True Friends

A true, godly friendship is based on what the friends have in common--God. In order for the friendship to be strong, the thing that bonds it needs to be stronger, and that is each person's relationship with Jesus. Read these verses about Daniel and his true friends before Daniel interpreted the king's dream:

¹⁷ Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ¹⁸ He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:17-18

These were true friends! What held them together was their personal relationships with the One who made them all. They never let their friendship with each other get in the way of their relationship with the Lord.

When there was trouble, Daniel went to his friends. He didn't pour out his problems to them, but he told them what was happening and asked them to pray. Do our friends know that they can come to us when they need prayers? Are we intercessors on the behalf's of our sisters and brothers?

When Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego) were told to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar's idol, they had the courage to refuse because Christ was the driving force in every one of their relationships and decisions. The easily could have bowed down and to save their lives (and keep their friendship), but they chose God first. Look what He did! He saved them anyway!

One last thing... I heard the song "More Than You'll Ever Know" by Watermark the other day. Here's the chorus:

You've been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
'Cause you've spoken truth over my life
And you'll never know what it means to me
Just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know...

Wow! What power we have in the lives of the people around us through prayer!

20 Things I'm Thankful For

Well, I decided that I need to get back on top of keeping up my blog! I've really been slacking on it for some reason... so I'll start with 20 real things I'm thankful for. I know it's after thanksgiving, but shouldn't we be thankful every day?

1) Freedom in Christ
2) Family in Christ
3) New Hope Church
4) Music
5) Hope
6) Books
7) My small town:)
8) God's Word
9) Sun and warmth
10) Cousins
11) Dancing
12) Creativity
13) Work made fun
14) Food
15) A healthy body
16) A secure family
17) Persecution
18) The Internet
19) Forgiveness
20) Abundant life!

Re-post 20 things you're thankful for!

Challenge

Engraft this verse:

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

It actually works. I didn't realize until a few days later. I wasn't even trying to memorize this or meditate on it. I emailed it to a friend and therefore was thinking about it, then I realized that the last few days God has actually been helping ME to be strong and courageous! It's so amazing! God's Word does powerful things in our lives even when we don't realize it!

See for yourself!