Jean Oathout shares with us some pros and cons of friendships.

Have you considered how important your friends are to you? Do they have a good influence, or a poor one?

When we give it some thought, how are they influencing our lives?

If all of your friends were just like you, what would that look like? No doubt, it would become quite boring. They would not challenge you whatsoever, nor would they influence you to improve how you think and feel. They would have the same convictions as you.

As God means for us to get acquainted with several "types" of people in order to broaden our understanding of life, and also cause our characters to improve due to their involvement, we are to reach out to those around us.

The hope is that they'll actually be a good influence on us. Reaching out to young children can challenge us, and to older folks as well. There's a world of difference in these relationships, but always good for us to make every effort to show the love of Christ to each one.

When we have some accountability to friends, we'll tend to try harder to improve our manners, thinking, actions, and etc.

If our friends give us words of encouragement and affirmation, we tend to try harder to accomplish what we do. It seems logical that the kind, and even correctional words, can help us do better in life.

When you are friends with
someone, you enjoy spending
time together and you care
about each other.

There is caring and concern, a sense that you can depend on your friend, that they have your back.

Become a healthy part of someone's life by giving encouragements.
What you say can become what you, and they, believe. We need to guard our tongues to give only positive proclamations.

There are elements of love demonstrated in friendships. The ultimate friend is Jesus, you know: “What a friend we have in Jesus”. He is always there for you.

It seems to be true, that there will be various kinds of temperaments
that will challenge us, and cause us to think outside of our own "boxes".

These folks may very well help us develop more of a God-like character, as we'll have to learn how to deal with them, too.

At times of inner turmoil, it's
good to have a few praying
friends to give us support.

Their praying for us can make all the
difference in the world, as we will sense God's presence and be able to handle the situation so much better. We'll know it's Him helping us!

There may be some "difficult" friends in our lives, and it may be a challenge to show them the love that God asks of us. Dealing with them will strengthen us, and hopefully be a witness of God's love for them, as it is demonstrated through us.

Knowing that we're not "perfect", will help us remember that we are a "work in progress". If we'll remember this is also true of others, may we learn to be gracious, as our heavenly Father shows us His grace.

If there are friends in your life who seem to have a bad influence on you, maybe it's time to distance yourself from them, or they'll effect your thinking negatively, bring confusion, and in some cases, frustration.

We are to work (make an effort) at being good friends, and as it
may take years to accomplish that, give yourself time to develop
meaningful friendships.

God has a good plan for each of us, as well as those we know. It is important to realize that He is well aware of everything about us, and that He is extremely concerned about us.

He wants us to grow in grace, so He will guide us to be aware of good and bad friends that come to us.

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Destination: Home

A pastor's wife fears car trouble will prevent her son from making it home from college for Thanksgiving.

By Marilyn Harbin, Franklin, Tennessee

Our quote today: Cindy Sproles – “For every palm you grace with friendship and love, a palm is turned toward you. The repayment is not always in wealth. It’s in the amazement of being used by the Father to complete His plan. It’s helping others. Serving with a heart of willingness. It’s being there even if it’s inconvenient.”

Consider the following link, as a valuable lesson that can be learned by us all:

Lies Shatter Relationships By Brenda K. Hendricks Spiritual Warfare Part 2 OCTOBER 21, 2014

"Several years ago, I caught a new acquaintance and her daughter in a bold-faced lie. Not only had they lied, they looked me in the eye and did so.

I’ve always heard that a liar can’t look a person in the eyes while telling a lie unless they are compulsive liars and are no longer capable of discerning the truth from the lie.

That incident destroyed all hopes of developing a healthy, godly relationship with those women. We are cordial to one another.

We smile and chat about superficial topics. But our relationship has little chance of evolving into a deeper, more meaningful friendship.

Bottom line: I don’t trust them and have no desire to risk being hurt."

Be A Kind Friend - Jewell Utt
By Jewell Utt

"Insecurities surface and guilt takes hold when we place too much importance on what we can't do rather than what we can..."

(Excellent message)

Naomi and Ruth

A popular post: Friendships Mary
Southerland tells us, " Friendship is the catalyst for every other love and the foundation of every healthy relationship.

God created us to need each other. We need friends and we need to be a friend..."

Pray with me:

Father, we need Your help in selecting and maintaining good friends.

I see that this is very important, and I do want to be able to discern who are the ones You direct into my life to be good influences.

May I make every effort to be a good friend to those I have a close relationship with presently, and may I be friendly to the others I meet, both in church, and in the community.

Thank You for helping me in this endeavor to be a blessing to others. In Christ's name I pray, Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Ps. 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

30th- Sunday evening’s post: One Who Understands
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12/2- Tuesday's post: #21 The Threefold Cord

C. Peter Wagner

4th- Thursday's post: #22 The Living Parable

C. Peter Wagner

6th- Saturday's post: I Am Broken
Debbie McEwen