Skip to main content

You've Got a Friend in Me

 
Google image

"Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends." ~H. Jackson Brown Jr., author of Life's Little Instruction Book

🎕 It all starts with who can stay up the latest at a sleepover in elementary.  Then in middle school it's who will stand up with you against the school bully.  In high school you only need to find one other person to be your bestie to go for chocolate covered cream-filled  long john donuts or help you with Chemistry, or your hair/makeup/outfit/everything.  

Friends.  As you age, you call them when your kids are sick, or behaving weird, or you need their recipe.  You share the sale you found and the  movie you love.  You can't wait to tell them so they can celebrate with you, or you need their advice because you're going to lose your mind.  You gut-laugh with them, and at times gut-cry with them.  

🎕 There are such great examples of friends in the bible.  Love, loyalty, trust and commitment are the foundation of all of them.

David and Jonathan fought alongside each other in numerous battles and forged a kindred bond that literally saved David's life (1 Sam 18:1-3):


🎕 Friendship among women is incredible.  I talked about Ruth and Naomi in my "Little Women part 2" blog a while back.  They demonstrate how strong and committed women can be to support each other through the hard times (Ruth 1:16).  

🎕 And what about the three Marys in the New Testament?  With dedication they listened, learned and loved Jesus throughout His whole ministry, then had to witness His cruel and undeserved death.  I'm sure they couldn't even find words, just tears, to express the agony and painful loss they endured when Jesus died. The worst days of their lives.



But imagine, as Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection, how they shared the most incredible joy and elation for what their Savior had done!  The best days of their lives.

🎕 Isn't that how friendship ages with us?  We rely on the companionship and trustworthiness of close friends to hold us up when we need it and let us celebrate together when the good things happen.  This life would be devastatingly lonely without friends, wouldn't it? 

How can we be better friends, with love at the foundation of it?

    🎕 Commit to pray for the spiritual growth of our friends  (Col 1: 9-12)

    ðŸŽ• Forgive them  and ask for forgiveness when needed  (Prov 17:17)

    ðŸŽ• Be thankful for your friends - tell them and tell God  (Col 3:16)

    ðŸŽ• Take time to listen & encourage them  (1 Thess 5:11) 

    ðŸŽ• Enjoy them, laugh with them, lean on them, let them lean on you  (Prov 27:9)



🎕 Let's be sure they know they have a friend in Jesus and in us. 

✙ Dear Heavenly Father, You have called us friends, and we desire Your friendship more than anything. Thank you for the people You have placed in our lives that encourage us and we can depend on.  Help us  to look through Your eyes and enable us to freely love on our friends.  Amen.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Fight Back the Darkness

  Crosswalk image Nothing makes Satan weak in the knees more than when we are on our knees."   ~ Skip Heitzig, Pastor Death.  Killing.  Violence.  What do we do with such heavy hearts in such a dark time? With the knot in our throats and the pit in our stomachs that are weighing on our souls?  When we look around us, nothing on this broken earth can fill our void of sadness and despair.   So we look up to the One who created all things and who alone has the power to bring light and help: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.   What does help look like?  When does it come?  How much will we get?  Anger, confusion, bitterness, hostility, helplessness and fear overcome us in different ways and at different times.  We want reasons- we ask, "Why, Lord, why?" We instinctively want a reckoning- someone to pay for the injustice that has happened....
2 comments
Read more

Knocking on Heaven's Door

  "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal." ~ Troy Ramey, artist My mom knocked on heaven's door this week, and was let in.  She had lived 94 years on this earth- through the Great Depression, tragedy, and a host of health issues- but plodded on with feistiness and a sense of humor. My mourning wasn't the only woe being experienced this week- miscarriages, mental illness, broken family relationships, fear of uncertainty - all woes this broken world has handed out to people I love.  And the prince of this world loves to throw them at us relentlessly.  Lord, how do we endure? How do we fight back the tendency to grow tired of it and let it rob us of our  joy? We ask God to give us the fruit of self-control and guard our minds.    "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."...
2 comments
Read more

The Power of 4

"Mathematics is the language with which  God  has  ruled the universe." ~ Galileo . Go back with me to a quick math lesson recall from Geometry (stay with me, it's short I promise).    Straight logic, right?  Let's apply one of the principles our Almighty God, the great Mathematician who designed numbers and the universe and our minds, created.   (a) - He knew we would need advice, help and support on this earth, in this broken life. (b) -  He gave us His Holy Scriptures, His Word, that miraculously survived over the years, to guide us. (c) -   He gave us the Holy Spirit as our "advocate", to help us understand His Word. So, therefore, our support, guidance and help comes by way of the Holy Spirit guiding us as we read the Bible- the holy, inspired Word of God.  Isn't math awesome? Don't just take this from an 8th grade math teacher.  Even man-made institutes support the benefits of reading the bible frequently, conclud...
Post a Comment
Read more