Friends, Best Friends (Part 5)

When you are a friend of Jesus, your relationship becomes a healthy, maturing believer walking with Him in all areas of your life.

Jesus had many followers. He called twelve of these followers to be His apostles, those He would train to carry on His ministry. Shortly before He knew He would be arrested and sentenced to death on the Cross, He shared with the Twelve how special they were to Him. They were more than just His disciples, they were His friends (John 15:15).

We can read in the Bible that Jesus wants us to be more than His followers or servants. He wants us to be His friends. If we accept His offer of friendship, we begin to follow not only in His footsteps, but allowing Him to walk along side of us as we journey here on this earth. We begin to take on His character, His fruit of the Spirit. We begin to look different, act different, walk different, talk different.

Friendship requires loyalty. Jesus called every believer to this kind of consistent relationship. He expressed His expectation that those who would be His friend would "continue" and "remain" in His love. Imagine. We walk in His love and His love overflows from us into a world that is longing for love in all the wrong places. We are a reflection of Him and His friendship!

Friends, Best Friends (Part 4)

Two words fit well with the term "friend." One is necessity. Though some feel they do not need friends, the opposite is true. We all need close friendships. The other word is cherish. To be sure, each of us can be indifferent or careless about friends. That is a great mistake.

I am reminded of the scripture, Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loveth at all times..." To have friends, you must be a friend. To take these friendships to a deeper level, open your life to the people with whom you want to have friendship. Those who remain aloof from others find it difficult to develop deep friendships.

There are several areas of knowing if you are a good friend:
1) Be hospitable. Martha did a simple thing - she "received Him [Jesus] into her house" (Luke 10:38).
2) Be a good listener. Mary, Martha's sister, chose the good thing; she was happy to sit at the feet of Jesus listening to all He said (Luke 10:39).
3) Recognize the value of friends. Life's road is better traveled in the company of friends than alone. "Two are better than one" (Ecclesiastes 4:9).
4) Pray for your friends. Jesus prayed for His friends; He is our Example (John 11:41,42).
5) Have a "Circle of Friends." The comfort and joy that Jesus gave to Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Peter, James and John as a Friend that sticks closer than a brother is always more than enough to encourage us to press forward.

Let me encourage you to find ways to let your friends know how you feel about them and how much you appreciate them. Each is a precious gift from the Author of friendship.

Friends, Best Friends (Part 3)

No friendship is perfect. Earthly friends sometimes fail, but good friends do not discard one another because of imperfections. Neither does Jesus. He is our example of the friend that is described in Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loves at all times..." A friend's love is loyal and constant, and does not leave us when things become unpleasant. I believe in the sowing and reaping biblical principle. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want to have trustworthy friends, be a trustworthy friend. When you give your word to do something with a friend, keep your word, and do it with joy. When your friends decide to up and leave your friendship, Jesus is your closest Friend, and He will send another person into your life that will replace that missing friendship. Many times, although we don't like that change, God is taking us to another level of trusting Him to be first place in our lives.

Friendship calls for the realization of who our friends are. It is hard to enjoy a close friendship without recognizing who a person is. Discovering that a friend has been less than truthful with us about who he or she is can put a strain on the friendship. We expect friends to be honest with us. If not, trusting a friend is difficult. This is also true in our friendship with Jesus. If we say He is our Friend, we must understand who He is and allow this recognition to shape our response to Him. Only when we have this understanding can we really enjoy the close friendship He offers us.

We may all blush at the shortcomings of our friendship with Jesus. After all, friendship with Jesus is defined by obedience (see John 14:23). If we have disobeyed Jesus - and all of us have at some time - we fell short in our friendship wiht Him. Peter denied Christ three times, yet Peter's example reminds us that Jesus' friendship can continue beyond our failures. Like Peter, we must return to our Lord after our failure, ask His forgiveness, and recommit ourselves to follow Him. When this happens, friendship with Jesus and others will be renewed. Putting Christ first place, eveything else will fall in place.

Friend, Best Friends (Part 2)

When one friend fails another, it can be a painful thing for both people. This is where many friendships come to an end. Peter and his relationship with Jesus show us this does not have to be the case. Our imperfections do not have to spell the end of our relationship with the greatest Friend of all. Our friendship with Him can continue and it can grow stronger. In spite of our imperfections, Christ invites us to become His friends.

Fear can be a hindrance to friendship. Fear can show up in a reluctance to join in social gatherings and situations -  places that often play a role in developing friendships. Fear can also express itself to become close friends with anyone because the person may disappoint or betray. The test of friendship may come in the form of a situation that calls for a person to overcome his or her fears and trust the person he or she calls "friend."

You may know the scripture where Peter had this kind of experience in his relationship with Jesus. After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus sent His disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while He sent the crowd to their homes. Then Jesus spent some time in prayer. His disciples found themselves far out on the lake in a fierce storm (Matthew 14:13-24). What happen? This led to another miracle, as Jesus walked on the water to His disciples. The Bible places the time of this as "the fourth watch of the night" (verse 25), somewhere between three and six o'clock in the morning. The disciples cried out in fear, and Jesus calmed their fear by telling them not to be afraid...it was Him.

Storms of hardship often pound against us. Like the disciples, we may become fearful during these times of difficulty between friend relationships, but we do not need to let life's storms make us doubt Jesus' friendship. We know that no friendship is perfect. Earthly friends sometimes fail, but good friends do not discard one another because of imperfections. Neither does Jesus. He is the Example of the Friend described in Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loves at all times." He is one whose love is loyal and constant, and who does not leave us when things become unpleasant. Jesus is our Friend. Our friendship with Him should develop into a deep trust, no matter what we may face. His friendship assures us that He is more than a fair-weather friend. When hard times come, He will be with us through it all!

Friends, Best Friends - Part 1

Friends of Jesus has been the theme of teaching my Sunday School class the last few weeks. It's been exciting and yet challenging. I find that most people do not analyze or study their friends. We just expect to have friends. We want friends that are friendly. Somebody that we don't have to manipulate to be our friend. We want friends that are reliable; somebody that we can trust. We want friends that have like-interests, and we are delighted to be with. We want friends that are sincere about our friendship.

Aristotle said, "Friendship is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." Jesus and John the Beloved illustrated well this kind of intimate friendship. Three times John referred to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23; 21:7, 20). Their close relationship pictures the kind of close friendship Jesus desires to have with everyone who has placed his or her faith in Him. It also shows the kind of friendship we should strive to have with each other. Do you struggle to have friends? If so, keep reading my weekly blog. You will understand more about the importance of choosing right friends.

The best way to show our friendship is to point our friends to the greatest Friend of all - Jesus Christ. We may well gain a friend for eternity.

How Long?

Recently I visited a friend for a couple of days, and she gifted me with a new CD entitled "The Glory of His Presence" by Terry MacAlmon. You may have one of his CD's! One of the songs on my new CD is "How Long?" I weep as I listen to this worship song. Some of the words are How long till I become like You, how long until I awake in Your likeness? Is that not the cry of your heart today? I believe it's the cry of the Bride of Christ, the Church. We are longing for more of Him. We are hungry to be in His presence, to experience His glory! He is waiting for you and me to sit at His feet and rest in His presence.

I believe God is calling His Church to be all in all submitted to Him excited to be involved with what He is up to in this earth today! Yet, how we struggle to surrender to Him. He's calling us to be a spotless Bride, raised up in His holy power that cannot be denied. He has already given us everything to complete our calling: His shed blood, His name - that name that is above every name, His Word that reveals His will for our lives. Wow! We are a blessed people. I want to walk in His blessings daily. How about you? Are you putting Him first place in your life today? Why not mark your calendar for Peggy Teague Ministries next event; Saturday, September 10, theme, "Overflowing Abundance." Soon you will receive more details of this upcoming event.

Moving Forward in Christ,
Peggy

Liquid Prayers

Sometimes there are such concerns in our lives that only tears flow and we know not how to pray. I was praying about a concern when I realized my heart was broken of the outcome of this particular situation. We all have those. It's when your very insides want to turn outside. It began in the spiritual realm and has manifested in the physical. When we don't deal with it as a spiritual problem, it has no choice but to manifest. Spiritual warfare is tough. That's when we must dress for battle (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Tears in the scriptures play a unique role in spiritual breakthrough. Psalm reminds us that the planting of the seeds accompanied by a spirit of brokenness will not only bring a harvest of results, but will leave the sower with a spirit of rejoicing in the process (Psalm 126:5-6). This is a picture often called "liquid prayers."

First, there are tears of sorrow or suffering (2 Kings 20:5). Second, there are tears of repentance (Joel 2:12). Third, there are tears of compassion (John 11:35). Fourth, there are tears of desperation (Esther 4:1,3). Fifth, there are tears of travail, or giving of birth (Isaiah 42:14). Sixth, there are tears of joy (Genesis 33:4).

A passion in spiritual warfare is clearly needed. Is not our heavenly Father waiting on us?