Are You My Weird Friend?

One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him: “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?” Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”
Matthew 22:35-44

I have to admit it, I have a rather interesting group of friends.  Some might be called "straight laced" whilst others might be called "flamboyant"; then there are those who are introverts ("the quiet type") while some are gregarious.  And weird though they may be as a collection or individually (you know which you are), the thing we all have in common is a love for each other.

We can disagree, we can argue, we can laugh until we snort, we can sit quietly, we can talk about anything, we aren't afraid to be who God created us to be when we are around each other.  

How wonderful would it be if all of God's children had such freedom? Oh wait...we DO have that freedom!  Because we love God, we should be able to love all of His children as well!  Hmmmm.....

Giant Friend

The Lord is good,
    a strong refuge when trouble comes.
    He is close to those who trust in him.

Nahum 1:7 

 

Michael Clark Duncan was a GIANT of a man (see him standing next to Tom Hanks).  Yet he was one of the most gentle giants ever.  He was a wonderful person to have as a friend for lots of reasons.  When he worked as a bodyguard, he was intimidating enough to be hugely successful and much sought after.

 

I probably mentioned this before, but when I was in grade school I was almost always the smallest in my class.  I learned pretty quickly to befriend the biggest guy in the class to avoid getting bullied too much.  You see, when I felt like trouble was headed my way, I ran to find my giant friend because I trusted him to protect me.

 

Now consider today's verse...God is the best Giant friend EVER!  He protects us, loves us, and comforts us when life's storms (and stormy people) come at us.  Trust in Him and you will see just how good a friend He is.

To Have A Friend Is To BE A Friend

Can two people walk together
    without agreeing on the direction?

Amos 3:3 

How do you chose your friends?  Are they TRUE friends or simply people you know? Are they wise and, thus, share their wisdom with you?  Will your friends pray with you and for you?  Will they encourage you to strive to improve or do they criticize you and put you down?

True friends WANT you to succeed just as you want them to succeed.  True friends won't always agree with you.  True friends are willing to tell you when you are about to do something stupid.  True friends laugh together.  True friends grieve together (though in their own way).  The fact of the matter is that TRUE friends are difficult for us to find these days because it is a relationship we must nurture so it will grow strong.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying: "If you wish to have a friend, you must BE a friend."  Are we willing to take the time to grow such a relationship?  It takes effort.  It takes patience.  And it may turn out that the friend you need is the unexpected person God brings into your life at just the right time. 

Faithful or Faithless?

Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, 

and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot. 

Luke 16:10 

 

Ever told someone you'd do something and then you decided later that you didn't want to do it, so you didn't.  Instead, you made an excuse.  Would you call that being "faithful"?  Yes, I'm trampling my own toes too.

 

I have yet to find anywhere in Scripture where we are told we are going to want or enjoy everything we agree to do.  However, I have found where we are instructed to take our vows, promises, commitments seriously and always be quick to fulfill them.  

 

Think about this, are you going to count on someone who constantly gives their word yet gives excuses when it's time to fulfill their promise?  How far are you willing to trust that person?  Now, do you have a friend you can trust implicitly? Why is that? Could it be they are faithful?

 

When we are faithful, we do what we agreed to do, whether we like it or not.  Here's the point God emphasized with me, it's not so much the deed but our faithfulness to do the deed that makes us truly faithful.

I Have Lots of "Friends".....

A man of many companions may come to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24

 

I am often astounded by the number of "friends" people have on Facebook.  I am even more astounded by the people we so willingly call friends.  One person contacted me on Facebook to ask me a question, when I looked at their profile I saw they had over 500 "friends."  

 

Way back when I was growing up, with the baby dinosaurs, I was taught that there are only three kinds of people in life: 

*     Strangers (people we have not met), 

*     Acquaintances (people with whom we have met and will greet in passing) and 

*     Friends (those who would not only stick with you through anything and everything, but probably were the ones who got you into trouble in the first place). 

 

The photo for today is of my buddy.  His name is Woody Bear.  When I come home from work, or the store, or from the mailbox, or from taking the trash out, Woody Bear greets me like I have been gone forever.  When it is time for morning coffee and Quiet Time, Woody Bear is right there with me wanting to be close and wanting to remind me that he loves me.  I can tell him ANYTHING and he'll not change his opinion of me.

 

Be careful of who you allow to get close to you.  Remember Julius Caesar?  He allowed Brutus to get close to him and Brutus ended up helping kill Caesar.  

 

Don't like drama? Go through your group of friends and drop the ones who create drama.  Don't like sushi?  Go through your group of friends and drop the ones who insist you have to eat sushi.

 

WE select our friends.  Make sure you are a Friend worth having.  Benjamin Franklin once wrote: "If you would have a friend, first BE a friend!" 

 

 

Pete's VERY Bad Day!

So they arrested Jesus and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”

Luke 22:54-56

Pete was not having a good day.  His best friend had just been arrested and hauled off to bond court, and the rest of his friends had disappeared like a burp in a tornado.  Pete followed the guards to the bond court building but waited outside.  Some of the guards decided to warm themselves with a little fire and Pete joined them.  Then some girl started yapping about how Pete was one of the Accused's buddies!  

Pete had a choice to make and neither option was going to go well for him.  He could admit to being part of the Accused's gang and face the same consequences or he could deny everything and lose all face with those he counted on so closely.  What would you have done? 

Pete was NOT having a good day.  The choice he made was the choice he had been told he would make (and the choice he adamantly declared he would NEVER make).  And because of Pete's decision, his best friend was killed and his other friends went back to their lives.  But Pete knew.

But here's the part we tend to forget. Pete had gone back to his fishing career with his partners and while they were pulling up empty nets for the umpteenth time Jesus called out to them and told them to try the other side.  When they did, they had so many fish that Pete's boat started to sink and they had to call another boat to come help.  Eventually, Pete figured out that the man giving them advice was his best friend, Jesus, so Pete jumped out of the boat and swam back to shore where he found Jesus cooking fish for breakfast.

Jesus also had a choice at this point.  He could tell Peter to what a freaking idiot he was for denying Him and tell Pete EXACTLY what he should do to himself (and the boat he rowed in on), or Jesus could tell Peter what Peter needed at that point....another chance.  Jesus reminded Peter that he was still loved by Jesus and that he was forgiven.  Because of Jesus' decision to give Peter a second chance, Peter was instrumental in building the ministry that became the church.

Let me ask you something...ever made a decision your regretted?  Me too.  LOTS of them.  Ever been given a second chance?  Yes.  Now for the hard questions: Have you even had someone make a bad decision that hurt you deeply?  I have.  Have you ever offered them a second chance? 

Decisions Decisions!

 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

John 8:1-5

     Decisions!  We face them every day.  Some are easy to make (Coffee before speaking for me please). And some are not so simple (Bacon wrapped salad or salad wrapped bacon?).  But have you ever had a decision to make that, no matter what you decided, someone was going to be ticked off at you either way?

     In today's passage, a woman has been brought to Jesus who was caught in the very act of adultery.  Adultery, in Jesus' time, was punishable by death!  Jesus taught grace, love and mercy.  And this woman has been brought to Jesus, by the religious leaders, and put in front of Jesus for a decision.  Jesus was teaching a crowd of people about God's love, mercy, forgiveness and grace, and now He has to make a decision that is going to make Him EXTREMELY unpopular with either the "Church Folk" who brought the woman or the people He had been teaching.  Jesus had been put in a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situation.

     What about us?  Do we have decisions to make that are "damned if you do and damned if you don't"?  Let's face it, you can't make EVERYBODY happy. And let's also understand, you will discover who your TRUE friends are in such situations because they will stand by you even if they disagree with your decision.

     Meanwhile back at the ranch, Jesus has a decision to make.  If he decides that the "Church Folk" are correct, then His teaching about love, mercy, grace and forgiveness will be seen as a pack of lies and no one will want to listen to Him ever again.  On the other hand, if He decides to go the route of mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness, the "Church Folk" will take umbrage and tell the Romans that Jesus should be killed because He was inciting the common folk to go against the church.  What to do, what to do?

     But Jesus took Door #3 and told the "Church Folk" if their way was so good, then they needed to be the ones to STEP UP and prove it!  Were the "Church Folk" right?  Technically, yes!  According to the Law of Moses, having been caught IN THE ACT of adultery, the woman should have been killed (and so should the man she was with).  But the reality is this, none of the "Church Folk" were willing to step up and hurl the first rock.  They liked Jesus even less after this, but they preferred to be cowardly and make a lot of noise rather than step up and prove their ideologies.

   And this same struggle continues. So we have a decision to make (damned if you do and damned if you don't): Will you cut and run?  Will you step up and prove your ideology?  Or will you just make a lot of noise for attention and so people will think your noise makes a difference?  

Let's Talk For A Moment

Always be joyful. 
Never stop praying. 
Be thankful in all circumstances, 
for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Let's talk about the 800 pound gorilla in the room, shall we?  When we tell someone that we are praying for them, do we or are we just saying we will OR are we saying it because it's been so long since you actually talked with God that you have forgotten who He is?

Let's start at the top...Paul tells us to be "Joyful."  There is a HUGE difference between being "joyful" and being "happy" and we seem to have them confused.  You see "JOYFUL" is a conscious decision that we make because of, or even in spite of, our circumstances, predicaments, situations, or feelings.  On the other hand "Happy" is momentary, fleeting, situational, and is a feeling which is subject to change at a moment's notice.  Hmmmm......

Next Paul reminds us to "Never stop praying."  This does not mean you quit your job, wander off to some monastic facility in the mountains and live the rest of your life as a hermit talking only to God.  Let's say your best friend calls; you answer the phone without looking at the caller ID; how do you know it's your best friend? Because you know the voice!  And how did they become your best friend? Because you invested yourself into each other's lives, learning to trust each other and keep no secrets from each other...you can talk about anything and everything.  Hmmmm.... When we develop that kind of relationship with God, you have the best possible best friend EVER!  Have I achieved that status? No, but I'm still talking to Him and we have lots of conversations about....well, YOU!

Finally, Paul reminds us to "Be Thankful In ALL Circumstances."  Here's a little tidbit for the mind to chew on today: Circumstances change! Gratitude for who God is doesn't! We make the choice many times every single day: Either we determine to maintain our attitude of gratitude OR we let our circumstances decide for us if we are going to be grateful or ticked off.  

There's a lot going on in these few brief words of today's passage.  Talking with God and developing that relationship that is beyond description should cause us to be eternally grateful REGARDLESS of our circumstances.  But the 800 pound gorilla in the room is this: What will you decide and when are you going to start?