Monday 16th August 2021
BE THAT FRIEND
Pastor Soong Kok Kee

John 15: 13-15 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servant, 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.

An English publication offered a prize for the best definition of a friend, and among the thousands of answers received were the following:

“One who multiplies joys, divides grief.”

“One who understand our silence.”

“A volume of sympathy bound in cloth.”

“A watch which beats true for all time and never runs down.”

But here is the definition that won the prize: “A friend – the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.”

There is also a Chinese saying that says if you have one true friend in your life, you can die without any regrets. Albrecht Durer found one.

From childhood Albrecht Durer wanted to paint. Finally, he left home to study with a great artist. He met a friend who also had this same desire and the two became roommates. Both being poor, they found it difficult to make a living and study at the same time. Albrecht’s friend offered to work while Albrecht studied. Then when the paintings began to sell, he would have his chance. After much persuasion, Albrecht agreed and worked faithfully while his friend toiled long hours to make a living for both of them.

The day came when Albrecht sold a wood-carving and his friend went back to his paints, only to find that the hard work had stiffened and twisted his fingers and he could no longer paint with skill. When Albrecht learned what had happened to his friend, he was filled with great sorrow. One day, returning home unexpectedly he heard the voice of his friend and saw the gnarled, toiled, worn hands folded in prayer before him.

“I can show the world my appreciation by painting his hands as I see them now, folded in prayer.” It was this thought that inspired Albrecht Durer when he realized that he could never give back to his friend the skill which had left his hands.

Durer’s gratitude was captured in his inspired painting that has now become world famous – the praying hands. And, we are blessed by both the beauty of the painting and the beautiful story of gratitude, friendship and brotherhood. (The Bible Friend)

As a Pastor, our family has received many gifts, big and small. Except for the piano in our living room, all the rest were blessed by brothers and sisters in the Lord. When my children were young, they would always say how they wish when they grow up, they pray they too would have friends like those Uncles and Aunties who have blessed us so bountifully. I told tell them NOT to pray to have friends like those uncles and aunties but rather pray to BE FRIENDS like those uncles and aunties. The Bible teaches us that its more blessed to give than to receive – obviously our Lord has blessed those uncles and aunties physically, materially and spiritually and thus they are able to bless others. The giver and the receiver are both blessed but the giver is more blessed.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, our Lord will continue to bless and reward all those who have given so sacrificially and generously to the Covid Aid Fund so that those in need may be blessed during this pandemic and indeed so many have been blessed. Our Lord has made that ultimate sacrifice of giving his life for us so we may have forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Indeed – What a Friend We Have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.

So let us not pray to have friends that will bless us but rather let us be friends that would bless others – like Durer’s friend, like my children’s uncles and aunties who have blessed our family all these years and like our Lord who had even given His life for us – His friends.

I went out to find a friend,
But could not find one out there,
I went out to be a friend,
And friends were everywhere!

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for sending your one and only Son to be our truest FRIEND who was willing to suffer and die for our sins. With that example He has set, help us to be like Him, reaching out and giving sacrificially all that you have blessed us with, to be Friends to those who are in dire need in this difficult times, so that your name may be blessed and honored and glorified. In our Lord Jesus precious Name we pray AMEN.

班底浸信教会
每日灵粮
星期一，2021年8月16日
标题：做那个朋友
讲员：宋国基牧师
翻译：陈劲年姐妹

【约翰福音 15:13-15 】 13人为朋友舍命，人间的爱没有比这个更大的了。14你们若行我所吩咐你们的，就是我的朋友了。15我不再称你们为仆人，因为仆人不知道主人所作的事；我已经称你们为朋友了，因为我从我父那里听见的一切，都已经告诉你们了。

一家英文出版物提供了一个最佳朋友定义奖，在收到的数千个答复中，有以下几个：

“一个使欢乐倍增、分担悲痛的人。”

“一个了解我们沉默的人。”

“裹在布里大量的同情。”

“一只一贯准时、永不掉链子的手表。”

但这是获奖的定义：“朋友 – 整个世界都消失了，他仍在你身边。”

中国也有一句俗语说，如果您一生中有一个真正的朋友，您可以死而无憾。阿尔布雷希特·杜勒（Albrecht Durer）找到了一个。

阿尔布雷希特·杜勒从小就想画画。后来，他离开家去向一位伟大的艺术家学习。他遇到了一个也有同样愿望的朋友，两人成了室友。他俩都很穷，他们发现很难同时谋生和学习。阿尔布雷希特的朋友主动提出在阿尔布雷希特学习期间工作。然后，当这些画开始销售时，他就有机会了。在多次劝说之后，阿尔布雷希特同意了，并认真地学习；而他的朋友则长时间地辛勤工作，为他们两人谋生。

有一天，阿尔布雷希特卖了一件木雕，他的朋友回到他的画作上，却发现辛苦的工作已经使他的手指僵硬和扭曲，他无法再熟练地作画了。当阿尔布雷希特得知他朋友的遭遇时，他悲痛欲绝。一天，他突然地回到家，听到朋友的声音，看到他那双粗糙、劳累、磨损的双手在他面前合十祈祷。

“我可以画出我现在看到的他双手合十祈祷的样子，来表达我的感激之情。” 阿尔布雷希特意识到他永远无法将离开双手的技艺还给他的朋友了，正是这个想法激发了他的灵感。

杜勒的感激之情体现在他的灵感画作中，现在这幅画已成为世界著名的《祈祷之手》了。而且，我们被这幅画的美丽和感恩、友谊和兄弟情谊的美丽故事所祝福。(Bible Friend圣经之友)

作为牧师，我们家收到了许多大大小小的礼物。除了我们客厅的钢琴，其余的都是主内弟兄姐妹的祝福。当我的孩子们还小的时候，他们总会说他们长大后的愿望，他们祈祷他们也能有像叔叔阿姨这样慷慨地祝福我们的朋友。我告诉他们不要祈祷有像那些叔叔阿姨那样的朋友，而是要祈祷成为那些叔叔阿姨那样的朋友。圣经教导我们施比受更有福 – 很明显的，我们的主在身体、物质和心灵上祝福了这些叔叔阿姨，因此他们也能够祝福别人。给予者和接受者都受到祝福，但给予者更受祝福。

因此，我亲爱的弟兄姐妹们，我们的主将继续赐福和奖赏所有为新冠病毒援助基金作出牺牲和慷慨捐赠的人，以便那些需要帮助的人在这场大流行中得到祝福，而且确实有很多人得到了祝福。我们的主已经做出了最终的牺牲，为我们舍弃了祂的生命，这样我们就可以得到罪的赦免和永生。确实，在耶稣里我们有这么一位恩友，祂背负承担我们所有的罪孽与忧伤。

所以让我们不要祈求有祝福我们的朋友，而是让我们成为祝福他人的朋友 – 像杜勒的朋友，像我孩子们的叔叔阿姨，这些年来一直祝福我们的家人，像我们的主，甚至为我们 – 祂的朋友 – 付出了生命。

我出去找朋友，
却无从找得到，
我出去当朋友，
朋友无所不在！

祷告 ：父神，感谢您差遣您的独生子成为我们最真诚的朋友，祂愿意为我们的罪受苦，甚至为我们的罪而死。以祂所树立的榜样，帮助我们像祂一样，伸出援手，并牺牲性地施予祢赐予我们的一切，在这个困难时期成为那些急需帮助的人的朋友，以让祢的名被称颂、受尊崇和荣耀。奉我们主耶稣宝贵的名祈祷，阿们。