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Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network. So today we're going to talk about one of the best reasons for why you and I can pray, and it's something we don't think about much, but it's right out of the Bible, James. Yeah, what we're talking about is the fact that Jesus is family. Mike Whitner, a professor up in Michigan, had a devotional piece about that in Yesterday's Our Daily Bread, and he wrote, If you believe and follow him, Jesus is family. He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters, Hebrews 2-11. Jesus is our older brother in the family of God, Romans 8-29.
This is a great privilege. And it really is, you know, just think about what that means for us when we pray. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. It means that we can run to him, that thing that you can't tell anyone else about, you can tell Jesus. That struggle in your heart that no one else understands, Jesus understands perfectly.
That burden that you bear that you can't talk to others about anymore because, you know, they've just gotten tired of listening. Well, Jesus is both God and human, and he isn't tired of listening. And think about it, the one who prayed, Why have you forsaken me?
understands even when we ask why. When questions fill our minds and our hearts, it's hard to have faith sometimes. And when you've prayed and prayed and cannot sense God's presence, but he's there because he's family, and he knows us and how we are. Yeah, the fact that we can come to him and be forgiven no matter where we've been or what we've done, really, that's everything. And just the thought of seeing him as family, I mean, it means that you and I, we're someone with him.
Yeah, yeah. And I don't think we take that to heart enough. Our real worth is found in the fact that God loved us enough to go to all the trouble of the incarnation and the crucifixion and the resurrection and everything that Jesus went through and lived because God wanted us to be with him. It's not because of us that he did it, although we must be of incredible worth in his eyes, you know, that he would, but it's because of him. It's because of his love. You know, like John said, this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us. But the fact that he loves us like that, it does make us someone, you know, like you're saying when you're with family, and a good family, and of course, there's none better.
You're loved and accepted and celebrated. And it's just because you are family. You know, it's that blood is thicker than water kind of thing.
And the spirit and the blood are thicker than water. And you may have had an imperfect family and what family isn't. I mean, when I was a kid, I had brothers who were twins who were two years older than me.
And to them, you know, I was just a tag along, a little kid who was an embarrassment sometimes, but Jesus isn't like that with us. So I had another brother who was 15 years older. And when I was born, he told my mom he'd rather have a dog, but he ended up being a great brother. He took me fishing. He taught me how to shoot hoops and play tennis. And when I had competitive events in high school, he was there cheering me on. I mean, he was a good example in a lot of ways that really encouraged me to do my best.
Darrell Bock Oh, I love that. And, you know, having a great relationship with your brother or sister is really an amazing thing. You know, I can't help it. It's fascinating. Yesterday at the Truth Network, you know, we do devotions through our daily bread. So we had the same piece, and I had this on my mind, actually, when you sent it to me. And I thought, you know, as we were doing that this morning, that how cool is it that I had the brother that I—I cannot see my brother physically for maybe four or five years. And when we get together, we share so much history. We share so much love and things that, you know, it's like we were never apart. And when you think about it, Jesus was there even when I was there with my brother. You know, it's—he's been there through the whole thing. Robert Chisholm Yeah, and I think it really helps, Robbie, to think about that in our relationship with Jesus.
You know, if we've had a brother or a sister that we've had a good relationship with, you know, that closeness, that you don't get anything else, really, because, you know, you've grown up, they've got the goods on you, they love you, you know. And if we, you know, if we can take that and apply that and say, yeah, but with Jesus, it's perfect, you know. I mean, I know that helps me pray, right?
Darrell Bock Oh, the other night, in fact, I shared this at the devotions when we were talking about this very subject. A week ago, Sunday night, I had a kidney stone I was trying to pass. I don't know if you've ever had that. It's quite painful. And I laid down on my bed, and I was going through all this, and I shut off the lights, and I was just trying to get quiet and actually, you know, really should have had my mind on prayer, honestly, James, but I didn't.
You know, this is a moment where you really should. James I heard, yeah. Darrell Bock But nonetheless, so I, as I laid down, usually I don't have the room as dark as it was, and I have a ceiling fan that's right over my head. And that ceiling fan, the way it was positioned right that moment, and of course he knew that, it formed the most beautiful cross right above my head that I've ever seen in my life. Beautiful from a standpoint of, he was winking at me saying, Robbie, I see you down there. You know, that idea that you mentioned in the title of this, he gets you, right? He knew what that would mean to me, to see that cross right then in that moment, and it really brings me to tears right this minute to even think about it. James Yeah, but that's the thing, you know?
When you have a sibling whom you're close to, and sometimes it's not a word, it's just a glance, you know? And that's awesome, because again, what this is really about is closeness, and we need to understand that Jesus loves us like that. You know, the passage Mike Whitmer mentioned out of Hebrews 2, you know, I think it's 217 he mentioned, but it's a great thing, because Jesus knows, that same passage tells us that Jesus had to be made like us in every way. So, you know, he knows what it's like when when we're tempted. When we're tempted, he knows what it's like, you know, when we're weak. And so, that's the beautiful thing, he overcame all of that on our behalf. And so we can, you know, we can always run to him. But it's the acceptance thing here that gets me most, because it comes back to the very reason of, you know, why he came and why we can have a relationship with him at all. Oh, it's absolutely beautiful.
Yeah, yeah. And on that note, let's pray. Father, we just thank you that you love us like this. We thank you, Jesus, that you are our brother, and that you have made the way for us.
The best older brother we could have. We praise you for your spirit and we praise you for the closeness that you give us through your spirit and you long for us to draw closer. So help us in this. We know that you will and we praise you for it and we look forward to it. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray. This is the Truth Network.
