A Good Friend

Choose your friends carefully.  Proverbs 12 ²⁶ The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Eight characteristics of a good friend: 

• A good friend has a pure heart and speaks with grace.  Proverbs 22 ¹¹ One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.  The Bible says in Matthew 5 ⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  You want to be around friends who have pure hearts.  A graceful word is virtuous (morally pure), regenerates you when you are down and makes you a better person.  A word of grace is like ointment placed on a wound.
• A good friend fears God and desires to carefully follow His word. Psalm 119 ⁶³ I am a friend to all who fear God, to all who follow His precepts.
• A good friend is reliable and can be trusted.  He is close to you even when you make mistakes.  Proverbs 18 ²⁴ One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 
• A good friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17 ¹⁷ A friend loves at all times.
• A good friend has enough confidence within himself and your relationship that he rebukes you when you get off track. Proverbs 27 ⁶ Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.  Proverbs 25 ¹² Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

I have always heard that you know a person by the character of their closest friends.  Choose your friends carefully.  They have a huge impact on your life.