I love meeting up with people who I have not seen in a long time. Some people hate it, especially if it is a relative who likes to grab your cheeks and squeeze them. The words, “Oh, haven’t you changed!” are regularly used as a recognition that time changes things.
There are other times, when you have been with a certain person or group and it is noticeable by the way you now act or speak. Do you have any of those people in your life who seem to bring out the worst in you? Do others notice it? In 1 Corinthians 15:33, St Paul says, Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Are there any relationships that you know that are draining you of your good character? If there are, make a wise choice to change your company.
King Solomon, in Proverbs 27:17 said, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
There are relationships and friendships out there for you that will keep you sharp and focused if you take the time to develop them and allow others to develop you. These mutually beneficial relationships are seen throughout the bible (Joshua and Caleb, David and Jonathan, Paul and Silas, Paul and Timothy etc…).
But the most life changing relationship you can enter into is with God.
We see form the life of the early apostles that their encounter with the Holy Spirit made a radical change to them. They received POWER. The literal translation is DYNAMITE.
Imagine if your relative turned up to see you and recognised you had received the Holy Spirit in your life! That’s what the early church received and the Holy Spirit is the same now as then.
When Jesus was baptised by John in the Jordan river, we see the three parts of the God-head together and it is in that unity that we see the power of God at work. Let us ask God today for opportunities to connect with him and be filled with the Spirit.
