From Tears to Grace Ministries Presents Love Letters to Nourish a Woman’s Soul

Devotional 10
Friend Request

Friend Request:
Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck (snatch) them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.
John 10:25-30

How many of you are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, et cetera, going through these sites and others searching for people to send friend request? After you have sent the request, you wait on people to either respond accept or deny. You have some people who accept your request but do not follow you or you those that accept your friend request just to see what you are doing because you are putting all your business out there for them to read and see. And then, you have those that deny your request period.
Well, we do the same thing to Jesus. When Jesus sends out His friend request, by asking you to come and follow Him, what do you do? Do you accept Jesus friend request but still do what they want to do, seeing what He can do for you, or do you accept Him and truly follow Him trying to live the Holy life God would have you to live? Or, do you just deny the request all together?
Are you just adding Jesus to your life to say you know Him but really don’t, or have you given up everything to follow Jesus completely? Are you just adding Jesus as a number to how many friends you have or are you whole-heartedly following Him, being obedient and faithful to God’s word? What does your relationship with Jesus look like? I do know, you need to take a moment and examine yourself and where you have placed your relationship with Jesus in your life. Is He at the head of your life (putting Jesus first in your life before anything or anyone) or, is He in the background, (only calling on Him when needed) waiting on you to accept Him and follow Him completely? If anything, Jesus should be your BFF (best friend forever), your road

dog, ace coon boon, your ride or die because He will be the One that is always there with you, regardless of the situation you get into.
Crystal Penelton

Scripture:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13

Encouraging Word: Friend

Ladies look at your friends. Which one is honestly there for you? Which one of your friends can provide you with whatever you need? Which one can heal your body? Which one can wipe your slate clean of your sins and never remember them no more, not holding them over your head? Which one won’t talk about you behind your back? Which one can help you do anything with their help? Which one can give you strength, wisdom, and life? Which one will be there for you through thick and thin? Better yet, which one will die for you?
Look at your friends, and then look at Jesus, and ask yourself, which one can and will do, all the above for you? What is their purpose in my life? Jesus is the one and only who can. Jesus purpose is to bring you eternal life and more abundantly. He loves you so much that He did it, expecting nothing in return but for you to follow Him. I believe it is time to spring clean some people out of your life because they are not going where God is taking you and they know that. Hanging around you is their job to keep you down on their level.
Don’t get me wrong, they may not know that is what they are doing, but it is your job to discern their purpose in your life. Bring Jesus to the forefront and start depending on Him, not your associates. Very few people understand what a FRIEND is, let alone, have them. But Jesus calls you friend despite what you have done. So, accept your friend request from Jesus and follow Him. Nobody else can love you like Jesus. No one else can treat you like Jesus.
Prayer:
Father, God, in the name of Jesus, I pray for every person who have read this love letter. I pray that they understand what it means to follow you. I pray they take off the old man and put on the new man inside of them. I thank you that they agreed to follow you, to change their lives because of something You, Lord, have said. I thank you they are learning how to live a holy life of serving You. Only You are worthy to be served, only You are worth to be praised, only You are worthy to be worshipped, and only You are worthy of all the glory. I pray that everything we do glorifies You. Thank You for loving us despite of ourselves, thank You for keeping us, think You for bringing us out of the dark, and thank You for forgiving us.
Lord, we bless Your holy name. We thank You for redeeming us, for restoring us, and delivering us. We thank You for who You are to us and for being God and God alone. Lord, You, are so worthy, so awesome, so magnificent, and so mighty. So, Lord, at this moment, we commit to following oh Lord, leaving everything else behind that does us no good. We love You Lord for who You are, and we confess You as our personal Lord and Savior right now Lord, in the name of Jesus. Thank You, Lord, for accepting my friend request. In Jesus name, Amen! Amen! Amen!