SHARP FRIENDS

Dining with Jesus Christian Episodes,

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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I have had the privilege of serving the Lord as a pastoral leader in the church for nearly the last thirty years, and during this time of service, I have witnessed (and experienced) a common problem. Even though we are all part of the Body of Christ, the church, upon our acceptance of the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, we all seem to struggle with making real Christian friends. 

When we do not have real Christian friends in our lives, we suffer greatly. We miss out on the joy of being connected to other people who share our love of the Lord, our commitment to his purposes and mission, and we miss out on the gifts of wisdom and encouragement that could be ours otherwise.

This is a bold statement, but I believe it with all my heart. 99% of those who seek out the help of a pastor (like me) would not need such advice if they were surrounded by other God-fearing believers in Jesus that they call friends. 

The Bible is filled with passages calling the faithful to embrace other believers into their lives so that the benefits of Christian friendship might be experienced by all who are willing to heed the message of God’s Word. We can hear one such admonition in the passage below. 

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

(Proverbs 27:17 NLT)

Close Contact

This image of a believing friend serving as a whetstone, or a sharpening tool in the hands of a master blacksmith, is a great way to describe one of the benefits of seeking out and embracing other believers in Christ as your friends. 

In order to be sharpened by those God has placed in your life, you must be in close contact with them. We cannot help others or be helped by others if we isolate ourselves and remain disconnected from other believers. 

If you have areas of your life that you wish could be improved or sharpened, consider the Word of God and seek out another believer whom God can use to bring improvement into your thinking and into your emotions. 

More

Consider the following proverbs that were given prior to this great sharpening metaphor:

5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. 

7 One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

(Proverbs 27:5-7 NIV11)

Trusted

The key to understanding the benefit of a friend who will help you be sharper and stronger comes from our willingness to trust those that God places in our lives as believing friends and companions. 

Open rebuke, wounds, bitterness – these do not seem like good things that we should hope to receive from friends. And the point of this teaching is not to encourage these behaviors and attitudes inside believing friendships, but in this teaching, we are being reminded that even these hardships are of great value if they come to us from a place of real love. 

If someone loves you as a believing friend, they will not lie to you or ignore your lies just to make and keep the peace. A real Christian friend will at times, call us out for our sins and failure to properly apply the message of God’s word. 

Sharper

Should we be on the receiving end of one of these hard conversations, remember that your friend is being used by God to help you grow stronger, sharper, and more mature. 

A real friend will not allow us to buy into the lies of the world. Instead, they will stand in our way, they will call out our impure motives, and they will continue to walk with us as we make changes to our life’s direction. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, help me be the kind of friend who invests in the benefit and growth of others. Lord, help me not fall into the trap of selfishness and self-centeredness. Help me to invest deeply in my believing friends. Help me experience the joy of being used to encourage and lift up as I call my friends back in line with the truth of your Word. Thank you Jesus. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Senior Pastor at PARK HILL BAPTIST CHURCH


Worked at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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Copyright © 2024 Ryan Laden – All Rights Reserved.

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