GOD’S FRIENDS

 


“The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people.”
 
1 Samuel 13:14
 
“You have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.”
 
1 Kings 14:8
 

 
 
COMMENTS:   Jesus declared the disciples to be His friend (John 15:14-15) while including the cost as well as the benefits of that friendship for both them and for Himself.  They didn’t understand or grasp what He was telling them nor what the cost of that friendship would be for Him first and for them later, but as they began to grasp His Words, they began to embrace that friendship and the cost of that friendship, the cost to Him but also embrace the cost to each of them. Below are some verses supporting this truth.  God is passionate about His relationship with each of us, a relationship that includes a deep genuine friendship that resembles a parent child – a close friend – a husband and wife – a Creator and creation relationship.  Our relationship with Him has many facets and we would do well to explore and seek all facets of our relationship with Him too.  He is our best friend but far more.  He is our God and Creator and sustainer but even more. He is our Father and Counselor and Protector but even more.
James 2:23 
And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
John 15:15 
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:14 
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
John 15:13 
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Do you have a current “best friend”? Reflect back on best friends of the past as well as current one.  To sustain a friendship from childhood to adulthood and beyond is a special and rare blessing.  Usually friendships die due to betrayal or negligence due to distractions, other priorities, or distance, or change in each’s interests and priorities.
Friendships take work and time to sustain by both.  The cost of sustaining friendships is significant but well worth it.  That is true of human friendships but especially true of our relationship with God.  We only have our love and devotion to give God but that is all we have to give.  He has so much more to give, and wants to give to each of us, but we need to accept Him and His Love and Grace.
Joni Eareckson shared a story about Mary Lance who asked God to introduce her to His best friends.  She wanted to meet believers who rested on God’s favor and had hearts and minds bent on pleasing Him.
As He allowed her to cross paths with some, she gained insight and wisdom on changes God made in their lives and how they opened themselves to give and received from Him.  She also discovered the joy they gained but also began realizing the joy God gained from them.
She wasn’t disappointed and gained many genuine friendships herself with many of those God brought to her.
She also discovered suffering and pain was included in their experience but not a damper on their joy and confident faith and hope in Christ. Suffering only served to make them stronger and wiser and more giving.
 
She discovered people who’s lives were deep, their joy fervent, energetic and filled with purpose, but rooted in peace and confident.
Mary also discovered the importance of “Waiting on the Lord”
Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Mary also shared that suffering many of  them endured demonstrated , like Job,
“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15).

God shows no favoritism. The Gospel is open to all. But I believe that God reserves special affection for certain people–David was one, a man who sought after God’s heart.

So, are you  ready to ask God to introduce you to some of His best friends too?  How about us, like Mary Lance, ask Him to introduce us to His “Best Friends” too and see what  wonderful examples and friendships we discover? AMEN?  AMEN!
“I would love to know your best friends, Lord. Would you introduce me to them?”
THE MOST WONDERFUL TRUTH IS “JESUS WANTS TO BE YOUR BEST FRIEND.  YOU DON’T NEED TO SHARE HIM WITH OTHERS, FOR AS GOD WE DON’T NEED TO WAIT OUR TURN.   HE IS TO EACH ONE  WHO ACCEPTS HIS FRIENDSHIP AS THOUGH HE IS BEST FRIEND ONLY FOR THEM FOR HIS POWER AND ABILITIES ARE WITHOUT LIMIT. THERE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH OF HIM TO GO AROUND!

Published by donsdevotions

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Don McDaniel - Who am I? Hello everyone and welcome to my devotional journal blog. In order to get acquainted and help you get to know me a bit better before considering following my blog, let me give you some background. I am a 74-year-old male and a retired engineer. I worked for a major supplier of underground mining equipment for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2012. Arlene and I have been happily married since April 1978 and have two grown – married children, one granddaughter and 2 step grandsons. I joined the local United Methodist church at age 12 after accepting Christ as my Savior at age 10 during revival services in that same church in 1961, so I have been a “Born Again” Christian all my teen years and adult life. Christ has helped and guided me all that time. He guided me in choosing my wife and life’s career. My life journey has included regrets and failures, but God has picked me up and protected and spared me from life threatening consequences and dangers more times than I can recall or count. But many I do recall and encourage and motivate me to trust and follow Christ with more passion than ever. Christmas 2011 our daughter gave Arlene and I each a devotional journal. Journals were books with devotion for each day and space to give personal impressions and thoughts related to each devotion. Her desire was to have a lasting legacy she could refer back to and share with her children and grandchildren especially after we are gone. I was touched by that gesture. My parents and Arlene’s were devout Christians, so we would have greatly treasured having that from them, so we felt a sense of urgency to honor her request. I finished my journal first and returned it to our daughter the following Christmas. I’m glad I did it then because Parkinson’s has caused my hand writing to deteriorate since then. The exercise was such a blessing for me. Discipline of keeping journal helped me gain a deeper walk with Christ and greater discipline in honoring my time of prayer and devotion with Him each day. So, I decided to continue the practice but since I could not find a paper journal I liked, I decided to create my own. I had already been receiving electronic devotions by email every day from several sources, my favorite being “Turning Point” from Dr. David Jeremiah. What I decided to do was to include devotional scripture but add my own thoughts and comments only so there would be no issue of copyright infringement. Creating and maintaining journal by computer also addressed my deteriorating handwriting ability. I started an electronic devotion journal January 1, 2013 and have been faithful to that practice every day since. I prayed about method and level of distribution. My initial intent was to only share it with my two children by email, but quickly discovered others in my family, my church, and friends from work (both retired and still working) who knew me and wanted to be included in distribution when they learned what I was doing. I now distribute by email my daily journal at the beginning of each month to over 150 friends and relatives. God has richly blessed and encouraged me. I am concerned with the state of our church and nation, and world for that matter, believing we are living in the end times the prophets of old and Christ have talked about in scripture, so time is short. I desire to be true to my Savior and a witness to help others come to a saving knowledge of Him and equipped to share His Good News too. If my journal can encourage and help others, I believe God wants me to share it. I struggled, for a time at first, because I know many others keep similar journals but only for their own edification and do not want to share them because they are private. However, Christ has stirred my heart to share it as a witness tool. Our son and daughter have a long-time friend who grew up with them who we also befriended nearly 25 years ago. He had a lot of family problems, so would gravitate to our family as a refuge and eventually thought of us as his adopted parents and he as our adopted son. We lost contact with him for some time when he grew up and left home. He traveled around the U.S. and eventually ended up in Ukraine where he resided for next 10 years. He had to return to the US to renew his visa and took opportunity to recommend I begin a blog of my devotions and helped me set it up. He is also an active blogger and has been an email subscriber to my journal for several months, so he has been suggesting I expand my distribution by starting a blog to get broader exposure. After reflection and prayer, I concluded God was in this, so he is helping me set up my blog site. This brief autobiography is my first entry. He returned to Ukraine, then resided there until circumstanced made him decide to move back to US with his young son. This biography was my first post February 29, 2016 . I have published 600 posts from 2016-2023 automatically sent to all my Facebook friends, published on WordPress to be accessible to anyone curious or seeking a deeper walk with God. I decided to take a sebatical to prepare for a new chapter. In 2014 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease which affects patient ability to walk, drive, do physical work, and eventually talk. By mid 2023 it became evident our home for last 42 years (previously owned by my parents for previous 44 years and by my mother's grandparents for 39 years before that) would eventually not meet my needs so we decided to sell it and move into 1st floor of a duplex we also owned that was the town school from 1855-1913. Likewise, the property was requiring more maintenance that I was no longer able to keep up with. 2023 involved selling our home and moving into apartment next door and then in early 2025 an opportunity to move closer to our daughter and granddaughter in Kentucky which was completed in May 2025. For a number of months I have been seeking direction seeking God's direction and timing to return to blogging as my journey with Parkinson's continues to unfold with God's guiding hand in mine. I hope and pray my devotions will continue to be a blessing for you. God certainly has become closer and more real to me since started this blog in 2016. I have spent time with Him studying scripture and praying and listening and writing this journal. I will continue seeking God’s help and will welcome your input to make this site as meaningful as I can and true to God, who is motivating me to create and maintain it. I will also welcome input in order to make format more meaningful going forward. Don & Arlene McDaniel In His Service, Email: mcdanieldonald769@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Don1951 If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 600+ blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present (https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/link-to-dons-devotional-journal-entries-2013/ ) You may also access my Facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/ Many thanks to a pastor and dear brother in Christ in Nepal who set up the above Facebook page to help and encourage and give opportunity for more to explore and use my devotional blog materials.

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