What a friend we have in Jesus all our sins and grieves to bear
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer
Oh what peace we often forfeit of what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer
Have we trials and temptations is there trouble anywhere
If we have don’t be discouraged take it to the Lord in prayer
Hymn – What a friend we have in Jesus

Revelation 21:4 (NASB) 
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Isaiah 53:3a (NASB) 
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

Last Friday, we lost a wonderful friend and member of our family – our dog Riley.  He came to us as a rescue when he was 10 months old and was 12 years old when he died.  It was sudden and unexpected.  Many tears have been shed and I know many more will follow.  A sadness has fallen on me that I didn’t expect.

Since sleep doesn’t come easy, my wife and I spent the wee hours of the night last night talking about him.  I recalled the verse in Isaiah above.  Jesus knew sorrow and he knew grief.  The pain we feel is just a shadow of the grief that Jesus endured for us.

There is so much pain and sorrow in this world, even with all the joys that we have in our lives.  But we have a Savior that will one day take away all of those tears.  Death will no longer exist and there will no longer be any pain.

What a friend we have in Jesus!

Heavenly Father, I bring our sorrow to you in prayer.  I praise You for creating the pets that we can enjoy.  I thank you for the joy we have had.  I even thank you for the grief that we are going through because it gives us a taste of what Jesus went through for us.  Holy Spirit, I ask for comfort.  I pray this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Romans 3:23-24 (NASB) 
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Christianity is unique in all of the world’s religions, in that our salvation is not dependent on anything we do, but salvation is only possible by the sacrifice of Jesus and the grace that God has ordained for us.

I was meditating on the verse above.  Only Christianity has the doctrine of justification.  When we repent and accept Christ as Lord and Savior, we are declared right with God, even though our sin nature is still present.  Salvation with all other religions depend on what we do, never knowing if what we do is enough.    Salvation as a Christian depends only on what Christ has already done for us, giving us confidence in our relationship with God.

What an amazing gift from Jesus!  Rather than using the gift as an excuse to sin more knowing we are saved, the gift draws us into worship and repentance.  

Heavenly Father, praises to you for the gift of the gospel, the justification that you have provided to us through the sacrifice of Jesus.  Your plan is perfect and always better than anything that we can imagine.  This gift makes me want to worship you more each day.  I pray that your Holy Spirit will help me do that.  I pray this in the name of Jesus.  Amen. 

Always praying fort the glory of God,

Luke 6:27-28 (NASB) 
27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Job 31:29-30(NASB) 
29 “Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy,
Or exulted when evil befell him?
30 “No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in a curse.

Jesus calls us to do things that seem to be really tough.  Love your enemy, bless those that curse you, pray for those that mistreat you.  Yet, He is not asking us to do anything that He hasn’t already done for us.  We were once His enemy, we behaved badly, we mistreated God.  Yet He loved us first; gave us mercy and grace through the life and work of Jesus.  

Job reflected on how to behave with his enemies as he defended himself against his accusers.  And yet, Job was just a man; imperfect and in desperate need of God’s mercy and grace too.

The world is so divisive these days.  It is easy to find that if you don’t agree with another, then you become the enemy.  Can you imagine what would happen if all Christians followed Jesus’ command in Luke, while at the same time holding firmly to our beliefs?

Heavenly Father, You have commanded us to follow You, hold firm to Your ways, and love those that hate, curse and mistreat us.  Forgive me when I fall short.  Help me to keep in mind how you treated me when I was your enemy and treat others that same way.  I pray in the name of Jesus, who loved me first.  Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,