“Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:9-18)

    Oh, how precious it is to have a friend in the Gospel.  Yes, it is true that our greatest friend will always be our Lord, our Savior, Christ Jesus.   But in the Gospel, and those of us who find ourselves in ministry, no matter how great or small that call to service may be, it's important to have friends.  We aren't meant to be serving the Lord all alone.   We should surround ourselves with as many friends in Christ as possible.  I certainly have tried to do that as I've grown older in this life.

    But in doing so, I can't help but share in Paul's disappointment that he is expressing here in second Timothy.  Here we see the man called to be an Apostle by Christ Himself, sitting alone, in a dark, damp, and dingy prison awaiting to be beheaded.  I can see the disappointment in his words as he talks about those who have departed from him.   "Only Luke is with me," "Alexander did me much evil," "Demas hath forsaken me," "Crescens to Galatia,"  "Titus unto Dalmatia."  Earlier in the letter, he writes about how "all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. (2 Tim 1:15)"  Paul is suffering in sadness, and he's calling on his friend Timothy, "come shortly to me."  He's in need of companionship.  He's in need of a confidant.  He needs a friend.

    And looking back on my life, while I may not be sitting in a dungeon, I've sat in some dark places.   I've felt the sting of betrayal.  I've lost friends.  I've been disappointed by brethren to the right and left of me.  And almost every man I've ever held in esteem, they've let me down.  Pastors and other men that I've highly esteemed - they've let me down.  I suppose I've done the same as well to others, either unintentionally, or through some misunderstanding.   

     But there are some that have stuck with me through thick or thin.  They are my dearest friends that I talk to quite regularly.  One is a dear friend who I've never actually met face to face, living in the cold state of Minnesota.   Another is a dear friend of mine in St. Louis.  There are other companions scattered all over this world that continually provide encouragement to me.   And of course, there is my ever faithful wife.  I can't imagine getting through life without her by my side.   She has always been by my side, providing me with the encouragement that I need to get up and serve another day.  She's been the biggest cheerleader of the work that I do for this website.  She's telling me how important it is to keep it going and to keep trying to help others that the world and especially the churches have forgotten.

     And it's these people that I continually call out to when I'm down.  Like Paul, I reach out to them like he did to Timothy.   "Come shortly to me."  Oh, what would life be without these friends?   I'm forever thankful to the Lord for them.  But as Paul reminds us, I know that "the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever."  He is indeed a faithful friend.  When all other friends fail me, I have my old rock steady friend Christ who has been  there beside me the whole time.  He's never left my side, and He's always encouraged me, even when I am like Peter who denied Him on three separate occasions.