Friends are never earned they're a gift from the loving God
And they're precious beyond human evaluation
But you dare not take them for granted or they'll lift away like a smoke
And the warmth of their caring will vanish into the chill of the endless nights
Who is your friend he's someone who warms you with a nod
Or with an unspoken word in hard times when you're hurting beyond words
Who is your friend he's someone who holds you hand And sighs softly and prays with you when no other medicine could possibly stop the pain
A friend is someone who listens when you are hurting
Or answers the phone at three in the morning when you're lost
And with a few words of encouragement and concern
Makes you realize that you're not really lost at all
Friends come in both sexes in all shapes and sizes
The most imprtant thing they have in common is their ability
To share with you your most sky splitting joys
Or your deepest most awesome sorrows, for they are your friends.
Friendship – real friendship – is a gift from God. Be thankful for your friends. The Book of Proverbs tells us in Proverbs 17:17 that “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” A good friend is with your through thick and thin.
Think on that fact from the Good Book -- :a friend loveth at all times and a brother is born for adversity.” One of the basic needs and longings of life is for a friend, a real friend, a true friend. I want to talk to you about friends, what they're like, how to have a friend, how to be a friend, and then I want to talk to you about the friend of all friends, what a friend we have in Jesus and, and you know, many people have given definitions of friends.
A friend is one who strengthens you with his prayers, blesses you with his love and encourages you with his hope or somebody else said a friend is one whom distance is no barrier to communication or to concern or to caring. A friend is someone who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself. A friend is somebody who is on the scene when you need him and quietly leaves when you want to be left alone. Somebody else said a friend is someone who is there when you call and sometimes even before you call.
Now, all of these are nice and some of them are very good thoughts, some of them are frivolous, but what does the bible say, what does the bible say about a friend, a real friend, a true friend, what is the friendship factor that we find in the word of God? You will be pleased, perhaps amazed to see that the bible places a great emphasis upon friends. And so, first of all, I want you to think with me on what I'm going to call the value, the value of friendship. The bible says “A friend loveth at all times.”Now, friend, if you have a friend, a real friend, a true friend, you indeed have something of great, great value
But the Bible also tells to beware the company we keep – Because untrue “friends” can be a problem. Bad people can bring you down. Proverbs 20:19 urges us to avoid gossiping people. It plainly states that “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.” And Proverbs 22:24 says to avoid a person who is angry all the time, less you learn his or her ways!” And Proverbs also says not to hang around winebibbers – those who drink too much, or in our time, those who drug it up. And the Bible says to stay away from liars and the untrustworthy.
You want your friends to have wisdom, and if you want them to have the right kind of wisdom, you need to seek out Christian friends, like friends from your church family. Christian friends are the ones who will stick closer than a brother or a sister, because friends are friends forever, when the Lord is the Lord of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment