Bible Study

Bible Study March 5, 2025

“Friends – Not the TV Show”

“A friend loves at all times…” (Proverbs 17:17a)

Let me encourage you to read the seventeenth chapter of Proverbs. What insightful wisdom is found there.

I thought about friends as we gathered last evening for the visitation for Cindy’s dad. Society gives us a very unclear picture of who our friends really are. I never watched a complete show of  “Friends” the TV show. What I did see was something that is way beyond any expectations of six people living together.

Art was a member of a flying club in St. Charles that flew model airplanes. He began flying, building his own models, competing in competitions, even going to Europe to compete. He told me one day he built a glider with a one-hundred – eight inch wingspan. Many of his flying friends visited last evening along with neighbors, friends, family, and those of our friends who stopped by.

As I reflect on the friends we have made living in different areas I cherish those memories but most of all I cherish the friendships that have been made from Richmond, Virginia to southern California. We have been blessed beyond measure.

I almost wrote “blessed beyond expectations” but I changed it. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us”.

We live below our expectations of what God do for us and what He is waiting to do. You might ask why doesn’t He do it without our asking? You would be amazed at what He does for us that we never realize and often forget to thank Him for. How many times have you avoided an accident because of delay or changing your route? How many times do we hear of someone missing a flight only to hear of a catastrophic event take place. Those are ones we do not know about.

So what is wrong with asking God to bless your day, to bring people into your path that need encouragement, what about those who need a little financial help and you have the means to help them out? “You have not because you ask not” is a Bible verse from James 4:2. It means that if you don’t have something, it might be because you haven’t asked God for it.

What is the application here. Look at these four things:

• This verse is often quoted when people are praying and believing God for something.
• It’s a reminder that God expects people to ask for things.
• It’s a reminder that people should communicate their needs and desires to others.
• It’s a reminder that people should ask with godly intentions, not worldly intentions.

God bless your asking, seeking, and believing.