Sept. 20, 2024
Can We Be Friends?
Why are friendships called a gift from God?
Welcome to episode 1100 of My Morning Devotional. As we head into the weekend, today's devotional episode titled "Can We Be Friends?" focuses on the value of godly friendships. Drawing inspiration from Proverbs 27:9-10, we reflect on how friendships can bring joy, heartfelt advice, and support when we need it most. Join us, as we share a personal story of finding comfort in the laughter of friends during a difficult time and remind us all to cherish and prioritize our friendships.
Let's dive in and celebrate the blessings of having good friends in our lives, and in return, seek to be a blessing to them as well.
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Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:00.239 --> 00:01:20.040
You're listening to the my morning Devotional podcast, episode 1100. Today's Devo is called can we be friends? Hey there. We're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the my morning devotional podcast. Happy Friday, everybody. We made it to the weekend. We made it to the weekend, and it's going to be a good one. Stephanie Muena here with you all. But let me leave you off with this small, lighthearted encouragement found in proverbs 27 910. And it says in the NIV version, perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice. Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you. Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. You know, I was about 19 years old, and I was 19 or 20, I can't remember, but I was going through a tough time, and I was actually going through a breakup, a good olden young breakup.
00:01:20.120 --> 00:03:02.280
And I was heartbroken. I was going through all of the ups and downs of that emotional rollercoaster. And I remember vividly being upstairs in my room just moping and being in my silly heartbreak emotions when I heard downstairs the laughter of my friends. And I don't really recall what happened. I think my sisters had invited them over and they didn't let me know, but I was upstairs playing on my piano just in my sadness. And the laughter of my friends just broke through all of it. And I thought to myself, let me just go downstairs, put aside these emotions and go be with my friends. And that night, we had the best time. We sat around the kitchen staying up late, just laughing and enjoying our Friday night. And since that season, I have noticed that my friends have always been there to bring me laughter and joy when I need it the most. It's always been a principle of mine to be thankful for my friends and to prioritize my friends, because friendships are a gift from God. They really are. Like the Bible says, they're the pleasantness of life, especially when they give you heartfelt advice, especially when they're there in the moments that you need it most, they show up and they bring laughter and joy. You know, the Bible says that it's actually better to go to a friend nearby than a relative far away. I came from an italian american family that is all about family, family, family. And I know that there's a lot of other cultures that are like that, too. And that's a great thing. I'm all for that. Family.
00:03:02.439 --> 00:04:03.250
First, you are loyal and you are faithful to your family. But every once in a while, you need your friends. You need people in your life that you chose, because family, you didn't choose, but you chose your friends. And here's the beautiful thing about friends. They're choosing you back. Friendships are like the flowers in your life that spring up when you need it most. Family, they're there forever. They will be in your life forever. And they are a massive priority. But friendships, they're the ones that you can practice loyalty with, you can practice faithfulness with, because those friendships, they come when you least expect it. And the truth of life is this, sometimes your family can't be there all the time. Sometimes they live far away or they have lives of their own. Some of us even come from families that aren't in our lives at all.
00:04:03.590 --> 00:04:14.729
And that's when you see that friendships are truly a gift from God. So here's my challenge to you this weekend. Choose godly friends.
00:04:15.469 --> 00:04:41.077
Choose friends that will choose you and actively pursue your friends and make it about them. Invite your friends over this weekend and make it all about them. Ask them how they're doing. Ask them how their work is going. Ask them about their job. Because the funny thing about friends, we can have friends for years and we have no idea what job they have. But make this weekend about them.
00:04:41.254 --> 00:04:48.750
Go celebrate their wins. Go celebrate their children. Go celebrate their families. Celebrate your friends.
00:04:48.870 --> 00:04:56.286
Prioritize your friends. Give them a dinner at your house. Go pay for their dinner. Go pay for their coffee.
00:04:56.478 --> 00:05:18.696
And be a gift to your friendships. Because I promise you, they will come when you least expect it. They will come in the nick of time when you need it the most. And remember to choose the godly friends that will choose you. And remember, they are a blessing in your life. So be a blessing back to them.
00:05:18.848 --> 00:05:37.432
Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for the friends in our life that come when we least expect it. So, God, we pray that this weekend we will be the friend to those when they least expect it. We will be the blessing to our friends when they need it. We'll be generous.
00:05:37.576 --> 00:06:22.560
We'll be unifying. We'll give them the heartfelt advice when they need it. And God, we will remain grateful for the people in our lives. You brought these people into our life. You brought these friendships. So, God, we want to choose to be loyal to them. We choose to be faithful to them, and we choose to be generous to them. So allow this weekend to be a weekend full of friendships, of laughter, of memory making with our friends. We choose these friends, we choose to be loyal to them, and we choose to make all of our friendships God centered so that the blessings that flow out of our friendships come straight from you, God. And in Jesus name we pray. Amen. And amen.
00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:26.843
So there you have it. Your five minute daily dose of heaven.
00:06:26.971 --> 00:06:44.230
Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.
00:00:00.239 --> 00:01:20.040
You're listening to the my morning Devotional podcast, episode 1100. Today's Devo is called can we be friends? Hey there. We're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the my morning devotional podcast. Happy Friday, everybody. We made it to the weekend. We made it to the weekend, and it's going to be a good one. Stephanie Muena here with you all. But let me leave you off with this small, lighthearted encouragement found in proverbs 27 910. And it says in the NIV version, perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice. Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you. Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. You know, I was about 19 years old, and I was 19 or 20, I can't remember, but I was going through a tough time, and I was actually going through a breakup, a good olden young breakup.
00:01:20.120 --> 00:03:02.280
And I was heartbroken. I was going through all of the ups and downs of that emotional rollercoaster. And I remember vividly being upstairs in my room just moping and being in my silly heartbreak emotions when I heard downstairs the laughter of my friends. And I don't really recall what happened. I think my sisters had invited them over and they didn't let me know, but I was upstairs playing on my piano just in my sadness. And the laughter of my friends just broke through all of it. And I thought to myself, let me just go downstairs, put aside these emotions and go be with my friends. And that night, we had the best time. We sat around the kitchen staying up late, just laughing and enjoying our Friday night. And since that season, I have noticed that my friends have always been there to bring me laughter and joy when I need it the most. It's always been a principle of mine to be thankful for my friends and to prioritize my friends, because friendships are a gift from God. They really are. Like the Bible says, they're the pleasantness of life, especially when they give you heartfelt advice, especially when they're there in the moments that you need it most, they show up and they bring laughter and joy. You know, the Bible says that it's actually better to go to a friend nearby than a relative far away. I came from an italian american family that is all about family, family, family. And I know that there's a lot of other cultures that are like that, too. And that's a great thing. I'm all for that. Family.
00:03:02.439 --> 00:04:03.250
First, you are loyal and you are faithful to your family. But every once in a while, you need your friends. You need people in your life that you chose, because family, you didn't choose, but you chose your friends. And here's the beautiful thing about friends. They're choosing you back. Friendships are like the flowers in your life that spring up when you need it most. Family, they're there forever. They will be in your life forever. And they are a massive priority. But friendships, they're the ones that you can practice loyalty with, you can practice faithfulness with, because those friendships, they come when you least expect it. And the truth of life is this, sometimes your family can't be there all the time. Sometimes they live far away or they have lives of their own. Some of us even come from families that aren't in our lives at all.
00:04:03.590 --> 00:04:14.729
And that's when you see that friendships are truly a gift from God. So here's my challenge to you this weekend. Choose godly friends.
00:04:15.469 --> 00:04:41.077
Choose friends that will choose you and actively pursue your friends and make it about them. Invite your friends over this weekend and make it all about them. Ask them how they're doing. Ask them how their work is going. Ask them about their job. Because the funny thing about friends, we can have friends for years and we have no idea what job they have. But make this weekend about them.
00:04:41.254 --> 00:04:48.750
Go celebrate their wins. Go celebrate their children. Go celebrate their families. Celebrate your friends.
00:04:48.870 --> 00:04:56.286
Prioritize your friends. Give them a dinner at your house. Go pay for their dinner. Go pay for their coffee.
00:04:56.478 --> 00:05:18.696
And be a gift to your friendships. Because I promise you, they will come when you least expect it. They will come in the nick of time when you need it the most. And remember to choose the godly friends that will choose you. And remember, they are a blessing in your life. So be a blessing back to them.
00:05:18.848 --> 00:05:37.432
Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for the friends in our life that come when we least expect it. So, God, we pray that this weekend we will be the friend to those when they least expect it. We will be the blessing to our friends when they need it. We'll be generous.
00:05:37.576 --> 00:06:22.560
We'll be unifying. We'll give them the heartfelt advice when they need it. And God, we will remain grateful for the people in our lives. You brought these people into our life. You brought these friendships. So, God, we want to choose to be loyal to them. We choose to be faithful to them, and we choose to be generous to them. So allow this weekend to be a weekend full of friendships, of laughter, of memory making with our friends. We choose these friends, we choose to be loyal to them, and we choose to make all of our friendships God centered so that the blessings that flow out of our friendships come straight from you, God. And in Jesus name we pray. Amen. And amen.
00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:26.843
So there you have it. Your five minute daily dose of heaven.
00:06:26.971 --> 00:06:44.230
Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.