A true friend will not ignore the weaknesses in your character but will rather point them out in love so that we can be better people. How can you be a loving friend who is both open to rebuke and also willing to give it to sharpen another?

We as Christians should be slow to anger because anger leads to foolishness, is divisive, and gives way to sin. We are better together, so how can we be like Christ and learn to keep from having a quick temper and instead forgive one another and not hold a grudge?

A dependable person is all to rare in our world today. A true friend doesn't falter or fail - they are a constant for their friends. Are you there when your friends need you as often as you expect them to be there for you? We are better together when we are unwavering in our love for each other.

We can spread ourselves too thin, trying to gather up so many friends that we aren't truly close to any of them. Friendship requires us to be genuine and go deep with another. However, there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother - what a friend we have in Jesus!

This Christian life was never meant to be lived on our own. We need to seek out the righteous around us so that they can lift us up when we fall. The key to staying on the right path is building a firm foundation and then living like we are all in this together.

The Bible says that as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. We have to get rid of our "they're wrong" complex about others and instead look to sharpen them (as they sharpen others). Who or what is sharpening you in your life? Are you a sharpener?

God will sometimes ask us to jump out in faith. Hebrews 11 records a list of people from days of old who have done just that. Faith isn't an easy choice, but it's one that God asks us to make even though it's uncomfortable. And God promises that our steps of faith will be rewarded.

In the Old Testament, God was separated from his people, even, to an extent, the high priest. But with Jesus, the separation has been removed and we - all of us - can come to him in confidence. But we shouldn't do it as individuals; we need to walk together.

In the Old Testament, the law was perfect but got perverted over time by religious leaders. In the New Testament, we see Jesus bringing love back to the law and changing the co-existence partnership with Israel into a love relationship with the world.

Relationship growth needs to happen even in a relationship with Jesus. Salvation is more than a "get of our jail free" card - we need to be growing in our knowledge and in our love of Him every day.