Today we're talking about the power of godly relationships. When you think about it, the entire Bible talks about this subject. For instance, the word "church" is the Greek word ekklesia, and it means "a called out group." As you look in the Word of God, you'll see that the church, or the people of God, are encouraged to meet together. They're encouraged to pray together and to encourage one another daily. They're encouraged by the power of godly relationships as they walk together. If you would also consider the word "elder," it is used many times in Scripture, and it is used to describe someone who is older, someone who is mature, someone who has walked the life of Christ, and who has been successful in his family and in his marriage. If I were having a problem with my marriage, I would want to go to a man who was godly, who has obtained godly wisdom over the years.

We also have to realize that the Scripture describes the body of Christ as a physical body. It has hands, eyes, ears, and other different parts. We are all part of one another. And as part of one another, we draw strength from one another. Each ligament, each part of the body has its own gifting, its own talents, its own way of giving strength and knowledge.

The Bible says in James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." This is one example in Scripture of the power of godly relationships. You know, there's something in the body of Christ that is missing. I think that because we've emphasized the priesthood of the believer, going directly to God and not to one another, we've lost some things. The Bible talks about confessing our faults one to another. I have a friend whose name is Dr. Loren Lewis. He's an older gentleman, and we've spent a lot of time together. He's a Greek scholar and reads directly from the Greek. When there's something from the Scriptures that I can't figure out, I'll go to him and ask him what the Greek has to say about it. I'll also ask him about the tenses of the Greek, and he helps me in my biblical studies a lot. I've spent hours and hours with this man. He's a man of wisdom. He's a godly man. He has a successful marriage. He has a successful family. And there's times when all of us need to confess our faults. Now, I know the Bible says that we're to confess our sins to God, and I'm not saying you should confess your sins to someone as if they could forgive them, because we need to go directly to God. But we need to have accountability in our lives.

The power of having godly relationships is the power that we need for accountability and for someone to encourage us to seek the Lord. In Hebrews, the Bible tells us to exhort one another daily, to not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, to encourage one another, and to warn one another lest any of us be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. All of this is speaking about the importance of godly relationships. On the negative side, the Bible warns us many times about ungodly relationships and how that ungodly relationships can affect our minds and our thinking. Before we know it, we can be led into things that we shouldn't be in, it's because we have not protected ourselves and surrounded ourselves with godly counsel (Proverbs 11:14, 13:20, and 1 Corinthians 15:33). The Bible says, "For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness" (2 Corinthians 6:14).

As you walk this Christian life, be encouraged to surround yourself with godly relationships and flee those who would influence you in a negative way. It is very important that we have godly believers in our lives with whom we can sharpen ourselves (Proverbs 27:17) and be accountable to. God bless you as you continue to meditate and think on these things.