Tag: friends

A Sweet Friendship Refreshes the Soul

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Proverbs 17:17 A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.

I spent the morning with friends. We talked, we laughed, we ate, and we shared. We planned trips, we gave advice, and we prayed. Proverbs 27:9 says, “The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” Friends are amazing. Really a gift from God. I am so blessed with the friends that God has placed in my path today.

I have friends that helped me get through my divorce. I have friends that helped me raise my boys. I have friends that brought me closer to God. I have friends that took me out and showed me how to have fun. Friends should add to your life and should encourage you to be a better person. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”

I have also had friends that would find someone to dislike and then they would dislike them with all their heart.  I have had friends that pretended to be my friend but only wanted something from me.  I have had friends that were here for me during a season of prosperity but gone when the going got tough. I even had friends that encouraged me to do things I knew were wrong. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Don’t be fooled by those who says such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

What kind of friends are in your life today? Are they giving you heartfelt counsel and sharpening you to be a better person?  Or are they corrupting your good character? Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Find that friend. That friend that will stick closer than a brother. Pray for that friend. Pray that God will bring that friend to you. Psalms 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.”

God will help you find good friends because he is an expert! Remember John 15:13…There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.  That is what Jesus did for you. He laid down his life so you can have eternal life with him. So go ahead and ask him for help. He will know what to do.

Lord thank you for my friends. Thank you for laying down your life for me. Help me to be a true friend to those you have put in my life. Amen.

Are You Ready?

John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

These are a few of my favorite things: Saturday afternoons with friends at the pool. Dinner with my family. Meaningful conversations with my boys. The worship songs we sing together at church. Thought provoking group Bible studies.

What do all these things have in common?  People.  My friends, family, and fellow believers. These are the people I love and surround myself with. Who do you surround yourself with?  Do they know your story? Your testimony? Do they know why you are so happy?  Do they understand your peace? Can they see your faith? Do not take for granted that they know.

The Bible says the kingdom of God is near. We do not know when Jesus will come again. If you love being with these people here on earth, you will want them with you in heaven. They cannot ride on your shirt tails to heaven. They must believe for themselves. They must leave behind their past and become a new person in Christ.

Mark 16:16 says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  To be baptized is to drown your old life and to start living a new life in Christ.  But please understand that it is not God that is condemning you. You are condemning yourself if you do not believe. For in John 3:17 it says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

So, are you ready to leave your old ways behind? Are you ready to walk on the path that will lead you to eternal life? Do you want your family, friends and loved ones with you? I do. Do not wait any longer. Start the conversation. You do not need to convince them, that is the job of the Holy Spirit.  You simply need to lead them to the water.

Heavenly Father, please give me the courage to speak up and share my testimony to the people you have placed around me. Amen.