I am a husband, father, brother, son, pastor, poet, activist, and engineer... I care deeply about the world and am often overwhelmed by all that is going on... I'm most offended by greed and rudeness, and I believe that selfishness is the practical opposite of love...
All of us need friends. We are not meant to go through life alone. But instead of just searching for friends who share our interests or hobbies, perhaps we should ask God to send people into our lives who love and care about our souls.
It is a rare gift to encounter those who look out for us – not just in material ways – but who care about our souls. When you encounter this type of friendship, we should hold onto, take care of, and cherish them as a gift!
To have someone who cares for our soul more than our feelings, who is not two-faced or duplicitous, who covets nothing but what is best for us, and who defends and speaks well of us even when we’re not in the room – this is a gift.
This is the friendship we encounter between Jonathan and David…
Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.
1 Samuel 18:3
Thank God for those who love and care for our souls! Thank God for the gift of friendship – this is soul care!
We’ve been miseducated. From very early on, we’ve been guided to base friendships on mutual affections and proclivities. We learned to establish relationships with those with whom we shared common interests, hobbies, or at least backgrounds.
It’s totally understandable. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be around people ‘like’ us, who will agree with and affirm us. But when our circle of friends becomes an echo chamber, we may be in trouble.
We need contrasts to create distinction. And distinction allows for clarity. We need to be challenged, critiqued, and corrected every once in a while. We need those who will say things that might make us uncomfortable but are actually meant for our good. We need friends who risk encountering our rage, rather than lie to us. We need people who stretch us. We need friendships that provide creative tension that inspires us to grow.
Everyone who agrees with you is not your friend. And everyone who disagrees is not an adversary. Sometimes it’s the exact opposite!
The proverb writer says it like this:
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Friendship is one of the most precious gifts one human being can offer another.
Sadly, many of us never encounter such grace. Seeing someone and allowing oneself to be seen demands vulnerability. And while this is risky, when met with compassion, it creates a confidence that allows us to relax into being our best and most authentic selves.
Friendship is a remedy for loneliness and the reward for those brave enough to open their hearts and hands, to both give and to receive a love that challenges and comforts us. Friendship brings out the best in us.
And the best part of it is that it does so by not seeking her own satisfaction, but rather by always looking to what is best for the other – no matter what!
Jesus put it like this:
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Most of us went to sleep last night with the subtle assumption that we would rise this morning.
At the beginning of what, for many of us, will be a long weekend, we’ve already planned trips and vacations to mark the near ending of summer.
But before we head off in a thousand different directions, I hope we take a few minutes to pause and give thanks for the grace of God that allowed us to see this day.
The troubling times we are facing should remind us of the amazing gift we receive, with every single day the LORD allows us to be here. We are not here by right or by our own might; today is a gift and not an entitlement…
We laid down last night and slept, not realizing that this day was not a guarantee. We laid down and slept, every single one of us, suspended between life and death, sustained only by the grace of God.
Every breath, and every single heartbeat, a gift from God, for which we at least owe a debt of gratitude.
Pause with me, before we go off to the races or dare to grumble or complain, and let’s give thanks for God’s goodness, grace, and generosity towards us…
I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
Psalm 3:5
The Lord sustained me, the Lord sustained us! Thanks be to God!
There’s a story about a farmer who planted wheat only to discover that an enemy came and secretly sowed weeds among the good seeds. The farmer’s servant immediately wanted to uproot the weeds but was warned against it. He was told to leave them be until harvest time when the reapers could separate the wheat from the weeds.
The farmer understood that weeds, though annoying, wouldn’t keep the wheat from reaching maturity and that trying to uproot them too early could be potentially dangerous to the good seed that was growing. So, he left them alone until the harvest.
Though confusing and probably a bit frustrating, the weeds were left to grow alongside the wheat. Only at the harvest, would the reapers do the separating. But in the meantime, the wheat grew among the weeds…
We must learn to grow among the weeds.
We may never find ourselves in ideal circumstances. There’s no such thing as a pristine environment. There’s no escaping the presence of sin in a fallen world. While we covet and crave a perfect situation, it’s unrealistic.
Grow anyway. Flourish anyway. Mature anyway. Create anyway. Be fruitful anyway – even among the weeds!
Jesus said that while we are in the world, we must not be of it! We must learn to grow – even among the weeds! And God, in due season will bring about a harvest and do the separating!
I do not know all the particulars of your circumstances, but I want to encourage you to grow anyway! I know you see the weeds sprouting up and spreading around you, but don’t be discouraged or distracted!
God planted you, and it is His will that you become who you were created to be, and nothing can prevent that!
So, focus on your own growth, and trust God to deal with these weeds! Don’t allow your energy or attention to be diverted from God’s plans and purposes for your life! Trust God!
Grow anyway – even among the weeds!
29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
It’s another day, and we are still here. The crispness in the morning air is signaling that the seasons are changing. Another reminder that God is still in control.
The life we possess in this moment is a pure testimony that God is not yet done with us. Take comfort in that. Lay hold to this gift with both hands with thanksgiving and humility.
Begin the day with a full and deep realization that none of us earned this moment. It is grace to us.
Now do something good with it. Receive joy, and then share it. And even when you are met with misfortune or disruption, remember that God is still in control and we are still here. Whatever troubles we may encounter will not be forever…
The seasons are changing. God is yet in control. And we are still here. Now let’s make the best of it.
Find some joy. Do some good. And, keep on living. This is God’s gift to us!
There is a darkness in this world that has nothing to do with the time of day or the seasons. This darkness is not physical, it is spiritual.
Selfishness, greed, hatred, and violence, apathy, ignorance, and cruelty have gripped the hearts of so many… And darkness prevails because the enemy has, with a persistent web of lies and deceit, blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.
Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.
(2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT)
Thank God that we have not been abandoned to this darkness. Thank God that the light of God’s love has shone upon us!
We now live to make this light known to those who are yet gripped by darkness.
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
(2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT)
Yes, we are fragile vessels, marred jars of clay but we have a light on the inside! Our cracks and imperfections not only keep us humble, but they become the means whereby the light shines through us!
There is a darkness in this world that has nothing to do with the seasons, the weather, or the time of day. This darkness is not physical, but it is spiritual…
But,the light of God’s love has shone upon each of you. Now let it shine through you to dispel this darkness!
My mother used to say that lying was one of the worst things. She said that lying was the only thing you couldn’t defend yourself against. The surest way to incur her wrath was to lie. She may cut you some slack if you were honest, but lying was not tolerated!
She taught us that while we may guard against thieves and robbers, there’s no escaping a liar. Lies can only be endured and outlasted. There’s no point in chasing down a lie or rumor, you just have to let it run out!
I never knew my mother was such a sage. Her words return to me frequently. In these strange times, when it seems like nothing can be trusted, and so many have fallen prey to deception and lies, her words have never been truer.
The devil is still a liar. Only now, without subtlety, the enemy traipses about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. No longer skulking about in the shadows, but he is a bold-faced, loud, and blatant liar.
While many realize the lies, most make excuses for them or simply lack the will to resist. The worst among us, however, repeat these lies, and with some twisted notion believe that if they are repeated enough they will become true.
“The truth stands, and lies run out,” my mother said.
These are the times we are living in. Too many have accepted or become apathetic about this distorted and destructive reality. We live in a time where telling the truth is so rare that it has become radical. It’s exhausting…
I can hear my mother’s words, “The truth stands, and lies run out…”
I wonder if there are any among us who have the courage or will to stand.
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers* all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. (1 Peter 5:8-9, NLT)
When we follow Jesus, we can rest confidently in His promises. Jesus is a keeper. He is the Good Shepherd.
Near the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus prayed for His disciples- those present with him, as well as those of us who would follow him in the generations to come. Jesus prayed for us!
If there has ever been one who could be sure to get an answer to a prayer, it is Jesus! We are the living proof of His answered prayers!
While the world is in an uproar and the nations rage, Jesus has prayed for us! We are confident. We are unafraid. We are kept in perfect peace because Jesus prayed for us!
Jesus bears this record:
“I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”*
John 18:9
He did not lose a single one… not a single one! Jesus has not forgotten, or forsaken you, and He never fails!
Trouble and trials are certainties in this world. Tragedies and temptations are unavoidable. Jesus promised it!
When we think of God’s promises, most of us key on those that sound good to us – power, provision, protection, presence, and peace – and rightfully so. We cling to and covet these promised blessings so tightly that we lose context and perspective.
The promise of power implies that something will be required of us…
The promise of presence suggests that we may often be lonely and afraid.
The promise of protection means that we will encounter danger.
Provision assumes at least the threat of poverty and lack.
And, the promise of peace from God reminds us that we must all endure struggles and conflicts…
Jesus promises us… problems!!
Not exactly what you wanted to hear? I certainly understand.
But we must not allow trials, troubles, temptations, or trauma to trap us in a cycle of bitterness and despair! In fact, as followers of Jesus, we should be among the most well-adjusted, well-prepared, well-balanced folks in the world, because we’ve all been warned of what is to come, while also being witnesses to God’s faithfulness!
Jesus said,
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33, NLT
Don’t let trials and troubles define your disposition, distract you, or disrupt your peace. We knew there would be days like this, but we also know who is with us and who is working on our behalf!
pastorpoet 