Friends of God

“You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:14

What would it take to be a friend of God? Abraham was called the friend of God, James 2:23. We know that Abraham had faith in God; he trusted God with his life. Abraham obeyed God’s command and pleased Him, Hebrews 11:6.

Jesus told His disciples that if they did what He commanded, they would prove their friendship to Him. We cannot say that we love Jesus and not do what He says, Luke 6:46.

Jesus proved His friendship by dying for us in order to save us from sin. In the verse before our memory verse, John 15:13, Jesus said that the greatest love anyone could show would be to die for his friends. Jesus showed us that He is the greatest friend we will ever have by sacrificing Himself to save us.

Knowing His love for us, and that He showed His love for us before He demanded obedience, how can we not obey Him? He wants us to be safe in this world and saved eternally. If we follow His commandments we will enjoy a wonderful life on this earth and a home in heaven. Jesus is our friend; let us show him we are His friends.

There Will Be A Judgment Day

“…it is appointed for men to die once but after this comes the judgment” Hebrews 9:27

We do not like to think of death often but it is a fact that we will all die someday. Some die when they are young, some when they are old, but all will die.

While we live we should enjoy life and do the things that bring us joy. However, we must remember that God will judge us for the things we say and do (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10; Matthew 12:36). When we sin we must ask God to forgive us and give us strength and wisdom when tempted.

For God’s children death is not the end of life but the beginning of a never ending life with God. We should do nothing that would cause us to die, but when death comes, God’s child can know that God will be waiting for them.

The Hebrew writer says that death is an appointment. If you have an appointment with a doctor, you have a time reserved when you can see the doctor. We do not know when we will die but when that time comes, we must be ready to meet God because we will stand before Him and He will judge us. We will not be able to change or ignore that appointment but we can obey Him so that when we do meet Him, He will say, “Well done, enter into the joy of your Lord.”

God Will Not Forsake You

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

We learn from this passage to have confidence that God will always be with us. When I was little, I would get scared when a loud thunderstorm came through at night. However, I always prayed to God because I knew that He would hear me. Even if the storm was bad enough to kill me, I knew God would take me to His home where no storms and nothing bad would ever hurt me.

God loves His children and will never leave them. Though we may have to face bullies in school, sadness and disappointment when something does not happen the way we wanted, or loneliness, God is always there with us to give us strength and to listen as we open our hearts to Him in prayer.

When we pray, we should tell God all of the things that we are happy and sad about. We should ask Him to help us with problems and to help other people do what is right. God wants us to talk with Him and to share our feelings with Him. God can help us, and He is always ready to listen.

A favorite story of mine is in 2 Kings 6:15-17. The king of Syria was mad because every time he took his army to fight Israel, the king of Israel would move his army away before they arrived. The king of Syria thought someone in his army was telling the king of Israel where he was going to attack. One of the Syrians told the king that it was
Elisha, the prophet, who warned Israel.

The king of Syria went by night and surrounded the city where Elisha was staying. The next morning, Elisha’s servant woke up and saw the Syrian army all around the city. He was very scared. He asked Elisha what they should do. Elisha was not scared.

Elisha said, “Fear not, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and God allowed Elisha’s servant to see the great army of God, full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha. Although Elisha’s servant did not see God’s army before, it was there.

Like Elisha’s servant, we cannot see God or know for sure what He is doing, but we have His promise that He will never, ever leave us or turn His back on us. God does not lie so we can trust that He is always with us, helping us.

We Will Reap What We Sow

Galatians 6:7

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

What does this verse mean? Paul is comparing our lives to a farmer who is sowing seed. If the farmer plants green bean seeds, green beans will grow. If he plants corn, corn will grow. We are not sowing seeds to grow food, we are sowing our works. If we do bad things, we will get eternal punishment but if we do good things, we will get eternal life with God.

Paul says in verse 7 that we cannot trick God. He knows what we are doing and why we are doing it. When we stand before Him in judgment, He will either be pleased with us or unhappy with our life (see also Romans 2:1-11). Let us live good lives so the Lord will be pleased with us.

Paul says to not grow tired, or weary, while doing what is good since we will have an eternal home in heaven with God. Sometimes it is not easy to do what is right. Sometimes we would rather not do something God wants us to do so we can do something we want to do. If our friends want us to go see a movie on Sunday night, should we miss church services so we can go to the movie? Of course not.

We must be busy doing God’s things first. Some people want to do bad things then hope that they won’t be punished. If they repent, God will forgive them. However, even if the sin is forgiven, sometimes they will have to suffer problems as a result of sin. So be careful what you do and say, for we will reap what we sow!

You Can Tell Others About Jesus!

Even young people can tell others about Jesus. When people ask you to do or say something wrong tell them no and that Jesus has taught you how to act. Then tell them about Jesus and how He wants what is best for us and wants us to go to heaven. Some people do not have parents who take them to church or tell them about Jesus so be sure to teach them with a kind heart. Never act like you are better than them because your parents have taught you well. Be thankful for good parents.

You can be a good example to others with proper manners, kindness, and being more concerned about others than getting what you want. This is the way Jesus lived and so should we.

Another way to tell people about Jesus is to invite them to Bible classes, church services, and gospel meetings. I knew of some adults that attended because a child in their neighborhood or school invited them!