The Miracle of Becoming a Family of Believers
We sat there laughing together, sharing faith moments, and enjoying a sister’s prepared dinner & dessert. What drew us to our sister’s back porch: Numerous Reasons but primarily our LOVE & our FRIENDSHIP.
Jesus Speaks to His disciples these words—
“This is My commandment,
(The Gospel According to John 15: 12-17 NASB)
that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this,
that one lay down his life for his friends.
You are My friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you slaves,
for the slave does not know what his master is doing,
but I have called you friends,
for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
You did not choose Me but I chose you,
and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit,
and that your fruit would remain,
so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
This I command you,
that you love one another.”
As we sat at the table enjoying the fare of a grilled chicken & fruit salad, I noticed the four individuals who were sitting there with me & beside me at the table.
- Two were my biological sisters and my sisters-in-Christ
- One was a cousin and my sister-in-Christ &
- The fourth was my brother-in-law and my brother-in-Christ
We were gathered together for the specific reason of planning our upcoming family reunion. One precious member (a biological sister & sister-in-Christ) was missing from our gathering. We ate a meal together, we enjoyed conversation together, we made plans together, we shared prayer concerns together, we spoke of God’s amazing protection, we laughed together, we hugged before we left, and we knew beyond a shadow of doubt that even if this were our last day on earth—BECAUSE OF JESUS, WE WOULD SEE EACH OTHER IN HEAVEN!
Truly The Miracle of Becoming a Family of Believers overwhelms me!
This morning, as I enjoy time spent within God’s Word, I find myself reflecting upon the ‘family of friendship’ we who believe enjoy with our Savior Jesus. Please pause with me and let us take this truth deep within our beings.
“You are My friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing,
but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
No longer slaves to sin but now friends to our Savior Jesus!
As we allow the words of our FRIEND saturate our heart, mind, and soul, let us ask ourselves these important questions:
- Do we only look to God for His power?
- Do we have a real interest in the Person of Jesus?
- What makes the church (the body of Christ) distinct from the world of unbelievers?
We can look at a passage in the Old Testament that gives us guidance to these questions.
“And He said,
(Exodus 33: 14 NASB)
“My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”
When we read the context of this verse, when the LORD was speaking to Moses, we understand how Moses is having a very intimate conversation with GOD. The children of Israel had been led by God out of Egypt where they had endured decades of bondage. These same children had received—the LORD’S TEN COMMANDMENTS, but then they lived in disobedience to God through their actions and words. This conversation between God’s Man of the Hour (Moses) and the LORD comes after one of their acts of disobedience and before the time when the LORD replaces the two tablets of the LORD’S TEN COMMANDMENTS.
I find it so compelling that the LORD emphatically states: “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Clearly, it was GOD’S promise to lead His people to the place HE prepared for them.
Hum. Isn’t this the SAME PROMISE GOD GIVES TO HIS PEOPLE TODAY? !!!
- It is God who goes with us through His Spirit.
- It is God who calls us to bear fruit.
- It is God who gives us His rest.
- It is God who calls us to testify to the lost world of unbelievers.
- It is God who gives us brothers and sisters-in-Christ to walk along with as we journey through life. &
- It is also Jehovah God who gives us His Only Son Jesus.
For the weakness of those alive today—those who deny the Truth found in Jesus—is REAL.
- God calls us to persevere & to serve Him in like-mindedness.
- God commands us to love, just as He loves us.
- God commands us to lay aside our lives for others BECAUSE JESUS CALLS US HIS FRIENDS!
Let this fact sink in deep.
- WE ARE THE FRIENDS OF JESUS!
- WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD!
- WE HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN & COVERED BY THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS!
JESUS TELLS US WE ARE AN HEIR WITH HIM!
Truly The Miracle of Becoming a Family of Believers overwhelms us!
THUS, AS A FRIEND OF JESUS, WE MUST—
- SPEAK AS JESUS SPOKE.
- LIVE AS JESUS LIVED.
- SERVE AS JESUS SERVED.
- LOVE OTHERS AS JESUS LOVED.
- LOOK (to the unbeliever) AS JESUS LOOKED—CARING, COMPASSIONATE, LOVING.
Let us look to the Bible to read the truth—
“Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 15: 5-6 NASB)
grant you to be of the same mind
with one another according to Christ Jesus,
so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Spiritual siblings were not just found in the early church but are still a reality today. That was so apparent last night as we enjoyed our time together, my brother & sisters-in-Christ and me. Each day (including today) we are given 1,400 minutes to LIVE FOR JESUS!
Do not miss this wonderful fact: OUR LORD SURROUNDS US—WITH A FAMILY OF BELIEVERS—AS WE DO!
“Therefore, being always of good courage,
(The Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 5: 6-9 NASB)
and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord
—for we walk by faith, not by sight—
we are of good courage, I say,
and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
Therefore we must have as our ambition,
whether at home or absent,
[whether in heaven or still living on earth]
to be pleasing to Him.”