What Kind of Friends Do You Have? What Kind of Friend Are You?

S-Accountable

S-"So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law." Galatians 5:1

A-God's gift of freedom

L-To Hold Accountable

"Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." Galatians 6:1

As the Body of Christ we are called to help one another, to hold one another accountable and to encourage one another.

This passage can be a very touchy passage for some, because not everyone wants to be held accountable. 

Let me ask you, the friends you are surround yourself with, are they followers of Christ? Do they hold you accountable or do they encourage you in your sin?

A true friend whose desire is to honor and serve the Lord will keep you accountable to His Word and His ways. If they see you struggling with a sin, whether it be gossip, pride, greed, jealousy, envy, addiction, anger, drunkenness, selfishness, etc. they will tell you! They will not agree with your behavior or decision.

Do your friends do this for you or do they partake in the sin with you? Maybe these are the friends you want, and if so, brethren understand they are doing more harm than they are good.

Do your friends push you to be better for Christ everyday? If your answer is no, pray and ask God to bring new godly friends into your life and to weed out the bad ones. He will do it!!

What about you? What kind of friend are you? Are you one that holds your brother and sister accountable in a gentle and humble manner, or do you agree with them because you don't want to upset them?

Sweet one, its not easy holding a brother or sister accountable, believe me I know, but in the end, it's what a true friend and a true follower of Christ does. Because its biblical and beneficial to the Body of Christ.

Before you approach them, spend time in prayer! Ask the Lord to give you discernment, understanding and wisdom to know how and what to say.

And always make sure you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you and speak through you.

It's also a good thing to make sure that your motives are pure not selfish.

If you have a godly friend that you know lives to please The Lord, ask them to help keep you accountable. And when they do, listen to them, don't get mad, defensive, or upset, rather thank them and pray about it.

Lets strengthen the Body of Christ not tear it down, or watch it fall apart because we were to afraid to say something.

S-Share with The Lord areas you would like to be held accountable and them allow Him and a godly friend to hold you accountable.

If you want answers-Open your Bible!

“An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother. The angel said. Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the child.” Matthew 2:13

If we are crying out to the Lord for answers, there is only one place to go and find those answers. The Bible! The Bible gives us two forms of receiving answers, one, through specific guidance and two, in our obedience. The Word is full of both and full of stories and people who were specifically guided and obedient to the Lord.

Over the last month or two my family and I have had some major decisions to make. As I sought the Lord for guidance and wisdom He led me to our passage above.

Matthew 2:13 “An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother. The angel said. Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the child.”  There are so many specifics in this passage that have opened my eyes to truly being guided by the Lord.

Specific Number 1- He will speak through the Holy Spirit as loud, clear and as specific as He sees necessary to get His point across. For Joseph it came from an angel in his dream! Have you ever cried out to the Lord asking Him to just give you a sign, hit you on the head, whatever, but please just show you? Yet the whole time you have been asking He has been saying, “I am showing you, I am telling you, you are just not listening because it is not what you want to hear.” Yeah, that stinks and that has been me for so long. One because I feel very unqualified to do what He is calling me to do, and two, how in the world will this help provide for my family.

Specific Number 2- His guidance will come with such detail, reassurance and the exact reason He is guiding you in the direction He is.

1.     Because it is His will
2.     It is for His pleasure.
3.     It is for His purpose.
4.    And it is the job He has assigned you to do here on this earth!

He shows us that with Joseph. He told Joseph exactly what to do, get up, flee to Egypt, take the child and mother with you, and stay there until I tell you when you can leave. The reason for doing this is because Herod is trying to kill the child!

Specific Number 3- Falls upon us! We have two choices just as Joseph did. We can ignore it or we can follow in obedience. We all know the right choice to make and so did Joseph. The sad thing is, we know the right decision but we choose the other because it suits us better. When in the long run it benefits us less, we are just so stubborn and set in our ways.

Joseph did not waste any time “That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet; I called my Son out of Egypt.” Matthew 2:14-15

Obedience- is to be done as a whole; we cannot pick and choose which parts of God’s word we want to obey. When we do that it brings blurred vision in what God is trying to show us and allows sin to creep in. Obedience even comes down to the littlest things like, not speeding, monitoring what we watch on T.V., our level of patience, our conversations, even our devotion to Him, and the time we spend in His word. 

How can we be obedient if we never open the word of God?  How can we know where He is guiding us if we never spend time in prayer, in His word, and with Him?

If you are seeking guidance from the Lord in what your next step should be, make sure you are willing to listen and follow whatever decision He makes for you in obedience. You will be rewarded for it, and most of all it will please Him. Like Romans 14:8 says, “While we live we live to please the Lord.”

Prayer: Lord forgive me for asking for Your guidance but then not listening and following You in obedience when You tell me. Amen