Luke 5:20

April 10, 2015 by Clella Fox

Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all;
He is my strength from day to day,
Without Him I would fall.
When I am sad, to Him I go,
No other one can cheer me so;
When I am sad, He makes me glad,
He’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me,
My Friend in trials sore;
I go to Him for blessings, and
He gives them o’er and o’er.
He sends the sunshine and the rain,
He sends the harvest’s golden grain;
Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain,
He’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me,
And true to Him I’ll be;
Oh, how could I this Friend deny,
When He’s so true to me?
Following Him I know I’m right,
He watches o’er me day and night;
Following Him by day and night,
He’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me,
I want no better Friend;
I trust Him now, I’ll trust Him when
Life’s fleeting days shall end.
Beautiful life with such a Friend,
Beautiful life that has no end;
Eternal life, eternal joy,
He’s my Friend.

CRC Worship
written by Will Thompson

This song came into my mind a few weeks ago, and I kept “singing” it over and over. I noticed that the word “Friend” was in each verse at least once. Mr. Thompson referred to Jesus as his ‘Friend’. I decided to go to Biblegateway.com to look at Scriptures with “friend” in them. There are 170 verses in the NIV translation with that term and many more with references to friendship. Some verses refer to betrayal or jealousy, while others refer to intimacy. The verses I pulled out refer to the personal friendship with God and Jesus that means “all the world to me.”

Even now my Witness is in Heaven; my Advocate is on high.
My Intercessor is my friend, as my eyes pour out tears to God;
on behalf of a man He pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.
Job 16:19-20

A friend loves at all times,…
Proverbs 17:17

…there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24

One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the King for a friend.
Proverbs 22:11

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
Luke 5:20

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 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 Father I have made known to you.
John 15:13-15

Here are just a few more “friend” verses that you may want to read at your convenience: Exodus 33:11, Song of Songs 5:16, Matthew 11:19, Luke 12:4, James 2:23.

There have been (and will be) times when we fall, and we fail to do God’s perfect will. I’m so thankful that Jesus is there for us. He is our Strength, and lifts us up back into fellowship with Him. In Him we find true joy. Jesus is “all the world to me!”

The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
Psalm 145:14

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:10

…and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35:10

When we are in fellowship with Jesus, we will experience blessings even when we are going through trials. That’s because wherever Jesus is blessings are too. They are a part of Him, and we are the benefactors. Jesus is “all the world to me.”

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms
because we are united with Christ.
Ephesians 1:3

There is no truer Friend you or I can have than Jesus who laid down His life for us (John 15:13), and promises us that He will never forsake us. Jesus is “all the world to me.”

…be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6
Because of our friendship with Jesus, we have this assurance:

Beautiful life with such a Friend,
Beautiful life that has no end;
Eternal life, eternal joy,
He’s my (your) Friend.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding,
so that we may know Him who is true;
and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
1 John 5:20

Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.
The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die;
and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die.
John 11:25

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:4

Is Jesus your Friend? If not, He’s waiting for you. My friendship with Jesus means “all the world to me,” and I pray you can say the same. You will have “no better Friend.”

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.”
Revelation 3:20

Dear Jesus, thank You for laying down Your life and rising to new life for us. Through Your ultimate sacrifice, You made the way for us to become Your friend, a part of Your family. We have no better Friend. You are our life, our joy, our all. You are “all the world to us.” Thank You! We give You our all to be Your friend. In Your Holy Precious Name we pray, Amen.

Glorious Living w/ Coach Megan: Finding Forgiveness and Freedom from Guilt

Dear Coach Megan,

I am really struggling with letting go of feelings of guilt I have had over things I did a long time ago. I am hoping that you can give me some direction on how to let go of this guilt that is keeping me locked up inside. I know God needs me free from this so that I can truly live free and forgiven for his glory. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can give! ~S.J.

Thank you so much for your questions, S.J!

I remember when my kids were little and they would fall and scrape their knee on the playground. They would come running towards me at full speed, tears in their eyes for me to kiss it and make them feel better. It always worked, every time….a big hug and lots of love always made the sting of a scrape feel that much better. A few moments later, they would run off again, to play in the sun without a care in the world. The same is true when we take our bruised and broken lives to God…. He forgives and forgets, and it ALWAYS works! AND…when we trust in Him, He takes away all the guilt.

Luke 5:20

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Please, dear friend, do not stay stuck in the ditch of guilt! God has so much bigger and better plans for you that cannot be fulfilled to their fullest until you let yourself be FREE and transformed! I have some practical steps for you today that I pray will help you grow in Christlike maturity and bring all your guilt to our forgiving God for good! Grab a journal, print this out, and get ready to work through all the guilt that is holding you captive so you can finally be set free!

1. Find the source of your guilt

Examine why you feel guilty
Determine if your guilt is true or false
Use Scripture as the ONLY standard for determining true guilt

Psalm 51:6

Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

2. Own the responsibility for your sin

Agree with God that you are guilty of sinning
Ask God to reveal your personal sin patterns
Make restitution to those you have sinned against

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

3. Realize and believe that God means what He says

Thank God for the gift of His Son, who paid for your forgiveness
Thank God for His unending forgiveness, even if you don’t feel forgiven
Choose to believe what God says

Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

4. Stop and give up for good dwelling on the past

Give up holding on to past pain
Give up self-condemnation
Give up refusing to forgive others

Isaiah 43:18

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

5. Invest time in renewing your mind

Memorize scriptures that reinforce God’s forgiveness
Remember that in Christ, you are a “new creation” {2 Corinthians 5:17}
Learn to see yourself as a valuable child of God

Ephesians 4:22-23

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self,
which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;

6. Verify satan’s lies to God’s truth when satan accuses

Learn to discern the difference between the Holy Spirit’s voice and that of satan
Answer satan’s accusations with truth from Scripture
Verbalize a personal prayer receiving God’s forgiveness

Isaiah 54:17

“No weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.

7. Exchange your life for the life of Christ

Understand you cannot live the Christian life in your own strength
Allow Christ to transform you and live out His character through you
Continue to nurture the Holy Spirit’s presence through personal prayer and Bible study

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

8. When you obey Him, God brings your feelings in line with the facts

Know that God is a God of second chances
Know that your feelings won’t change immediately
Know that feelings usually follow thinking

Psalm 32:1-2

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Dear God,

We ask You to give us the discernment to know when we are feeling false guilt instead of true guilt. Please Lord, have Your Spirit convict us when we are headed the wrong way so that we will get on the right path and be in line with Your will. We also pray that we will always be sensitive to the convicting touch of the Holy Spirit’s hand. Thank You that we are forgiven and set free through the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross. We pray these things in Your holy name, amen <3

Blessings,

Coach Megan 🙂

Jesus Is All The World To Me