A Truthful Friend 

DECEMBER 27, 2021

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Proverbs 27:5-6 Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

THOUGHT ON GOD’S WORD:

  There is nothing worse to a person’s emotions than to find out someone who they thought of as a friend, co-laborer, and helper, has turned on them, and is telling others damaging things about them. God sometimes refers to them as gossips, backbiters, or slanderers.

    It is one thing to hear from your so-called friend that they believe you are making a mistake and to have them try to help you. It is quite another to have them say one thing to your face with a smile, then run off in the corner and bad mouth you or your decisions to others.

    Open rebuke or faithful wounds given in love toward someone should be taken in love. If someone comes to help you by sharing an area they may see in your life as harmful to your testimony or walk with God, and they do it in a loving manner, we ought to accept it and see what God’s Word says about the matter.

    On the other hand, if a person comes and tells you how much they love you, but will not tell you if they see trouble in your life, can they truly say they love you? The answer is NO! Even worse, if they tell you they love you and then gossip about your faults behind your back, can they say they love you, NO!

    God’s Word never hides the truth. It is there for us to read and understand. God never talks behind our back or lets us think it is ok to sin. However, He always says so in the context of love. Always wanting the best for us, He tries to warn us of the cost of sin. Can He say He really loves us, YES!
   

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

    Avoid false love, as you do not need the aggravation in your life. Draw close to true love. God’s best love was displayed by sending His Son Jesus to live and die for us. The truth might hurt at times, but the truth wrapped in love will be the best thing you can find. Jesus is the Way, the TRUTH, and Life.

GOD TALKING TO ME:  DECEMBER 27, 2021

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING 
(O.T.-1/N.T. & PS.-2/Prov.-Monthly)
Nehemiah 10-13     /     Psalm 146     /     Proverbs 26-27     /     Revelations 17-18

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Haggai           /  Revelation 18

Living In His Word Ministries

       “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12