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Authentic Friendships
by Rick Warren

But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:7–8 (NCV)

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In Christian fellowship people should experience authenticity.

Authentic fellowship is not superficial, surface-level chit-chat. It’s genuine, heart-to-heart, sometimes gut-level, sharing.

It happens when people get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. They share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer.

Authenticity is the exact opposite of what you find in many churches. Instead of an atmosphere of honesty and humility, there is pretending, role-playing, politicking, superficial politeness, and shallow conversation.

People wear masks, keep their guard up, and act as if everything is rosy in their lives. These attitudes are the death of real friendship.

It’s only as we become open about our lives that we experience authentic fellowship. The Bible says, “If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. . . . If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves” (1 John 1:7–8 NCV).

The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. We tend to use darkness to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures, and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are.

Of course, being authentic requires both courage and humility. It means facing our fear of exposure, rejection, and being hurt again.

Why would anyone take such a risk?

Because it’s the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy. The Bible says, “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” (James 5:16 MSG).

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

This weekend we are in Wiesbaden, Germany. We took a small tour of Mainz this morning. Our quick tour included a visit to the Ancient Shipbuilding Museum. The site houses the remains of five ships which were discovered in 1981/1982 during excavations for the Mainz Hilton extension. These shipwrecks were found about 7.5 meters below the street surface level. They are thought to be military ships that were abandoned during the defeat of the Roman Rhine Army at the hands of the Teutans in about 407 a.d. I will post more pictures soon and make them available via the pictures link at altizer.org.

Well, we’ve been through St. Louis, where we stopped to tour the Arch, and we’ve been to Iowa. We are now on our way back to North Carolina to make a quick last visit with my mother before heading to Atlanta. The Arch was really cool, and I’m glad we finally got to see it. We’ve been by it before without stopping. America is truly a work of art, spanning for seemingly endless miles. It is my prayer that ALL Americans can remember the basis for which our great country was founded; One nation under God. God has blessed us, may we all give Him praise and glory for what He has done.

Our visit in North Carolina is coming to a close. It has been a blessing to see family and friends. We leave today for our journey to Iowa. Sarah’s father and sister live there, so it will be a great visit for her. It’s a 1200 mile journey, so we will spread out the traveling over a couple days. I hope we can stop in St. Louis and visit the Arch. Cheers!

Today we are in Asheville, NC. We’ve spent the last few days in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a nice fourth, and it was cool to be in the USA to celebrate our independence. Tomorrow we will tour the Biltmore House here in this beautiful city. It was amazing to learn about the Vanderbilt family’s Dutch roots (van der Bilt). It feels great to be in the USA, and I’m looking forward to seeing my family and friends later on in the week.

Biltmore House and Blue Ridge Parkway

Tomorrow we fly to the States for a three week visit. I sure do dread the hot weather. It will be nice to see friends and family after not seeing them for some time. It will be strange to see all the gas guzzlers, the power lines and telephone polls, and the lack of bicycles and mopeds. It will be great to spend dollars instead of euros for a change, and it will feel good to get some good ole American food. America is a beautiful place.

America the Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassion’d stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness.

America! America!
God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

O beautiful for heroes prov’d
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life.

America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears.

America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/america.htm

It’s a little crazy around here tonight; Holland just beat France 4 goals to 1. They beat Italy the other day, so they’re doing great! Hup Holland!

UPDATE! (22 June 08) Well, last evening Holland was put out of the EURO 2008 by Russia, 1 - 3. It was a highly emotional game, and it’s sad to see Holland go down. They put up a good fight though!

Thank you God for five years without getting high.

Mother’s Day is special to me, of course, because I have a fabulous mother! Mom is the most faithful person I know. She has always been that way, as long as I can remember. She learned to play the piano at a young age, and she has used the talent God gave her to bring Him glory. I am truly blessed to have such a person as a mother. She went through a lot in her life, but she never turned away from God. She worked under a jerk of a boss for several years and came home to grab a quick meal before teaching piano lessons until about 9 pm most nights. On Saturdays, she would teach most of the day. Then, on Sundays she would play at church (and Wednesday nights + choir practice). She still plays at church to this day! She is 84 years of age, and I thank God for having such a mother!

Love you mama! HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

We just got back from Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, the Netherlands. Wow! what a beautiful place! Sarah took 443 photos, and I took about 200, and I also took, Lord knows, how much video! It’s about a 2.5 hour drive for us, and it was well worth it. There was a special orchid display there today, but we never found it! We never got away from all the tulips! If you ever get a chance to visit this place, do yourself a favor, and do it! I walked away from Keukenhof with a special feeling of overwhelming serenity today. Thank you God for your magnificent beauty once again. Some people go through life looking in all the wrong places for beauty and peace of mind. I’m thankful that God showed me where to look when I was ready to see.

View Sarah Altizer’s Keukenhof pictures

Keukenhof at Google Images