To God's Beloved @ Cloverdale Baptist Church:
The reality that summer is almost over is a little sad, although anticipating all of the programs and opportunities for service in the coming year is exciting. As preparation for September is at hand, one of the privileges that comes my way is working on mentoring studies. Today, friendship was the topic at hand, and the importance of choosing our friends wisely cannot be overstated. So often people are able to get through incredibly difficult situations because of their friends, or they fall apart spiritually because of their companions. Choosing our friends wisely is one of the most important things we do in life!
We become like our friends. Sometimes the Bible states this in warning, like 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Do not be deceived: 'bad company ruins good morals'"; and other times in counsel, like Proverbs 13:20, "whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm".
Over the years it has become more and more clear to me that our friends shape our thinking, how we feel and our behaviour. This can be extremely positive (Hebrews 3:12-14), or sadly destructive to Christians and Jesus church (Proverbs 22:24-25; 6:16-19). Choosing your friends wisely is essential to healthy Christian living. So over the next few weeks, I want to share 6 attributes that Proverbs teaches a godly friend will have. This is for two reasons, as children go back to school and adults re-engage in fall time living: 1. So that we will be good friends; 2. So that we will look for and find good friends. Acrostics help us to remember things, so we will use the acrostic, F.R.I.E.N.D., to work through these six marks.
Mark 1: FAITHFUL:
A godly friend is a faithful friend, Proverbs 17:17 states, "A friend loves at all times, a brother is born for adversity." True friends, godly friends are loyal through the difficulties of life, even at personal cost to themselves. Proverbs 27:10 states it in command form, "Do not forsake your friend, or your fathers friend". A faithful friend will never leave you when you are walking through the valley of darkness, in fact they will run toward you and stand by your side, helping you to seek to glorify God through your pain.
When you are choosing friends, make sure they are faithful. When you are seeking to be a godly friend, keep your word, and when a friend is hurting be the first one there to love them sacrificially through their pain, together seeking to glorify God and pursue Him with passion (Proverbs 27:6; John 15:13).
I have been blessed with amazing friends, who have been faithful to me on my journey towards Jesus and obedience to His will, I long to be this kind of friend, and encourage you to find friends like this and be a friend that is FAITHFUL.
Much is going on in our church family, so would encourage you to engage this year in a Growth Group, find a ministry that you can encourage others in, and become a part of the pursuit we have together of bringing glory to God's name! To get the most out of family life, you must be committed with your time, treasures and talents, and we will only be as healthy as the sum of our parts (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Sunday Is Coming:
Text: Nahum 2-3
Title: Know Him and Make Him Known:
Biblically, why do bad things happen to God's people (Romans 8:28-29)?
How can you respond to difficult circumstances in your own life?
Why do you think that the Bible has so much information on the punishment of those who sin against God?
How does the Gospel help us to see the justice and grace of God?
Why is it impossible to understand the Gospel without an understanding of the justice of God and our sin?
Why is being missional so important, both here in our own community, and around the world?
Have a great week, and REMEMBER...
Choose your friends wisely, and be a FAITHFUL friend!
Pastor Rob