"Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people." Jude 1:3 NIV
After Saturday's Ultra Sweaty Santa Run where the heat index climbed into the triple digits, my friend, Joel, who completed 28 miles during the course of the six-hour race, posted a picture of himself smiling with two of his running buddies during the event with the comment, "Three weeks ago I ran a marathon and said I'm not running another until it cools down... then this happened!" Oh how I laughed at that! Here Joel was... doing what he vowed he wouldn’t do, and was seemingly having a good time doing it. Isn't it just amazing what our friends can persuade us to do?
And you know, all joking aside, the people we hang around with can heavily influence the decisions we make - which is why, especially when it comes to our faith, you and I should choose friends that compel us to follow Jesus more closely rather than lead us away. Consider Jude, who would have made a great running buddy. He, being so "compelled" to encourage his friends to "contend for the faith,” personally wrote them a letter urging and persuading them to remain faithful, unified and ever mindful of the truth of the Gospel, and to do the same for others.
So if you have a friend like that, count your blessings. And if you don't, I urge you seek one out. Because, truly, staying strong in the faith is so much easier when you and I have people in our lives that persuade us to do so.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder that the people we associate with the most can have a huge impact on whether we stay faithful to You and rooted in the Truth or stray away. Help us to be that type of encouraging friend to others and to seek out those people that will do the same for us. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
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