The value of relationships in Jesus our Lord!

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! - Psalm 133

This summer I had the opportunity to go on vacation at the ocean with two close friends in Christ, John and Martin. All of us are single men at this stage in our lives.


By the way, here in the Baltimore area, the way to say you are going to the ocean is, “I’m goin danny oshun!”

I wanted to share this blog to encourage and cause you to consider the value of community for your life as a Christian. I want to simply share some of the dynamics that occurred naturally for us because of our commitment to one another in Christ.

The week was really a remarkable time of renewal and retreat for all three of us. It was all rather spontaneous and lightly scheduled but because of our unity and friendship it allowed for a very meaningful time together as brothers in Christ. We were able to spend some early morning quite time off by ourselves, followed by a time to begin more personal prayer by gathering together to enter his presence with praise. Singing contemporary worship songs and offering verbal praises spontaneously.

Then, later in the morning we would head for the beach! Our times there were spent resting, reading, swimming, bronzing, walking and generally having a blast.

Over excellent dinners that Martin prepared, we shared our lives and afterwards had fun entertaining ourselves, playing guitar or watching movies or the Olympics. John has an enormous repertoire of tunes stored up in is brain and fingers, so one evening Martin and I got to hear a concert of Paul Simon tunes. Again it all would happen quite spontaneously.

The degree of loving support and honesty we share with one another is a wonderful and rarely encountered relationship dynamic. I am extremely grateful to God for giving me brothers likes this!

The three of us are part of a larger small group of men and women that meets a couple of times a month. We affectionately call our group, The Cracked Pots! You can’t join the group unless you walk with a limp in life - sorta like Jacob on his return trip to meet up with his brother Esau after God had helped bring about some needed life experience and personal change! We have been meeting together for a number of years praying and sharing our lives together. It is a very important value in my life to be part of a group like this that shares the same Christian world view and convictions. Beyond this group the three of us have met as a men’s group for quite a while now. There are a number of circumstances in each of our lives that have led us to recognize the importance of meeting regularly together as men. The level of our honesty and openness with one another has really helped to grow in the Holy Spirit. When one of us is struggling with certain circumstances or specific temptations we know we can call one another for support and to be reminded of the truth. We also pray regularly for one another and at times pray over one another seeking the Lord for his direction and words for that person. All of this was foundational to why this vacation together was so excellent.

Being part of some small group of brothers and or sisters in Christ is a wonderful blessing that is part of the provision the Lord Jesus gives us as his church, for the journey. If you are not part of a group, pray and consider becoming part of or starting one!