Classic TV at its Best!

While studying the Word first thing in the morning yesterday, I was eventually drawn to Hebrews 10:35 where we are told: “Don’t lose your confidence. It will bring you a great reward.” (God’s Word ©)  This morning when I sat down at my desk, I immediately opened up to the same verse and wrote it down at the top of my blank note page.  I then flipped back to yesterday’s notes and looked at what I had written down as to the Greek meaning to the word “confidence.”  Thayer’s defines it as “free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness or assurance.”  Of all those descriptions the one phrase that seemed to glow on the page was that of “cheerful courage.”

Last night as I got up off the couch to get something out of the kitchen, I stopped and looked at my wife who was sitting next to me.  She was watching the TV with a sort of bland look on her face.  In that moment of time I thought about how she was always such a happy individual.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions that it was her consistent smile, irresistible laugh and joyful countenance that captured my heart back as a Junior in English class in High School!

I am sure that anyone who knew her before this attack of Alzheimer’s would comment how they rarely saw Piper without a smile on her face and a funny comment emitting from her lips!  I have countless photographs (as she was always my favorite subject!) that capture that sassy sparkle in her eyes.

As I continued to look at her, she slowly turned and our eyes connected.  For a fleeting second I was tempted to be depressed, but I quickly fought back the lie and reiterated the truth of God’s joy as our strength.  With that I broke into a big smile, spoke gently but happily to her and stayed connected to her line of sight until she joined me with a broad smile!  And you know what?  She was a lot more alert for the rest of the night and that bland look never returned!

I think that this was an example of “cheerful courage” on both our parts.  I am positive that God doesn’t want us to make our various stands of faith with a scowl upon our faces.  I believe that He wants us to visibly rejoice in order to show the world -and probably more importantly - ourselves that our trust is confidently and therefore cheerfully committed to Him!

I also discovered as I studied this idea out this morning, that His joy working in and through us is a powerful force against the lies of the enemy.  The thought of “cheerful courage” led me to Nehemiah 8:10 where it is written that “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” (KJV)  The word strength literally means: “force, ability and might.”  Our “cheerful courage” in the face of the lies of the enemy, releases a mighty “force” in and around us that the enemy can’t penetrate.  That “force” will eventually lead to your victory over the situation that you are facing!

Now please don’t ask me why… maybe it is just the way the Lord figures He can get to me… but when I looked up the original meaning to the word “joy,” I was instantly caught up in a time warp!  The Strong’s number for “joy” in the Greek translation of the OT is 5479.  Some of you probably know where I am going with this… That’s right… when I noticed 5479 I was suddenly back in front of our old black and white TV set in the living room of our new home when I was 8 years old.  On the TV I could see a wacky pair of New York policeman and heard the words to the theme song of the old sitcom “Car 54 where are you?”:

♫ There's a holdup in the Bronx,

Brooklyn's broken out in fights;

There's a traffic jam in Harlem

That's backed up to Jackson Heights;

There's a scout troop short a child,

Khrushchev's due at Idlewild!

Car 54, Where Are You? ♪

 

After slowly returning back from my childhood, I asked the Lord what He was trying to convey to me and I realized the message of that funny jingle.  While everything is in a mess around us, we can still laugh and rejoice because our trust and confidence is in the Lord.  And just as Toody and Muldune always got their man in the end… God will make sure that our “cheerful courage” will always lead us to get the promise from whatever Word of His that we are standing one!

So what will it be for you this week?  Will you give in to the pressure of depression leading to defeat, or choose to walk in “cheerful courage” which eventually gives you the upper hand?  The only difference is that we don’t have to cry out “Ooh! Ooh!”  as officer Toody would do, but instead proclaim our praise and KNOW exactly where our God is and how He stands when our faith is put into action!

Have a great week.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”

Political Correctness...

When we lived in Oklahoma we would see little brown rabbits all over the place.  I’d see them running around in the outside garden department where I worked, scampering over neighborhood lawns and running across the rural roads on the way to work each day.  I have to admit though, I never did see them following a specific trail.  So maybe the old idiom of “following a rabbit trail” is actually a little deceiving!  However, just as there were a multitude of rabbits in Oklahoma, I sure have had the opportunity to go a multitude of ways since I went off on a rabbit trail during my Bible Study time on Wednesday morning!

Today I was drawn right back to Psalm 141:3, but this time I looked at it in the Contemporary English Version which says, “Help me to guard my words whenever I say something.”  This focus on the words that we say got me thinking about the actual words that we do utter when we talk to others… as well as to ourselves.  

After looking up several verses, I somehow ended up in Job chapter 23.  In this portion of scripture Job is talking about having a discussion with God and makes the point to say, “I would present my case to him.  I would have a mouth full of arguments.  I want to know the words he would use to answer me.  I want to understand the things (or words according to the KJV) he would say to me.” (Job 23:4-5 God’s Word ©)

Job’s discussion caused a bell to go off in my mind as I realized that the best way to guard what comes out of your mouth is to simply say what God says!  It’s hard to say something that you’ll regret when you are speaking His words.  Hebrew 10:23 instructs us to “hold fast the confession of the hope unyielding, for he who has promised is faithful.” (Literal Translation of the Holy Bible)  As we have seen in other studies, the phrase “of the hope” in this verse could better be translated “of our expectations”.  Therefore in everyday language the writer of Hebrews is instructing us to hold fast to what we believe and therefore say without wavering.  And what we are to say is what we are expecting to happen according to God’s Word.

Hebrews 11:1 goes along with this admonition by telling us that “Faith assures of what we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot (yet) see.” (God’s Word ©)  James 1:6-8 also informs us that we cannot be thinking about two things at the same time because that would cause us to waiver and not receive what we are expecting.  So once again, I propose that if you’re going to speak anything, make your expectations clear and speak only what God says about the matter!

Now, can you actually do this without looking and sounding like you come from another planet when you’re out in public?  Well, it works for me!  Let me give you an example.  My wife and I have received all kinds of reactions when we go out.  Most people tend to ignore us while others give me the hopeless “I am sorry for you” look on their face.  A few loving and encouraging individuals will be comfortable around us and talk to both of us like we are normal people!  I have found that the best way to make people relax is to tell them exactly what we are believing for.  But, I don’t just start spouting off a bunch of scriptures which may or may not have any meaning to them.

Depending on the situation, I will normally tell them that we are people of faith and serve a mighty God who isn’t done with us.  Most individuals won’t argue with that thought, will be encouraged and will find that they can agree with me on that point.  Then that opens the door for me to share what God says about healing in His Word.

Point in view… Lately we have had to make changes with some of the benefits that my wife has been on for the last three years.  So I have spent quite a bit of time talking to county, state and federal benefits representatives.  A week or so ago I was talking to what began as a not so friendly women at MediCal.  In the midst of the conversation I mentioned that my wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at only 56 years of age.  She gasped and quietly said “Oh my!” and the line went still.  Without missing a beat, I took up the slack and began to softly share what I stated above and it was like the lady’s whole disposition changed.

As the conversation reverted back to state benefits, it became obvious that she could not adequately answer all the questions I had for her.  When our time came to a conclusion she suddenly paused and said “you know… the best thing you can do is to keep trusting God for your wife’s healing!”  When I hung up the phone I looked over at my wife who was sitting on the couch, broke into a big smile and literally ran over to her while exuberantly telling her what the gal on the phone from the State had told me!  It turned out to not only be a testimony for the Lord, but it encouraged her and me as well!

I don’t disagree with people that we are dealing with a terrible disease, but I always let them know that our faith is in God and as opportunity presents itself, let them know a little bit about what He says about the situation.  This way the emphasis is always put on God and not on me!  Like I said, in my experience, it is difficult for most people to disagree with God!  Remember that Hebrews 10:23 concludes with the fact that “He who has promised is faithful.”   By speaking His word on the subject we are simply agreeing with Him and placing our trust in His loving kindness and faithfulness.

In our society today, being politically correct is deemed to be very important so as to not offend anyone.  I can’t think of a better way of meeting this standard than by agreeing with and quoting the highest reigning official in the universal Kingdom of God when it comes to discussing the situations of life that we face on a daily basis!  From what I’ve personally seen over the last four years, this has proven itself to quickly dispel words of fear, doubt, unbelief and hopelessness, while bringing on an expectation of the good things that God has promised to you and me!

Give it a try this weekend!  It could be a whole new and successful way of life for you!  Have a great weekend (or “new beginning” as my lovely wife would say!), stay or get in tune to God’s Word and keep asking yourself… “What GOOD THINGS am I expecting today?”

Delicacies

While I was off on the rabbit trail yesterday, I also took a momentary peek at the verse following the one we discussed.  In Psalm 141:4 the Psalmist is imploring God saying, “Do not let me be persuaded to do anything evil or to become involved with wickedness, with people who are troublemakers.  Do not let me taste their delicacies.” (God’s Word ©)  The idea of “tasting their delicacies” caught my eye and I jotted down a few notes that I picked up from for my study this morning.

My first picture when I thought of “delicacies” was of the little sweet confections that you see displayed on tiny white doilies in the glass cases under the counter in fancy bakeries.  These tempting items may taste rich and delightful, but they might not always be the best thing for you to consume.  Similarly, the taste of evil things may have the immediate reward of being enjoyable for the moment, but tend to have a negative effect on us.

As I continued to consider this, I was reminded of other items that people in some countries may consider "delicacies" but are quite repulsive to Westerners.  I immediately pictured a Filipino gentleman that worked for me in my first supervision position at Hewlett Packard.  Art was a great guy with a terrific sense of humor.  He was the type of worker that would do just about anything for you.  His only downside was that he didn’t always think things through before taking certain actions.  This led to a few humorous situations as well as one that caused a potentially hazardous condition.

But all that aside, Art was a joy to be with… except at lunch time.  I remember one period of time when I was in the midst of writing a musical for our Children’s program and spent most of my lunch breaks in my little Datsun 4X4 with pad and pencil furiously penning songs and script!  One night I decided to take a break and to sit with some of my crew and enjoy their company while we ate.  Well, all was going fine until Art pulled out what looked like a giant egg and explained the Filipino “delicacy” called “Balut” that he ate daily.  So out of curiosity all of us at the table leaned over and watched as he cracked open the “delicacy.”

Once I saw what was in the egg and thought of him eating it, I suddenly had the very urgent need to leave the table as fast as I could… me and everyone else seated there!  This highly favored “delicacy” in their country is an 18 day old, fertilized egg that is boiled alive and seen as a taste treat that, as Art described, is loaded with all kinds of vitamins and minerals.  (If you dare… Take a look at a current article on CNN.com about this delicacy!  http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/05/travel/how-to-eat-balut/)

That vivid remembrance came to my mind as I considered tasting the “delicacies” of evil people.  With it I also thought of how I took the bait set out before me and “tasted” the “delicacies” of false accusations that certain people has tossed to me concerning my character and decision making abilities when it came to the care of my wife.  Instead of refusing to receive the hurt, I jumped in without thinking and found myself in a losing battle that may have tasted good when I responded in anger, but ended up being quite distasteful and upsetting to my spirit as well as to my natural man!

The King James Version says to “let me not eat of their dainties.”  The word translated “eat” literally means “to feed on, consume or to engage in battle.”  In my case, I found myself engaged in a battle that I could not win on their terms.  I’ve heard it said that when things like this come up that we should never try to engage them in a battle of words because they’ve had much more practice at it than we have!  It is a battle fought on their terms that we cannot win.  It is much more effective to immediately turn the battle over to the Lord and allow Him to change them and heal the hurt from the inside out!

Some delicacies take what they call an “acquired taste.”  I often wondered why people drank so much beer.  It always tasted very bitter to me, but then I’ve heard some say that like the enjoyment of fine wines, it is a taste that is acquired after a period of time.  I had one young man tell me when I temporarily worked on a production line at Hewlett Packard, that he “hated the taste of beer, but enjoyed the resulting buzz!”

That “buzz” was the thing that caused him many problems!  It is also the aftereffect of tasting the “delicacies” of evil that can cause us all kinds of problems in our natural and spiritual lives!  So what will it be?  Is the enjoyment of that “delicacy” really worth the troubles it holds for you and me?  Thank God that we have a loving heavenly Father that will always forgive us of our trespasses, but why push the envelope and go through the pain in the first place?  I am not saying that this is always easy, but in the long run it is the best path to take.  Next time you’re tempted to taste the “delicacies” of evil, just take a moment and think about that “Balut!”  I guarantee that you’ll quickly turn and run away from temptation!

Have a great day.  Stay in tune to God’s Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”

Loose Lips Sink Ships!

Have you ever given into the temptation to follow a rabbit trail?  Well, I must admit that I yielded to its enticement this morning!  I was studying along the lines of Ephesians 5:11 where we are told to “have no commerce with the works of darkness which are unfruitful, but reprove them.” (James Murdock)  As I meditated on this and the ensuing verses, I was led to take a look at the Proverb that instructs us to “Guard our heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23 God’s Word ©)  But since I couldn’t recall the exact verse, I did a word search on my bible study program using the word “guard” as my keyword.

Now stay with me here!  This is just about where the rabbit trail ensnared me.  Using my favorite God’s Word translation as my bible of choice, the search yielded 18 hits in the Wisdom books of the Old Testament.  As I perused down the list I was enticed when I came to Psalm 141:3 where it states: “O Lord, set a guard at my mouth.  Keep watch over the door of my lips.” Well, not only was I enticed… but I took the bait when I instantly thought, “Gee, I’ve experienced that many a time over the last few years!”

With a hop and a skip, I left the main path and went off on the narrow rabbit trail so I could ponder all that the Holy Spirit was trying to teach me with this powerful verse.  As I lazily plopped back into my chair, I glanced up to the ceiling but only saw the different times my inner man quickly stopped me from verbally uttering a word of despair, unbelief, self-pity or anger in a moment of weakness.  Then from out of the blue the saying advertised on wartime propaganda posters during WWII “Loose lips sinks ships” came to mind!  I had to chuckle at this thought and smile as I recognized how the good Lord has been watching over me.

It would seem that the Lord knows the importance and the inherent power of our words even more than we do!  I can now see how serious He was when He said that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21 KJV)  As I thought on this truth, I was drawn back to Proverbs 4:23 where we are told to guard our hearts and began to see the connection between this action and that of controlling what we say.  Then I understood the relationship between my initial path this morning that began with our loving heavenly Father’s insistence that we “have no commerce (or fellowship) with the works of darkness,” and the words that we allow to come forth from our mouths.  Hummm… maybe it wasn’t a rabbit trail after all!

I came across a website this morning called chasingrabbittrails.com whose purpose is “all about how to recognize rabbit trails, ways to avoid them and even how to use them productively.”  I guess that I learned how to use one productively today!

This whole study kind of goes hand-in-hand with our discussion of “Loose Cannons” that we talked about a few weeks back.  Only in this case, the cannon is pointed directly back to You and Me… in other words, the one speaking the words!  It is a self-inflicting wound that can have devastating results.

I am so thankful for the Lord’s intervention when I’ve wanted to say things that would not be helpful to my situation such as when I dropped a glass just before we were to sit down to dinner the other night.  It was the end of a particularly long day, I finally had everything prepared to eat and all I had to do was help my wife to the table when I grabbed a glass (from a new set I had just purchased…) off the counter in order to move it to a safer location when it slipped out of my hand, tumbled to the floor and broke into a million pieces!

As I stood there in a state of exhausted unbelief, my mind suddenly flooded with a myriad of negative words.  Now, I have never been one subject to cussing, but I was all ready to blurt out a whole bundle of words filled with discouragement, defeat and self-pity mixed with a few touches of anger when the Lord quickly commanded me to hold my tongue!  So what did I do?  I paused for a moment or two, squatted down to carefully pick up the larger pieces of jagged glass and began to praise the Lord.  In a short period of time I found that I actually began to laugh over the incident! 

The funniest part was the look on our dog’s face as she stared at me with her big brown eyes as wide as saucers.  When the glass first shattered I had told her to stay away from the mess and now she was just sitting and looking in a quandary as she couldn’t figure out what her crazy master was doing by laughing over the mess that was scattered all over the kitchen floor!

I think the enemy of our souls is just looking for opportunities to make us open up our mouths and without thinking about it, allow his defeat to enter into our lives!  By holding our words we have time to think about the consequences of our actions and then do  and say the right thing!  Interesting don’t you think?  Have you ever considered the power of your words?  Remember, the Lord tells us that they contain the very power of life and death,  of victory or failure.  Have you allowed the Lord to set a guard on your mouth?  Think about it… Have a good day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”

Getting Your Hands Dirty!

When I sat at my desk early this morning I was feeling a little amiss as to what the Lord wanted me to look at in His Word.  So after a moment or two of prayer, I turned back in my notes to yesterday’s chicken scratch.  Understanding came quickly as I noticed a notation at the bottom of the page.  I had drawn a pair of eyes next to the reminder to “See Ephesians 5:8-14 for tomorrow’s study!”

So with a grin of appreciation I turned in my bible to the suggested verses.  As I read about the advantages of living in the light of God and His Word, verse ten caught my attention saying: “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.” (KJV)  My immediate thought was that we need to do our part in order to reap these benefits.  The Good News Bible explains this by saying that we need to “Try to learn…,” James Murdock’s Syriac Translation tells us to “Search out…”

These instructions re-opened some thoughts in me concerning some things I should have probably done differently when my wife and I re-entered our lives after returning home from our three year Bible School experience in Oklahoma.  By the time we got back, I was ready for ministry action (or so I thought)!  But what I really didn’t understand is how different things now were in our old network of family, friends and church as well as in our personal lives.

We had been asked to return to our home church to take over the Children’s Ministry and I was all gung ho about it!  On our first Sunday back my wife and I spent about a half hour in the main service and then slipped out to take our first look at the Children’s ministry we would be re-inheriting.  On the next Sunday we took over leadership of the Kids classes. And now I can see how that was a big mistake on my part.

As I’m sure that I have mentioned before, I was literally shocked when I saw the condition of the Children’s ministry at the church when we returned.  You have to understand that this was the ministry that my wife and I started and painstakingly developed over a twelve year period pervious to this.  When we walked in on that first day the elementary rooms were in a mess.  My precious (and expensive) puppets were literally thrown in pile at the bottom of a cabinet (we had a special locking cabinet built to individually preserve and store them), the PA system was in a jumble of wires with microphones and other pieces of equipment laying around the floor, and sections of curriculum and other teaching materials were in rough stacks on various tables in the rooms.

But most alarming to me was the lack of interest and enthusiasm in the eyes of the few children in the class.  My heart was breaking at that point and I threw my all in to the rejuvenation process over the next few years.  When my wife’s health needs finally forced me to resign three years later, my one consolation was that I felt that we were able to leave behind an organized program, with a growing population of happy and enthusiastic students, parents that were interested and excited once again about what their children were doing in their services, and a small but established teacher/helper team and schedule.

The downside was that this was ALL I did at the church!  Today as I my eyes were opened by Ephesians 5:10, I began to realize that by throwing myself whole-heartedly into the Children’s Ministry, that I never got to really know the people in the congregation and that they never really had the opportunity to get to know my wife and I. 

When we returned I hadn’t realized how much the church congregation, overall environment and vision of the church had naturally changed under the direction of our new Pastors.  I guess I had expected everything to be the same as when we had left for Oklahoma.  Many of the parishioners that we had relationships with previous to our Bible School days had left the church and had been replaced with new church members we didn’t know.

In addition my life and priorities had drastically changed as well.  My wife’s declining health was my main focus and I no longer could spend the hours at the church during the week which had been the norm for me over the past years in ministry there.  Her needs dictated that we couldn’t stay very long after services or attend many of the extracurricular activities after services or during the week.  As time went on it became obvious to me that there was a dis-connect between us and the church.

As I look back now I can see why I felt that people didn’t really understand my wife and I, or what was best for her when it came to relating or ministering personally to her. Going back to Ephesians 5:10, I can see that I didn’t do my part!  If I could do it again, I would have given us more time before taking over the ministry.  I would have planned ahead and better and attempted to attend more of the church activities.  I would have given us and the church more opportunities to build relationships!

So why am I talking about all this?  Well, I believe that it is very easy for us, at times, to lay blame on everybody but ourselves when difficulties arise.  Many times though, the finger could probably point right back to us!  Ephesians 5:8-14 teaches us that if we want to know what pleases God and enjoy the benefits of being children of His light, then we’ve got to take responsibility for it!  We’ve got to “search” it out.  You and I have to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty!  It is another one of those action activities like faith and love that actually takes faith and love to pursue!

Are you big enough to take responsibility for you?  All it takes is a little confidence and a bunch of trust in the love, grace and faithfulness of God!  What do you think?  Give it a try and keep an ear out to His leading!  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”

 

Up Front and Personal

I was impressed this morning as I read from John 1:17 as to how upfront and personal the Lord Jesus Christ wants to be with us!  This verse tells us how “the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (KJV)  Another translation says that “grace and truth came to be through Jesus Christ.” (English Majority Text Version)  This statement says to me that the giving of the law in the Old Testament was a very impersonal act, while the ministry of grace and truth was hand delivered in the personage of Jesus.

When you think about it, this makes perfect sense, as the Jews were not born again and were not able to comprehend a personal relationship with God.  Under the new covenant and the sacrifice of Jesus, we are now afforded the ability to have our once dead spirits to be made alive again and live in a close personal relationship with our heavenly Father.

The more time we spend with Jesus and His Word, the more of His grace and truth we will gain!  Kind of simple isn’t it?  Then why don’t we do it?  I have always been good at spending the first part of my day with the Lord.  Like I have mentioned before, even when I had to leave the house at 2:30 in the morning to travel up to two hours to get to a Home Depot Store that my team was merchandizing, I still made sure that I was up early enough to get some Word-time!

But, I am not always as persistent to get into the Word during the late afternoon hours when I am usually beginning to feel the stress and strain of the day.  It is just too easy for me to find an excuse, or to be distracted by some other activity!  I am positive that some moments spent in the Word at this time of day would greatly relieve the stress more than any other action does.

So I guess it comes down to the question of how serious am I about having the grace and truth of God working in and through me?  Just how much do I desire to be used of Him?  How badly do I want the security and immovable confidence in the truth and favor of His promises to be my foundation when the difficulties of life seem to be taking center stage?  How upfront and personal do I want to be with Jesus?

These are some good questions!  One’s that I think we all have to answer…  Maybe today is the day, or the week to start that self-examination process.  Have a great week.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”

PS:  Good News!  It looks like there's going to be another wedding in our family this summer... Our youngest son just announced his engagement to his lovely fiancé yesterday!  Congratulations and Blessings to Jeremy and Aubrey!!!

True Friendship

Who am I that You are mindful of me

 That You hear me when I call

 Is it true that You are thinking of me

 How You love me it's amazing

 

(Chorus)

 I am a friend of God

 I am a friend of God

 I am a friend of God

 He calls me friend

 

God Almighty, Lord of Glory

 You have called me friend

 

(Repeat Chorus)

 

He calls me friend

 He calls me friend... ("I Am A Friend of God" by Israel Houghton)

 

I was immediately drawn back to the incredible statement Jesus made in John 15:15 this morning when I turned on my computer bible study program.  Here He clearly tells us that “I have called you friends.” (KJV)  Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible gives a more descriptive rendition of what Jesus wanted to convey to us by saying: “I have admitted you into a state of the most intimate fellowship with myself…”

Jesus was telling us that He desires our friendship with Him to be more than just a casual relationship.  I am sure that we all have people who we call friends, but don’t really spend much time with except for whatever the common thread is that drew us together be it work, the stores we shop in, the neighborhood we live in, or even at our church.  I was always a little miffed when I left one job I had after a 20 year stint with the company (downsizing!) and tried to contact one individual with whom I thought we had developed a close friendship as we worked together daily, had lunch together, attended company activities and had formed a good working relationship with.  After many attempts I finally was able to catch him at home but it was clear that he was not comfortable keeping the relationship going outside of the workplace. 

Yesterday I mentioned my hard lessons about true friendship that I have learned over the last few years.  I had openly shared some information concerning our finances and about some other decisions we felt the Lord was leading us in with certain family members.  As it turned out, this information was not held in confidence and came back to bite us as information was misconstrued to our children and other individuals who I would have preferred to not have known such information (even though what they were hearing was far from the truth!).

That’s clearly not the relationship that Jesus is telling us that He wants to have with us!  A true friend is someone you can feel free and safe to tell in the strictest of confidence without any thought of reprisal, judgment or retribution.  It is the type of close relationship where you expect to receive comfort, understanding, and encouragement.  You may not always agree with the other’s choices, but you still love and support them anyway!

It’s like the description of God’s agape love found in I Corinthians 13:4-8.  This is the one portion of scripture that I always like to read and explain to couples when we meet for the pre-marriage meetings when I have the honor of officiating at their weddings.  Another great scripture to understand is found in the Song of Solomon 5:16 when the spouse of the bridegroom tells of her husband’s good qualities and concludes by declaring “This is my beloved, and this is my friend…” (KJV)  She was stating that their relationship was not just built on physical feelings but was intertwined and bound with the oneness of an intimate, loving, and deep friendship.

I can attest to the truth of this statement in my relationship with my wife.  I have had many friends over the years, but none have I felt as free, confident and trusting enough to share EVERYTHING with as I have with my wife from practically the beginning of our relationship!  And that’s what Jesus is describing when He says that “I have called you friends!”

He further defined what He meant when He continued His thought adding “because I’ve made known to you EVERYTHING that I have heard from my father.” (John 15:15 God’s Word ©)  The word “known” in this verse is a derivative of the word “ginosko” which as used in Ephesians 3:19 in talking about intimately knowing the love of Christ, is the idiom that was the Jewish term used for sexual intercourse between a husband and wife.  In other words, it describes the very close, intimate relationship between two individuals as can be known only to a husband and wife who deeply love and respect each other.

That’s the kind of relationship, or friendship, which Jesus wants to enjoy with us!  You’ll notice also, that Jesus says that He shares EVERYTHING that He has heard from His Father with us!  Jesus loves and trusts us so much that He holds nothing back from us, and desires that we do the same with Him. 

So I would encourage you this weekend to think about your friendships with others, and especially your friendship with Jesus.  Do you feel that your relationship with Him is as close, as trusting and as loving as He wants it to be?  A relationship of that magnitude can only grow and get better and better as time goes on!  Have a great weekend.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What kind of friendship am I expecting to have with Him today?”