A MONTH TO SAY THANK YOU

 

Friend, we thank God who has been gracious to us and has kept us this far. He has protected us, delivered us, provided for us and led us. My wife and I are thanking God this month for His goodness and faithfulness throughout this year. We also want to seize the opportunity to thank you, our faithful readers, for your friendship. We pray that God will continue to bless you and keep you in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen and Amen.

This month shall be a month to say Thank You to God for His faithfulness towards us throughout the year. It is also a month to say Thank you to friends and to appreciate all those whom God has placed in our lives. God wants us to express our gratitude in words or in deed.

God has indeed been Faithful. According to Revelation 3:14, “These are the Words of the Amen, The faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation”. Friend, Jesus has been a true and faithful friend to everyone of us. He has been closer to us than a brother. He has been a Good Shepherd, a Wonderful Guide, a Magnificent Comforter, an Able Advocate and we ought to be glad that we know Him as our Savior and Lord.

Friend, we need to thank God that our Savior is not just an ordinary friend. He is a faithful and true friend. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us and we can all testify that He has kept His Word. He desires us to be the same and indeed it should be our desire to emulate Him.

As you know, there are different kinds of friends and different levels of friendship.

There are those who tell you they love you but not enough to help you to get your miracle and have a testimony. They will stand with you only for a season and only when the going is good. They will tell you that they are with you but do not mean it. In John 5:1-15, we find the story of a man that was at the Pool of Bethesda for 38 years. His friends carried him to the pool each day and left him there. Yes, they loved him but only enough to take him to the pool side. One wonders why none of those who carried him to the pool stood around to push him in when the water was stirred so he could be healed.

There are those friends who do not want you to reach your God-given destiny. They hate to see you make any progress. Rather, their aim is to pull you down. When good things are happening to you or are about to happen to you they are not happy. Let us take a look at the story of Joseph in Genesis 37:10-11, 19. The Bible tells us that his brothers were jealous of him and even plotted to kill him and throw him into the pit. There are some so-called brothers and sisters, even in the Body of Christ, who profess to be your friend but are insincere and only hang around you in order to kill your dream.

 Then there are those friends who will walk with you only for what they can gain from you. They are users. They take from others but are unwilling to give of themselves. Their motives are not pure. In 2 Kings 5:21-27, we read about Gehazi, the servant of Elisha. He stuck with Elisha only to gain. He was quick to run after Naaman and to lie in order to collect some of the gifts that Naaman had initially meant to give to Elisha.

Divine friendship will have divine impact. In Ruth 1:16, Ruth declares to her mother-in-law, Naomi, “Where you go, I will go and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God”. This is a true mark of divine friendship and true partnership. Ruth was faithful. She did not follow Naomi for a season as Orpah did nor did she do so in order to make any gain. She was committed and that is why we later see her featuring in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Mathew 1:5. On the other hand, we never hear of Orpah again.

May God help us to be true friends, faithful friends, giving friends, pure friends. Yes, may we be people who will stand with friends in good times as well as in bad times. May we be the kind of friend that Jonathan was to David. May the Lord also open our eyes to identify the good friends He has placed in our lives and to stay away from those who are not meant to be a part of our destiny. Amen.

Again, my wife and I want to thank the friends of Torchbearers-for-Christ.org for standing with us. We thank you for your many emails, your support and encouragement. We want you to know that we cherish your friendship.

We want to wish you a glorious Christmas Season and a Blessed end of the year. May every prophetic Word, every dream and every vision that God has ordained for you come to pass in Jesus Wonderful Name. Amen and Amen.