November 22 2015 Cultivating My Friendships

CULTIVATING MY FRIENDSHIPS

Wiser- Part 6

Proverbs 27:19 (LB) "A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.  "

SIX MARKS OF A REAL FRIEND

1. I must be COMMITTED

Proverbs 18:24"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."            

Proverbs 18:24 (GN)"Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers.  "

2. I must be CONSIDERATE

Proverbs 19:22 (LB) "Kindness makes a man attractive. 

Proverbs 17:9 (LB)  "Love forgets mistakes.  Nagging about them parts the best of friends.  "

3. I must be CONFIDENTIAL

Proverbs 11:13 "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.  "

4. I must be CANDID        

Proverbs 27:5-6 "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds  from a friend can be trusted "

Proverbs 24:26 (GN) An honest answer is the sign of a true  friendship.  "

5. I must be CONSTRUCTIVE

Proverbs 27:17 (Knox)"As iron sharpens iron, friend shapes friend    

1 Thessalonians 5:11

6. I must be CONSISTENT

Proverbs 17:17  "A friend loves at ALL times, and a brother is born for adversity. 

Romans 5:11 (LB)"Now we can rejoice in our wonderful relationship with God  all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins - making us friends with God!"

November 16 2014 Releasing Inner Hurts

Releasing Inner Hurts

Jehovah Raphe – I Am The God Who Heals

Psalm 147 – God heals the broken hearted and bandages their wounds.

1. Reveal my hurt.

Psalm 39:2-3 – I kept very quiet, but I became even more upset.  I became very angry inside and as I thought about it my anger burned.

Job 18:4 – You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger.

2. Release those who have hurt me.

Romans 12:17-19 – Never pay back evil for evil.  Never avenge yourself, leave that to God.  For He has said that He will repay those that deserve it.

Psalm 56:8 – You God have kept a record of all my tears.

Hebrews 12:5 – A bitter spirit is not only bad in itself, but can also poison the life of many others.

3. Replace old memories with God’s truth.

Romans 12:2 – Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Ephesians 1:4 – Through what Christ would do for us, God decided to make us holy in His eves without a single fault we stand before Him covered with His love.

4. Refocus on the future.

Job 11:13-16 – Yet if you devote your heart to Him and stretch out your hands to Him, then you will lift up your face without shame, you will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.

Proverbs 4:25 – Look straight ahead with honest confidence, don’t hang your head in shame.

5. Reach out to help others.

2 Corinthians 1:4 – God comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble we can comfort them with the same comfort that God has given to us.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – When someone becomes a Christian, he is a brand new person inside, he is not the same anymore, a new life has begun.

October 28 The Choice Of Giving

THE CHOICE OF GIVING

Matt. 5:7 - Happy are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

The Motive of Mercy

Vs. 7- Happy are the merciful.

We must experience God’s mercy.
I Peter 1:3 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Complete surrender to God.
Romans 12:1 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies (yourselves) a living sacrifice to God.

The Marks of Mercy

Matt. 5:7 - Happy are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Mercy is: Kindness

What are the Marks:

1. I’ll accept people where they are.
I Thes. 5:14 - Encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

2. Keep the Spirit of forgiveness.
Matt. 18:22 - But up to seventy times seven.

Col 3:13 - Be gentle and ready to forgive, never hold grudges. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

3. We must support each other.
Gal. 6:2 - Bear one another’s burdens.

Hosea 6:6 - For I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

4. I’ll help those who are hurting.
Prov. 3:27 - Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it.

I John 3:17-18 - If someone who is supposed to be a Christian has enough money to live well, and sees a brother in need but won’t help him, how can God’s love be in him? Let’s stop just saying we love people, let’s show it by our actions.

The Mastering of Mercy

• Don’t nurse them

• Don’t curse them

• Do release the wound.

You get what you give:

Prov. 11:17 - Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, it is destroyed when your are cruel.