Some people would think if you:

go to church

pay tithe

read your Bible

pray

quote and memorize Bible verses

In summary, many people believe it's what you do for God that shows you are a friend of Jesus.

I would say otherwise. It's not what you do in God's name or the name of Jesus that shows you are His friend; its what God does for you that shows you are a friend of Christ. It's those things that people recognize as God's hand in your life that shows He is your friend.

Many times I was in situations where I could have died but God was my shield.

One example that is relevant today is how God has not let anything stand in the way of me getting my education.

Even when I didn't get the right grades God made a way for me to continue either financially or by telling my dad to let me continue. In fact, this semester the price of my tuition was cut to less than a third of the price! The normal cost is $6,000 a semester at Texas A&M we are paying less than $2,000 this semester! I received a scholarship for the summer($1000) and this fall($200) though my GPA is less than a 3.0; I didn't even go to summer school.

I got into Texas A&M by God's favor. I asked, believed, and I received it. Even when everyone thought I was crazy to think I would get in on the first try when my GPA was not a 3.0, I was not in the top 10% when in high school or at my community college.

Praying doesn't have to be you telling God how great He is or asking a favor for yourself or others.

Praying can be a conversation with God about what you are thinking, seeing, feeling, the problems, and the surprises of life.

My dad, who spends much time with God, sometimes has complaints about me but one thing he tells me always is: "I know even if you don't read your Bible every day, you talk to God every day."

No one is perfect and it doesn't require you to be perfect to be a friend of Jesus.