If you have read many of our blog posts, you may have noticed comments from some of our faithful friends. Some of these friends have prayed for me, and some have prayed with me. They have sent words of encouragement via emails, texts, phone calls, and cards. Some have even sent money to help support this ministry. I am so thankful for faithful friends! Without them, I’m not sure if I could keep going. It often seems like I am alone on an island, with no one around me.
The work of building a ministry and being a Christian “soldier” or even a “general,” as some of these friends have called me, is isolating and lonely at times.
As you may know, I recently published my latest book. It is called Jesus Come Revive America: Forgive Us for We Have Sinned. As a humble servant of Jesus, I don’t like to brag about my work. This book I feel is different though, because it is truly His work. As I post about my new book and all of the revivals taking place across America and the globe, I am filled with curiosity by the response. As with the blog posts on our website, comments on social media have been scarce. I even asked a friend this past week if I was invisible, and she was kind enough to share the post about the book on her own social media network. I am thankful for friends that will share the good news.
If you are one of those friends. Thank you. Thank you for being there and encouraging me. Thank you for being a Christian with a “Golden Tongue,” as one of our friends commented. When building a business, a ministry, working on a degree, raising children, or doing just about anything in life, we all need faithful friends who will check on us and encourage us. Thank you for being a faithful friend!
Solomon explains that “a friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). He also said that “one who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).
As an example of the importance of friends, when Job was attacked by evil and suffered a great deal, his three friends went to him to provide comfort (Job 2: 11). Having friends who are faithful is truly a blessing from God. I am thankful beyond measure for my friends who have supported the ministry and supported me along the way. Thank you.
- Mike Wallace is one of our faithful friends. He wrote, “Faithfulness is mentioned 458 times in the NIV Bible. Love is mentioned 686 times in the NIV Bible. They both are mentioned many more times in various euphemisms. It seems that faithfulness is imperative in God’s instructions. When love precedes faithfulness, it is much easier to be faithful to another person or our Savior, Jesus.”
It makes sense that love would precede faithfulness, because the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40) tells us to Love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. It also tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Without a heart full of love for God and people, one’s motives would be misaligned. It is essential that love comes first. The importance of love is further supported by 1 Corinthians 13, which states, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Wallace further explains that,
Our motives make all the difference, mainly when we are followers of Jesus Christ. Paul had much to say about how and why he was motivated to faithfulness. ‘For Christ’s love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died’ (2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV). Even though we may seem like amateurs in our faithfulness efforts, we continue with more significant effort for conformity with Jesus. Why would we stay in that amateur hope? The word amateur comes from a Latin base word-—amo, to love. Our love for Jesus compels us “to be conformed to the image of God’s son, Jesus.
This week, I encourage us all to be more faithful friends. Practical steps to do this may include reaching out by phone, a physical card or letter, a text, or an email to say hello and offer a word of encouragement. For friends that have a small business, the best form of advertisement is word of mouth. I hope we will select at least one friend this week and support them by telling others about their business. And for friends who are struggling, it may be time to go and see them in person and sit with them, as Job’s friends did.
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