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Category Archive for 'friends'

Mark’s Breaking

He’s going down, cold-hearted and dispairing. Herein lies the problem of this age, and Mark is a victim of it:

Matthew 24:12 (NASB)
“Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow
cold. “

I weep for my spiritual son. I weep for my other sons growing up in a culture as dysfunctional as this.

Where will they find others who know trust and understand love? Trust and love: interdependant. This is why we’re having such a hard time raising leaders who understand and pass along God’s love: there are those who know but are rebellious and unwilling, and those who were never raised with it. My Mark is the latter.

friends

"Saint" is never found in the singular in the Bible - always "Saints", in the plural.

In God’s vocabulary, His "Chosen Ones" (saints) do not exist alone, and cannot exist alone.

David and Johnathon were the epitome of friends. In 1 Samuel 18:1 "Johnathon loved him as his own soul." It was a choice made by Johnathon, not some accidental relationship. It was a relationship which weathered the pressures and tortchure of Johnathon’s father.

Friendship is sacrificial: he gave David everything he had (later in ch.18), taking off his royal garments and giving them to David, his rival. Johnathon was supposed to inherit the throne, but he knew David was already chosen, and freely stepped aside. David was the son of a sheepherder, Johnathon the son of royal blood. Yet he bore no elitist indifference towards such a lowly one. A friend will always sacrifice for the one loved. Without sacrifice, there is no friendship.

Friendship is steadfast: Johnathon remained faithful to his friend, despite his father’s position. And equally, he also submitted to his father (2 Sam. 1:23). He never built one relationship on the ruin of another.

Friendship is secure: a committed friend will warn you of the trouble in your life, always warn of danger. In 1 Sam. 19:1ff, Johnathon told David of impending danger, and he stood in between his friend and danger.

A friend intercedes: 1 Sam 19:23f "I will stand in between my father and thee…" He tried very hard to plead on behalf of David.


The Bible says, "There is a friend who sticketh closer than a brother." What a treasure such a friend is! Jesus Christ is such a friend. I was running away as fast as I could, and He found me. Jeremiah 23, "With lovingkindness I have drawn thee." Jesus took off His royal robes, put on the clothes of humanity, identified with me and gave up his life for me. He sacrificed and paid with the greatest price anyone can pay: "No greater love has any man than this - that he lay down his life for his friend."

mark died

Mark Adams is dead before age 50. Apparently, he died in his sleep. Nobody knows quite how it happened, or why, or nobody’s saying. The obituary reads:

ADAMS Mark K. Adams, 49, of Columbus, died suddenly at his residence on Saturday, June 30, 2007. He graduated from Westerville South High School and attended Ohio State University. He was with Time-Warner Cable prior to his career with Compu-Serve (World Com) as a network technical specialist. In his youth and later he played in a local softball league, was an avid baseball fan, especially his beloved Chicago Cubs. Preceded in death by brother Michael A. Adams, uncle Ronald Adams, and grandparents. Survived by mother, Emily (Kenneth) Palmer of Rockford, IL; father, V. Wayne (Rita) Adams of Raleigh, NC; former wife and best friend, Amy Flowers of Powell, OH; sister, Sally Palmer of Myrtle Beach, SC; brother, Robert (Kim) Palmer of Raleigh, NC; sister, Elisabeth Palmer of Oak Park, CA; aunt, Lois Adams of Bethany, IL; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins, and special friend, Courtney Marre and her daughter, Madison. Funeral service will be 4 p.m. Friday, July 6, 2007, at RUTHERFORD FUNERAL HOME at POWELL, 450 West Olentangy St.(Powell Rd./St.Rt. 750, 1/4 mile east of Sawmill Pkwy.), Powell, OH 43065, where friends and family may call from 2-4 p.m. prior to service time. Condolences to www.rutherfordfunerals.com. “Sign the online guestbook at www.dispatch.com/obituaries”

He was my disciple for a number of years, and a sanguine who longed for love. Jesus Christ filled that hole, and Mark was a changed man. What tragedy befell him later when his fiance left him to become a lesbian! He never fully recovered. When he finally married, it ended quickly in a few years with divorce. In the end, he left no wife, no children. The sanguine who loved to love and be loved died alone.

But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none;

and those who weep, as though they did not weep;

and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice;

and those who buy, as though they did not possess;

and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it;

for the form of this world is passing away.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

What an honor it was to have touched the spiritual world together for those years, oh my dear, sweet brother. How excellent was our fellowship together! What a formidable warrior you were! What impact you knew! It was brief, yes. But it was eternal. Ask Mark Rice.

He was known far and wide as Demas, the one from Paul’s last letter to Timothy, shortly before his execution:

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Make every effort to come to me soon;
for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica…
2 Timothy 4:6-10

And now, how sweet it is you’ve been set free, oh my dear brother, from the form of this world. I will see you soon.

To Mark’s mother, I know how he longed to be with you together in heaven, by the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ…and I’m sure it was true he felt this way for the rest of the family and his friends.