Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Taking my next right step
Weekend Music links on iTunes: All Because of Jesus - Fee, Holding Nothing Back - Jesus Culture, Love Came Down - Ben Cantelon, None But Jesus - Hillsongs
Read: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT), Proverbs 17:17 (NIV), Proverbs 27:6 (NLT), Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)
Think: We all know that women can have a new best friend within minutes, perhaps seconds of meeting one another. Men on the other hand can go many years without identifying someone they would call a best friend. This of course is not a hard and fast rule but you will get more than a few nods of agreement when testing these statements with male and female counterparts.
Ben spoke this weekend about whether you have someone in your life that knows your heart. As a man I can say that this has been a real area of opportunity in my life. We are taught at an early age to “man-up”, be tough, do it yourself, show your independence and not your dependence, and yet God’s word teaches us some very different principles. Today’s bible passages provide ample proof that God desires for us to be in relationship (friendship) with one another.
- Two are better than one
- A brother is born for a time of adversity
- Wounds from a sincere friend are better than kisses from an enemy
- Iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another
Close friends can particularly help us in making good choices. Many months ago a friend of mine at work approached me with some particularly difficult situations that were occurring in his life. What he didn’t know at the time was that I too needed someone to talk to, without judgment, just another guy to listen to me. Ben spoke of “arms wide open”, and my friend was a model of that for me. He was willing to share his struggles, but was equally as concerned about my life as well. We have since shared lunch together on several occasions, including today, checking in with one another and sharing a trusted bond with one another. We have celebrated breakthroughs and prayed for each other’s needs. Realistically I have lived over half of my life (medical marvels notwithstanding) and yet I can count on one hand the number of times I have really shared what is on my heart with another brother. I thank God for my friend and his courage to share what was on his heart with me. His honesty and “arms wide open” approach opened the door for me to gradually trust him with the secrets of my heart (Iron sharpens Iron).
Do: Take an inventory of your friendships. Do you have someone in your life with whom you can truly share what is on your heart? Are you available to your friends? Are you a good listener for your friends? Can you think of a time where you had that kind of friendship? What is stopping you from taking that next step towards being the kind of friend you would desire?
Pray: Heavenly Father I thank you for the friends in my life. They don’t need me to be perfect, and like You they know I am not. Help me be the kind of friend You are to me. One who is available, one who listens, one who is grounded in truth. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.
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