Author: Paul Nordman

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Three Changed Lives

“’No wonder Christians are so humble,’ pondered aloud our international student friend. Knowing very little about the Bible, she had been joining Peggy and me weekly to learn about God and His gracious work in a fallen humanity. As the gospel sunk in a little bit deeper one evening, our friend made the connection—receiving everything while deserving nothing is indeed a very humbling thing.”

Since I first posted this story on October 28, 2020, our friend has become a believer in Christ Jesus. And just as she had observed a genuine humility among Christians, her parents have noticed her newfound peace.

Another young student we know placed her trust in Jesus in the past few years, and now she also testifies to a greater and growing peace. When her mother came from their home country for an extended visit, she was amazed by the love in her daughter’s Christian friends. “Extending love with no expectation of anything in return,” as she put it, has been new to her and profound, something she continues to process.

Then let me also share about a young man who was an atheist upon arriving in the US to further his education. After years of participating in weekly Bible study, he also became a believer in Jesus Christ. “God is where the joy is,” he fondly proclaims. It shows; he glows.

What do all three of these young adults share in common? Raised in places in the world that oppress Christianity to varying degrees, they came to this country with few, if any, preconceived notions of Christians—they could see believers for who they are. Second, all three were drawn to Christ Jesus by the power of the Word and through the wonder of changed lives—people alive in Christ, exuding humility, peace, joy, and genuine love. In turn, those closest to these newer believers are seeing real change in them, the kind of change that draws people to its source—new life through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus once taught, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”1 Two millennia later, this still happens. So let the Spirit fill you and guide your thoughts, words, and deeds today. You will shine, the world will notice, the Father will be glorified. We have this promise.

Father, how humbling the thought that You change the world through Your people. As Your light shone through others to us, so shine it through us to others. Be glorified. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Matthew 5:14-16

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For the Love of Friends

“A friend loves at all times.” —Proverbs 17:17

Who do you call, “friend”? Think about it for a moment. Is it the one who keeps a confidence for you? Those willing to drop everything and “be there” for you? The listener who does not condemn? We all have a “friend” category, and consciously or not, it often has a reciprocity about it: treat me as your friend, and I’ll regard you as my friend. Then by contrast, consider the three times Jesus addressed someone as “Friend”—twice through parable illustrations and once in real life. Who were they? The first was an ungrateful worker who grumbled at receiving an agreed-upon wage. “Friend, I am doing you no wrong,”1 replied the hiring foreman. Next was a presumptuous one, crashing a wedding party. “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?”2 asked the host. And the real-life scenario? It was to Judas in the act of betrayal that Jesus said, “Friend, do what you came to do.”3

In a recent post, I concluded that, “If in death I will see Jesus face to face, I’d do well to open wide my relationship with Him right now.” I went on to say that, for me, drawing closer to Him means, among other things, “Trust His love.” For love is the very nature of God, as John stated so plainly: “God is love.”4 God not only speaks His love through reassuring words, He also demonstrates His love through promise-keeping deeds. John continues: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”5 Then God’s love for us does not depend on our human notion of goodness, nor does it vacillate with our faulty version of faithfulness. He loves us “with an everlasting love,”6 and this despite ourselves—“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”7

This love cannot be exceeded, and it is ours, for “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.”8 This love liberates us today without fear of tomorrow. This is love we can trust, love we can live, love we can give. Forever.

We confess with Paul …
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”9 Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us as friends. Amen.

1 Read Matthew 20:1-16, the parable of the laborers.
2 Read Matthew 22:1-14, the parable of the wedding feast.
3 Read Matthew 26:47-50, an account of Jesus’ betrayal.
4 1 John 4:8
5 1 John 4:9
6 Jeremiah 31:3
7 Romans 5:8
8 John 15:13 NASB
9 Romans 8:38-39

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A Friend in High Places

So the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. —Exodus 33:11 NASB

My mother and I were fondly recalling my father, who had passed away two decades prior. “In the last year or so of his life,” Mom said, “he would refer to Jesus as his ‘friend.’ At the time I thought he was nuts, but I’ve since come to understand what he meant.” We chuckled over the story, a slice-of-life peek into the past, and a highly relatable one, for God continually draws us closer to Himself. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you,”1 wrote James to early believers. And though Jesus reigns as Savior and Lord, He defines our relationship in still broader and more intimate terms. “I have called you friends,” He said to His disciples, “for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”2 Friends with Jesus—sit peaceably with this. Soak it in, for this is who we are.

In last week’s post, I shared my growing realization that “If in death I will see Jesus face to face, I’d do well to open wide my relationship with Him right now.” This included, among other things, talking with Him more. “Pray much. Pray boldly.” Then how better to talk to a friend than as a friend? Of our relationship with God, Paul writes, “In [Christ Jesus our Lord] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”3 Isn’t this an invitation to open conversation between friends? For true friends relate to each other not in capitulation to fear, but in freedom from fear; the more earnestly friends care, the more honestly we share. And no one cares more earnestly than Jesus; He has proved it by laying down His life for us, and by raising up our life with Him.

So we pray boldly, not because we’re so great in ourselves, but because God himself is so good. He draws us deeper into relationship through honest conversation. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.”4 He speaks to us, as well, just as He promised Jeremiah— “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”5 Then just as God listens, and just as He speaks, so also does He act. Writes John, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”6 Speak, listen, and act—this is what friends do, and Jesus is our friend. He has made us His, as well.

Jesus, thank You for calling us, “friends.” Help us to receive and flourish in such grace, that we would joyfully engage with You who loves us so well. Amen.

1 James 4:8
2 John 15:15
3 Ephesians 3:11-12 NIV
4 1 Peter 3:12
5 Jeremiah 33:3
6 1 John 5:16-17