Friends Are Friends Forever: Eliphaz

God gives us friendships to move us forward. To strengthen us, to guide us and to bring us joy. I have been blessed, abundantly, with many friends. Some, I know for only moments. Others know more about me than my family. And still others, are so close that regardless of time and space, there is never distance between us. Take a few moments today to acknowledge the friendships in your life. 

^{Job 2:11-13} When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Michael W Smith: Friends Are Friends Forever

Heavenly Father~ I thank you for the gift of friendship. For the people you have put in my life to love and care for me. I pray you grow a spirit of friendship in me. May I come when a friend is in need. May I laugh when it is the best medicine. May I climb mountains to overcome fears with a friend. May I celebrate birthdays we wish we didn't have to count. Use me in all of my friendship to be good council and an example of your amazing love. ~In your precious name. 

Reflection

Proverbs 27:19

Just as water mirrors your face, 

so your face mirrors your heart. 

We would like to believe we can mask who we are and what we believe. We like to believe our hurts and disappoints don't effect the decisions we make today. 

Often times I would like to believe that I can hide who I am and pretend to be someone I am not. I might try and be stronger, I try to be happy when I am feeling sad, I try to be spiritually high when I am in the midst of questioning God's presence in my life. What I often fail to realize is that I have surrounded myself with people who know my heart and know when my face tells a different story. 

Yesterday was Mothers Day. I had spent the entire weekend teaching at Canvas's first Women's Retreat. When the kids met me at church they had brought me flowers and beautiful hugs. I was having an amazing day. Exhausted from a long few days with no sleep had me emotionally a little raw. I made my mothers day phone calls and continued to go one with my day. Immediately one of my friends asked my if I was okay. No matter how hard I tried to hide my sadness, I was transparent. They knew something was wrong. It was on my face. After talking to my Grandma, I was just so overwhelmed with how far away that I live when she is fighting cancer. I want to be there to help her and give her more strength. I just hate Cancer. I hate that it holds her back. I feel sad that she does her best to sound strong in the midst of the fight for her life. Most of all it reminds me how helpless life can be and how not all things have answers or fixabilities.  

My friends know me well enough to know my hearts response. They supported me, loved me and helped me spend the rest of the day enjoying my family, my kids and their friendships. I am so blessed that they see through me.

I know that most of us have our things that we do our best to hide. I wanted to hide my sadness so that I wouldn't ruin the day we were spending with friends. If I had been successful in my venture, I would have buried the pain and had to come home and deal with it alone. We are meant to depend on others, God created us to need people. We need to have friends that see through our pretend faces into the very heart of who we are. It is healing. It is loving. It is life changing. 

Heavenly Father~ Thank you for your amazing presence at the women's retreat this weekend. Thank you for your desire to live in our hearts and be in relationship with us. Lord, I thank you for the friends who see my heart written on my face. I pray that in my life I can learn to be more transparent and when people see my face, they see that I have a heart purely for You. ~in Your Precious Name

Pray for Dale C this week

How to sharpen Iron

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another. (NIV)

As iron sharpens iron,
so a friend sharpens a friend. (NLT)

In a perfect world, those whom we have relationships with would accept us as we are, including our faults and never ask us to change a thing. They would never call us out and they would never try to improve us. They would give us their full attention and never, ever, be frustrated or annoyed with anything that we do. But, thank God, it isn't a perfect world. It is a world that continues to challenge us and mature us. We must continue to grow. We must be refined and sharpened. When we are children, our parents serve as the main character builders in our lives. They help us to see where we can improve ourselves and give us encouragement along the way. When we move into the peer groups, we begin to listen to what others think about us and it is our closest friends that will teach us what it is that we need to do in our lives to improve. They become our accountability partners, they sharpen us. How does iron sharpen iron? I just read several websites that explain how Iron is manufactured and how it is formed. Indeed, when you add Iron to Iron, there is a process that takes place. The more that one Iron rubs on the other, it creates a shiny, flawless surface. It takes off all the impurities. The more you heat it or test it, the more chemicals that are squeezed out to make a more solid form of Iron. When our friends tell us something we don't want to hear, or challenge us and "turn the heat up" then we will become "brighter" and more solid, more pure, without all the impurities in our lives.

How can we sharpen our friends today? Has there been a friend that has spent the time and energy to sharpen you? What did they do? How awesome it would be if I could put together a list of first names and the action they took to "sharpen" you.

Give thanks for that friend today!!!!

Dear Lord, I thank you for putting friends in my life that have challenged me and sharpened me. I thank you that they were willing to encourage me and make me accountable to the things that will make me better. I know it is not easy to call out a friend and to challenge them. Help me to do this when you prompt me to. Help me to be more receptive to my friends when they take the time to sharpen me. May I be a blessing to you and my friends.

Please continue to pray for Chloe F. this week.

Please reply to me with any Praises and Prayers for this week. Mother's Day is this weekend. Give a shout out to a mom in your life that has touched you. First names are fine. Thanks again.

Sweetness

Proverbs 27:9
Oil and perfume rejoice the heart;
so does the sweetness of a friend’s counsel that comes from the heart.

All I can truly say to this verse is AMEN!!

I have been abundantly blessed in my friendships. I could spend an entire week telling you of how each and every person has transformed my life.

Friends can become our safe places in life. The people we count on, depend on and love. Friends are the closest to us and can hurt us the most deeply. Real intimacy in any relationship opens up our lives to the real greatness in friendship. Real sweetness.

There are friends in our lives that give more to us than we could ever repay them with. People we trust with our greatest secrets, our biggest fears and failures, these are the ones that become a part of who we are. I pray that each of us have someone in our lives that we know will hold us accountable, love us when we fail, and encourage us to see the things God sees in us.

I know how easy it is to call the friend that will agree with you. I know how easy it is to call the one that will always take your side. Next time, I challenge you to call the friend that will give you godly, honest advice.

Heavenly Father~ Thank you Lord for the amazing people in my life. Thank you for the friends that love me, encourage me, and challenge my life. Lord, I pray that you give me the wisdom to be the friend that gives wise council. I pray You be in the very words I speak when I encourage and love my friends. I pray your blessings over those I love today and those friendship you are preparing for me tomorrow. I thank you for the blessings of friends that love me and the sweetness of their friendships that come into my life. ~In Your Heavenly Name

Please pray for Denise P this week.

Power, Day 3

I have recently found in my life that the greatest place I find Power is in my fellow Christians coming to my side. There are so many ways that they enrich this life of mine. Many celebrate with me in my triumphs. Even more have lifted me up in encouragement. A few friends that I hold even closer, hold me accountable to the things that I value in my life.

There is so much that God has given us, including friendship. I truly believe we were created to be in relationship with each other. Through family, through marriage and friendship we all have bonds with those around us.

For those of you that are discouraged by people and find you are in a constant state of disappointment when it comes to relationships, please find the silver lining. We are all a work in progress, sometimes with a stumble and a trip we make mistakes big and small. Hypocrisy comes with the territory when you are finding your way and struggling with your flesh. Finding strength in a new identity is hard work and sometimes discouraging.

We need each other. We need to have a hand to pick us up off the ground. We need a shoulder to cry on when we are weak. We need fellow believers that call on the Power in our Savior. The real Power shines through when we come together in fellowship and strength. We are all connected to the same vine, in need of the same spiritual food and encouragement. By working together the fruit of God's craftsmanship is sure to be seen.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.
For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

Kiss, Day 2

K, Day 2


So, I wasn't the only one that couldn't choose the word for this week. Thank you for replying to yesterday's devo. The responses narrowed the choice down to Kiss, Knees, and Knowledge. An even number straight across. A vote for Kindness which was purely selfish, maybe Angela will share what she learns with us sometime. It doesn't hurt to challenge others once in a while. I will do what seems like the impossible for me, break it down to 3 words in 3 days.



Kiss

Proverbs 24:26 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.


How is kiss related to emotion? It is one of the first things that we have planted all over our face when we are babies. If we have older siblings or pets, we get even more. As we get older, we dream of the first kiss we will share in a relationship. We seal our wedding vows with a kiss. It is definitely an emotional feeling. They are not all the same. One thing they have in common is that they are usually exchanged between two people who have a relationship of some sort or another. Since Creation, kisses have been planted symbolically to various parts of the body. The cheeks, feet, forehead, and lips. Each instance memorable enough that we hold it dear to our hearts. Triggering emotions both happy and sad.


The Bible records such kisses.

A loving kiss:
Song of Solomon 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
A seductive kiss:
Proverbs 7:13 So she caught him and kissed him
The common kiss between relatives:
Genesis 29:11-13 Then Jacob kissed Rachel.... That he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him.
A kiss of greeting:
Exodus 4:27 ...met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him.
A kiss of farewell:
Ruth 1:9... So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
Ruth 1:14... Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
A kiss in anticipation of one's death
Genesis 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
The Christian family
1 Corinthians 16:20 All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
1 Peter 5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Kissing can be used figurative when righteousness and peace are pictured as harmonious friends:
Psalms 85:10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.
Then there is the kiss of betrayal. Most popular example is Judas' treachery eternally symbolized by a kiss:
Luke 22:47-48 And while he was still speaking, behold a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.

What I want to discuss right here is this: How often do we do things in our lives that are merely tradition or part of a schedule? Things that are empty. We just do them for show or because it is what we have always done and there is no point in changing. How often do we continue to be something on the outside that we are not feeling on the inside? How often do we betray others by our outward actions? Do you take communion at church because it is there and you are expected, do you lift your hands in praise because it is expected, do you greet (kiss) a friend when you despise them? What do our actions say about who we really are?

Judas is no different than many of us! We betray Christ when our acts of service or giving are insincere or carried out merely for show. Or to fulfill our "Christian Duty".

I met someone who once told me that in their faith, they were expected to go door to door and minister to others. Each time she went, she dreaded it, wanted nothing to do with it, but she had to in order to fulfill her obligations to that faith.

How sad is that? Are we merely fulfilling an obligation or are we really joyfully in a relationship with our LORD. Are we hanging on to that relationship because we feel obligated? Do we get a gift for so and so because they got one for me? These are all ways that we cover or mask ourselves and miss the true meaning of living a fulfilled life with Christ.

Insincere:
Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
The Bible tells us that friendship can be hard. We can get wounds. Jesus was wounded to, in order to be in relationship with us. Can we be honest in our friendships, even if it may cause some wounds in order to keep from being deceitful? I know I would prefer a friends advice, even if it is painful, over someone who will just tell me what I want to hear. This way I know that they have my best interest in mind.

Dear Lord, thank you for this time to learn about something as simple as a kiss. I am sorry for the times I have been empty, going along with the motions, masking myself, betraying my friendships. Lord, I am so thankful that you took the wounds for us so that we may have a relationship with you. What a true friend. I pray that I can let my guard down to make friends who I would be willing to sacrifice it all for, to give my all, to be honest and to have their best interest in mind. You are amazing God.

A Prayer for All Seasons

Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.~Colossians 1:9-12

Time has a way of defining true friends. I have discovered that passing years and growing distance are ineffective obstacles to the mutual love between my friends and me. Perhaps it is because of our common walk with the Lord that we can just pick up where we left off whenever we are together. And these are the dear ones I will spend eternity loving!

Read today's Scripture passage again and think about what a wonderful prayer it is for you to pray for your friend(s). Knowing that a friend is praying for me is a real source of encouragement and support. If you aren't praying for your friends daily, let me suggest that Colossians 1:9-12 be your model. Look at what you'll be asking God:

*That your friend will have the spiritual wisdom and understanding she needs to know God's will
*That he/she will "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him, in all respects"
*That your friend will be bearing "fruit in all good work and increasing in the knowledge of God"
*That he/she will be "strengthened with all power...for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience".

You would then end your prayer by joyously giving thanks to God for all that He has given you--your friend being one of those gifts.

With these powerful words and the Lord at his/her side, your friend will be able to deal with the challenges he/she faces. I also encourage you to tell your friend that you are praying for him/her each day, and if they are receptive, tell her the specifics of your prayers.

Know, too, that these verses from Colossians are a good model for your prayers for your spouse, family members, neighbors and yourself. After all, all of God's people need to know His will, honor Him in everything they do, grow in the knowledge of the Lord, and be strong, steadfast, and patient as we serve Him.

Thoughts for Action
~In a journal, write down the names of the friends that you want to pray for each day. Under each name list specific areas which you want to pray for them.
~Read Colossians 1:9-12 for 30 straight days. Think specifically of the friends you listed in your journal.

Additional Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-19, Philemon 4-7

(devotional from 15 Minutes Alone with God by Emilie Barnes pg 11-13)