Loving Your Friends

You can’t make it in life without the right relationships. Relationships will make or break your life. You need wisdom and direction on what to do when relationships break down, and how to cultivate and grow relationships. 

Fortunately, God has wisdom and direction about relationships. 

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

As God changes us from the inside out, God has new relationships for you.

FOLLOWING JESUS IS A TEAM SPORT 

If I have followed Jesus, I have joined a team. In our culture we have turned our faith into a private relationship, a solo situation. So, we think the best Christians are the
ones that know the most and spend the most time alone with God. No. The greatest Christians are those who love and do good deeds together. We are the body of Christ–that means we belong to each other and need each other.  

everybody needs community. Here are some practical ways we are better together: 

SOME DECISIONS ARE TOO IMPORTANT TO MAKE ALONE

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” Proverbs 14:12 (NLT)

Ever thought, “This is a good idea,” and then, “Oops?” Some decisions are too important to make alone. And we don’t know which are the really important ones until we make the decision. I need help from godly people who have life experience I haven’t had or know Biblical principles I don’t know and can share them with me. We all need that!

Sometimes we ask God for help and direction and we think He doesn’t answer. But God often brings other people to give that help and direction, but we miss it.  

SOME DIFFICULTIES ARE TOO DIFFICULT TO BEAR ALONE

God, I’m breaking under this. God, where are You? God, why is this happening? God: I’m here. My hands and feet are here to help you. But you have shut the door, closed
the windows, and you are isolated. I am here to help you, but you are not getting any of that help. Even Jesus needed help.

Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.” Matthew 26:36-38 (NIV)

Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane where He was praying before He went to the cross. Jesus took three of His closest friends: Peter, James and John. Jesus asked them to stay with Him and pray, watch and pray for Him. Basically, “I’d like your help.  I don’t want to face this alone.”  

If Jesus needed others, how much more do we need others?  

SOME TEMPTATIONS ARE TOO STRONG TO RESIST ALONE

The Bible is clear. We are to confess to God and each other.

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 (NIV)

We need our struggles to be made known.  

Here is what community does: It lets us get help. You have a choice: Go it alone, go solo, be a free agent or you can have help. We’ve got to choose. Sadly, culture has
trained us to be independent, to be private, alone and then complain we have no help.  If we are the body of Christ, the church, then we are part of each other. If we are going to spur one another on to love and good deeds, we have to lay down the independence, the, “I don’t need anyone,” for truth.  

God has a story for our life. What does God want your story to be? He wants your story to be about being real, vulnerable, open and honest and it is there that we become all God has called us to be.