Most Read Bible Verses---#63---John 15:13

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” 

How many good friends do you have?  Hopefully many.  What defines a good friend?  I have in my files a list of 10 qualities that defines a good and lasting friend although I don’t know where this list came from.  Those 10 qualities are

1.  Makes time for you                      

2.  Keeps your secrets                        

3.  Cares for you                                

4.  Provides space when you need it 

5.  Speaks the truth 

6.  Forgives your faults

7.  Faithful

8.  Laughs easily

9.  Celebrates you successes

10.  Prays for you

These qualities might help you become a better friend to others.  Now, how many really close friends do you have?  By close friends, I mean friends for whom you would be willing to lay down your life?  Your list likely will narrow quite a bit.

Jesus is saying here that the ultimate test of true friendship is the willingness to lay down your life for your friends.  Does this mean your willingness to die for your friends?  Yes, it can mean that.  Jesus died for His friends, including you.

If I had enough space I would share the ancient story of Damon and Pythias, the classic story of friendship[1].  There’s also the story of David and Jonathan in I Samuel 19-20 and how Jonathan risked his life to save his friend.  Then there’s the story of the little boy who was asked to donate blood in order to enable his little sister to survive.  He hesitated, swallowed the lump in his throat, and agreed to do this.  After the needed amount of blood was withdrawn, he asked the doctor, “When do I die?”  The little boy did not understand that donating blood would not kill him.  Yet he was willing to offer his life for his little sister. These are stories that exemplify the truth of John 15:13. 

A more practical explanation of this verse is Jesus asking you to practice loving others by being willing to sacrifice your needs/wants for those of others.  Indeed, from this practical viewpoint, when you review the 10 qualities of a good friend above, note how many of these require preferential love where you put the friend before yourself and vice versa.  The closest of friends have as much or more interest in the other as oneself.  You make close friends by asking them about themselves, being genuinely interested in what is going on in their lives, and being there for them when they need you, even when they have made big mistakes.  Indeed, the old saying is true:  “If you really want to know who your friends are, make a big mistake, then watch.”   

If the love of Jesus is embedded deep within your heart, that love is greater love and such love will enable you to want to lay down your life for your friends.  You give your best to Jesus and in your giving to Him you sacrifice yourself for the sake of others.  Jesus also is commanding you in this verse that you would be willing to lay down your life for Him.  That is, you are willing to love and serve Him more than loving and serving yourself.  

I am very grateful for the few friends I have who fit the 10 qualities above and who I believe would be willing to die for me as I would for them.  Great friends as these are so hard to find. 

Assess your friendships for a few minutes.  Who fits the qualities described above?  How well do you fit being the friend of others?  Where do you need to improve?  Feel free to affirm to your friends how much they mean to you and how you hope that you love them as Jesus described.  Also, pray to Jesus that He is your friend and you are willing to love him as He loved you and gave His life for you.  How blessed you will feel.

---

[1] http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/literature/damon.htm 

Most Read Bible Verses---#64---Micah 6:8

Micah 6:8 (NIV)

He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

 

The book of Micah is part of the Old Testament 12 minor prophet books.  This verse probably is its most famous verse along with Micah 5:2 that prophesied Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.  While most of Micah is aimed at the nations of Judah and Samaria and the city of Jerusalem and its impending destruction if the people would not repent of their sins, chapter 6 is aimed at individuals. 

Micah 6:8 clearly states three requirements that the Lord has of His people—act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.  These three requirements fit with other passages of Scripture that teach about God’s people to reverence Him, love him, and serve Him by serving others.

Act Justly

Justice means to be fair, to give your best to God and to others.  Adam Clarke, a British Methodist theologian in the early 1800s, wrote that to act justly means to give God His due (love God with all your heart, body, soul, and mind), to give your neighbor his due (love your neighbor as yourself), and give yourself what you are due (avoid sins of the flesh and be filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit—Galatians 5:19-23).

Love Mercy

The Hebrew word for mercy (“checed”) means “goodness, kindness, faithfulness”, three of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  You are to love to be good and kind and faithful (sincere) to others.  As God shows mercy to you by forgiving you of your sins, you are to show mercy to others and forgive them as well. 

Walk Humbly

To walk humbly is to act as a humble person.  To be humble is to follow the example of Christ that is best described in Philippians 2:3-4--“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too”.

All these requirements of God are not easy to practice, are they?  Yet, all Christians must try their best, through prayer and study and asking the Holy Spirit to lead them everyday to practice these three noble acts.  Ask God to reveal to you where you need to be more just, more merciful, and more humble. Is there anyone in your life who you see practice these truths from whom you can emulate?  Is there anyone in your life to whom you can perform an act of kindness without them knowing?  Is there any source of pride in your life that you know you need to turn over to the Lord? 

God requires people like you who will be for what is right—to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly.  For some of you may this become your life verse.

Most Read Bible Verses---#65---Romans 10:17

Romans 10:17 (NASB)

So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. 

What a simple sentence that has such profound implications for all Christians.  The Greek word for hearing is “akoe” (“ak-o-ay”), similar to the word “to hear”  (“akouo”) that literally means to understand, to perceive what is said.  Another literal definition of the word “hearing” is to hear repeatedly.  Rarely do we human beings remember anything said just once, we have to hear it again and again to remember.  

If you have confessed Jesus Christ as your Savior, what led you to make this decision?  Perhaps a better question is who led you to make this decision?  While there are exceptions to every rule, I would bet that almost everyone reading this would admit that you became a Christian based on what someone or several “someones” said to you, not what you read.  Someone shared the gospel with you by the spoken word, you heard it, understood it, and believed.

So your faith in God through Christ came to you most likely through the spoken word.  You heard by the word (Greek “rhema”) of Christ and that “rhema” gave you your faith.  Rhema means “the personal spoken message from God through Christ”. 

When Jesus asked the father of the convulsing child if he believed that Jesus could heal him, the father cried out, “I believe, help me in my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).  What can help you overcome the “unbelief” in your life?  Hearing the word of Christ.  After hearing the word of God spoken to you, causing you to believe, what causes your faith to increase, to deepen?  You continue to hear through sermons and other teaching, but also you hear (understand) what you read and study in the Bible. 

Your faith deepens not just from the words of the Bible itself, but through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit in you who takes the spoken and written word of God and enables you to respond to it.  When Jesus started introducing His followers to the reality of the Holy Spirit, He described the Holy Spirit as the person who will convict you of your sin (John 16:8), will help you understand the truth (God’s Word (John 16:13) and will teach you all things of God and enable you to remember them (John 14:26).

In the parable of the sower (Luke 8:5-8) Jesus said that there are four ways that people hear the word of God---

(1) hear it, but ignore it

(2) hear it, but it never influences the person

(3) hear it, but worldly things easily displace it

(4) hear it, hold onto to it, and allow it to enable the person to grow in faith and actions. 

Hopefully, everyone reading these words is like the 4^th hearer.  May your faith continue to grow as you keep hearing and responding to the word of Christ.  However, if you know in your heart that you are one of the first three hearers, you know what you need to do to change.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you receive the spoken and written word of Christ in your and start bearing fruit in others’ lives.