Friendship

 What creates a strong friendship? How do we know when someone is a true friend? Jesus demonstrated friendship in a variety of ways with many kinds of people. 

There is a [true, loving] friend who [is reliable and] sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24b (AMP)

Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.

Proverbs 18:24 (MSG)

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STUDY MATERIALS PURPOSE

The purpose of these study materials is to help, strengthen and educate the Persecuted Church around the world.

People have contacted us from very remote and persecuted areas of the world. These resources are not available to them and/or if they are seen with them they can be persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Some people can only look at these resources for a brief moment on their cell phones. This library is dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ and to those with fierce determination are following Him.

The books, media and information on this website are a library service and for educational purposes only. This is a lending library for the persecuted church around the world. Please look inside the back of each book or look up the authors name on the internet to obtain more information and more resources from these great ministries. Also, please financially support their ministries as they bring the good news of Jesus Christ to billions of people around the world.

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Jesus Is Your True Friend

Everyone needs a friend. We all need someone to "pal around" with, talk to, confide in, and just have fun with. Friends make us feel accepted, appreciated, loved and secure.

Have you ever been to a restaurant, sat at the table and had dinner with yourself? You feel like everyone in the restaurant is staring at you and thinking, "She must not have any friends." That may sound a bit extreme, but I know what that feeling is like.

When my daughters were in high school and busy with all the activities they were involved in, and Jerry was on the road travelling week after week, there were times when I felt so alone. I wanted to go out to eat, but who wants to go to a restaurant alone? I wanted to go out and do things, but who wants to go alone?

Shaking An Attitude Of Loneliness

There were times when I felt like the loneliest person in the world. And yes, many times I cried and complained to God about it, but there came a time when I had to realize, "God has a call on this family and we are instructed to carry it out - every one of us. God does not want me to feel alone while my husband is out preaching the Gospel."

I honestly had to shake myself and realize that I am not alone. I am never alone - not in the restaurant, not in the car, not at my house, never. I have Jesus Christ on the inside of me and He is with me at all times. He is my friend.

The word friend is defined as someone on terms of affection, regard for another, a companion, confidant. The wonderful thing about Jesus is that we can talk to him as long as we want - any time we want. We don't have to wait until he gets off work, or wakes up, or feeds the kids. He's there for us throughout the day. He is there for us through thick and thin, through the ups and downs, through it all!

He always has time to spend with you. He's your companion. He wants to hear your innermost thoughts and feelings. He's your confidant. He wants to build you up, give you advice and know what's going on in your life. And guess what? He won't go tell everyone what you said. He doesn't gossip! You can trust Him. Isn't that good news!

Lean On Him

I began to lean on that covenant of friendship that I have with Jesus and He began to fill that empty place in my life. I no longer felt alone or sad. I spoke with my best friend every day. We talked for hours. We communicated with each other and shared things with each other. I noticed that Jesus always fulfills His end of the deal. He was always there for me no matter what. But the real question is: am I always there for Him when He needs me?

What happens when I do have people around and I'm busy with things in my life, do I neglect my Friend? No, you continue to honor that friendship daily. You make time for each other. You sacrifice things so you can spend time together - just like you would for your close friend here on earth.

You cry together, laugh together, confide in each other and create memories together. You develop a long lasting friendship together - you go out of your way for one another.

It becomes an everlasting covenant of friendship. What is a covenant? It is defined as an agreement or a sealed contract. We have a sealed contract with Jesus that He will never leave us nor forsake us. We should never allow anything in our lives to take away our devotion towards Him.

A friend is someone you cherish, speak highly of, respect, honor and enjoy being around. Jesus is that friend to you and me. A healthy friendship is when the strengths of one over balance the weaknesses of the other. You draw on each other's strengths. When you're weak, lean on Jesus. He's got all the strength you need.

You may be thinking, "OK, Jesus is my friend, but I still need friends here on earth." Yes, you do. But once you develop that intimate friendship with Jesus, you won't feel lonely, insecure or sad - you'll be comforted by the Holy Spirit, you'll be fulfilled every day of your life, and in turn, God will send friends into your life for you to enjoy.

Jesus needs you as much as you need Him. Don't neglect the most important Friend in your life. He's always here for you - you can count on it!

Closer Than A Brother

"And it came to pass...that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.... Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul" (1 Sam. 18:1,3).

What a wonderful example of a friend's love and loyalty! Jonathan's own father, King Saul, was trying to kill David who had been anointed to take Saul's place as King of Israel.

But Jonathan remained devoted to his friend, David, even though it meant giving up his own legal right to his father's throne. Jonathan's friendship and undying loyalty to David saved David's life and prepared the way for him to take his rightful place as God's chosen king for God's people.

Too many people in the world today know little about the kind of steadfast loyalty and love Jonathan showed to his beloved friend, David. They know even less about the unconditional love of God - the kind of love that abides and endures through changing times and the stormy winds of adversity and uncertainty.

People everywhere long for relationships motivated by such a love. And in the midst of the chaos and unpredictability of the world today, God has made a way through Jesus Christ for each of us to have that kind of a relationship with God Himself!

Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Jesus initiated the greatest friendship man could ever know when He willingly came to the earth and laid down His life to redeem every person from sin and from the clutches of Satan. Jesus' act of unconditional love proved once and for all His commitment to befriend man.

The Bible says Jesus is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24) and that in Christ, nothing can separate us from His great love (Rom. 8:39). There is no safer place to find a refuge of peace, rest, and tranquility in the midst of life's storms than with Jesus, your Beloved Friend.

You can begin this relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting Him as your Savior and Lord. And you can continually enjoy communion and fellowship with Him by desiring His matchless companionship and by drawing near to Him through His Word.

To know Jesus better is to trust Him more. The more you know about Jesus and His love for you, the more you will come to rely on His faithfulness and embrace Him as your Beloved Friend.

The Friendship of Jesus

Written by Dwight Thompson

Jesus is a friend who walks in when the world has walked out.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

Although the North American Indians had no written alphabet before they met the white man, their language was anything but primitive. The vocabulary of many Indian nations was as large as that of the French and English explorers, and often far more eloquent. Compare the coldness of "friend" with "one-who-carries-my-sorrows-on-his-back." - United Church Observer

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