Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from Alan Jackson singing … What A Friend We Have In Jesus … poignantly singing of how we have Jesus’ eternal friendship as One who died for us to show us that loyalty.
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Highlight Verse[s]: 1Samuel 8:3 [NKJV] ... 3 And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself.
… Jonathan was willing to die for David, which showed the extent of the covenant friendship between the two young friends.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1 Samuel 18:1-4, 19:1-6 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Jonathan’s friendship with David is one of the best biblical examples of a true friendship.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 17:17 [NLT] … 17 A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.
… A real friend is ALWAYS there when the other needs him/her.
Reference Passage : … Matthew 28:20 [NLT] … 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
… Jesus declares His undying and eternal loyalty to His FRIENDS, i.e., those who obey and follow Him to the end.
Reference Passage : … John 15: 13-15 [NLT] … 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
… Jesus defines the essence of friendship and declared His dying friendship with His disciples (and yes, that’s us if truly see Him as Lord).
Reference Passage : … 1John 2:1 NLT] … 1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.
… Even in our sinful nature as Christians, we have a TRUE FRIEND in Jesus, who will plead our case before God, the Father.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Alyson Kieda, uses a personal story about high school friends to illustrate how rare it is to have REAL friendships to rely on in life, pointing to the absolutely true friend we have in Jesus. … The ODB author wrote: In high school, I had a “sometimes friend.” We were “buddies” at our church, and we occasionally hung out together outside of school. But at school, it was a different story. If she met me by herself, she might say hello; but only if no one else was around. Realizing this, I rarely tried to gain her attention within school walls. I knew the limits of our friendship.
We’ve probably all experienced the pain of disappointingly one-sided or narrow friendships. But there’s another kind of friendship—one that extends beyond all boundaries. It’s the kind of friendship we have with kindred spirits who are committed to sharing life’s journey with us.
That’s the kind of friendship we read about in the relationship between Jonathan, Saul’s son, and David in the highlight passages. And it’s the kind of friendship Jesus showed to His disciples as He washed their feet in John 15, declaring that a real friend was one who was willing to die for his/her beloved friend [see verses 13-15].
And Jesus certainly showed that friendship for me (and for you), didn’t He, … taking His friendship for those who believe in Him as Lord to the cross and shading His blood to cover my (our) sins? And it’s just as Alan Jackson sings in the linked song, … “What A Friend We Have In Jesus!”
I pray all reading here have at least one real - fellow human - friend, … our like Jesus is for those of us who would live for Him. I do, … I married her!!
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for You for being my friend.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to be willing to be a living - Romans 12:1 - sacrifice for our Friend, Jesus. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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