JOE: Welcome to FJM TMV. I'm Joe Jordan. I'm here with my wife
Kris Jordan, and of course Gina Thompson. So glad to have you
guys here and excited about all that God has for the show today
as we talk about His Word. And today we're going to be talking
about true friendship and what is true friendship. So we're
going to jump into that, but again, just wanted to just be
excited about our 80th anniversary. It's our 80th year
of serving Jesus by serving the poor and the needy. 80 years of
Fred Jordan Mission, being on 5th and Towne in downtown Los
Angeles, right on Skid Row, the homeless capital. And without
you, our viewers, our friends, our partners, our prayer
warriors, our donors and supporters, I'm telling you, we
would not have been there the last 80 years, but with you, we
will be there until Jesus comes back to take us or until we exit
the earth because of old age and go to be with Jesus. But as long
as Jesus is still on this earth saving people, He's going to be
on Skid Row reaching out to the lives of those who are hurting
and broken. And we just want to thank you for that. Also, FJM TV
has been around 73 years and it's just awesome to be a part
of that where we can bring Jesus God's Word and some
encouragement into your home, to your iPad, to your iPhone, or
wherever you may stream and watch maybe on your computer,
but it's a great day to be able to share. But I also wanted Gina
to just share with you for a minute how you can get involved
if you're not already or how you can see more of FJM and
what we do. GINA: Yeah, well, we sure want
you to get involved. We've got a lot to celebrate this year and
what do we say, 44 to 24, the 80 year anniversary. So we're just
very excited around here and we want you to be a part. And
you can just go to fjm.org, see how you can get involved. We've
got events all year long that we need volunteers for and
also daily, those mission doors are open to give water, to give
daily needs. Whatever we've been supplied with at the mission we
give out all day long, but then once a day we open the doors
to the chapel. Those from off the streets come in, they find
that shelter, they find that safe place, they hear about
Jesus, they are reminded that they are loved, and then we
take 'em into our dining room, they sit down and they're served
a hot meal. And so that happens daily. So we need your help. We
need your financial support. So just go to fjm.org and see how
you can help and do it while it's on your heart. And every
time I say that, your mom's sweet words ring in my ear of
say what we make happen for others. God makes happen for
us. So as you give expect a blessing.
JOE: Yeah, because God is faithful and He loves you. He
loves me, and He loves a cheerful giver. He loves those
who invest in the kingdom work that He is doing on Earth, and
Fred Jordan Mission, we are blessed that we get to do
kingdom work, because We have the king of kings and Lord of
Lords is our boss, and we just love sharing about Jesus with
others. Also, you can go to @FJMissions on any of the social
media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and all
of that and connect with us. We put out a lot of good stuff and
just words of encouragement.
GINA: And Joe, if you don't mind me saying, when you go to
fjm.org, you have information and booklets that you send out.
Kris, you've got wonderful booklets. So it's just a great
place to go to get resources, daily encouragement, get fed in
the Word. Yeah. So I just wanted to throw that in there.
JOE: Absolutely. GINA: Because I love the
booklets you guys put out.
JOE: Yeah, it's great. And we also, you can sign up and have
Willie Jordan come into your home with your daily devos and
get a devotion from my mom. So anyway, and I'm sure somewhere
on there also, you can learn how to text and get a text from Joe
that just gives you a little Bible verse, and it'll give you
just a little word of encouragement every morning. It
doesn't take you more than 10 seconds to read, but even this
mornings was a blessing to me when I read it. And so I just
want to be able to offer that to you, and everything that we do
like that is free. But as we're talking about true friendship
and biblical friendship, you know I think about modern
friendship and modern friendship. I'm not just going
to define it blanket for everybody and everything, but I
think in modern friendships nowadays, it can be defined in
one way. It could be defined as those who we follow or those who
are following us on social media, interacting with our
friends by posting photos and vacations of our lives, kids'
accomplishments, and many other random things. I see people post
random things, random things, but whatever floats everybody's
boat, that's their choice, but it is a way that you can stay
connected with people for sure. But is that really a true
friendship? And not that they're bad in any way, shape or form
because you can stay connected, but they are definitely not the
foundation and the building blocks for a close personal and
intimate relationship. So what is a true biblical measure of a
friendship? What is the true way to know that you have a biblical
friendship? Well, there's two words that come to mind when we
look at God's Word about a true friendship and a personal
relationship that's deep and meaningful, and it has two words
in it. Commitment and sacrifice for one another. And if we want
to look at the greatest friend of all, the one who we can get
all of our examples from, I just go straight to Jesus because
Jesus is the greatest example of what a friend is, and all we
need to do is look at Him. We look at John 15:13, it says,
this greater love hath no man than this that a man laid down
his own life for his friends. You know as He shared this with
His disciples, and He hadn't gone to the cross yet, He hadn't
died, He hasn't been brutalized and beaten crown of thorn. He
hadn't had all that happen to Him. So they're sitting there
and they hear this, and I'm sure they missed the depth of that,
what it really meant. I don't think they really understood at
that moment what it meant to say greater love hath no man than he
laid down his life for his friends, but I guarantee you
this, and I'll tell you this as our viewers, the depth of that
meaning grew after Jesus was punished, brutalized, hung on a
cross, left to die, died stuck in the grave. It was definitely
something that came more alive, and especially as He rose from
the dead, it brought a whole new meaning to them, and at that
point, I think they saw those two words of commitment and
sacrifice. Jesus committed Himself and His life to the
mission of His Father, God, to die on the cross so that the
disciples and all of us and all of you could have life and be
saved and have salvation. And that also showed us the greatest
sacrifice of love ever. So if you want a great example, just
look to Jesus because He is the greatest example how He died for
all of us. Then it goes on to say in 15:14 of John, it says,
you are my friends if you do the things that I command you. Jesus
tells His disciples that if they follow Him and obey Him, they
are His friends. A close and intimate relationship with Jesus
can begin by accepting what He did when He died on the cross
for our sins. So Gina, how does it feel to know that Jesus calls
you Gina Thompson, His friend?
GINA: Oh, it means everything. You know, and it's just amazing
to think about how He wants to have a relationship with me. And
in the Bible it says, I stick closer to you than a brother,
that nothing can separate you from my love and how we are
created for connection with one another and how He desires that
connection with us intimately. And so it's just such a great
comfort to know when we go through the ups and downs of
life, we know He's with us every step of the way that He's
pursuing us in love and growing us in love. So it's just a
beautiful comfort in life to know that He is our friend. And
for us to have a friend, you need to be a friend. So to be a
friend back, actually to follow Him, to seek after His Word, to
know His Word. And there's just something so amazing that
happens when we speak His Word out loud over our situations. We
go to Him in conversation. There's just something beautiful
that happens that just fills us up with that peace and
joy and love. JOE: And when we look over at
the book of John, like John 14, I think about that, and there's
many passages there, but a few of 'em say, Jesus says, if you
love me, you obey me. If you love me, you'll follow me. If
you love me, you'll do what I've been doing, and He loved us
first. We know that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. He loved us from the beginning. So what a great
way to look at a friendship as God himself comes from, heaven
dies on the cross, sacrifices, commits everything for us to
know Him again. And how special is that to know that that Jesus
calls you Kris Jordan, His friend?
KRIS: Well, and I was thinking about that too, kind of
piggybacking off of what you said. When we think about that,
Jesus calls us His friend, it's such a mind shift because when
we think about Jesus is God, so when we think about God calling
us His friend, it's kind of a disconnect because when we think
about God, we think of this and obviously He is holy, perfect,
righteous. And then we look at ourselves and we're like, how in
the world can the God of the universe call me Kris Jordan,
Gina Thompson, Joe Jordan, His friend? And yet, like you were
saying, it's so indicative of how He wants that close personal
relationship with us, like a friend to a friend. It's not
this disconnected relationship of 'I'm God and you are my
creation.' No, He wants to- GINA: It's intimate.
KRIS: Yeah. And that is amazing that the God who created us
actually wants to have a personal relationship with us.
He wants us to come to us or come to Him when we're having
issues or struggles or whatever, like He wants to have that
fellowship. That's jus, it's incredible when you really think
about it. GINA: And then on top of that,
we can have friends who love Jesus, and then coming together
with that is just, oh my goodness, that's just the cherry
on top, you know that He is for friendships. I mean, there's
friendships all through the Bible as well, so friendship
is a beautiful treasure and a beautiful gift that we're given.
JOE: It actually is a gift from God, and you know if we look at
it, it all boils down to that whole verse, greater love hath
no man, then he lay down his life for his friends. Jesus
loved us so much, He was willing to die for us. John :316 from
God's Word, for God, so love the world, us, that He gave His son.
It was all born out of love. It was all given out of love. It
was all displayed and sacrificed out of love for us because He
loves us and He wanted that personal relationship with us.
And how cool is that? Stay tuned. We'll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: Life is busy. It's easy for the little things in
our everyday routines to get lost in the shuffle, even when
everything is going good, there are still things that get
overlooked. At Fred Jordan Mission we strive to help those
we serve on Skid Row with the little things, such as having
access to a bottle or even just a cup of clean water when
they're thirsty. How about a cup of coffee in a donut just to get
your day going or taking for granted, having shelter from the
weather? Hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Did you know a
high percentage of those here on Skid Row who we call homeless
are not drug addicts or alcoholics or even mentally
unstable? No, they are fellow Americans who maybe a few months
ago were paycheck to paycheck from eviction or recently laid
off from their job or just down and out on their luck. Your
active kindness through prayer, through your financial gifts
today, help those who come through our doors for socks,
toothbrush, soap, a lunchtime snack, and yes, even water. So
let this be a reminder to be thankful for the little things.
ANNOUNCER: Join the conversation by connecting with us on social
media. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more.
Visit us at social.fjm.org.
JOE: Well welcome back. We're talking about true friendship,
biblical friendship. And Jesus, of course, being the greatest
example of what a friend really is, a friend who told His
disciples even that He was going to lay down His life. I don't
think they got it at the time, but they did once He died, and
once He went in that grave, and once He rose three days later
from the grave, He really showed them that I did everything,
everything and poured out everything and sacrificed
everything because I love you, and that's just so awesome to
know. But every day we just need a little word sometimes from the
Lord. So how can they get a little word and a little
encouragement from? GINA: Because if we want to be
a friend, we have to spend time with our friends, and one way
to do that is in God's Word, and I love that you have your texts
going out. That's a scripture and just to follow up with how
we can apply that to our daily life. And I love that it's on
the phone. It's quick, it's easy, but powerful. So you just
need to text the word B-I-B-L-E to (626)314-7703, and you can
get a daily text from Joe, scripture, word of
encouragement, and that just is one way to grow our friendship
with Jesus. JOE: Yeah, I get it personally
and I write 'em, and it's just a blessing because God's Word
never comes back void. It always encourages me. And it doesn't
take you more than probably 10 seconds to read, but it'll
be just a quick 10 seconds that you wake up every day,
it comes to you Monday through Friday, and just let it be a
blessing for you. So as we're talking about though true
friendship and stuff, God's one and only Son, Jesus is the one
who came to this universe. He became flesh dwelt among us.
He died on the cross. We know that. And Jesus wanted His
disciples to understand that the greatest gift is to have a
personal relationship with Him because of what He did, and
that's where we kinda see that personal intimate relationship
kind of start with His friends, His disciples. They weren't His
servants, they were His friends and He calls them His friends
and said, I'm going to die for you, and what greater love is
there than a man die for His friends. And you know, in this
world that we live in, I think at times the world and the way
it is kind of goes against friendships, and let me just
explain. I'm not saying the world hates friendships, but
everybody's so busy, everybody's so overscheduled, overstretched,
they're beyond their limits. There's work, there's classes,
there's school, there's university, there's careers,
there's dreams, there's goals, there's family, there's
commitments left and right, and sometimes it doesn't leave much
time for a deep loving and nurturing relationship, but we
need to take time and have those relationships. Jesus challenged
His disciples throughout the scriptures to have loving and
lasting relationships with each other that were deep and
meaningful. He really wanted them to be friends, and He
wanted us as His children and as Christians, to be friends with
the world, to love them and to show them that's what we do on
Skid Row, every day we're there we try to befriend those who are
hurting and lost. And I wrote this, a true friend is not only
one who's beside us during the fun times, but they're also
there to support, encourage, motivate us during those times
when we go through the thick and thin and the ups and downs of
life. So that's so important to remember that being a true
friend isn't just there. I'm glad our kids love me more than
just Disneyland dad, because Kris calls me Disneyland dad
because they love it. Where are we going, dad? We're going to go
dirt biking. We're going to go this, we're going to go that.
Disneyland dad, I'm the entertainer to get them and have
fun. Let's go climb a mountain. Let's go do this. Let's go do
that. But I used to go, I don't want to just be Disneyland dad,
I want to be their favorite. I want to be the best, but what
I've realized with our kids is they call me just when they're
on their way home from work or after softball, or they just
want to share with me what they did, and Brooke called me the
other night and said, oh, I went four for four with two triples
and they're like, you must be a daughter after your dad's own
heart. He still plays like that. And it's just great to know that
we can have those deep relationships that mean more
than just superficial or a like on social media or whatever, but
what are some of the qualities and characteristics that you
look for in a godly relationship?
KRIS: Well, so you know me, I don't do surface relationships,
and I would rather go a mile deep with a few people than a
mile wide with or whatever the opposite of that is an inch deep
with a lot of people. And so obviously the main component
that I look for in somebody that I want to invest in a friendship
with is that they have a deep close and personal relationship
with Jesus, because if we don't have that, then there's really
no common ground because Jesus is my life, He's my passion, and
if I can't share that with somebody, then it kind of takes
that relationship to a very surface level, but aside from
the Jesus component, for me, it's somebody who's authentic,
somebody who's not putting on a facade, who can be real and
who's trustworthy, and who also, you and I have talked about this
a lot throughout the 35 years we've been together, we've had a
lot of one-way friendships, if you want to call it that, where
we felt like we're the one putting all the effort into the
relationship and the other person didn't reciprocate, and
that can get kind of frustrating. So one of the
things I look for also is somebody who's just as committed
to the relationship as I am, they're making an effort just as
much as I am. It's not just me leading that relationship, and
so those are just a few of the things that I look for in a
genuine true friend and somebody that I feel comfortable sharing
with and opening up with.
JOE: Yeah. You can't be vulnerable with just surface and
people you don't trust, but how about you, Gina? What are some
of those? GINA: Well, I call them the
2:00 AM friends. You know I've got a lot of friends. I've got
activities that I do with different groups, which are
wonderful, but there's just those few, like you said, few
people that you know that you'll be there for them no matter
what, and they're there for you no matter what. And we call 'em
like the 2:00 AM friend, like the ones you call just when
everything is just, you just are so overwhelmed, something
horrible has happened. You've got that friendship, that person
to call. And I asked my little granddaughter this the other
day, she's had her little best friend for so long, and she's
like six years old. And I said, so Zoe, why is Ava your best
friend? Because she's nice. I thought that was so precious,
and you know it is. We've got to be a friend to have a friend,
but the most valuable friendships are the ones that
you can pray with, that you can go to and pour out your heart,
even the ugly parts, like you said, to be truthful, to show
those things that we're not going to show everyone else
because you trust that person to say, hey, this is going to be
okay, and we can pray about it and move forward, and yeah, it's
almost like we know the Lord's our best friend, but we need our
earthly friends to help us grow.
JOE: Yeah, no, it's so true. And having friends is one of I think
God's ways of taking care of us, and we all face challenges and
trials and storms. We all make mistakes. We all have things
that happen with us health-wise, or we get discouraged at times,
but those close friends, those biblical friends, those
like-minded people that we have in our lives that we have that
personal relationship with, and our relationship of course with
Jesus will help us to navigate through the ups and downs and
craziness of this life and this world. We'll be right back.
GINA: If you ever visit the streets of Skid Row in Los
Angeles, you will see ragged tents, compromised easy ups,
which is someone's home. If you walk down the streets of Skid
Row, you'll pass dirty blankets or old newspapers lying on top
of broken wooden pallets, which is someone's bed. If you come to
the corner of Fifth and Towne, you will see people lined up to
join team Jesus for a hot meal in our dining room or a time of
song and worship in our chapel. What you also see at Fred Jordan
Mission is smiles and hugs and hear wonderful stories of love
and care. Serving those on Skid Row for 80 years, feeding
millions of meals, caring for the saint and the sinner by
declaring the goodness of God through love and action. Please
continue to give right now while it's fresh on your heart. Pick
up your phone or your tablet, go to your computer and type
FJM.org. It is there you can give a generous gift to help us
continue what we have been doing for 80 years.
JOE: Will you help us to be the hands and feet of Jesus on Skid
Row today, tomorrow, and the day after? With so many living
on the streets and it keeps growing and growing and growing,
we just need more help and more help and more help. After 80
years of serving Jesus by serving the poor, the needy, the
hungry, the homeless, and the helpless, we want to serve hope
every day, food, clothing, and everything else that we do, but
we need you. Pray about it. Stand with us. With your help,
you know how I say it. I can do a good thing. You can do a good
thing, together we can do extraordinary things as Jesus
uses us to bless those that are less fortunate. God bless you.
ANNOUNCER: Join the conversation by connecting with us on social
media. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
Visit us at social.fjm.org.
JOE: I grew up with great Christian parents, Fred and
Willie Jordan, who literally met the needs of the homeless, the
poor, and the needy around the world. They blessed and shared
the gospel, the resurrection story with literally tens of
millions of people, fed tens of millions of people, and we still
do feed hundreds of thousands of people. For 80 years, we've
carried on the torch and the calling and the legacy that God
gave my father because of friends and partners like you.
Together we do extraordinary things, reaching people for
Jesus, and that's because of you. Thank you so much for all
you do. Keep us in your prayers and whatever you can do, whether
you give $5 or $25 or $50, just know this. God takes it all. He
puts it all together, and then He uses us at Fred Jordan
Mission to reach the least of these.
FEMALE: (Singing) We will overcome this sorrow. We will
see the dawn tomorrow. We will soldier on down this road as we
reach for hope, reach for hope.
ANNOUNCER: Please will you join us in feeding hungry children
and their families by phoning today? (844)FJM-FOOD, or
donating online, fjm.org. That's fjm.org or mail your check to
Fred Jordan Mission, PO Box 12345, Covina, California 91722.
Please will you help?
ANNOUNCER: The proceeding program was sponsored by
generous Friends and partners of Fred Jordan Missions.