Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today let’s recognize the fact that a friend knows.

In today’s scripture, John 15:17-20 (KJV), Jesus said…
[17] These things I command you, that ye love one another. [18] If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. [19] If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. [20] Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep your’s also.

Consider…
Yesterday we appreciated Jesus calling those of us who obey Him friends.

Today we continue our appreciation of Jesus’ special bond with us, starting with the first verse of a hymn…

There’s not a Friend like the lowly Jesus:
No, not one! no, not one!
None else could heal all our souls’ diseases:
No, not one! no, not one!

Jesus knows all about our struggles;
He will guide ’til the day is done:
There’s not a Friend like the lowly Jesus:
No, not one! no, not one!

Jesus knowing all about our struggles makes me think of Hebrews 2:18 (NLT), which affirms…
[18] Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

Jesus triumphantly experienced every struggle we go through.

• Rejection
• Betrayal
• Grief
• Lies
• Persecution
• Hatred

…to name a few

One of the things that makes Jesus so special is the fact that He chose to immerse Himself in humanity rather than empathize or commiserate.

As we know, part of immersion is getting the full authentic experience of a foreign culture.

That’s what Philippians 2:6-8 (NLT) describes…
[6] Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Jesus didn’t just become human, He chose to be the least valued and most persucted human there is. The Master of the universe became a slave. I don’t know if I fully appreciated that fact until this moment.

This makes me think of the popular television show called the undercover boss. Although the show’s creators thought it was an original idea, it really wasn’t. You see before there was an undercover boss, Jesus was the undercover King who assumed on the role of a lowly servant.

In Jesus’ servant role, He knew what it was to be…

• Overlooked
• Underappreciated
• Disregarded
• Taken for granted
• Mistreated

That’s why if we ever experience those feelings, our friend, the lowly Jesus says He knows.

Hebrews 4:14-15 (NLT) explains it this way…
[14] So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. [15] This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

There is significant difference between Jesus and us though, He did not sin. Now it’s easy to read that and think of course He was half God and half man. That thinking would be incorrect. Jesus was fully God and fully man.

Jesus being fully man is important for us to grasp, so that we echo the lyrics of Commissioned…

You told me you love me
And I should make up my mind
You tell me come back now
But I keep waisting time
Using the same excuse
That I am just a man
You tell me you’ve been there
And hold your nail scared hands so I can see
Now I know I am free

The Holy Spirit is saying to us, there are no excuses to sin regardless of what is happening to us. I mean what can compare to an innocent man willingly dying a criminal’s death to save the true criminals?

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT) explains…
[21] For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

And Romans 5:7-8 (NLT) points out…
[7] Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. [8] But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

This makes me think that all the believers who complain about injustice would do well to remember both of the passages I just shared.

The Holy Spirit is telling me that God wants us to understand Jesus didn’t just save us from the penalty and power of sin, He also showed us how to overcome it by obedience to the Father.

I believe God wants us to follow Jesus’ example. To say as Jesus said in John 6:38 (NLT)…
[38] For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.

Believe it or not, we’re all sent by God for a specific purpose. It should be our primary goal to fulfill the Father’s will.

In fact Jesus says we’re His family when we do the Father’s will. His exact words in Mark 3:35 (NLT) say…
[35] Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

So today, no matter what you’re going through, know that Jesus knows and then follow His example to obey the Father’s will.

Today’s song is…
There Is Not A Friend

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)