Shalom,

Psalm 101:4-7:

4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil person or thing. 5 Whoso privily slanders his neighbor, him will I cut off [from me]; he who has a haughty look and a proud and arrogant heart I cannot and I will not tolerate.  6 My eyes shall [look with favor] upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks blamelessly, he shall minister to me. 7 He who works deceit shall not dwell in my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.

We must protect our heart (Proverbs 4:23) and one of the ways we do that is by being very selective about the people that we surround ourselves with. I really like this from the Message Bible, also:

4 The crooked in heart keep their distance; I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil. 5 I put a gag on the gossip who bad-mouths his neighbor; I can't stand arrogance. 6 But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people - they're the ones I want working with me; Men and women on the straight and narrow - these are the ones I want by my side. 7 But no one who traffics in lies gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars.

The LORD may send us to preach the Gospel and minister Life to people, but when it comes to people we choose to fellowship with, we should be choosing people of good and Godly character! The people we surround ourselves with WILL affect our lives, whether for good or evil! Give yourself a head start by choosing friends wisely! here is a medley of three older songs by Hillsong that includes "Friends In High Places":

We have read Luke 22 many times over the years, but one verse in particular really stands out to me today! Verse 70:

70 And they all said, You are the Son of God, then? And he said to them, It is just as you say; I AM.

Jesus said is all with those two words! "I AM!" That was the Name that God gave to Moses (Exodus 3:14) and it is the Name that Jesus is declaring now! He is THAT same I AM! The ONE Who delivers, sets free, redeems, heals, prospers, blesses HIS OWN! That's us! Let Him BE the I AM Who you need in your life today!

In Jeremiah 7:22-23 the LORD said this to His people:

22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. 23 But this thing I did command them: Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God and you will be My people; and walk in the whole way that i command you, that it may be well with you. 24 But they would not listen to and obey Me or bend their ear [to Me], but followed the counsels and the stubborn promptings of their own evil hearts and minds, and they turned their backs and went in reverse instead of forward.

The next verses go on to say that the LORD continually sent His prophets to warn the people about the certain results of their disobedience, but the people refused to listen and obey! We have a better Covenant, based on better promises than they had, but walking in those blessings STILL involves HEARING and OBEYING Him! Make sure that YOU know what God wants you to do, and HOW He wants you to do it! THEN DO IT! Amen!

Shalom in Him!