The key to success is in the relationships that we have...

When I was growing up, all the great heroes had a sidekick, someone that would help them out when they got into a situation that they couldn't handle alone. Batman had Robin. The Lone Ranger had Tonto. The list goes on... the only superhero that was successful alone was Superman. Of course, Superman was from a different planet and was virtually indestructible... how realistic is that?

Even in my own life, when it's just me, I become overwhelmed. I begin to stress. When I have someone on my team, that gives unconditional support, it all becomes easier.

We, as believers, have God on our side, and it is important that we recognize that, but he doesn't call us to be on this journey alone.

If you ask almost any Christian who their Biblical hero is, after Jesus, Paul usually makes the top 5 list. If you ask almost anyone that I know, that is serious about their faith, they would love to have a Paul in their life. Someone that had a strong conviction about the scripture and is always ready to share it, to pray, to serve.

Paul... had a Barnabas in his life. Barnabas was an encourager... he was not a yes man. Paul and Barnabas worked well together, but when it came time to choose between Paul the seasoned veteran, and Mark, the younger inexperienced Christian, Barnabas chose to encourage Mark and help him grow in the faith. Paul and Barnabas didn't argue about it, they still shared brotherly love for each other until the end of their lives. It is important that we all have that in our lives.

Paul also had a Timothy in his life. Timothy was a young man in the faith that needed a spiritual father. Someone to encourage him to stand firm in his ministry.

We should take a look at our lives and make sure that we:

• have a Paul in our lives
• are being a Paul to a Timothy
• have a Barnabas in our lives

Take a moment over the next few days and look at the relationship between these 3 in Acts and I and II Timothy.

The challenge for the next few days is to take an account of our lives and see who we are surrounding ourselves with... do we have someone that calls us to be better, are we calling someone to be better, and do we have someone that will look into our lives with honesty?

If you don't have these 3 key roles, I highly recommend that you find them...