We take for granted the fact that Jesus loves us. We don't take advantage of it, maybe, but He is the best friend you have ever had or will have in your life. As we look at our lives we can probably count on one hand the number of true friends we have had. Friends that would have your back, friends that would be there when you needed help moving. Friends that would put up with you no matter what kind of mood you were in or how much you were feeling sorry for yourself. But Jesus is there all of the time. He is there when you get up in the morning and He's there when you go to bed at night. He always wants to be close to you.
Proverbs 18:24 There are "friends" who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
There really are friends that destroy. (Psalm 41:9) Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me. Most of us have had friends like this and it almost destroyed our lives but thank God for what a true friend He is. (Psalm 65:4) What joy for those You choose to bring near, those who live in Your holy courts. What festivities await us inside Your holy Temple. What Joy! What a joy it is to know God chose you and me as a close friend. Someone not just to hang with, a friend not just to be there when you need one. But a friend, a real friend, that sticks closer than a brother. I never had a brother. I had one sister that I always fought with, never got along with or any other kind of close relationship, I thought anyway. But when she got married and moved out, I realized just how much she meant to my life. I missed her, I wanted to be around her and be in her life. She got me out of trouble more times than I could ever know. She was my hero. And since we have gotten older and miles apart, that relationship has dwindled to an occasional phone call or a hello on Facebook. Is this what happens to our relationship with Jesus?
James 4:8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you.
Here is what God desires. Closeness! Closeness to the maker and creator of all things. Closeness to the one who gave His life on Calvary. Get an idea of that. The one who hung the sun, the moon and the stars, the one set the planets in order, the one who formed man out of dust and breathed life into him, wants to be close to you. (Genesis 5:22) After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. (23) Enoch lived 365 years, (24) walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him. God took him where? To be closer to Him. This is the kind of relationship God wants with all of us. This is how close He desires to be with you and with me. I know, someday, we will all be in heaven and get to be close with Him. Why wait? He wants you close now. Just as close as Enoch was. Just as close as Elijah was, or David. Why don't we want that closeness? (Matthew 23:37) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let Me. He is constantly wanting to get close to you. He tries and tries and tries, but we say no. Why? Are we so vain not to get close or are we afraid to get close because of past human relationships and being hurt. We all should know and understand He will not hurt you. Listening to an old, great song right now. “He touched me”. Oh how He wants to touch us and tell us how much He truly loves us. And Oh how much He wants to hear it from you.
I do not know where you are in your walk with God, nor do I want to. You need to know where you are in your walk with Him. You need Jesus. Jesus wants to give you rest. The only true rest is in Christ. The only true peace is in Christ. The only true life is in Christ. (John 17:21) I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one, as You are in Me, Father, and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me. (22) "I have given them the glory You gave Me, so they may be one as We are one. (23) I am in them and You are in Me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent Me and that You love them as much as You love Me. (24) Father, I want these whom You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they can see all the glory You gave Me because You loved Me even before the world began! This is what Jesus prayed for You! ONE! He wants us One. He wants us to love him as much as He loves us and us to love each other the same way. And He will do anything in His power to accomplish this. The question is, will you put forth the effort to have this oneness, this unity, with Him?
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