History Books in 90 Days: Joshua 11-13
LANGUAGES of Love
Proverbs 18:24; Friends can destroy one another, but a loving friend can stick closer than family.
Close-knit relationships cannot be developed without good, quality time spent together. We can’t
truly know people if we do not invest time into the relationships. People like to know that they are
likeable, and that others find them worth spending time with. Most of us have experienced a onesided
relationship where we feel that we’re the only one putting effort into the thing. The common
mistake, though, is to victimize ourselves and say, “Ok fine! I will not call her again until she calls
me.” Eventually the friendship dies and is reduced to awkward nods in instances where contact
is unavoidable. This is wrong! When this happens, we have become entirely self-focused! We’ve
forgotten that, as much as we crave desirability, our friend craves it too, and we had the wonderful
opportunity of affirming them in that through our repetitive pursual! When we allow the friendship to
die, we succumb to the enemy’s destructive desires.
Let’s take the focus off of ourselves, and seek to invest in others – to love our neighbour as
ourselves! A loving friend can be as close as family, but we need to be willing to invest time into the
lives of others, to figure out what they need, and to give them that. You may be a talker who likes
to give all the answers, but your friend needs you to sit in silence. You may be a laid-back cautious
kind of guy, but your friend seeks adventure – give it a try! Paul said that he would be all things to
all people. Of course he wouldn’t engage in sinful behaviour, but he was willing to be what people
needed in order to bring them closer to Christ. Let’s strive to do the same.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. How have you been selfish with your time, unwilling to give to others what they need from you?
Confess your behaviour to God.
2. How can you invest some quality time into your family, primarily? Think of one family member
that could use some quality time with you this week. What would they just love to do with you?
Make a plan to do this with them.
3. Ask God to speak to you about how you can lead people closer to Him just by spending time
with them.
