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Because of age and circumstance, I have more

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friends in heaven than I do down here.

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Heaven is loaded with friends.

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First and foremost, there is a man in

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heaven who is my best friend, my most

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faithful friend, and his name is Jesus of

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Nazareth.

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Jesus told his disciples, henceforth, I call you

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not servants, for the servant knoweth not what

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his Lord doeth, but I have called you

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friends.

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Jesus is my true and faithful friend.

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I can't wait to see him.

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I've spent so much time with him in

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prayer.

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I've come to love him like no other.

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He's been with me in trouble, sickness, and

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sadness, and I've learned to lean on him

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like no other.

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He has been there for me when all

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else have deserted me.

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He's a rock I can stand upon when

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the swirling tempest of life is rising around

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me.

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Jesus will never let you down, and he'll

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never let you go.

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Jesus is my true and faithful friend, and

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he is in heaven waiting for me.

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I was going through my Bible, and I

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found a handwritten note from one of my

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dear friends who is now in heaven.

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In the note, he writes, I'm writing this

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note on a book I picked up.

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It is Preacher in Prayer by E.

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M.

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Bounds.

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Marian Price wrote that note to me, and

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he had the privilege of leading E.

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M.

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Bounds' son Osborne to the Lord.

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Marian always loved reading books on prayer by

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his hero E.

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M.

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Bounds.

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Now Marian gets to hang out with E.

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M.

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Bounds in heaven.

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Heaven is a wonderful place where we will

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all have all the time in eternity to

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hang out with our heroes in the faith

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and to see our family and friends once

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again.

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I was going through one of my other

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Bibles, and I found several letters from Adrian

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Rogers to me.

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As I held them in my hand, I

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thought about Adrian.

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I thought about the last time I saw

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him.

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It was about a month before he died.

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He was so worn out from his cancer

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treatments he could hardly walk across the room.

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I was in a library with him and

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Henry Blackaby and Ted Randall, and I remember

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him hugging me so hard for such a

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long time it became almost embarrassing, but it

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was his way of saying goodbye to me.

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But it was not a permanent goodbye.

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I'll see his smiling face again when I

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get to heaven.

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I decided to go find and locate and

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read all my correspondence from letters from friends

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to me through the years.

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This younger generation today will miss out because

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of technology, because the art of letter writing

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is dead.

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But I found my old letters from friends

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like William McDonald and J.I. Packer and

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John Phillips and Stephen Olford and others who

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are now in heaven.

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And as I reread those letters, suddenly I

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felt like a very rich man, because a

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man's real wealth is not counted in investment

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portfolios and bank accounts, but in good friends.

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And I realized that I have more friends

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in heaven than I do down here, and

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I can't wait to see them and spend

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time with them and enjoy them.

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I believe when a Christian dies, he goes

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immediately into the presence of Jesus.

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And I also believe there is a welcoming

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delegation to heaven, and at the head of

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that delegation stands Jesus, and all around him

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are our loved ones and friends we knew

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in life.

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They are there to greet us and welcome

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us and rejoice with us for that victory

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in Jesus.

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I remember J.

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Siddle Baxter commenting when he was in his

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late 90s.

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He said, I'm more up there than I

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am down here.

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I believe I can say the same.