Reflect for a moment on your very closest relationships. What is it that distinguishes them from the more casual ones in your life?  Chances are that you (and the other person) would say there are three dynamics that exist in a more significant way than the other relationships:

1)  You ask a lot of questions of each other.

2)  You freely self-disclose (appropriately) with each other.

3)  You  listen well to each other.

There is no substitute in a growing relationship for the exchange of personal information and the subsequent empathy and understanding that goes with it. It is the life blood of intimacy. It also models the heart of Jesus. He is supremely interested in your life’s smallest details, and always makes time for you. He will ask questions and share His heart in response to your inquiry. As we engage in service to each other, let us be Jesus to each other. And watch the relationship grow. Let’s be an other-oriented community and you and others will find that you have more close friends than you could ever imagine.

“There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecc. 3:1)

The Bible talks a lot about seasons. And not just fall, winter, spring and summer. “Seasons” are those periods in our lives characterized by particular relational, spiritual, occupational and behavioral conditions and “climates”. Our world is experiencing a new season in many ways, - a new political backdrop, a new economic landscape, a new age of civilization, technology, etc.

The Scripture exhorts us to live and preach the Word and to be prepared in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2). Perhaps you have reached out to someone in a previous season with the love of Jesus, and have been stiff-armed. As the Lord shakes His world in this new season, maybe now you will reap a harvest in this due time if you will not give up (Gal. 6:9). Take a chance and reach out to them again, sow a seed of God’s welcome and reconciliation and see what He does. Even as I write this,  a good friend of mine has continued to reach for his wayward daughter and has been stiffed. Right now she is sitting in church. Who knows if she is still hard toward God, but our only job is to continue to entreat and welcome , and let God do a new thing His way in His time.

Want to really enjoy the Super Bowl on the afternoon of Sunday February 7th? Consider inviting someone else to your party. This day is one of the most fertile dates of the year to reach for someone outside your own circle because statisitcs show that there are perhaps more gatherings and parties than any other non-holiday day of the year. The day sets up as a social bonanza. The hard-core footballers watch football and the majority can just have good conversation, board games, and food. Even the kids find things to do. The calendar is usually pretty clear, so seize the day for low level, high touch ministry, and see what God does!