James 4:8 – “Draw
nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and
purify your heart, ye double minded.”
A friendship takes desire, time and energy. I must not be
afraid to tell God completely how I feel, and I must trust Him when He asks me
to do something, I must care about what God cares about and I must desire more
than anything God’s friendship.
I must be honest with God about my faults and feelings.
Often in the Bible, people that had a close relationship with God were not
perfect, but honest about their feelings to God; the complained, they
second-guessed, accused and argued with God. But God did not seem bothered; He
allowed Abraham to question and challenge Him over the destruction of the city
of Sodom. Abraham pestered God over what it would take to spare the city,
negotiating God down from 50 righteous people to only 10.
God listened patiently to David’s many accusations of
unfairness, betrayal, and abandonment. God did not slay Jeremiah when he
claimed that God had tricked him. Job was allowed to vent his bitterness during
his ordeal, and in the end, God defended Job for being honest, and he rebuked
Job’s friends for being inauthentic.
God doesn’t expect me to be perfect
But He does insist on complete honesty.
Bitterness is the greatest barrier
To a friendship with God.
Genuine friendship
is built on disclosure. To be friends with God you must be honest to God,
sharing your true feeling, not what you think you ought to feel or say. God
uses EVERYTHING for good in our lives. People often blame God for hurts caused
by others. William Backus called this
“your
hidden rift with God.”
“Why would I want
to be God’s friend when He allowed this” bitterness. The greatest barrier to
having a friendship with God. the antidote is to realize that God always acts
in my best interest, even when it is painful and I don’t understand. But
releasing resentment and revealing your feelings is the FIRST step to healing.
So don’t be afraid to tell God exactly how you feel. You’ve got nothing to
lose. The Book of Psalms is a worship manual. It is filled with ranting,
raving, doubts, fears, resentment, and deep passion that is coupled with
thanksgiving, praise and statements of faith. Sometimes, expression of feeling
is the first step towards intimacy with God.
Our obedience to
God must not be based on fear, duty or compulsion. But rather because we love
Him and trust that our God Almighty knows what’s best for us. We follow Christ
to show our gratitude to Him and the closer we follow Him, the deeper our
friendship becomes.
I chose to follow
Christ because I have been forgiven and set free; because I know God loves me
so much He made a way for me to escape damnation. Why do you follow Christ?
True friendship isn’t passive, it acts. When Jesus asks us to love others, help
the needy, share our resources, keep our lives clean, offer forgiveness, and
bring others to him: love motivates us to obey immediately. Because God is more
please when we do the small things out of obedience for Him. many times it is
unnoticed by others, but God notices them and considers them as acts of
worship.
Friends care about
what’s important to another friend. The more you become God’s friend, the more
you will care about the things He cares for. You will grieve over the things
God grieves over, and rejoice over the things that bring pleasure to Him.
What does God care
about most? The redemption of His people. he wants all His lost children to be
found! That is the whole reason as to why Jesus came to earth to die on the
cross for you and I. the death of God’s Son is the dearest thing to Him. The
second dearest, is when His children share that news with others. To be a
friend of God, you must care about all the people around you whom God cares
about. Friends of God tell their friends about God. I must desire a friendship
with God more than anything else! God’s favorite vessels are the ones that
have a passion for Him.
The more you become God’s friend,
The more you will care about the
Things He cares about
I am as close to God as I choose to be. An intimate
friendship with God is a choice, not an accident. I must intentionally seek
Him; I must want a relationship with God, value it and develop the habits and
skills required.
Sometimes that passion we have for God fades away, often
because we do things for God out of duty, not love and should I be faced pain;
it is allowed by God, to remind me about His love and to evaluate my life to
see whether the things I’m doing for Him are out of love or duty.
“Pain is God’s megaphone.” C.S.Lewis
It is God’s way of arousing us from spiritual lethargy.
Problems are not punishments, but rather God’s wake-up call to us. It is God’s
way of bringing us back to Him, and God will do whatever it takes to bring us
back into fellowship with Him. We should not allow ourselves to drift away from
God because of our own selfishness. Each day we are faced with the possibility
of taking a step away from God; once to become aware of this, ask God
throughout the day to reignite your passion for Him, to give you a fresh love
for Him and to ask God to reveal Himself to you each day because you want to
know Him intimately.
God is waiting for you to tell Him.
Point to ponder: I am as close to God as I chose to be
Question to consider: What practical choices will I make
today in order to grow closer to God?
(A Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren)
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