my burg

Bible reading for weekend April 9 -- 11 Apr 9 -- Proverbs 27 and 2 Thessalonians 1 Apr 10 -- Proverbs 28 and 2 Thessalonians 2 Apr 11 -- Proverbs 29 and 2 Thessalonians 3 "Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away." (Proverbs 27:10)  FRIENDSHIP (ch 27) . Our families have an important role in God's plan, but so do our friends and neighbors (vv 9-10; see vv 6, 14, 17). Cultivation of good relationships will bear fruit now and in the future. The application of the extended proverb, "know well the condition of your flocks" (vv 23-27), applies not only to farming, but also to public service, to the ministry, and to friendships generally. By our care for others we cultivate righteousness and invest in our own future. Good friendships are a big part of the good life (Mark 10:29-30). As you read ask yourself, what does it...

Bible reading for September 29.  1 Kings 1. "And Solomon said, 'If he will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.'" (1 Kings 1:52) A NEW KING. Yet another of David's sons, Adonijah, seeks to take the throne. David is aged, always cold, and seems unaware of the political intrigue. Solomon is designated the true heir of the throne and anointed at Gihon, the only natural spring on Mount Zion. Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, a close associate of David and commander of the palace guard, were in attendance. Solomon's first judicial ruling, that of probation for Adonijah, was fair and merciful by the standards of his day. Had Adonijah succeeded in his bid, the rest of David's sons, including Solomon, may have been killed. Through the wisdom and timely action of Bathsheba, Nathan, and others the rightful heir ascends to the throne.  REFLECT. There was a threat t...

Bible reading for April 22.  Leviticus 26. "And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people." (26:12)  Once again we are told of God's ultimate purpose for humankind : that we might dwell happily together with God. (Ex 6:7; Ezek 37:23-28.)  Walking together is a sign of friendship.   At the beginning of creation we hear that the first human couple "...heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day..." (Gen 3:8).   What then fell into shame (and hiding) by the sin of Adam is redeemed by Christ, the second Adam, and will be restored in a new creation (2 Cor 5:17; 6:16; Rev 21:3).  We need hide no longer from God . In the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism our ultimate purpose is, "That we might glorify God and enjoy him forever."  This new creation was purchased by Christ, and we are to receive him by faith, and along with him we receive all good things: "He who did not spa...

"It is virtue, virtue, which both creates and preserves friendship. On it depends harmony of interest, permanence, fidelity."  (Cicero) "A man is known by the company he shuns as well as by the company he keeps."  (C. H. Spurgeon) "The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant."  (Psalm 25:14) "Actually, the word friendship in this verse (Psalm 25:14) can also be translated secret or intimate. This interesting word in the Hebrew refers to the confidential counsel  that you would get from a close friend. So, the secret, intimate, confidential counsel that comes from the friendship of the Lord 'is for those who fear Him.' God shares His best stuff with the people who fear Him. This is the closeness of trusting God."  (James MacDonald) "[Christians] are accepted and received into friendship with a holy God, — a God of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, — who hates every unclean thing...

"...and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'--and he was called a friend of God ." (James 2:23 ESV) "Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4) Friends share many things in common. Good friends are those who share in common with us certain important interests, causes, values, possessions, and often a shared reputation. A good friend is one who sticks faithfully beside us, no matter what (Proverbs 18:24). God has been such a friend to us. He has shared with us his Son (John 15:13), his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), his intimate counsel (Psalm 25:14), his nature (2 Peter 1:4), his glory (Romans 5:2), his throne (Revelation 3:21), and every good thing ("all things", Romans 8:32). He has undertaken to support us, our best interests and our eternal future. He sticks by us forever. This is so very amazing, that he should...

I was sent a very interesting article in Touchstone. Here's an excerpt and link... We still have the word “friendship,” and we still have something of the reality, but it is distant, dilute, bloodless. For modern American men, friendship is no longer forged in the heat of battle, or in the dust of the plains as they drive their herds across half a continent, or in the choking air of a coalmine, or even in the cigar smoke of a debating club. That is partly because our lives, for better and for worse, no longer involve the risk and the sweat that was the cement of deep friendship. No man will help hew the oaks for our cabin, because we no longer live in cabins. No man will stand by as we jump overboard to set the trawling net, because we have no boat and set no net; we live too comfortably for that. Under such fortunate circumstances, we need all the more the camaraderie and intellectual risk of the club. But gentlemen’s clubs have vanished or have been sued out of existence. (The C...