Open Heaven Daily Devotional 22 May 2023
TOPIC: Check Your Friends
MEMORISE
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: But a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Proverbs 13:20
READ: Proverbs 1:10-19
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nehemiah 4-7
Open Heaven Daily Devotional 22 May 2023 MESSAGE
You should do a thorough check on your friends to see if they are headed for heaven. There are some people who should clearly be avoided, while others may look good on the outside but deep inside, are not who they pretend to be. You need to stay away from such friends. There are some character flaws you should look out for and ensure you do not keep people who have such as friends. For example, if your friend’s temper runs hot, stay away from him or her, so you don’t learn his or her ways and ensnare your soul (Proverbs 22:24-25).
Many years ago, I was working as a teacher and befriended a colleague who was from the same part of the country as I. I however, didn’t know much about him. One day on our way to Ibadan for a teachers’ programme, we got off the lorry in Ile-Ife, where we would board another to Ibadan. This friend of mine then said he wanted to say hello to a chief nearby and asked me to come along. I did, after all, we were friends.
We got there, he knocked on a door and was asked a strange question from inside, “Is it a fish or a crab?” My friend answered and said, “One fish and one crab”. We were let in, but as we left, I began to wonder what this strange statement meant. When we arrived in Ibadan, he said he wanted to visit another fellow. I followed him, he knocked at the door and was asked, “Who is that, a goat or a sheep?” My friend answered, “One goat, one sheep”.
By now, I was seriously troubled. I got home and asked the elders what the statements meant. They said, knowingly, “Ah, where did you hear that?”
That was the end of my friendship with that fellow. Up to today, I don’t understand what those statements really meant, but I didn’t have to be told that they were occultic and dangerous. Check your friends, be watchful and careful.
The Bible says evil communication corrupts good manners (1 Corinthians 15:33). The Romans used to say, “As bad apples spoil good ones, so do bad friends spoil good boys”. Before today is out, do a thorough check on all your friends. If there are some that are not living a holy life, preach the word of God to them and if they refuse to change, please separate yourself from such persons immediately.
HYMN 30 When We Walk With The Lord
