be with us.  This is crucial in our understanding of the term Emmanuel, as much more than just taking for granted that God is with us.  In this second and last part of this meditation, we take a closer look at the great significance of our God wanting to be with us and the eternal impact of our understanding and acceptance of this fact.

How did God relate to us from the start? Well, if we read Genesis 3, at the very beginning of our creation, God is walking and talking with Adam and Eve. Sadly, we don’t read too far along and things go south.  For some ill-thought reason, they disobeyed God, and broke their fellowship with God. And what occurred was a blindness that every single person that was born into this world experience; we’d all be blind to the things of God. We’d start off with a demand to have our own needs met and focus our attention on self or others to meet those needs.  And we’d be doing it by our own methods.  Scholars call it Humanism. And if ever we think we are good enough to reach God’s perfect standards, we are sadly mistaken.  It is imperative that if we are going to appreciate the magnitude of God desiring to be with us, that we need to see ourselves as we truly are:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

     They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that  doeth good, no, not one.  Romans 3:10-12    

God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

    Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.  Psalms 53:2-3

Scripture is clear.  We do not and will never measure up to the standards set for us.  But it is not God at fault.  Clearly it is us.  For we have rejected a merciful God who has provided a way to know Him (He actually offered up His own life to do this), and instead we have gone our own way.  Rejection of God was never what God intended, and the results have been catastrophic.  God designed us in His own image, and we are made to worship Him and fellowship with Him and others.  He wanted a family, He wanted fellowship, and He wants all of his own children to get along.

 Why do you think God would go to the lengths that He did when he sent Jesus to this earth as an innocent, helpless, and vulnerable baby?  Talk about having to trust people to look after him!  And then he would allow Him to be crucified on the cross at the hands of the cruel Roman soldiers who would ultimately carry out His death sentence; this sacrifice that ultimately would save us all from certain eternal death without God.  This sacrifice applies to all who call on the name of the Lord and continues to miraculously change lives to this very day.  Are you in need of a Savior to deliver you from your sin nature today? Come to Jesus; He is ever ready to forgive. You’ll never regret it.

 What does Emmanuel, God wanting to be with us, say about God? Let’s bring it down to our level of what we can understand. Why would God want to be our friend when our hearts are evil, and we love our sin, and we are enemies of God (see Romans 5:10)?  Why would He want to come to this earth and go to these great lengths to be with us?  I want to emphasize again and again that yes, we sing carols about Emmanuel God with us, that Jesus came to this earth as a baby and we all know the manger story.  We all know the Easter story, but let’s put this in a real perspective here.  God is with us, yes, but let’s let this sink deeply into our soul – God wants to be with us in spite of our inherent godless and sinful nature. 

 If this doesn’t somehow make us pause and reflect on this incredible offer from a perfect and holy God, then I don’t know what would.  Do we just take the Bible and God and Jesus for granted? Or are we truly and humbly thankful and grateful that He would want to be with us?  I’ll take it further – do we welcome Him into our heart and into our life at the level where we live?

I think this is a crucial issue in all that I’m talking about today – I’m going to ask an important question.  Is Jesus welcome in your life? Think about friends you look forward to getting together with, or you talk about things you enjoy.  Who do you talk on the phone with or text most often?  Maybe you go for coffee, or you go shopping together.  Maybe you go bowling or have a golfing partner.  Perhaps you’re in Bible study, and you go to church together.  You look forward to seeing your friends because they make you feel loved and they make you feel accepted.  They pray for you, they hug you when they see you, they love on you. Do you want to be with people who lift you up, that you have fun with, and that listen to you and care about what you think and what you say?  Well, how much more does Jesus feel about being with us?  He cares about absolutely everything that we care about.  He created us for His purposes and pleasure!  He rejoices over us!  And He’s into the details! He knows the number of hairs on our head. He calls us by name.  He wants to bear your burdens, all of them!  He’s the best friend you’ll ever have, He loves you unconditionally, warts and all, or wrinkles or whatever imperfections you have; He doesn’t care about those things.  He cares about YOU not the packaging! We are all imperfect, and He loves us just as we are! And He’ll never leave you or forsake you. Maybe others will, but Jesus never will. 

We think of the disciples and how they were imperfect and full of flaw. Why did Jesus choose these 12 as His closest confidants and friends? Most were mere fishermen, blue collar workers, unlearned as far as scholarly knowledge went.  They failed Jesus, especially at the end when they all fled in fear after Jesus was arrested.  Thinking about how flawed they were gives me such hope and such an appreciation for the kind of God we serve, right?  So, what then is God looking for in a friend?

I believe the answer is simple.  He wants a friend who wants Him.  The disciples left all to follow Him because they recognized the great worth in knowing and following Jesus.  But the crucial thing is, do we invite him into our life without hesitation?  Do we spend time with him?  Do we make a point of being thankful, and do we worship Him and praise Him simply because He deserves that for Who He is to us? I think we need to take time to think about how we feel about God and our relationship with Him because he longs to be with us. I’m not just saying this. It says in Revelation 3:20:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

 God doesn’t demand a relationship: He asks for one.  He stands at the door, and knocks, and He waits.  He never barges in. He’s a perfect gentleman. He longs for us to open that door, and let Him in, and have fellowship with us. Think about this; if someone who loves you with their life (could be anybody, your husband, wife, parent), and they love you so much they just want to spend precious time with you, but you fail to open the door, and just ignore it.  How would your loved one feel?  How does God feel? Remember, He made us in His own image so He definitely feels what we do – pain, rejection, sorrow, joy, love.  Remember in the Garden of Gethsemane, no one stayed up with Him to pray, and the agony He endured all alone. 

 Remember who God is. Remember these are all His choices – He doesn’t have to reach out to us.  But He longs to.  He wants to.  When we get too busy do we really know what we are missing out on? Fellowship with Jesus brings so much benefit to our life I can’t even begin to list all the benefits. For me I have a sense of peace, I have joy, I feel loved and uplifted.  Many times I am given words of knowledge that I can’t even describe it, it is so profound. I’m taken out of my stressful life for that time.  Time spent with Jesus, Emmanuel, is so so precious I covet every second I can be with Him and listen and learn.

I think about Jesus’ good friends Martha and Mary mentioned in Luke 10.  Jesus came for a visit and Martha was preparing a meal for them. Meanwhile, her sister Mary sat at Jesus feet and listened to His teachings.  Martha didn’t like that she was doing all the work and told Jesus to tell Mary to come and help her.  But here we have Jesus famous words in response that remind us what is really most important after all.

      And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.  Luke 10:41-42

Think about what you’re going to do this season, rather than be stressed out, to spend precious time with the Lord.  He’s waiting for you to respond to Him and He wants to be with you.  No one’s forcing us to be with the Lord; it’s all by choice every single day. But it’s the most rewarding place to be – in the presence of the Lord, and in sweet fellowship with Him, sitting at His feet while learning His incredible, life-giving ways. Many might feel alone this season with no one to celebrate with.  But remember this:  we are never truly alone.  What a Friend we have in Jesus!

Please go to this link for steps to accepting Jesus into your life. Please don’t delay. Today is the day of salvation.