Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
—2 Corinthians 6:17 (The Message)
True friends don't try to control you—they help you be what God wants you to be. Put your faith in God, and ask Him to give you friends who are truly right for you. Perhaps you never thought of using your faith for right friends, but God offers us a new way to live. He invites us to live by faith. There is no part of your life God is not concerned about, and He wants to be involved in everything you want, need, or do.
I cannot make myself acceptable to all people, and neither can you, but we can believe that God will give us favor with the people He wants us involved with. Sometimes we try to have relationships with people God does not even want us to be associated with. Some of the people I really worked hard to be friends with in the past, often compromising my own conscience in order to gain their acceptance, were the very ones who rejected me the first time I didn't do exactly as they wanted me to. I realize now I wanted their friendship for wrong reasons. I was insecure and wanted to be friends with the "popular" people, thinking my association with important people would make me important.
We should put our faith in the Lord to help us choose right friends, as well as everything else that concerns us.
Missing the Joy of Christmas
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”
John 8:56–59
Most of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day did not respond to His message with faith and acceptance, but rather with resentment and refusal. They repeatedly tried to trap Him into giving an answer that would either discredit Him with the people, or give them something to take to the Roman authorities and bring the weight of the legal system to bear to stop Jesus. On more than one occasion they actually tried to kill Jesus.
What a contrast there is between their actions and responses and the actions and responses of Abraham. We do not know how fully the great hero of faith understood the details of God’s plan of redemption, but Jesus said that Abraham knew that Jesus was coming—and that he rejoiced in it even before it happened. Christmas is a great source of joy and hope to those who understand what the celebration is about, and often a source of frustration and aggravation for those who do not.
But even those of us who know the truth can find the pressures of the season stealing our joy. Joel wrote, “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men” (Joel 1:12). We need to keep our focus on what truly matters so that we do not miss the joy of Christmas.
John 8:56–59
Most of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day did not respond to His message with faith and acceptance, but rather with resentment and refusal. They repeatedly tried to trap Him into giving an answer that would either discredit Him with the people, or give them something to take to the Roman authorities and bring the weight of the legal system to bear to stop Jesus. On more than one occasion they actually tried to kill Jesus.
What a contrast there is between their actions and responses and the actions and responses of Abraham. We do not know how fully the great hero of faith understood the details of God’s plan of redemption, but Jesus said that Abraham knew that Jesus was coming—and that he rejoiced in it even before it happened. Christmas is a great source of joy and hope to those who understand what the celebration is about, and often a source of frustration and aggravation for those who do not.
But even those of us who know the truth can find the pressures of the season stealing our joy. Joel wrote, “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men” (Joel 1:12). We need to keep our focus on what truly matters so that we do not miss the joy of Christmas.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Do not allow anything to steal the joy from your heart and mind that Jesus came to bring.
Pray for the Right Friends
by Joyce Meyer - posted December 17, 2016Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
—2 Corinthians 6:17 (The Message)
True friends don't try to control you—they help you be what God wants you to be. Put your faith in God, and ask Him to give you friends who are truly right for you. Perhaps you never thought of using your faith for right friends, but God offers us a new way to live. He invites us to live by faith. There is no part of your life God is not concerned about, and He wants to be involved in everything you want, need, or do.
I cannot make myself acceptable to all people, and neither can you, but we can believe that God will give us favor with the people He wants us involved with. Sometimes we try to have relationships with people God does not even want us to be associated with. Some of the people I really worked hard to be friends with in the past, often compromising my own conscience in order to gain their acceptance, were the very ones who rejected me the first time I didn't do exactly as they wanted me to. I realize now I wanted their friendship for wrong reasons. I was insecure and wanted to be friends with the "popular" people, thinking my association with important people would make me important.
We should put our faith in the Lord to help us choose right friends, as well as everything else that concerns us.
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