Friends

Today: Philippians

Do you have people in your life who just get you?

Maybe they're not all your best friend, but they're people you can count on. Friends are such a huge part of life and although today's passage has some of the most famous verses in the Bible, I thought I'd focus on the heart connection Paul felt with the people known as Philippians.

Take a look at these verses from the first chapter:

Every time you cross my mind,

I break out in exclamations of thanks to God.

Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer.

I find myself praying for you with a glad heart.

I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us,

believing and proclaiming God's Message,

from the day you heard it right up to the present.

There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind

that the God who started this great work in you

would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish

on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
It's not at all fanciful for me to think this way

about you.

My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality.

You have, after all, stuck with me all the way...

I think there's a few things we can learn in these verses about being a great friend...and appreciating the great friends in our lives. Here's what I got:

1. Thank God for your friends and pray for your them...even when they cross your mind for a brief moment.

2. Be a friend who stands by others and follows through (with God's help of course!).

3. Continue to be consistent--the go-to person others can count on.

In the NIV version of these verses, Paul writes, "It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart." Celebrate the friends and family who are in your heart. Always.

Tomorrow: Colossians