Monday, May 9, 2011

Ride For Haiti, part 2, Day 8, Devotion


Ride For Haiti, part 2
Day  8
May 8, 2011
Devotion

John 15:14-17  “You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves.  Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.  You didn’t choose me.  I chose you.  I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that  the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.  This is my commandment:  Love each other.”

These are the words  of Jesus to His disciples before He left them to return to His Father in heaven.  What I understand Jesus to be  saying is that the relationship we  share with Him is one of deep and abiding friendship.  And, what Jesus wants us His disciples to share  with each other is deep abiding friendship where love is shared.   Jesus knows that there are great challenges before His disciples.  What will sustain them, empower  them and make them successful is the relationship of friendship that they share with Him and each other.  Lose the friendship with Jesus and each other and all else will be lost.  That is serious.  As I am on this  bike  ride away from church and family there are all kinds of important issues swirling around  at home and at the church.  Normally I  would be engaged personally with most of them.  But  now I am away.  The peace and hope  that I cling to is the friendship I have with Jesus Christ, the  friendship I share with each of my family members and our church leaders, and the  friendship I know  exists between my family members and between church leaders.  With these friendships in place Christ  can  work  in and among us and bring about His  goodness.

Prayer:  Thank you Jesus that you call me friend.  Please help me to be a Christ filled friend to my family, friends and church community.  Amen.

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