Jesus is a friend

Exodus 33:11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend.

John 15:13-15 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My
Father I have made known to you.
In church, one of the songs we sing is "What a friend we have in Jesus".  We sing to the Lord of our relationship with Him and our love for Him.  Do we, however, really listen to the words we are singing? 
         
The words are a sweet promise of comfort and support in times of difficulty.  The song is a reminder that we are no longer servants but friends to the One who created the universe and us.  The words should remind of us that we don't take advantage of the privilege of running to our Friend when we want to cry or celebrate or just have an ear to listen. 
           
The masters or bosses of this day and age don't usually have time to hear our heart's cry or to really help us to deal with day by day issues and needs.  Our bosses are not always the best advisers about issues unrelated to our jobs.  They don't always have a Christian point of view and tend to lean toward a world view of getting ahead despite who we have to step on to get where they want us to be.   Our friend Jesus is the One Who is always there.  His voice mail is never full or turned off.  His advise column is always available to address the current issues.  His words of wisdom are the ones that lean toward an eternal solution for our current problems.  We don't need to worry that our Friend is on vacation or out to lunch. 
     
He chose us, we did not first choose Him.  He has seen in us something that makes Him run to us with joy.  He offers us wisdom and does not get impatient with us when we are slow to catch on to what He is telling us.  He keeps us updated in current events that were foretold many centuries ago.  He warns us of perilous times that are coming and gives us directions on how to ride out the times.
     
We are truly blessed to have a friend such as Jesus.  There is none like Him.  He has been and always will be there for us.  We can not ask for a closer or more committed friend than the One Who died for us.
     
A foreshadow of a true friendship was David and Jonathan.  Their love for each other is just a shadow of how Jesus feels about us.  We are His and He is ours.  He has given the ultimate sacrifice of His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, He died for us.  He knows our failures and our victories.  He loves us just as we are and has such a wonderful plan for our future.
     
Celebrate friendship and offer to your best Friend a gift of love and worship.  He is waiting for a time of communion and private conversation with His friends, you and me.

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