June 24th, 2025
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Friend of God
The phone rang.
“It’s Jimmy. I’m really sick. I’ve got a fever. Can you help me?”
Jimmy was one man that the Love In Action ministry helped. He was dying from AIDS.
Jeff was angry. He had already put in sixty hours and didn’t want to hear about Jimmy. However, Jeff promised to go right over complaining to God all the way about the inconvenience.
As the door to the apartment opened, Jeff almost buckled over as he was blasted by the smell of vomit. After forcing his stomach to settle down from an involuntary gag, Jeff went in and found Jimmy shivering on the couch in severe distress. Jeff wiped his sweating forehead, and then got a bucket of soapy water to clean up the mess. Jeff managed a façade of concern even though he was still raging inside.
Jimmy’s friend, Russ, who also had AIDS, came downstairs. The odor made Russ sick as well. As Jeff cleaned the carpet around Russ’s chair, he was about to explode inside. Then Russ said suddenly, “I get it. I understand.”
“What do you get, Russ?” Jimmy asked weakly.
“I understand who Jesus is,” Russ said through his tears. “He’s just like Jeff.”
Jeff began to weep. That night Russ trusted Christ to be his Savior. God had used Jeff to show God’s love in spite of himself.
A friend is someone who shows up to help even when he doesn’t feel like it. A friend does things that no one else will do. Jeff didn’t want to go to Jimmy’s house, but he did. Jeff didn’t want to clean up Jimmy’s nasty mess, but he did. And Russ saw the friendship of Jesus through Jeff’s example of selfless service.
Jesus is God’s Son. God is described by the Apostle John as “Love.” Jesus said in John 3:16 that God loved the world enough to send His only Son so that anyone who believed on Him could be saved.
In Exodus 33:7-11 the mention is made of the “Tent of Meeting” where Moses went to have face to face conversations with God on behalf of the Israelites. It was there that it is said that “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” God wants to be your friend. He wants to have the kind of communication with you that He had with Moses.
When God’s people had rejected God by building the golden calf, making it their substitute for God, Moses shattered the tablets and God’s wrath was poured out to punish them. This anger continued in the next chapter when God told Moses to take the people and go toward the promise land. God said that he would send an angel ahead of them in His place because He feared that His anger would boil over and he might wipe them out along the way.
However, when the people humbled themselves in repentance (Exodus 33:4-6) God renewed His friendship and His willingness lead them even though He didn’t really feel like it. Now Moses and the people could experience the warmth of God’s friendship in prayer. God is our friend no matter how we make him feel.
God wants to be your friend in conversation. In prayer, we see how we can enjoy the presence of the best friend we could ever have, “God.”
This Sunday we continue our series, Holy Stories with a message titled, Embrace His Authority based on Jesus’ parable in Luke 20:9-19.
Your friend and His,
Jon
Friend of God
The phone rang.
“It’s Jimmy. I’m really sick. I’ve got a fever. Can you help me?”
Jimmy was one man that the Love In Action ministry helped. He was dying from AIDS.
Jeff was angry. He had already put in sixty hours and didn’t want to hear about Jimmy. However, Jeff promised to go right over complaining to God all the way about the inconvenience.
As the door to the apartment opened, Jeff almost buckled over as he was blasted by the smell of vomit. After forcing his stomach to settle down from an involuntary gag, Jeff went in and found Jimmy shivering on the couch in severe distress. Jeff wiped his sweating forehead, and then got a bucket of soapy water to clean up the mess. Jeff managed a façade of concern even though he was still raging inside.
Jimmy’s friend, Russ, who also had AIDS, came downstairs. The odor made Russ sick as well. As Jeff cleaned the carpet around Russ’s chair, he was about to explode inside. Then Russ said suddenly, “I get it. I understand.”
“What do you get, Russ?” Jimmy asked weakly.
“I understand who Jesus is,” Russ said through his tears. “He’s just like Jeff.”
Jeff began to weep. That night Russ trusted Christ to be his Savior. God had used Jeff to show God’s love in spite of himself.
A friend is someone who shows up to help even when he doesn’t feel like it. A friend does things that no one else will do. Jeff didn’t want to go to Jimmy’s house, but he did. Jeff didn’t want to clean up Jimmy’s nasty mess, but he did. And Russ saw the friendship of Jesus through Jeff’s example of selfless service.
Jesus is God’s Son. God is described by the Apostle John as “Love.” Jesus said in John 3:16 that God loved the world enough to send His only Son so that anyone who believed on Him could be saved.
In Exodus 33:7-11 the mention is made of the “Tent of Meeting” where Moses went to have face to face conversations with God on behalf of the Israelites. It was there that it is said that “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” God wants to be your friend. He wants to have the kind of communication with you that He had with Moses.
When God’s people had rejected God by building the golden calf, making it their substitute for God, Moses shattered the tablets and God’s wrath was poured out to punish them. This anger continued in the next chapter when God told Moses to take the people and go toward the promise land. God said that he would send an angel ahead of them in His place because He feared that His anger would boil over and he might wipe them out along the way.
However, when the people humbled themselves in repentance (Exodus 33:4-6) God renewed His friendship and His willingness lead them even though He didn’t really feel like it. Now Moses and the people could experience the warmth of God’s friendship in prayer. God is our friend no matter how we make him feel.
God wants to be your friend in conversation. In prayer, we see how we can enjoy the presence of the best friend we could ever have, “God.”
This Sunday we continue our series, Holy Stories with a message titled, Embrace His Authority based on Jesus’ parable in Luke 20:9-19.
Your friend and His,
Jon
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