Who do
you know? In His Word 10/7/2013
I have
tried three times now to get this Word down on 'paper' and I know it
is crucial to someone out there.
Today I
want to focus on who you know, who I know, and how important it is
that we are around the right kinds of people in life. You can stand
with the right people and things will go well for you, or you can
stand with the wrong kind of people and they will drag you down.
For
example lets look at some men or women in the Word that chose
foolishly and then some who chose wisely just whom they would hang
around with.
Caleb
and Joshua both went with a great big group of guys to spy out the
new land.
They
both liked how it was laid out, how much food was available and they
figured the people would be no contest. Unfortunately for them the
group of men who went with them did not think so.
For the
children of Israel waked forty years in the wilderness, till all the
people who were men of wary, who came out of Egypt, were consumed,
because they did not obey the voice of the Lord-- to whom the Lord
swore that He would not show them ...the land of milk and honey...
Joshua 5:5-7
The
people of Israel chose to 'hang with the doubters' and wandered for
40 more years in the dessert as nomads.
Then
there is the story of King Saul. In 1st Samuel, Saul
started out making the right choices then changed up and traded who
he was following. He started listening to the people's choices over
the Lord God's choices. He listened to them to the point of going
against a direct order from God himself. Because of his disobedience
Saul became a sorrowful king, who had pain in his body and chased
after David, the boy who would be king out of jealousy. He listened
to the people wanting to keep things God told him to get rid of and
this caused him to loose his kingdom to David, and to die by his own
sword!
How low
can you go?
When you
are hanging out with the wrong crowd they will bring you down. No
matter how much fun you think they look like they are having if they
are breaking the rules you hold dear, or have been brought up to
follow and you keep hanging out with them sooner or later you are
going to slip and fall. You will fall and they will not even care to
catch you because they are weak themselves.
When you
fall with weak people they will not be there to pick you up again.
City
streets are full of people who hung out with the wrong crowd and made
the wrong choices. We call them homeless, addicts or worse, they are
only weak people who hung with the wrong kind of people.
So how
can we be sure that we will hang out with the right kind of people?
First
you have to think and be picky when you choose whom you will hang out
with.
Follow
this rule of thumb; do not compromise values for friendships.
Choose
friends who will complement your life and lift you up.
Choose
someone who will allow you to encourage them as well!
If you
really want to know how to choose the right kind of people you could
look at how Jesus chose people; he walked along and invited them to
be like them.
He asked
them to join Him to do what he wanted to do.
Many
people have followed him to where He chose to go, and do even today.
Those who chose to follow Him have chosen wisely.
Jesus
placed limits on his closest friends. He chose 12 disciples to be his
Apostles. They were his inner group of friends. They were the ones He
told everything to. Then there were some His followers that were there to
hang with him for what He could do for them.
He kept
them at a distance, and found time to be alone with his twelve. Each
of the twelve men that he hung out with, and the few women that
tended to them from time to time were subject to moments with Jesus
that were special enough that they wrote them out in our Bibles.
Jesus
chose friends who would do what He wanted them to do, and that was
who He knew.
We can
read about how Jesus kept his friends in line by rebuking Peter for
being wrong, and Judas, whom Jesus knew would betray Him unto death,
Jesus gave permission by telling him to do it quickly.
Peter
was asked three times if he knew Jesus; he denied that he was part of
the group of Jesus' friends. Yet he still hung with the group after
Jesus died and rose again.
If you
know the right people you will go far in life. Peter was the rock
that started the Christian Church movement. Paul stood strong for
what was right, and God showed him the right way to go. He took him
from the wrong people that he was hanging with as a Pharisee and
brought him to the right crowd of Christians- the Apostles of Christ.
Paul went much further in his life for God than he would have as a
Roman.
If you
know the right people you will go far in life too. If you know Jesus
the sky is the limit!
Dear
Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to know you, and to join
in your group. Be with us today as we choose who we will hang out
with in our free time. Help us to follow Your guidance and direct our
paths; in Jesus name. Amen.
Suggested
reading Romans 5:1-21 , Acts
2:1-47, 1 Corinthians 1:1-31, 2 Corinthians 6:1-18