"THIS IS NOT A SECRET CLUB"

        "I have called you friends, for everything that I learned

                From my father I have made known to you."

                                       JOHN 15 : 15

When people talk behind your back, don't you hate it? It's like they're saying, "Oh, it's an inside joke; you wouldn't get it." There's nothing worse than being left out of a group when you want to fit in.

Here's good news; Jesus won't ever keep secrets from you. He came to earth so He could tell you every single thing about Me. He came to tell you about heaven. He came to share My love with you.

Christianity is not some secret, exclusive club. All you have to do is want to join, and you're in. I've chosen you to belong. I sent My son to invite you. Come and hang out with us!

        I recall times ago in the hospital when Jesus came through as my friend. There were times He was my one and only comfort during dark lonely nights after visiting hours. Friends or family weren't allowed in, so I soothed my pain by imagining a visit from another Friend.

                  I picture Jesus walking through the open doors of my hospital ward, his figure a silhouette against the light from the nurses' station down the hall. My mind's eye saw Him walking softly past the beds of my sleeping roomates. I'd comfort myself, imagining His standing at my bedside. The sharp pang of loneliness was eased as I thought of questions. He might ask: "Tell me what happened in therapy today. Was it nice to see your sister earlier in the evening? Tell me about it."

        Talking with Jesus strengthened my confidence in Him, a friend who would ultimately see me through months of suicidal depression at the prospect of pernament paralysis. He was the one who lent a sympathetic ear, His eye contact never faltering.

         What a friend I have in Jesus. But I wonder. . . What kind of a friend does He have in me?

                   Too often we stay at an arm's-length distance,

                    pulling back from the full intensity of an intimate

                    Friendship with the Lord. We satisfy ourselves

                    with "less" when it comes to our relationship 

                    With Him. But His love explodes our selfishness

                    When we hear Him say, "I have called you friends" 

                    His love breaks our hearts as only an intimate 

                    friend can.

                    What a friend I have in You, Lord Jesus. All my sins

                    and griefs You bear. What a privilege to carry 

                    Everything to You, my Lord, in prayer.