JESUS OUR BEST FRIEND

It has been said that a true friend is someone who knows all about you and yet loves you anyway. That is certainly the case with Jesus. The hairs of our head are all numbered (Luke 12:7). He knows everything about our lives, our thoughts, our hopes, our dreams, our struggles—everything (Psalm 139:1-4).

The Bible says that a friend sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). That is descriptive of Jesus, the best friend you will ever have. Because the fascinating thing about it is, He does not just offer us friendship, but He offers us Himself. Meaning that He is always with us, He does not forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He is a friend, but He is more than a friend. He is our life (Colossians 3:4).

Which of your friends does this sound like:“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus proved the depth of His love and friendship for you. What would He have to do to prove His love and His loyalty more than what He has already done?

His death was about saving us from our sins. It was also about bringing us into a state of reconciliation with Him (Romans 5:10–11). That is companionship, where we are together forever with Him.

True friends are there for you when life gets tough (Matthew 11:28). Jesus is a safe space for His friends, bringing peace to our lives no matter what is going on around us (John 14:27). Friends are always ready with wise council when it is needed, and Jesus is not only the giver of wisdom (James 1:5), He IS true wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30).

No one on earth is a perfect friend to another person. But Jesus is perfect. And even when we fail Him, failing to show loyalty the way that Peter did, Jesus still wants what is best for us, looks for our return, and is ever ready to forgive us and restore us to Himself (Luke 22:61–62; John 21:15–17). This is a friend who takes up for you and looks out for you “when you’re not around” (Romans 8:34).

Your life will never be the same when your best friend is Jesus. If you want Him to be, He will be. Come to Him in faith. There is no one like Him. His love for you and His presence in your life are always constant.

Few things are better than spending quality time with a loyal friend. With Jesus, you can spend all the time with Him that you want. Daily, even moment-by-moment fellowship with Him is not only possible, but it is what He seeks. Listen to His voice and grow in your dependence upon Him through daily and consistent fellowship (Revelation 3:20; John 14:23).

Obey Him and allow Him to live inside of you (Galatians 2:20). By so doing, you will see His love overtaking you. Not only will His love embrace the totality of your life, but you will find yourself loving others because of Him (1 John 4:19).

One of the greatest blessings in the world is true and loyal friendship. It makes life better all the way around. But, unfortunately, in the world in which we live, true friends are not the easiest thing to find. But because God is a God of love, there is one friend that we can depend on no matter what. Jesus said to those who were willing to follow Him, “I have called you friends” (John 15:15). It is amazing to know that we can be on intimate terms of friendship and love with the creator of the universe.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is our Lord and Savior. But He is also the best friend you will ever have. Nobody loves you, cares for you, or likes you like Jesus.

      Bryan Dewayne Dunaway

RACISM

Racism among the people of God is simply unacceptable. In fact, living as a racist and claiming to be a Christian at the same time is impossible. Racism and love for Jesus are mutually exclusive and it is time that you accept that fact if you have not already.

There is no room for “respect of persons” when it comes to people who follow God, who is no respecter of persons. We should fight against oppression and any negative thinking toward people who look different from us. We must realize that our differences are superficial and skin deep. There is no superior race.

God asked through the prophet in Micah 6:8, “And just what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” A sense of right and wrong, and of justice, comes from God (Psalm 33:5). And those who follow God should stand up for those who are oppressed (Isaiah 1:17).

We are to love everyone and treat everyone right. We should see the brotherhood of humanity and that God only has one race in His mind, the human race. We are all descended from Adam and Eve. We are all one blood (Acts 17:26).

Racism would be eliminated completely if we would just do what God says. The constant command of the Bible is to “love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8; Matthew 22:39). And according to Jesus, that applies to everyone who is in any kind of need of your help.

He told a story that highlights both our responsibility to other people and the stupidity of racism (Luke 10:29-37). And those who have been victims of racism should remember that loving your neighbor as yourself includes loving your enemies (Luke 6:27-28).

How can people who are called to live with “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12) be racist in any way? How could we possibly think that one race is better than another in God’s eyes ?

As Christians, we can work together to make the world a better place. Although our focus should never be a “social gospel” or “reforming” a world that is under the control of the devil, we are to help people who are in this world by showing them the love and compassion of Jesus. Which means that we can take a stand against racism, whether it be systemic or individual. And the best way to do that—the way to start, if you will—is to make sure that you are not a racist yourself.

In Christ, we recognize that there are no racial distinctions in God’s eyes (Galatians 3:28). We are all one in Christ Jesus. So by taking our stand against oppression against anyone and refusing to take part in racist ideas and beliefs, we can work toward the unity for which Jesus prayed (John 17:20-23).

We are supposed to be one with everyone who is in Christ, and there are people of all races that are in Christ. So as believers, we see people as individuals created in the image of God for whom Christ died. We do not “see color.”

One of the things that the Gospel is capable of doing is breaking down any kind of divisions that exist among people. Racial divisions are brought down by the true Gospel of Christ. We have the answer to racism. Passing laws and signing bills, as important as those things are, has not ended racism. But the love of Jesus in the body of Christ would end it forever if people would believe and obey Jesus.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:14 that Christ “has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” That means that people who are oppressed by racial prejudice can run to Jesus for refuge and acceptance and love in the body of Christ. If they don’t find that love and acceptance where you are, then it is not the body of Christ that you represent.

James 2:9 is as plain and direct as could possibly be. If you show respect of persons, if you exercise prejudice against other people, you commit sin and have evil in your heart. You must purge this from your system. You must get rid of this. This is completely unacceptable and you cannot live for Jesus and do it.

The body of Christ, the church, is to represent to the world a unified picture. It is the church that should show people what unity in spite of being different “races” means. It is not the government’s role or the public school system’s role, it is the church’s role to show what true unity looks like. What living together as brothers and sisters with no racism looks like. The diversity of the body of Christ is one of its most important features (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).

The first ones to end segregation should have been the churches. In fact, there should have never been any segregation in the churches. But the churches were not the first ones to end it, the government was. And that is pathetic and sad. And even today segregation in churches is not a thing of the past as it should be. It is rightly said that Sundays are still the most segregated time in America.

“But we worship differently and have different cultures,” someone argues. To hell with our “different cultures” and “worship styles.” Those are not the things that matter. The things that matter are love for and allegiance to Jesus. And worshipping Jesus is not about a particular style of music or bodily movement, it is about focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ and loving Him above anything.

The very basis of racism is exposed and rejected by belief in the Bible, for the Bible teaches that we all descend from the same ancestors. We all come from God, Adam and Eve, and therefore there is in reality no such thing as a “mixing of the races.” We are all from the same father and mother, ultimately going back to the creation of the world.

Genesis 1:27 teaches that everyone has been created in the image of God. That means that the dignity of humanity forces us to recognize the dignity of every individual. We are one in Christ. End of story.

Did the apostles preach against racism? Of course they did. They weren’t dealing with “black versus white” racism, but with Jew versus Gentile racism. But the principles would apply no matter what races we are talking about.

Respect of persons, racism, is a sin and it will cost you your soul. Give it up. Repent. Confess the sin and change. Like any other sin, you can repent and stop living in it.

       Bryan Dewayne Dunaway

CHRIST THE TRUE SEED OF ABRAHAM

The story of Abraham is not merely ancient history. It is the very soil in which the Gospel grows. God made a covenant with that old pilgrim from Ur, and the Bible shows us that every word of that covenant was a whisper of Jesus. All the promises God spoke under the desert stars were promises that would one day take flesh and walk among us. Christ is the Seed of Abraham. He is the heir of every divine oath. And all who trust in Him are gathered into that same covenant, clothed in that same blessing, welcomed into that same family of grace.

When God spoke to Abraham and said, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3), He was not speaking of a fleshly lineage or an earthly nation. He was speaking of faith. Abraham believed God, and God reckoned that faith as righteousness. And now, in Christ, the same God sees our faith the way He saw Abraham’s. This was never a covenant of bloodlines. It was a covenant of belief. The door has always swung on the hinge of faith, not flesh. From the beginning God intended to draw the nations to His heart through His Son.

The Old Testament sings this truth again and again. The covenant is renewed with Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob, yet always pointing to One greater than they. And the New Testament removes all doubt. Paul tells us plainly that the promise was not spoken to many seeds but to One—“and to your Seed, who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). Matthew opens his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1), so that we cannot miss the point. Christ is the heir. Christ is the fulfillment. Christ is the covenant. And all who belong to Christ are heirs with Him (Romans 8:17).

This covenant was never built on human strength or human righteousness. It stood long before the Law of Moses and never depended on our ability to keep it (Galatians 3:17-18). It was held up entirely by the mercy and faithfulness of God. Abraham’s tent stakes were driven into grace, and so are ours. The Gospel is simply this: all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ—Jew or Gentile—are one with Him and therefore children of Abraham by faith (Galatians 3:9, 29). Our standing before God does not rise from our social status, our race, or our earthly heritage, but from our union with Christ (Galatians 3:26, 28; John 1:12). God has but one family, and all its members wear the same mark—faith in the Lamb.

Every promise God ever made finds its “yes” and “amen” in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). The inheritance of Abraham is not a strip of earthly soil but eternal life in that better country, the heavenly one (Hebrews 11:10, 16). We are citizens of heaven now (Philippians 3:20). We are the household of God (Ephesians 2:19). And we are born again into this family by the resurrection power of Christ (1 Peter 1:3). This is why claiming physical descent without faith means nothing. Jesus told some of Abraham’s own descendants, “I know that you are Abraham’s seed, yet you seek to kill Me… Abraham did not do this” (John 8:37, 39). Flesh cannot save. Faith alone finds the way home.

God swore by Himself to bless and multiply Abraham’s descendants (Hebrews 6:13-14), and in Christ, you are counted among them. You have a spiritual inheritance richer than all the gold of the earth. You are accepted, redeemed, and made righteous—not by who you are, but by who Christ is (Philippians 3:9). This is the Gospel Abraham believed from afar, and the Gospel we rejoice in today. Christ is the Seed. And because we are in Christ, we too are the seed of Abraham.

So lift your eyes and rejoice. You stand in the covenant of grace. You walk in the footsteps of faithful Abraham. And you are wrapped in the eternal promises of God, all purchased by the blood of the Lamb. Blessed are all who believe, for they are Abraham’s children indeed.

BDD

JESUS OUR HIGH PRIEST

The Book of Hebrews lifts our eyes to the greatness of Jesus Christ in a way no other book does. From beginning to end, its steady refrain is simple and glorious—Jesus is better. Better than angels, better than Moses, better than the old covenant, better than the sacrifices offered day after day. He is the One. He is the Way. He is what everything is about. And among its many treasures, nothing shines brighter than the doctrine of Christ as our High Priest.

Under the old covenant, the people approached God through a system of earthly priests—men who were themselves sinners, offering repeated sacrifices in a physical sanctuary. They had to atone for their own sins before they could even represent the people. Their ministry was necessary but never complete.

Jesus is nothing like them. He had no sins of His own to confess. He is perfect, holy, and undefiled. Instead of offering the blood of animals, He offered Himself. Instead of entering a tent made with hands, He entered the true and heavenly sanctuary. And while the Levitical priests stood daily to offer sacrifices that could never fully remove sin, Jesus offered one sacrifice—once, for all—and sat down. His atonement is finished, full, and eternal (Hebrews 9:11–12, 14, 24, 26).

His priesthood is eternal because He is eternal. Scripture declares that He is a priest “forever” after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:17). That means His covenant is better, His work permanent, His salvation unshakable (Hebrews 7:11–12, 22, 24). What the old covenant hinted at, He accomplished completely (Hebrews 10:10–14).

But we must never forget the humanity of our High Priest. He could not offer Himself for us unless He first lived perfectly among us. Hebrews tells us He became flesh and blood—He was “made like His brothers and sisters”—so that He could redeem us, sympathize with us, and help us in our weakness (Hebrews 2:17). He was tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). That means His compassion is not theoretical; it is experiential. He knows what it feels like to be human (Hebrews 2:18; 5:2).

He knew frustration. He knew grief. He knew betrayal, exhaustion, hunger, loneliness, and sorrow. Whatever burdens you carry today, your High Priest understands them from the inside. He has walked this earth, lived this life, and felt these pains. And now He sits at the right hand of God, representing you with a perfect salvation and a perfect understanding of your need.

There is no greater encouragement than knowing Jesus is your High Priest. Because of Him, you receive grace instead of judgment and hope instead of fear. Because of Him, you look toward heaven as your home. Because of Him, you do not need an earthly priest—He Himself is your access to the Father (Hebrews 4:16; 10:19–22). You can draw near with full assurance, knowing you are welcomed, heard, and loved.

Even in trials, you can hold fast to your confession because your High Priest holds fast to you (Hebrews 4:14). He intercedes for you at this very moment (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34). You may not understand everything about His intercession, but you can rest in the truth that it is real, powerful, and good. You have an Advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1–2).

The truth that Jesus is your High Priest is reason enough to rejoice. He has done for you what you could never do for yourself. He saves you, stays with you, stands for you, and remains on your side forever. There are no words adequate to describe His majesty, but the more you learn of Him, the more your love and gratitude will grow.

Study Him. Trust Him. Draw near to Him. Christ our High Priest is your hope, your confidence, and your everlasting joy.

Bryan Dewayne Dunaway