My Best Friend

  Another Believer and I have been involved in a Bible Study.  A couple days ago we were asked to name a mentor, a woman who is energized for the Lord, one who we look up to and enjoy spending time with, and is quick to ask if we’ve looked into the scriptures whenever we are faced with some kind of issue that has us rattled.  I did come up with a woman such as this, but I also came up with a young man I know well who also fits this description.  Many times I’ve said, “I’d love to have his strength; his faith.”

Is there someone in your life who you can count on in any situation?  This person is often called a friend, even a best friend.  I remember for years wanting a “best friend” and for whatever reason, I never seemed to have one.  Oh I had friends, all right.  I had lots of them.  But to say I had a best friend, just didn’t seem to be available to me.

There’s a story about two sisters who had a discussion about friends, that was especially difficult as they became adults.  They were as different as day and night;  had different perspective on lives, different views on faith, attitudes, and things; and people in general.  There was a discussion one night where one sister asked if they could be best friends.  The other sister said, she would always love her as a sister, but best friend relationships aren’t chosen that way.  They are developed over time, nurtured on both sides and it grows into the relationship it becomes.  This relationship can stand the test of time and is the groundwork for sharing secrets, pain and happiness.  

    We are about to celebrate Easter.  It’s the celebration of Jesus who gave his life’s blood for the whole world.  The concept that God could love us so much as to offer his Son as the ultimate sacrifice is mind boggling.  Yet this is truth.  

Do you know of anyone who would be willing to die such a cruel death on a cross where feet and hands have nails pierced through and then left to hang there until dead?  My mind rejects this picture yet, again, this is truth!

Jesus, our Messiah, who gave His life willingly, wants the kind of relationship that says ‘You are my best friend!’  He loved, He served, cared for the poor, had compassion, understood pain and grief, knew the power of temptation, had the authority to forgive sins and was willing to go to the cross to offer a path of salvation.  His love is even greater than that of a mother, who from a human perspective has the kind of love barely describable.  God’s love —Jesus’ love— is a perfect love, without any faults or human frailties.  

So I challenge you to look at your relationships.  Do you have a “best friend” who you can always count on?  Are you that kind of friend?  Do you know Jesus as your ultimate “best friend?”  I hope you do.  If not, I encourage you make Him your personal Savior and Best Friend right this moment.

Photo Credit:  https://www.pexels.com/search/friendship/

Aligned With Christ

  My friend shares the story of how his father taught him about the importance of having the proper tools for his trade, bricklaying.  The plumb, a type of pendulum which assures the builder his project is both vertical and perpendicular ‘to the true horizontal level’; a level which has a reservoir containing liquid which must be completely centered; a square which assures perfect right angles; and a string which ensures a ‘straight line and uniform level.’

With the combination of these tools, the mason can lay blocks without discrepancies in corners, height, and horizontal and vertical lines which are vital to a properly built structure.

As he told the story I couldn’t help but remember when my husband and I had our house built back in the 80’s.  Construction is foreign to me, but I was fascinated as I watched our mason lay blocks for our basement.  It was very hot, yet this man lifted those twelve inch blocks and set each one carefully on the wet cement he’d mixed, below it.  He would stop and regularly check to make sure everything was level.  The work was hard and exhausting. Our basement was strong, solid and totally aligned.

This concept of of being vertically and horizontally aligned can also apply to our spiritual life.  I’ve heard it said  more than once, that if our lives are not aligned in Godly fashion horizontally we will not be aligned with Christ vertically.

That can be a challenging concept to process; but the idea of having lives which follow God’s precepts and commands is a must.  We are human and certainly will have failings.  We can’t possibly do everything right.  We have thoughts, moods, emotions, desires, careers, circumstances, people in our lives, and a hundred other diversions which tantalize our habits, lifestyles, relationships and more —-all of which affects our choices.

And to make all this even harder is satan and all his minions who are actively trying to make our lives filled with worldly attractions and distractions to confuse us and create doubts about who we are, who we belong to, and how we are to live.

As a Believer we have the tools like the plumb, square, level and string to guide us in keeping our lives aligned with Christ on the horizontal level, along with keeping our Spiritual life aligned with Christ vertically.  

When we live our lives deliberately for Christ based on his Word which is a huge tool for success horizontally, our relationship with God from a vertical direction can be where it needs to be.   Our relationship using his Word, other Believers, prayer, corporate and/or individual study enables us to grow stronger every day and stand firm, because our foundation is concreted in what is right and good.

The world will try to chink at our edges, or in those spots which may appear weak.  Our support groups and inner guidance from God, along with using the right tools, can keep the cracks filled with good material to ward off the evil attacks on our world that is ever changing.  

Photo Credit:https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/bricklayer.html 

Spiritual Growth Takes Effort

  During the sermon last week the Pastor said something to the effect of ‘Getting saved is vital to getting into heaven; but it doesn’t stop there!  We are each supposed to grow in the Spirit and have a relationship with Christ.’

We all have to start somewhere and our salvation is where we begin our Christian journey.  God promises to never leave us and will answer our prayers when we call on him. We have a brand new life in Him.  We are reborn—‘born in the Spirit’!

When we are born physically, as infants we rely completely on our parents/caretakers to provide for all our needs.  This includes housing, clothes, food, emotional health, medical care and everything in between.  We, as tiny babes, can only ingest milk that requires very little work for our little bodies to do, except accept the nourishment which helps us grow.

As we get older we are introduced to chunkier baby food, perhaps a different milk, juices and other foods which only require gentle chewing.  After all, we are still getting our teeth!

By the time we are five years old we are enrolled in an educational plan, which carries us through elementary, middle school and finally high school.  We graduate and then make choices which determine which road we will take, sometimes for the rest of our lives. It may be college, join the workforce or military, get married or become an entrepreneur.  There are lots of options and decisions! We have grown into an adult and are ready to face the world head on, believing we can handle whatever the world -or life- throws at us.

Being a Christian isn’t much different.  While our parents nurture and guide us from infant- hood into our education and finally into adulthood; the Spirit nurtures and guides us into mature Believers who are able to follow the plan God has for us, if we are willing. 

We ‘grow’ much as the small child on milk and soft foods first; doing our best to feed our mind, soul and emotions with God’s Words.  We develop into middle school students, and even high schoolers, as we continue to grow with our peers in youth groups or study groups as a young adult.  Our leaders, along with the Spirit, helps us understand and build on our prayer life, how to dig deep into the Bible, our road map for life; and how to ‘grow’ our relationship with Christ.

Finally we’ve reached adulthood and are able to put the teaching we’ve been given to teach others, and share our faith with the knowledge we’ve learned.  But still we aren’t finished.

Just as adulthood doesn’t stop when we reach 21- or whatever your ‘adulthood mark’ may be— our spiritual life as an adult never stops either.  There is always something to learn, something to share, God’s voice to hear, and choices to make.  All these things fold together to make us mature Christians who are able to accomplish whatever task and plan God has planned for us.

Ultimately it takes a lot of effort to ‘grow’.  But just as education and life experiences molds us into the human adult we have become, so God’s Word and our relationship with Him transforms us into the Believer and servant for Christ, we were meant to be.  It’s here we are better ready to answer the call from God for whatever plans he has for our lives.

Photo Credit:  https://stock.adobe.com/search/images?k=spiritual%20growth