Last night I talked with Melissa after Blast / Ignite.   I was telling her how part of our lesson was that we need Jesus' help to stick it out during the messy times of a friendship.  But she reminded me that sometimes people need to get out of messy friendships.  So how does a person know what to do?  I thought I'd give some questions to help you figure it out. 

1. What is my part of the mess?   Too often people are quick to blame others.  It's natural.  But often when we check ourselves, we can see things we've felt, said or done that have added to the mess.  Once we own our part, we can take steps to make things better. 
   
2. How messy are you getting?  Are you being more tempted to sin because of this mess?  Or are you being drawn to the mess to pray and ask Jesus to rescue people? 
   
3. What are older, wiser people saying?  Listening to your friends advice is fine.  But there is wisdom in listening to someone who has more experience and an outside, non-teenage perspective.  Sometimes they know the results of different choices because they've lived through them.
   

This isn't everything, but it should get you thinking in the right direction.  Obviously prayer is a must.  And remember that God speaks through the Bible.  So it's good to read it often.  If you still need help, the Blast and Ignite leaders would love to talk with you more about a mess you're dealing with.  Just let us know. 


Jim

What's the most important trait in a friendship?  Compassion?  Laughter?  Trust?  I'm guessing that most people would say love.  I would agree, and I'm pretty sure Jesus would too.  In fact 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, " But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." 


However, I've heard a few people say that love has become a junk drawer term; we toss a bunch of stuff in even if it doesn't belong there.  And it's amazing what ends up in there.  (Melted ice cream anyone?)   


We love almost anything.  We love God, family, pizza, new shoes, snow days, being all alone in our house, having a party at our house, finding money we forgot about in a pocket, finding money someone else forgot about, ketchup, babies laughing, videos of people getting hurt (but not too hurt), getting an extra day to turn homework in, and on and on it goes. 

So even though love is important, we use the word so often it almost has lost any meaning. 

But what if I told you that there was another trait that God designed to be in our friendships that almost as important as love?  The main difference is that love gets talked about all the time and this trait hardly ever gets talked about (except maybe during Christmas time).  Would you be able to guess what is it? 

If you want to find out more of how God has designed friendships to be, join us this Wed, August 21st, @ 7pm at Blast or Ignite.  (If you want a head start, check out John 15:11.) 

It's Friday afternoon as I'm writing this.  Most of you are in school, at least physically.  (Who knows where you are mentally??)  As I think back to Wednesday night I can't help but smile at the memories of the evening. 
  
Right in the middle of my teaching time with Blast I had a thought similar to this, "What am I doing trying to teach teenagers and using the Trinity as an example??  What made me think this is a good idea?"  Talk about a panic moment.  Thankfully, that doubt was only there for a moment.  After praying and thinking through the summer about where God wants to lead us, I'm pretty confident that we are going in the right direction.  I mean how can we go wrong by looking to God as our example?.  

But probably the greatest, most frequent thought I had during and after Blast/Ignite is just how much you guys mean to me.  I, and the other leaders, are ridiculously blessed by God to be able to be a part of your lives.  I bet you'd be surprised at how often I and the other leaders think and pray about you.  And you'd be completely shocked if you knew how God (the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit) loved you.  So last Wednesday was a good start to what's going to be a great year. 

Jim

If you're looking for some examples of how Jesus relates to the Father and the Holy Spirit, check out
 John 14 and John 17.  It's good stuff. 

We're going to start this year by talking about friendships.  It's the perfect topic for this time of year.  School is starting which means new schools (for some), and new classes (for all). With both of those come new people into our lives; which means new friendships. 

But, have you every wondered why God made friendships?  I mean, when He created us, He could have made us any way He wanted.  Look at the rest of creation; humans are the most social beings on the Earth.  Horses haven't created a category called "social media."  Giraffes aren't out there twittering, "Cut my head off again in my selfy!  #needapanoramiccamera."   

So why did He make us with the ability and desire to be friends with each other?  The answer might surprise you.  (Hint: check out Genesis 1:26)  Come on Wednesday, August 21st @ 7 pm to join the discussion.