April 8, 2021 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John

Is Jesus Still Your Friend?

(Or Has He Become Your Enemy?)

It is sad to think that we lose friendships over time. Things change; we change and before we realize it, our closest friends are no longer as close as they use to be. In fact, too many of our once close friends become a distant memory instead of that close loving and dependable friend. The same happens with our relationship with God.

Too many of us allow our friendship with Jesus to fade. Too often in so many of us, our relationship with Jesus is not as strong as it was just a few years ago. The Bible warns us of such a ‘spiritual trend’ that will take place in the Body of Christ and our religious institutions in the last days. It is a trend that has direr effects for everyone that is a Christian and every minister in the Body of Christ.

I love Jesus; He means everything to me, but it is His friendship that I enjoy the most. I count on His friendship, and it is within this friendship that I find love, peace, hope, and purpose. When Jesus seems far away, it is as if a divide has come between Him and me; I feel lost and out of place. I try running to him and finding how I can become close to Him once again.

Our personal relationships are just as important, we must work on our friendships in order to keep those relationships working, vibrant, healthy with the quality of spontaneity. Want friends, one must be friendly. Whenever I visit with a friend I have not seen lately, we start off our conversation where we left it the last time we met. True friends have empathy for each other, they share their feelings and hopes and have learned to forgive, offer redemption to each other while learning to love and depending on that loving friendship.

Jesus stated during His crucifixion that He was not alone (His Father was with Him) even though everyone had forsaken Him during His time of persecution and death. I wonder how many times our friends left us when things got ruff and turned for the worse. A true friend sticks closer than a brother, the Bible says. Do you have any friends like that? Is Jesus this kind of friend?

We are in the last days, and what is coming scares me at times. I am not worried about the circumstances that will soon be upon us, but it is my relationship with Jesus that I am most concerned about. If I feel His love and the touch of His hand, then I know all is OK because it is His love that makes all things good. I know He is my friend!

Can Jesus become my enemy, you bet He can! Just read the Book of Revelation, when He warns the seven Churches to get themselves in line with His commands or He will remove their candlestick, blot their names out of the Book of Life, and say to them, “I never knew you.” That will be a sad day—when Jesus becomes your enemy.

Let’s all be a friend to the One who is our true friend. Let’s keep on working on our friendship with Jesus, not just depending on our trust or love or our giving to Him. We must be His friend and not forsake Him when He comes to judge this world with His wrath. If you or I lose our friendship with Jesus, we must do whatever it takes to establish our friendship with Him. If we do this, we will hear Him say, “ Hi there friend, where have you been? I have missed you; let’s take a walk together.”

A timely historical note: Today marks a very important day for Jews and Christians alike. It is Yom HaShoah, Israel’s Holocaust remembrance day, which now marks the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz…a day which must never be forgotten! Today be a friend to Jews; they are Jesus’s kids too.

WWJWMTD

What would Jesus want me to do?

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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