DCLM Higher Everyday 16 September 2023 — Faithfulness To Good Friends
DCLM Higher Everyday 16 September 2023 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Faithfulness To Good Friends
Topic: Faithfulness To Good Friends
Text — Proverbs 27: 5-10
5Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
7The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
9Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
10Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
Key Verse: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27: 6).
Message
A dictionary defines ‘friend’ as, “A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.” Best friends are wonderful. A good friend could be someone you might have just met, yet it seems as though you have known him or her for ages. However, you need to watch for character compatibility in any friendship. George Washington admonishes thus: “Be courteous to all, but intimate with a few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.”
Sift the friends you make and be a good friend yourself. Lend a helping hand to a friend who is in need. Always be a source of happiness to your friends and those who come across you. “In prosperity, our friends know us – in adversity, we know our friends,” said a writer. Jesus is the best friend. Be faithful to Him.
Quote: Be a good friend yourself
Challenge: Always be a source of happiness to your friends.
Prayer for today: Make me a channel of blessing to others, oh God.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
