Friends people meeting laugh

Spiritual Friends Fulfill Our Hearts – Part Three

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So far in this series we have looked at four ways for developing close spiritual friends: bearing burdens, using spiritual gifts, building one another up, and encouragement. Today, we look at two more: comfort and intentionality. 2 Corinthians 11:4 teaches us: “[God] comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (ESV)  It is interesting that the Greek word for comfort is the same word used to describe the Holy Spirit as a comforter, paraklētos. Thus, believers have a role similar to the work of the Holy Spirit for each other. All comfort comes from God, and we are to be the channels. Paraklētos can also mean exhort or urge, and this is how it is used in other passages. Thus, we are to comfort, exhort, and urge one another as spiritual friends. Consider Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

God Delights In Our Well-Being – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.”Psalms 35:27 (NIV). God delights in our well-being; he has joy when we are blessed. Like a good father, God is happy when we are well. He is emotional about it; he feels delight, joy. He is pleased when we embrace the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings (Phil. 3:10), for our sake and for others. But I don’t think he delights in how we are feeling when we suffer. Rather, he is forming us so that we can experience complete well-being. He gives us tastes of that now. And God delights in our well-being of walking in the Spirit and experiencing joy and peace. He is like a good father who is just happy to watch his child enjoy playing in the park. He made us to experience well-being, and he is happy when he accomplishes his goal. When we Continue Reading →

Friends people meeting laugh

Spiritual Friends Fulfill Our Hearts – Part Two

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Last week we looked at two principles for developing close spiritual friends: bearing each other’s burdens and using spiritual gifts. This post looks at two more. Remember, these principles apply one-on-one or in a group. The next principle is intentionally building one another up to be more like Christ. I Cor. 14:26 states: “Let all things be done to build each other up.” Eph. 4:12-13 explains that God gave different types of people to the church “for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain . . .  to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Think about how helpful it would be to have spiritual friends who consistently encouraged you to become more like Christ. How much strength would it give you to have someone speak words to help you be more like Christ in specific situations in your life? Those who Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

Close To The Brokenhearted – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Psalms 34:18 (NLT) Although we are citizens of heaven, we still become brokenhearted at times. Our spirits still get crushed at times. But God encourages us that he is close to the brokenhearted. He doesn’t say that we shouldn’t be brokenhearted, as if we are always triumphant, but rather he is with us. This reminds us of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:4: “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” But God doesn’t just remain close to the brokenhearted; he also rescues us when we are crushed. (Note: there is no real difference between “brokenhearted” and “crushed spirit” in this verse. It is Hebrew poetic parallelism; the writer states the same idea twice with different words.) There are many ways in which he may rescue us. Under the New Covenant, he may not rescue us Continue Reading →

Friends people meeting laugh

Spiritual Friends Fulfill Our Hearts- Part One

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Do you ever feel like you want some close spiritual friends you can take off your mask with and open up to? Are you feeling a hole in your spiritual life where spiritual friends should be? We were designed to have close spiritual friends in mutually edifying relationships where we can reveal our true selves and be channels of God’s grace. The New Testament refers to this as fellowship; the Greek word is koinonia, which literally means participation. What does the New Testament teach about fellowship? One of the principles we observe in the Apostle Paul’s life is that we should support one another, especially in troubled times. This is stated plainly in Galatians 5:2: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (ESV). This implies that we actually let other people know what our burdens are! Think about how often we don’t do this. How often do Continue Reading →