Friends and Family
Someone was asked, “Who is the best friend you ever had?” Their answer: “I never had a friend and have no need of one.” The person who asked the question was saddened by the answer and began to remember friends she had shared her life with. She remembered the one special thing each had done for her. At age two a friend rescued her from a mud puddle. At age four a friend came from the school across the street to bring her an ice cream when she had Chicken Pox. At age five a friend moved in next door and invited her to come and play when she was very lonely and afraid. At age twelve when her father died, a friend stayed with her day and night, not saying a word, just staying. As a teenager a friend listened to all her hopes and dreams and believed they would come to pass. In later years a friend held her hand when she felt hopeless and helpless and prayed for her. A friend believed in her and told her she could still be and become. A friend encouraged her to believe in herself again. Friends rescued me when I could have drowned, fed me when I was sick, entertained me when I was lonely and afraid, stayed with me in dark times, listened to my hopes and dreams, prayed for me, believed in me and encouraged me to believe in myself. So if I had never had these friends where would I be now? I suppose lonely and miserable saying I have no need of friends. Make a friend. Be a friend. Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble. -Proverbs 17:17 THE MESSAGE
Faith Is
Faith, what is it? Do you have enough of it? Do you ever fear you might lose it? There are many books dedicated to teaching solely on faith. We can find what God’s Word says about it, what men think of it, and how we can acquire it One faith quote says, “I have found there are three stages to faith building: believing something is totally impossible, believing something is going to be very difficult, and finally seeing something actually come to pass.” The Bible says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” We hope for many things. So we must find our faith and use it well in many different situations in life. It is easy to say we have great faith in God on sunny days, but is the great faith still within us when the storms come our way? Faith is the ability to stand even as we face adversity such as death and disease, insurmountable odds such as divorce and devastation, trials such as degradation and depression, heart issues such as desperation and devaluation. Faith is believing that totally evil impossible situations will be turned around for the good in an instant.. Faith is not simply believing God can, but knowing God will. Faith is thanking God in the midst of chaos for peace. Faith is thanking Him in the middle of disease for healing. Faith is thanking Him in the middle of death for life. Faith is knowing for sure you have enough of it and you will never lose it. I Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
Just Focus
A new father stood in front of the nursery window to take the first photo of his son. Out of a whole room full of crying babies his eyes automatically focused only on his child. As the father looked through the view finder and prepared to take the perfect picture tears of joy filled his eyes. He aimed the camera, equipped with automatic focus, and clicked. As he wiped his tears he smiled at his son. He thought of his wife earlier that day, how the delivery team had told her to minimize her pain by using focused breathing techniques. They told her over and over, “Just focus.” Her focal point was a scripture. She was keeping her eyes on the prize, the child that would come at the end of a long day of pain endured. A focal point is a point to which light, a look, or attention is directed. When we focus on that one point everything else seems to automatically fade away. Today if noise, confusion, and pain seem to be all around take a deep breath, focus your attention on the prize set before you. You have the power to endure. Just focus on Jesus. You are His child. He will bring tears of joy to your eyes. He will make you smile again. It’s just a fact, it’s automatic.
Fellowship:Good Company
Fellowship is defined by Webster as a community of interest, a company of equals or friends. The word fellowship is found in the New Testament fourteen times. Fellowship is an important element of the New Testament Church and comes from a Greek word which means to hold something in common, and denotes an interdependent relationship with others. A synonym of the original word for fellowship denotes unity being expressed outwardly. Churches today have fellowship halls, fellowship dinners, fellowship outings, and fellowship groups. In these halls when the groups meet to have dinners or go on outings is there true fellowship? We must remember what we hold in common. Our unity that we express outwardly should always come from an inner fellowship and relationship we have with Jesus Christ. As the body, we must have interdependent relationships and strive to achieve true Christ like fellowship.