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2010-10-29 - Friends
Part 2
If we desire to not just have God as a friend but to be His friend then we
can look back to Moses' lead.
Exodus 33:12-14
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And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me,
Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with
me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace
in my sight.
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Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy
sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in
thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
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And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will
give thee rest.
He asks "Show me your way so I can do it to please you God" The Amplified
Version of verse 13 says, "Now therefore, I pray You,
if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know
You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You,
perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly] and
that I may find favor in Your sight..." Jesus also tells us that this
is the way to be God's friend.
John 15:13-15
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Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends.
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Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
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Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth
not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that
I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
A man named "Calgary Bob" Edwards once said it like this, "The difference
between a friend and an acquaintance is that a friend helps; an acquaintance
merely advises." You have to desire to help God. Or prayers should not be
"God you really ought to save that person", "God such-and-such needs done"
or even "God be with so and so in this hard time". Rather we need to earnestly
pray "God guide me to speak with that person about you" and "God guide me
in doing this thing for you" as well as "God be with so and so thru me in
this hard time"
There are three things to being God's friend. First we must obey just like
Jesus said in the verses we just read. Second we shouldn't just talk to him
all but invest the time to listen. one way to listen is to just read the
words he inspired, study, and reflect upon them. It has been said, "The best
way to form a friendship is to become interested in other people, not by
trying to interest people in you." Lastly, show the same loyalty to God that
Thomas showed to Jesus. John 11:16 records Thomas saying, "OK Jesus I'll
go with you and we'll all die together!" He pledged to stick by Jesus no
matter what might happen. Thomas gets a bad rap for being a doubter but he
was never a fair-weather friend; he was loyal.
One great thing about being friends is that we often become like them. Years
ago I was really into heavy metal but as I became better friends with a guy
named Stan I grew to like country music more and more until that was all
I listened to. Wouldn't it be great if we were so close to God that people
began to see Him in us to see His characteristics in us?
We all should seek to not just be content being obedient Christians, complacent
in coming to Church week after week but truly strive to be a friend of God.
I want to be a friend of God so He'll come down to meet me when we talk together.
Isn't that awesome?
IHFHBOH
acdum@hotmail.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org
All verses are from the King James Version unless otherwise specified. |
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