Topic > Relationships > Friendship >
Watching All Your Friends Get Married
I go to a lot of weddings. Like, a lot—five this summer, five last summer. I hang out with a lot of couples. And I write a lot about singleness. Go figure, right? My life, humorous to many, typically brings about a lot of questions.
Hard Words
A friend of mine faced a difficult task. Steve discovered that a leader in his church was involved in some sinful activities. After seeking wise and confidential counsel, Steve met with the leader and nervously but firmly urged him to turn from his sin and change his ways. The leader left the meeting distraught. Later, his daughter called Steve in tears. “Dad has locked himself in his room,” she said, “and he says he’s never coming out.”
Wounds from a Friend
Charles Lowery complained to his friend about lower back pain. He was seeking a sympathetic ear, but what he got was an honest assessment. His friend told him, “I don’t think your back pain is your problem; it’s your stomach. Your stomach is so big it’s pulling on your back.”
In his column for REV! Magazine, Charles shared that he resisted the temptation to be offended. He lost the weight and his back problem went away. Charles recognized that “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted” (Prov. 27:5–6).
The trouble is that so often we would…
Warm Welcomes
I’ve written before about a raucous nightclub that opened across the street from my family’s home in Uganda—causing us to move out before we had a new place to live. The unexpected and challenging experience—moving from the stable house and community we had lived in for seven consecutive years—led to a state of ongoing transition. We ultimately ended up settling in a community where we knew no one, and had to start over from scratch.
Common Colors
In the space of two days, I saw two chameleons—one bright green and the other dark brown. When my daughter called me over to see the brown one on a tree trunk, it took me a while to find it—further reinforcing my understanding of the way a chameleon changes color to blend in with its environment as a form of camouflage.
“Carrying Our Friends to Christ”
Today on Discover the Word, we welcome one of our 4th chair contest winners to the table. Michelle is our guest and the topic is “Carrying Our Friends to Christ.” Michelle talks about the people in her life who carried her to Christ, and continued speaking into her life as her mentors, including the team here […]
Overcoming the barriers to knowing Jesus
We all know someone who we would really like to see come to Christ. Today on Discover the Word, we address the three most common barriers that people erect against accepting Jesus. Whether it’s emotional, intellectual, or volitional, people have their reasons. Overcoming barriers that keep us from “Carrying Our Friends to Christ.” Join the group […]
A Letter To All First-Year Students
Hey there, You made it! You’ve survived the plane, bus, or train ride and have arrived at a new season of life. Welcome to university—your home for the next three to four years!
Good Company
To Kill a Mockingbird is a much-loved story about two young children coming of age in the American South, a region wracked by racial conflict and injustice during much of the 20th century. Fans were thrilled when a follow-up novel by author Harper Lee was released. But in Go Set a Watchman, readers were dismayed to find that a beloved and honorable character in the first book had transformed into an unapologetic racist in his later years. This twist forces the reader to confront the character’s evolving beliefs, as well as their own.
I Was Jealous of My Best Friend
I have something to confess: I was once jealous of my best friend. I didn’t mean to feel this way, and I’m not quite sure how it happened. We’d grown up and shared everything since we were young: our joys and tears, our secrets and dreams.
Loving Can Hurt Sometimes
We all know the unexplainable joy and completeness that comes from loving someone and being loved in return. But love can sometimes also cause us deep pain. Although we normally associate these feelings with romantic love, it is just as applicable in our friendships.
Best Friend—Forever
One of the pieces of wisdom I have come to appreciate is my dad’s often-repeated statement, “Joe, good friends are one of life’s greatest treasures.” How true! With good friends, you are never alone. They’re attentive to your needs and gladly share life’s joys and burdens.
Before Jesus came to earth, only two individuals were called friends of God. The Lord spoke to Moses “as one speaks to a friend” (Ex. 33:11), and Abraham “was called God’s friend” (James 2:23; see 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8).
I am amazed that Jesus calls those of us who belong to Him friends: “I have…
Come Sit a Spell
When I was a kid, our family made a monthly excursion from Ohio to West Virginia to visit my maternal grandparents. Every time we arrived at the door of their farmhouse, Grandma Lester would greet us with the words, “Come on in and sit a spell.” It was her way of telling us to make ourselves comfortable, stay a while, and share in some “catching up” conversation.
Life can get pretty busy. In our action-oriented world, it’s hard to get to know people. It’s tough to find time to ask someone to “sit a spell” with us. We can get more…
No greater love
The Bible tells us “There’s no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” That’s the kind of love Carl Powers exhibited during the Korean War when he turned down chance after chance to return home to the safety of the United States. Hear how Carl’s risky decision to bring an impoverished Korean […]
Gather Together
Whether breaking bread around a table or coming together around the Word of God, it’s good to be with other believers. We find common ground, encouragement, and happy hearts. Fellowship is one of God’s greatest gifts to His children.
