Build it, and they will come.
Well, maybe not… but it will certainly make it easier to contact you.
Being reachable is important, here’s why:
Source: Why You Need a ‘Contact’ Page
I pressed this from Sarah Brentyn’s blog.
I have a contact page and a guestbook. You can also leave comments on blog posts. I am reachable and waiting to hear from you.
One of the most striking stories of friendship between human beings in the Old Testament is that of Jonathan and David. In today’s terms, they were the first “bromance” in history.
1And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
1 Samuel 18:1 (KJV)
These following verses are the same verse, but from different versions:
New International Version
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.
New Living Translation
After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David.
English Standard Version
As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
Shortly put, Jonathan was King Saul’s son and King Saul hated David enough to “hunt him”, to seek ways and to attempt to get rid of him. As you might have guessed, David survived every King Saul’s attempts to kill him.
In the New Testament, however, it is a surprising relationship you will find in a letter from Paul to Philemon. You know, this letter everyone keeps skipping because they think the letters to the Corinthians, the Galatians, the Romans, the Ephesians, and the Colossians convey more crucial content than it. Paul’s letter to Philemon seems out of place among the other letters. First, the letter is addressed to one person instead of a group and second, Paul asked for a favour instead of teaching, scolding, or directly exhorting the addressee. The tone is intimate (read this word to mean that they know and understand each other), full of respect and consideration.
But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.
Philemon 1:14 (KJV)
New International Version
But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary.
New Living Translation
But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent. I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you were forced.
English Standard Version
but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.
Why did Paul ask something of Philemon instead of commanding him to do it? Paul did not lack in authority; he pointed it out to Philemon and highlighted the fact he deliberately chose not to use it. Most of the people he wrote to were people who converted during his visits to these regions. Most considered him their “spiritual father”, their mentor, their teacher. However, in the name of friendship, Paul asks Philemon to do something instead of commanding him to do so. Why did Paul choose it?
I read some commentaries about this letter and most agree on the fact that Paul provided Philemon with an opportunity to do one more thing for the Lord, a gesture done willingly.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.1 Peter 5:2
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
But what if there was more to it?
From the beginning of the letter, we know Paul is confident in Philemon’s answer. Philemon is a man who loves the Lord and God’s followers. From the way Paul addresses Philemon in the beginning of his letter, I keep picturing him as the eager type: eager to please the Lord, fervent in his walk of love, and ready to walk in obedience.
What if Paul gave Philemon an opportunity to grow? The letter mentioned an unpleasant history between Philemon and Onesimus; Paul must have suspected that the favour he asked of him would be a tall order and a sore spot in Philemon’s life. In order for Philemon to give Paul a positive answer, he had to make things right with God in regards to Onesimus and within himself over the past, and most likely forgive Onesimus. A positive answer to Paul required of Philemon to choose God, to choose to grow in maturity, and Paul knew it.
Since no one can coerce someone else into growing up; it had to be done willingly.
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Proverbs 27:17
New International Version
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
New Living Translation
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
English Standard Version
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
In my own opinion, the most potent verse about friendship is found in Proverbs:
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 (KJV)
A friend loves at all times, and to know what love is and what it does, go to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJV)
People usually enter a friendship because they like and love their friend from the get-go. If you are in a friendship that does not engage your heart in a positive way, it is not a friendship and you are not a friend. Most agree that friendship happens between like-minded people, but it is not always the case; something common brings them together but they might very well be opposites in terms personality and outlook on life.
Friendship, in God’s eyes, serves a purpose. Friendship is a relationship in which the friends are called to serve (to minister to) one another, to be there for each other. Friendship is also a type of relationship that heightens awareness. We come to be (to exist, to label who we are) only in front of someone else. Difference in opinions, shortcomings, and subconscious and conscious emotions find an outlet through friendship and sometimes also get in the way. Friendship is never about self, it is always about the other person because love is selfless (love does not seek its own and love does not parade itself, is not puffed up).
Real friends are honest with each other, they are truthful, and they care about one another. A friend provides help and support and meets the needs he can meet. Friendship overall builds up the two people in it. Friendship is benevolent because love is kind and love thinks no evil. Friendship is one of God’s ways to show us his love, because a friend loves at all times and love forgives all.
Need a reminder on what love is and what love does?
Love cannot exist without free will. Love does not behave rudely, therefore love does not allow coercion, domination, and tyranny and coercing Philemon in any way would have been proof that Paul did not love him. Paul loved Philemon as a friend, hence the reason he granted him the opportunity to exert his free will, the opportunity to grow in God and in love, and thus become a more mature Christian. That’s what friends do for one another; they help each other grow closer to God by loving their friend unconditionally, by loving the way God loves, by God loving their friend through them.
Related articles:
Top 7 bible verses about friendship
Well, it seems I have been going all wrong about blogging according to this post: Your author blog: what should an author blog about?
Authors (published or not) don’t do what I do… post verses or talk about what they learn about God as they learn it… Authors don’t share knowledge or awe about God’s work… No… They network with fellow indie authors, use their long comments on someone else’s blog to publish on their own blog and they can talk about the craft, share their journey to the publishing world with the world but they cannot critique or whine. Those are writing career busters.
Established authors can talk about anything (their books, their research, their opinions, their pets even!), talk to anyone (interviews, profiles, guest posts), and basically nurture their readers’ morbid curiosity about their lives. As long as posts provide information or entertainment, just about anything goes.
And I am out my league!
The Israelites have done just about everything to test God’s infinite patience and love and they have often found themselves oppressed, diminished, and enslaved because they would not be humble before God. They were punished for their misconduct. When they were brought to their knees because of their punishment, they would cry out to God and He would rescue them, always reiterating what He wants:
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Ps 50:15 (KJV)
However, they had a short memory span and probably did not fully understand the meaning of “glorifying God”. They ended up displeasing God all over again and finding themselves in the same (or in worse) circumstances than those they were rescued from.
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (KJV)
Since God does not change, He still hates these things, even in people who know the Word of God.
16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.
19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.
21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.Ps 50:16-21 (KJV)
This sounds like the introduction to a lesson learned the hard way. God’s wrath hurts (Lamentations 2). Consider what happened to Adam and Eve for disobeying and see where it led mankind. Remember why Noah built an ark so a handful of righteous men would survive the flood while the rest of humanity was set to perish? Why was there a flood in the first place?
He does not only turn his wrath to the unbelievers, but also against those who are supposed to know him and those He chose.
5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.
6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.Hosea 6:5-7 (KJV)
God still teaches lessons to his children when they deserve it.
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
Proverbs 29:15 (KJV)
God is also just and loving.
20 The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he has committed, they shall not be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he has done he shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? says the Lord GOD: and not that he should turn from his ways, and live?
24 But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All his righteousness that he has done shall not be remembered: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
25 Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and dies in them; for his iniquity that he has done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 Yet says the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, says the Lord GOD: therefore turn yourselves, and live.Ezekiel 18:20-32 (KJV)
Just remember this:
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psalms 84:10 (KJV)
Related:
5 Truths about the Wrath of God
I think the verses speak for themselves.
Avoid what keeps you away from Him and part of that means that a Christian must not instigate or engage in these things. Behaving this way costs you your relationship with God; this is not His way.
We are called to be imitators of Christ, to be peace makers, to love one another (friends, foes, and everyone in-between). Being Christian is not about getting one’s points across, about being right (and everybody else’s wrong), or about “who’s best”. It is about following Christ, walking in his footsteps, and serving God – as he did.
Preserve your relationship with God at all cost. Let nothing and no one stand in the way of Him and you.
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2 NKJV – Beware of Personal Favoritism – My – Bible Gateway
Walking with God is a narrow path because few do it. It is full of bumps, of cliffs, of brooks of various depth and width, of missing ground (where you have to leap to get to the other side), of blisters to your feet, of sunburn and bugs bites, of countless tiring efforts, and of pain at times. However, I would not go back to walking the other way, in the larger path, for walking with God is the most amazing thing I have experienced.
I am always amazed to behold His work in every detail and every circumstance He puts me in. As I told a friend,
I don’t force faith, it is something I have because God is a living presence in my life.
I am not here to tell you what to do or what to believe in, I can only bear witness to what God does in my life and tell you why I choose to walk in obedience to Him.
Often, He has me doing things I would not do on my own (because the flesh says it doesn’t feel like it or it is afraid), and yet I choose to do them because it helps somebody, because doing so brings me closer to God, because I learn through it, because partaking in His work as His instrument is a great honour, because watching Him in the midst of it is something I will not ever get tired of.
Make no mistake, choosing obedience requires faith, but I put my trust in God. He is Almighty, that’s all I really need to know.
Nobody knows suffering as much as Jesus does. He endured it all (emotional, psychological, and physical). He was sought after everywhere he went, either by crowds drawn to him or by Pharisees and the likes who wanted to discredit him and ultimately get rid of him. He had a few friends, followers, yet his people rejected him as a prophet, as the Son of God.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
ISAIAH CHAPTER 53 KJV
Jesus, being everything God loves, was nothing to men, insignificant, disregarded. The only men who saw him for who he really was were those who were chosen by God. Jesus was a man of sorrows, familiar with grief; he knew sadness inside out.
Jesus is holy and sanctification is every Christian’s calling. Can we be saints and live a very different life from that of Jesus? That would be very illogical.
Just as it happened with Jesus, nobody will recognize God in us unless God wants them to see Him. The truth we tell will be perceived as lies, our kindness will be perceived as weakness, and our guileless intents will be perceived as wicked. The light of God shines through us, but can a blind man see the light? We are all blind without the Spirit of Truth.
The suffering in our lives has a purpose. It brings us to God, on our knees. Many go to Him for relief and find it. Suffering and understanding give us compassion for others. When we walk in obedience to God, He will protect us from pain because His presence is more powerful than man-inflicted pain. His love is so overwhelming it will be the only thing we feel.
Our perceptions and understanding change in God’s presence; His love is revealed to us and through us, and prior suffering fades away. Love heals, love gives life, and love stands in truth.
Paul says about suffering that if we take part in his suffering, we also take part in his consolation. I for one believe with all my heart that my own suffering is worth it if it opens a door to God revealing Himself to someone who needs Him.
I am just a vessel, but I find honour in Him using me to reveal His glory. There is nothing grander than to be in the presence of God Almighty. My consolation for suffering? Seeing the kingdom of God, his reign, feeling His love and presence, and contemplating His glory. This is enough to have me rejoice, to praise his name, to put a smile on my face and to be awed at God’s Almightiness.
Why would Paul rejoice in his own weakness?
Finding a plausible explanation is not obvious, is it?
As I understand it, strength is not what we know as strength of personality. It is neither about bullying nor about demanding respect. Strength is not some snappy and hurtful comebacks. Neither is it playing the blame game nor telling home truths.
Strength is utter weakness in which He is strong.
Strength comes from and is the Holy Spirit; strength is love and forgiveness.
You are Almighty God’s perfect instrument. Your own weakness makes it so that the Holy Spirit can operate in you and use you to fulfill God’s will.
See?
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV
Think about it. Feeling Almighty God’s love go through you is as close to Him as you are going to get in this realm.
What a wonderful feeling!
that all relationships between human beings must be “you-God-me-and-me-God-you” so love is in it. Less than that, it is not love. Human love is not worth much.
A Pen for Christian Fiction