Are there Condition on being a Friend of Jesus?

Psalm 35:11-28

In two days I will enjoy being a year older on planet earth.  Each year I wonder what my scorecard looks like with my family and a few friends I would call at three in the morning to help me.  Do they see a consistent man in what God has instructed all who follow Jesus, to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with my God? 

In John 15:14-15, we see these words of Jesus; “You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”  To be called by Jesus a friend, and to be let into His circle of friends, is very special.  Often, just knowing that Jesus is always there in my many challenges of being a parent, in business, and just living life, is of great comfort.  But so often in my walk, in the good times, I get too busy for my friends, and as I read verses 11 through 16, I wonder if that is the way Jesus felt when the multitude turned on Him at the cross.  I wonder if it breaks His heart when I allow the urgent things of this life to replace spending time with Him.

Psalm 35:13-16, “But I, when they were sick—I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest.  I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning.  But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered; they gathered together against me; wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth.”  Now as we look at 17-18, you must understand that was David’s prayer, but that was not our LORD’s, do you recall what Jesus prayed?  In the gospel of Luke 23:34, “Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

It was also a reminder of those who have more love for animals than babies.  In verses 11-12 and 19-21, these words remind me of the battle of good and evil that had been going on from the fall of man in the garden.  But it is a real struggle and the one behind it is the one Jesus called the thief in John 10:10.

This past Sunday, I was reminded by Pastor Rusty Rice, what you and I should be doing.  King Jehoshaphat, when a mighty army was coming to destroy his people, prayed this prayer, “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them?  For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice