Best Friends

“I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence.”

Psalms 101:7 NLT

Today, my best friend is getting married. Why, you ask, am I writing this in a devotional blog? Well, I'm gonna tell you, and yes, today's scripture applies to this. I got to know Dan back in 2009 when he rented a room from me in my house. Of course, you really never know who you are going to get when you rent a room to a stranger, but Dan was no stranger to my friend, and I got know that if my friends thought he was a good guy, then he must be a good guy. Dan, was not only a good guy, he was a man of integrity, a man true to his word, a man who was not afraid of confronting me when I needed it and vice versa...and in no way was he ever a deceiver or liar. Because of those traits he and I grew as best friends. When you have people around you who walk in integrity, who are not habitual liars, who don't go around looking who they can deceive, but who have your best interest in mind, that's when you can say, yes God, you brought this person into my life. We, as Christians, need to be picky about who we spend our time with. We need to have people around us who walk in integrity, who are after God's heart, who want the best for us, who will confront us when we need confronting and who are not afraid to do so. I can say with surety that God brought Dan into my life as a man who sharpens me. I pray the very best for my best friend and his future wife!

Take Away: Be picky in choosing those who you are around. If that means you will be lonely for a season, God will sustain you and He will be the One who brings that special friend into your life!

Friendships

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive. (Proverbs 27:6 NET)

I like to think of the relationships in my life like the parts of a tree. There are different parts of a tree; the leaves, the branches and the roots. Now "leaves" friends are really more like aquaintances. They are easy to identify because they are there when things are going good, but the second they even seem to be going bad, they are gone. But you can't get mad at them because that their role in your life. Then there are the "branches." These relationships can sometimes fool you because they may appear to hang around when things get bad, but you put a little pressure on them, then they are gone.  You have to be careful with branches because you may think you can really trust them only to find out you can't. Then there are the roots. These are the relationships that no matter what happens they are there, by your side, helping you out when things are bad, counseling you, pointing your errors and inconsistencies out to you, but they will never leave you. These are the ones you want to keep in your life. You may have many leaves, and several branches, but you only need a few roots in your life. Its the roots that you want to pour your life into, its the roots that you can trust, its the roots that will give you wise counsel and although they may hurt you at times (and it will happen), they will always be there.

Take Away: identify the root relationships in your life, these are the people you need in your life, these are the ones God talks about in Proverbs 27:6...faithful are the wounds of a friend!