Tues.6.30.15...Never Forsake Your Friend...Prov.27:1-13

Ever had a good time friend? He was there when things were going well for you, but was nowhere to be found when you were really needing a friend. In my BC days, I sure had such friends. Then they were gone for good when I came to Christ. The common bond of getting high was gone and they wanted nothing to do with my Savior and me. In our passage today, we see an emphasis on friends. Loyal friends do not forsake their friends and brothers in arms. A few weeks ago we discovered that gaining and sustaining a good FRIENDSHIP includes the following-

F- Focus on what you have in common. Being on a team can help greatly here.

R- Remember to keep in touch and Return calls promptly. Before we've said that if a man doesn't return a requested call back, he would owe the brother a soft drink or doughnut. Since we are becoming farther spread out, that has become impractical. So now, he will lose the possibility of being Unstoppable for the week until a proper apology has been given. I don't think this has even been an issue for you. You have been so quick to return my calls, and I so appreciate that. You are a breath of fresh air compared to so many others outside of M3.  

I- Include the flair factor- This could include a thoughtful gift. "Everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts" Prov.19:6. 

E- Encourage your friend and Enrich him with what you’ve been learning. Also Empathize. Be a caring friend, especially coming to the aid of an overwhelmed, "Broken Arrow" brother. Be devoted to the brothers on your team. 

N- Never abandon your friend. A man may forsake M3, but we will never forsake a man in M3. No man left behind. You cannot fail in M3; you can only quit trying.  

Do enjoyable things together and Divulge yourself. Let people know who you are- your ups and downs. We are on the same team and pulling for each other.

Strive to listen intently. We may not always understand, but we always will strive to be understanding. Strive to listen intently.

H- Help him out. You already know this and have practiced this numerous times, such as helping friends move. 

I- Intercede for your friend. Friends pray for friends. Pray for your friend and others to be power HOUSE men of God- Hungry, Obedient, Unstoppable, Strong in the Lord and Encouraging. I pray that for you daily. And I pray that the Lord will give you such power HOUSE men to enlist- that you would have a great family tree and be a G.R.E.A.T. MANLY warrior. Attack! Pray such Attack prayers to advance the kingdom of God against the gates of hell.

Speaking of prayer, have you recorded the names and email addresses of your two prayer warriors on the Contacts tab spot? If you haven't, today is the deadline. Thanks. I want to send out our July M3 Prayer Warriors e-letter soon, so I need you help with this. Thanks!

P- Pardon his faults. Friends aren't perfect. They will let us down. "The best of men are men at best." But he who casts off a friend when that friend fails him, will be a lone stranger. If man quits because someone hurt his  feelings, he is a quitter. We are to be Christlike, forgiving one another just as the Lord has forgiven us and has not forsaken us.

In today's passage, we are told, "Do not forsake your friend" 27:10. I'm like you. I want to be a faithful friend and I want friends who will be faithful to me, especially when tough times come knocking. We've noted how teams can create a long term bond, and that's we have available to us in M3. As we are growing weekly, we are encountering growth challenges. How can we create structures that enable us to keep bringing more men in and yet preserve strong bonds? We could use the common method of just dividing teams up as they get over a certain number, but that ends up dividing friendships. So let's create a structure that enables us to grow without limit, without parting friends who want to be together for the long haul. Let's build a joyous band of brothers, comrades in arms.

Here's how it could work. Pick a few brothers that you would want to go the distance together with in M3. These will be your new wing-men. It could be two or more. (With our growth, we need new names. You and your wing-men will be called a fire team and your existing fire team will be called a squad. Your fire team captain will now be called a Squad Captain.) Then as your team continues to recruit and grow, those new men will eventually form their own new fire teams. Squads will be formed of a few fire teams. Squad sizes may start in size from 6-12 men, but grow to several more before deploying out a new squad. During that time one or more assistant squad captains will be sought and nurtured. So imagine your fire team buddies being able to stay together, deepening in friendships and nurturing new men you recruit together. Then imagine seeing those new brothers doing likewise. What a great thing! Imagine all the manly men you will be able to multiply together. (At our next M3 meeting, July 12th, I will reveal another powerful way your fire teams and squads can make a powerful impact.) 

1.- Fire teams should be from 3-5 men. So text me today the names of a few men in M3 that you would like to be on the same fire team together with. They are probably men who are already on your same team. 

I will do my best to make sure you are with at least one of them. Some of you have learned that over time you can become friends with just about anyone who also loves the Lord and wants to advance God's kingdom with others. If that's you or you really don't care who you get placed with, just text me that as well. Once I sort through everyone's requests, I will confer back with you. I'm sure there may be some cases where I will need to place a man on a team he didn't request. Hopefully, he will have no issues with such. If you really don't want to be with a certain person that I will privately announce to you, you can let me know that as well. I doubt that is the case among us, but I'm happy to connect you with people you will enjoy the journey with. I'm also always open to your suggestions. "For waging war you need guidance" Prov.24:6.  

2.- Read Prov.27:1-13 and share a verse and some of your thoughts on it.

3.- How often do you go back and read the comments that others leave under your good words on the blog? If you post late in the evening, do you go back the next day to see what others may have written? 

Speaking of friends today, many of you from New Life know our friend, Jose Carrillo. He and his family recently moved as missionaries to Queretaro, Mexico. When Eddie was down there recently, he talked with Jose about joining M3. I have too. I think it would be so encouraging for him to be a part of this great band of brothers. Today is Jose's birthday, so please send him a birthday text greeting at 708-466-1228. Thanks!   

Also speaking of friends, I especially liked what Armando recently wrote about his reaching out to old friends of his- "Just yesterday I gave one [a greatest minimovies card] to John, an old friend who I continue to ask him if he'll attend church with me... Also last Sunday I gave one to Tony a friend who attended church, his second time and also to another who also attended church for his second time." Way to go Armando! We don't have to turn our backs on our old friends. We may need to decline their invitations to the bar or such. But we can still invite them do things with us. If they refuse, at least we didn't ignore them.