The idea of the divine-human friendship originated with God. Had not God said first "Ye are my friends" (John 15:14) it would be inexcusably brash for any man to say "I am a friend of God." But since He claims us for His friends it is an act of unbelief to ignore or deny the relationship. . . . Even though radically different from each other, two persons may enjoy the closest friendship for a lifetime; for it is not a requisite of friendship that the participants be alike in all things; it is enough that they be alike at the points where their personalities touch. Harmony is likeness at points of contact, and friendship is likeness where hearts merge. For this reason the whole idea of the divine-human friendship is logical enough and entirely credible. The infinite God and the finite man can merge their personalities in the tenderest, most satisfying friendship. In such relationship there is no idea of equality; only of likeness where the heart of man meets the heart of God. This likeness is possible because God at the first made man in His own image and because He is now remaking men in the image that was lost by sin.

A.W. Tozer's materials are a mainstay in Evangelical churches in our day and he is one of the most quoted authors. He was a prophet in his day and his writings are even more influential in our day. One of his books: The Pursuit of God, has had over 1 million copies sold world-wide.

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer

Image Restoration

For Reading and Meditation:      John 15:12-27We continue meditating on the eighth and final Beatitude. One of the questions that has often puzzled people concerning this matter of suffering and persecution is this: Why is it that Christians, when they do good, are often persecuted, while non-Christians who do the same kind of good are adored? One commentator suggests the reason for this is that when non- Christians do good, other non-Christians find it easy to identify with them and say to themselves: "These people are just like me when I am at my best." The thinking that goes on below the threshold of a non-Christian's mind when he sees other non-Christians doing good is along the line of: "I am probably capable of the same thing myself if the opportunity came my way." The admiration that is then given is a way of paying a compliment to oneself. The Christian who does good has about him or her the atmosphere of another world, and because of this, the non-Christian observes, not just their act of good, but the different motivation that underlies the act. They sense that there is something different about this person, and because they cannot understand or explain the difference, they react with fear and the fear then turns to hostility. Psychologists have a name for this fear - xenophobia. It means fear of someone we do not know or understand. This is why the scribes and Pharisees hated our Lord so much. It wasn't because He was good; it was because He was different. This is the effect Jesus Christ always has upon the world. And to the extent that you reflect His spirit, to that extent you will experience the same reaction. "A Christian's reason for doing good is different"O Father, I see that if I just try to do good, the world will applaud me, but if I try to become Christlike, it will hate me. Nevertheless I long to be Christlike. Help me, dear Father, for apart from Your grace, I know it is not possible. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Philippians 1:1-14</li><li>Colossians 4:3</li><li>2 Timothy 1:7-8</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>How did Paul view persecution?</li><li>What was his charge to Timothy?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"' you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (v. 19)

For Reading and Meditation:      Romans 5:6-21An ancient theologian - St. Augustine - suggested that "the answer to the mystery of the universe is God and the answer to the mystery of God is Christ." If this is so then I would like to make a further suggestion: the answer to the mystery of Christ is to be found in His sacrificial spirit, the supreme evidence of which is the cross. We will never in our mortal state be able to grasp the full meaning of the cross. But what we do grasp gives us a clue to what lies in the heart of the Infinite. Theologians often discuss the various theories of the atonement. Personally, I find myself accepting any theory of the atonement that makes the meaning of the cross more vital and clear. No theory seems to me big enough to fit the facts. As Jesus broke the bars of the tomb and stepped out beyond them, so the fact of Jesus dying seems to transcend our most careful statements or form of words. To really understand the cross one must have an attitude of mind and heart that responds to its meaning. I came across this: "To understand art one must have art within one; to understand music one must have music within one." I thought to myself, to understand the cross one must have a sacrificial spirit within one. Those who profess to know Christ but live only for self will know something of the cross but will miss its real meaning. The cross is best understood not by an argument but by an attitude. Father, I see that if I am to fully understand the cross I must have a sacrificial spirit within me. May I linger at Your cross until Your nature becomes my nature. Then seeing I shall see. In Jesus' Name. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>John 15:13</li><li>Galatians 1:4</li><li>Ephesians 5:2</li><li>1 Peter 2:24</li><li>Titus 2:1-14</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>How is love demonstrated?</li><li>What was the greater dimension of Christ's sacrifice?</li></ul></div></div>

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (v. 8) 

For Reading and Meditation: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;John 13:1-38
What other teacher has taken the Ten Commandments and had the right to add another commandment to them? But this is precisely what Jesus did, as we see from our text today. "A new command I give you," He said. "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
The Old Testament and other religious writings enjoined loving one another. What was new was this: "As I have loved you." Our Lord's conduct - "as I have loved you" - produced a new code for the human race. Paul, writing to the Philippians, catches the spirit of it when he says: "Treat one another with the same spirit as you experience in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5, Moffatt). Here morality reaches its high-water mark. From the moment Jesus uttered the words that are occupying our attention, there came into human life something more than a code - there came a Character. Now, therefore, our code is a Character - the Character of Jesus.
When someone asks me if I believe in the Ten Commandments I say: "Yes, and very much more besides. I believe in Jesus." The Ten Commandments are an injunction - and a God-given one. But Jesus is an injunction plus an inspiration. To follow an injunction is to obey an imposed morality, but to follow a Person and do the things He does is an inspired morality. One is legalism, the other love. One binds you, the other frees you. One makes you feel trammelled, the other relaxed and spontaneous. Our code is not a commandment but a Character. One greater than the commandments is here.
O Christ, Your law lays upon me an injunction, but Your life entering into my life inspires me to live up to that injunction. It is this that makes Your yoke so easy. I am deeply, deeply grateful. Amen.
<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around">
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<div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0px;">
<li>John 15:1-17</li>
<li>James 2:8</li>
<li>Matthew 7:12</li>
</ul>
</div>
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<div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0px;">
<li>What was the basis of Christ's love?</li>
<li>What is the basis of our being able to fulfill the Royal Law?</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you...

For Reading and Meditation:      Isaiah 7:13-17Some religions, such as Hinduism, claim that their gods incarnate themselves, but those so-called incarnations are rooted in fantasy, not in fact. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ is not just a great idea - it really happened. There were eyewitnesses and a written record. The genius of Christianity is that it is not just a religion of influences, values and principles. It is a religion of happenings, of events, of plain but wonderful historical occurrences. The Incarnation belongs to the very marrow of the gospel; therefore, we can assert that God in the Person of His Son came to earth at a certain hour in history, lived and died among us, and afterwards rose from the dead. Those who say, "I admire the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount, I applaud the work and teachings of Christ and follow His principles in my daily life, but I cannot believe the historical part of it, that God took a body and became man," cannot really claim to be Christians. If they do not believe Christ's statements concerning Himself and the reason why He came into this world, then though they may be many splendid things they are not disciples of Christ. To be a Christian means first and foremost accepting the great fact of the Incarnation - that Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, was born at Bethlehem in the way the Scriptures describe. Of this be certain - the Christian faith carries certain facts at its heart, and the greatest of them is this: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." O Father, I pray that nothing will ever diminish the wondrous truth of Your Incarnation in my soul. For without that You would be a distant deity, vague and unapproachable. In Jesus You have come close to me. And how! I shall be eternally grateful. Amen<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>1 Timothy 1:1-17</li><li>Isaiah 59:16</li><li>John 15:13</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What is a trustworthy saying?</li><li>What was Paul's testimony?</li></ul></div></div>

"... The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (v. 14) 

What infinite condescension in Jesus, to call us worms, His friends! But He not only calls us so, but treats us as such, and expects us as friends to do whatsoever He commands us.Is Jesus thy friend? Then visit Him often, let Him hear thy voice in prayer and praise; then trust Him confidently, let Him see a proof of thy faith in thy dependence; then walk with Him in love, let Him enjoy much of thy company; then expect Him to be thy Friend in sickness and health, in poverty and plenty, in life and in death.If Jesus is our Friend, we can never be destitute; if father and mother forsake, He will take us up and take us in; we can never be miserable, He will receive us and be a Father unto us; we can never be neglected, for He will never fail us nor forsake us, but will do for us all He has promised in His word. He will defend us from foes, visit us in sickness, and cheer and support us in death.Precious Lord Jesus, be Thou my Friend, call me Thy friend, and treat me as such, in life, in death, at the judgment, and before Thy Father's face for ever.O let us make His name our trust! He is a Saviour wise and just: On His almighty arm depend; He is a tried and faithful Friend; And all His friends shall shortly prove, The power and glory of His love.

Written by James Smith for his own flock around 1840, but such was the demand that by 1846 over thirty thousand copies where in circulation.

The Believer's Daily Remembrancer

Ye are my friends. - John 15:14

The friendship of Jesus is a theme that evokes a warm response in the hearts of His people everywhere. When He was on earth, He was derided as "a friend of publicans and sinners" (Matthew 11:19), but Christians have taken the taunt and converted it to a title of honor.Before going to the cross, our Lord called His disciples "friends." "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you" (John 15:14-15).Some of our best-loved hymns take up this theme; for example, "What a friend we have in Jesus"; "There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus"; and "I've found a friend, oh, such a friend."Why does the friendship of Jesus strike such a responsive chord? I think the primary reason is that many people are lonely. They may be surrounded by other people, yet not surrounded by friends. Or they may be largely cut off from intercourse with others. This is often the case with older people who have outlived their contemporaries.Loneliness is cruel. It is bad for a person's physical, mental and emotional health. It gnaws away at his morale, sets his nerves on edge, and makes him weary of life. Often it drives people to desperation so that they are willing to compromise with sin or take other insane plunges. To such people the friendship of Jesus comes with the healing properties of the balm of Gilead.Another reason why His friendship is so appreciated is that it never fails. Human mends often let us down or drift out of our lives, but this Friend proves true and steadfast.Earthly friends may fail and leave us,One day soothe, the next day grieve us;But this Friend will ne'er deceive us. Oh, how He loves!Jesus is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is the Friend who loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17).The fact that the Lord Jesus is not bodily present with us does not set a limit on the reality of His friendship. Through the Word He speaks to us, and in prayer we speak to Him. It is in this way that He makes Himself real to us as the Friend we need. It is in this way that He answers the prayer,Lord Jesus, make Thyself to me a living, bright reality;More present to faith's vision keen than any earthly object seen;More dear, more intimately nigh than e'en the closest earthly tie.

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24 b)

The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?” § It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. § But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. § The hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory. Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple. § The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. § I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know  what his master is doing; but I have called you friends. 

I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. § I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. § Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost. The Lord takes pleasure in His people. § My delight was with the sons of men. § His great love with which He loved us. § Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. § If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

 I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me. 

Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. § I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. § We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. § Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. § Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

 “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. 

The love of Christ … passes knowledge. § Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. § You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. § Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. § Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. § [Bear] with one another, and [forgive] one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you. § For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. § Christ … suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. You also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. § We also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. 

Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it … Love is as strong as death. § Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. [He] Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed. § In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. You were washed … you were sanctified … you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. § You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. § I beseech you … , brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

 To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. 

Both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” § In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. § You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. § Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it! § Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. § My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. § Whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

 My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it. 

I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. § A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. § Christ … loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.

 Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 

There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. § The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. § You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing;  but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. § The prayer of the upright is His delight.

Evening Daily Light

 The apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all . . . they had done. 

He died for all. § Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. He … lives to make intercession for them. § I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. § Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am. § Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. We love Him because He first loved us. § The love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

 See how He loved. 

13 <woj>Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. </woj> 14 <woj>You are my friends if you do what I command. </woj>

<woj>Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.<cr>1</cr> </woj>

John 15:13

<woj>You are my friends<cr>1</cr> if you do what I command.<cr>2</cr> </woj>

John 15:14

 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.   14 You are my friends   if you do what I command.  

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

John 15:13-14

<woj>Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. </woj> <woj>You are my friends if you do what I command. </woj>

 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.   You are my friends   if you do what I command.  

Bible Verse of the Day

July 26, 2020

John 15:13-14 NIV

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