"What is Christian Friendship?" - #405

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Welcome to the new readers of this message!  Here is your Devotion, A Moment of Introspection, JCSM's Challenge, the Word of the Week, a faith-builder from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained," and the Quotes of the Week.  Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason Gastrich

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JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)

"What is Christian Friendship?"

Proverb 17:17  "A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity."

Proverb 22:11  "He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend."

Proverb 27:6  "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

Matthew 5:43-46  "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?"

James 2:22, 23  "Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God."

2 Corinthians 6:14, 15  "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.  For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?  And what communion has light with darkness?  And what accord has Christ with Belial?  Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?"

James 4:4b  "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

Proverb 27:17  "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

Proverb 18:24  "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Insight: Are you a Christian friend?  The Bible teaches a lot about friends and how they should act.  Become friends with Christians who love God.  Plus, love God so much that He would consider you a friend.  Avoid being unequally yoked with unbelievers and the world.  Our deepest friendships should be with the Creator and the ones who love Him.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for the people who have shown us true, Christian friendship.  Let us be friends with You and with others.  Forgive us for being anything less.  Praise You for giving us the perfect example of love and friendship as You laid down your life for us.  Help us to sacrifice what we have for others and love them deeply.  Increase our love for You and for others.  Increase our faith as well, Lord.  Thank you for the scriptures on friendship.  Help us to study them and understand what true, Christian friendship is and let us exemplify it.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

A Moment of Introspection

Would God consider you His friend?  Why or why not?

Seek to be the best, Christian friend that you can be; both to God and to others.

God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

philia (Greek, see James 4:4): fondness, friendship

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 22:14 - Abraham names the place where he nearly kills Isaac after Jehovah. But according to Ex.6:3, Abraham couldn't have known that God's name was Jehovah.

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:

* According to Genesis 22:14, Abraham called this place Jehovahjireh, which means "God will provide."  This was simply a name that described God and what happened here.  Exodus 6:3 says God came to Abraham and Isaac as God Almighty ("El Shadai") and not Jehovah.  Consequently, God's name is most commonly "El Ohim" (in the Hebrew) when it is used in Genesis with Abraham.  This is an extension of "El Shadai" and also means mighty God (in the plural tense, designating the trinity).

* According to the scriptures, Abraham never used the name "Jehovah" for God, but he always called Him "Elohim."  In only one situation was "Jehovah" used with Abraham and this was when it was spoken by two pagans.  Incidentally, Abraham also calls God "Adonai," but he never calls Him Jehovah.  "Jehovah" was a term that God called Himself and one that Abraham surely recognized, but didn't use.

* The name "Jehovah" is used in Genesis 2.  Therefore, it was surely known to Abraham.

(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Jason Gastrich.  This book is on CD and explains over 3,000 difficulties regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org.  There is also a 300 question workbook that accompanies the CD-ROM.)

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