Day 9: Jesus, Our Friend

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Friendship is a gift. Friendship is a choice. We can't choose our relatives. But we can choose our friends.

A friend will be there to share your joy and your sorrow. A shoulder to cry on. Someone who rejoices in your victories as if they were the one who had one. True friends tell you the truth, even if it hurts, because they love you and want the best for you. Real friends will sacrifice their time and their money for a friend. A true friend is someone you can trust with your secrets. Someone who you can just be you with--let down your hair, let down your guard, take off the mask that you put on for others.

A real friend is someone whose company you relish--a place where you don't have to talk. You can just be in each other's presence in silence and be satisfied.

Jesus is our friend. He is our BFF. Best friend forever.

He is God. He is our Savior. He is holy. He is great and greatly to be praised. But he is our friend. We can be intimate with him. Share our deepest thoughts and feelings. He knows all of our secrets. He's seen us at our worse and he still loves us. He is the truth and the life. He is there to share our joy and sorrow. He loves us and wants the very best for us.

As Fred Hammond sang, I'm overwhelmed that Jesus would call me his friend. What a beautiful gift. Friendship with God. As Israel Houghton sang, "I am a friend of God." I am God's friends because I am Jesus' friend and Jesus is God and he brings us into a relationship with God the father.

Friendship is a gift and friendship is a choice. I'm so glad that Jesus chose me and I chose to be his friend.

"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 Fahter I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other." John 15: 14-17

Think of your friends. Why are you friends? What makes a good friend? Why is friendship important?

I praise Jesus for being a friend who...
I thank him for...

Day 8: Jesus Savior

"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." 1 John 4:14

The world needs a savior. You need a savior. I need a savior. We are all in need of saving--rescuing. Whether the world realizes it or not, it needs a savior.

Jesus is that savior. Jesus is the savior of the world. He is our hero, our rescuer, our salvation. He offers salvation to everyone and anyone who believes in him.

What do we need saving from? Our sin. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The wages of sin are death--separation from God. But the gift of God--paid with Jesus' blood-- is eternal life. He paid the price for our sins with his life--his blood shed on the cross for our sins.

Jesus has saved us from the penalty of sin. He has reconciled us to the Father and we have a future in heaven with the Father. But Jesus also saved us in the present. His salvation makes us whole. In him we have abundant life right now.

He made a decision to save us. He didn't have to do it. But I am so glad he did.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Unto you is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

There is no other name beside Christ's whereby man may be saved. Acts 4:10

Reflection and Response

I praise Jesus for being a savior who...

I thank Jesus for...

Day 7: Love

1 John 4:7-21

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Reflection and Response:

How has God demonstrated his love for you?

I praise God for his love and I thank him for...

Day 6: Deliverer

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

When I was about five years old or so, I thought I could swim. I had been practicing the bathtub. When I arrived at the swimming pool for my first swimming lesson, I thought I could swim so when I saw the other kids jummping in the pool, I jumped right in.

Soon the waters were swirling over my head. I was drowning. I remember looking up and a large hand reached down and pulled me out of the water. I was saved. Delivered.

Deliver: to give birth to; to produce, to set free as from misery, peril or evil.

That's what god does for us. He is our deliverer. He saves us from death and disaster. When we are drowning in the swirling waters of life and our circumstances, he reaches down and lifts us up with his mighty hand. With his great power he sets us in a place of safety and security.

Not only is God a deliverer who saves us, he is a deliverer who sets us free.He frees us from fear, our past, disappointments, addictions and other situations or curcumstances that keep us in bondage. He is a deliverer who brings to fruition the purpose and plans that he has for our lives and the destiny that he has placed within us. He helps us to give birth to his purpose for our lives.

But you can't fight against the deliverer when he's trying to save you. You'll drown. Rest in his strong hands and know that he has the power to deliver.

Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle. Psalm 140:7

He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. Psalm 144:2

Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. Psalm 68:20

Reflection and Response:
How has God delivered you? Has he set you free from something or given birth to something within you?

I praise God for being a deliverer who...
I thank him for...

Day 5: Healer

…for I am the Lord, your healer. Exodus 15:26

 Of course, God can heal us. He made us. Sometimes life breaks us. Scars us. We live in a fallen world where there is disease and death. We live in a world where people hurt others physically and emotionally. Sometimes intentionally. Sometimes unintentionally. Sometimes life just happens.

We all need healing at some time. God is a healer who not only heals us physically but heals us emotionally and spiritually. Sometimes he heals instantly. Sometimes it is a process. Sometimes he heals miraculously. Sometimes he heals through medicine and technology. Most of the time he uses humanity, others who care and are willing to share, to be his agents of healing in the world.

 However he does it, it comes from him. Sometimes the healing is in knowing that we have his presence. Paul ‘s thorn in the flesh was never removed but God reassured him that his grace was sufficient because God’s power is perfected in our weakness.

Through Jesus Christ we have the ultimate healing and the promise of eternal life where there will be no more sickness. We won’t have these frail physical bodies that break down and get old. There will be no more tears, sadness, sorrow or death. Total healing.

Whatever your ailment, illness, problem or predicament. Trust God as your healer.

Psalm 103:1-3
 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases, Psalm 103:1-3

Exodus 15:26
26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

Deuteronomy 7:15
15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.

Exodus 23:25-26
25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

How has God healed you?

I praise God for being a healer who…

I thank him for…

Day 4: Protector

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. Psalm 18:2 (New Living Translation)

It just takes a second. Less than a second for your life to change.

My daughter was chattering away, excited about passing her favorite mall and Joe’s Crab Shack. My son was in another world, playing his Nintendo 3DS in the back seat. I was driving, looking forward to making it home and seeing my husband, thinking about calling him because I was now in very familiar territory on a highway not far from his mother’s house

A minivan passed in front of me and before my eyes a large piece of metal came from under the minivan and was headed right for my car—my husband’s practically brand new car that I drove to Rockford to spend the night for my brother’s birthday celebration. The car that even as I was backing out of the driveway, my husband gave a final shine to make the black exterior glisten in the sun.

It seemed like it was happening in slow motion but it only took a second. The large, rusty piece of metal about the size of bread box seemed like it was headed for the hood of the car or the windshield.  I swerved. I thought for an instant maybe I had avoided it, but then I heard a clunk to the side and then I heard the thud of the tire.

But as I pulled over to the side of the road, the aroma of burned rubber getting stronger, I was thankful to God that the metal had not gone through the windshield, injured my daughter or son or caused a major accident on the expressway. I was grateful for life and God’s protection.

God is my protector. Have you ever looked back over your life and shudder at the things that could have happened. I know I have. The time I walked out of the house when I was about three years old and a stranger found me (maybe he was an angel) and brought me home. The time I got off the wrong train in Harlem on my way to my aunt’s house and walked through the unfamiliar streets of Harlem at night until I found a familiar one. The times when I was studying abroad in Spain when I would walk home alone in the wee hours of the morning. The times my family was driving on the highway during tornado weather and we made it to our destination safely. The stupid and even dangerous situations that I put myself in.

Then there are those dangers unseen. Those times that the Enemy had an attack set for my life. But it did not come near me because the angels of the Lord were surrounding me and I didn’t even know it. Those traps others set for you and they fell in them or they didn’t harm you. Or those times when you don’t have time to think, only react and God guides you. His still, small voice keeps you calm, even in the midst of a crisis.

God is our protector. And even if my car accident had ended differently, he still would be. But I thank Him that he spared me and my family. The tire was fixed and we made it home safely.

 If it had ended differently, I would be with the Lord. He would still be good and He would still be a protector. But since I’m still here, He still has purpose for me to fulfill in this life. And I thank Him for His protection.

The greatest protection is salvation. God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. Psalm 91:3-7

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right ahnd; the sun will nat harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:5-8

Reflection and Response

How has God protected you?

I thank God for being my protector who…

I thank Him for…

Day 3: Provider

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Have you ever needed something and God stepped in right on time and provided it? Maybe it was unexpected money. Or maybe it was something intangible, like peace in the midst of a frustrating or confusing situation.

God is our provider. Provision. Seeing what we need before we need it. Supplying what we need. God can be our provider because he has everything that we need.

But as our father, God doesn’t give his children everything we want. In this age of prosperity gospel, some would have you believe that if you just name it and claim it and have enough faith, God will give it to you. Some say that God wants you to be rich. But everyone will not be rich, even those who are rich in faith. Some things that we want might kill us or not be the best for us. We don’t have the Father’s wisdom or knowledge. But we have to know and believe that He cares.

 Our greatest need is to know Him and He has already provided for that through his son Jesus Christ. Everything else that we can see is passing away. What lasts and is eternal is what we can’t see.

He provides us with the tools and resources that we need to do His will and work. God will make sure you have what you need to do what He desires you to do. He has it. The cattle on a thousand hills belong to him.

Jesus said if we know how to give good gifts, how much more so does God. He knows what we need. If he clothes the lilies of the field that are here today and gone tomorrow., how much more will he take care of you? The key is to pursue his kingdom and his righteousness and then all of these other things, what you need to fulfill your purpose and even some of your wants, will be added unto you.

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalm 37:25

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Matthew 6:31-32

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Matthew 7:11

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:7

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 2 Corinthians 9:8

 Reflection and Response

How has God provided for you?

I praise God for being a provider who ….

I thank Him for…

Day 2: Creator

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

The first thing we see God doing is creating. If you never heard of God, you would know him by looking at his work. Nature speaks volumes about who God is. His creation.

The pinnacle of His creation is man who was made in the image of God. God did not just speak man into existence. He made him. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”( Genesis 1:26).  He lovingly molded him, formed him, sculpted him, fashioned him, created him in his own image. Then God himself breathed into man. “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2: 7).

We are reflections of God and he has breathed his life into us. Unlike animals, we can be creative like our creator and because he breathed his spirit into us and we can be inspired and create something beyond ourselves.

God’s creation reflects God’s power and love. His creation has order and beauty. God pays attention to the details. The color of a flower. The shape of a leaf. There is diversity. From the tiny ant that crawls on the ground to the giant whale that frolics in the sea. From the power of the invisible to the naked eye atom to the power of the sun millions of miles from earth.

God speaks through his creation. As the scripture says, the heavens declare his glory. If you really want to see God, just look around you. As a matter of fact, just look in the mirror because you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. Isaiah 40:28

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.  Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:1-4

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:1-5

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14

Reflection and Response

Take a walk outside or study the human body. How do you see God reflected in his creation?

I praise God as the Creator who …

I thank Him for…

Day 1: Father

And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6

I have been doubly blessed. I have always known the love of my earthly father. One of my earliest memories is being thrown in the air and caught by my father. It was a thrill to feel the knot in my stomach as he released me and then caught me securely in his strong hands. When I had a bad dream, I could run to my parent’s room and curl up in the bed. In my father’s presence and house there was security and safety. Many a day, my father would pray at the kitchen table, “The Lord will provide.” And God did provide and so did my father. I had the privilege of bearing his last name and folks recognizing and identifying me as “Rev. Copeland’s daughter.” I remember at one point as a child wanting to be just like him, even imitating the way he ate. I proudly told people, “I’m a block off the old chip.”

Then I have been blessed for my children to have a wonderful father. Even before I gave birth to children, I saw the love that my husband had for his three older children. One of the things I knew right away about my husband and admired and respected so much about him was his deep love for his children. I learned so much about the love of a father through witnessing my husband’s sacrifice for his children.

The best human fathers are providers and protectors. They give their children security and identity. They sacrifice and love. Fathers carry that seed that bring life.

God is our heavenly father. He is the ultimate father. The Giver of life. God spoke creation into being, but he lovingly molded man and breathed into man his own breath and he became a living soul. God desires to have a relationship with his children. Our father wants to be our daddy.

Jesus called God “Abba.” The title “Abba” wasn’t formal. It was intimate. It was Abba—Daddy. Jesus was close to the father. As a matter of fact, he said he was one with the father. He spent time with God. He was from God. Jesus is God. In Jesus’ relationship with God we see intimacy. And we also see identity. When Jesus was baptized and came out of the water, God said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”

  God is not a distant curmudgeon waiting to strike at the smallest infraction. He is a loving father. Abba. Daddy. Even if you don’t know your earthly father, you can find identity, security and intimacy with your Heavenly Father.  

We are God’s children. We can call Him Abba.  We don’t always understand what He’s doing or what He’s asking of us. Sometimes we don’t like it. Sometimes it doesn’t feel good. But it is for our good and because He has a plan for us and always wants the very best for us. We hurt ourselves when we disobey the father.  He is a provider and protector. And we cannot fathom even imagine the love the father has for us.

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3 (New Living Translation)

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15

And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father." Galatians 4:6 (New Living Translation)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1 (NIV)

I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV)

Reflection and Response

Think of the best fathers you know. How are they like God, the ultimate father?

I praise God for being a father who…

I thank Him for…