Saints, I encourage you to speak God's praises, give Him glory in your conversations. Talk about Jesus, and the gospel and its effect on your life. God will sometimes lead you to talk around people you meet for the first time, because this might be their first time hearing about God from one of His friends, not just someone observing from the distance. Another reason is that God has showed me that God is the one thing that people won't lie about and everybody will give you an honest opinion of God and I don't care who you ask, somebody has an opinion of God.
About God's friends, let's begin with one of His oldest friends, Abraham.
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. (James 2:23 NIV)
We know Abraham was a righteous man, a good father and a good husband to his wife Sarah. Abraham had so much faith in his friend God that he was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
Not only should we show this faithfulness to our friends, but we should make friends that are willing to sacrifice to us. God later sacrificed His son for all His friends. God didn't have Abraham do anything He wasn't willing to do Himself. God gave Abraham a great land to possess, and God prospered Abraham in all he did. God set the precedent on being a friend.
Another good friend of God's was a fellow named David.
David had flaws, such as his flesh. Yes, he had an adulterous affair with a married woman, yes his family was dysfunctional, yes he'd gotten a killed to be with that married woman, but every time he made a mistake he'd repent, learning from his mistakes and never committed the same mistake twice. David was humble, and was always willing to admit his mistake to the LORD, and accept the punishment that came with it.
The best fighters not only make hits, but truly great fighters can take hits. Ali took all George Foreman had, a man who could punch a hole in a heavy bag, and he took it right on the chin. Mike Tyson on the other hand, was only conditioned for the first three rounds because he was a master at punching, but he was too busy throwing punches to learn how to take them. As believers, we wish we wouldn’t get hit, but we do. The devil is going to hit us hard sometimes, It’s just like when that bully pushed you down in front of the whole school at recess and asked, “What are you going to do?”
When the devil pushes us down, what are we going to do? Are we going to put our heads in the ground like ostriches? Or are we going to shake the dust off, clean ourselves up and back in the fight? Us men and women of God really need to keep it real with the people and tell them when they’ve signed up for Christ they’ve signed up for a fight. Satan was the dirtiest player in the game before Ric Flair, so this is no joke. He doesn’t throw haymakers, he throws low blows.
But if you’re a friend to Jesus, then the LORD is going to give you a bronze jaw, nerves of steel, a heart of gold and the Spirit of God.
David was also a worshipper, evident in the Book of Psalms, in deep love with the LORD. David wasn't afraid to cry out to the LORD, he wasn't afraid to praise the LORD openly, he wasn't afraid to grieve. The LORD loves those who love Him.
If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15 KJV)
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. (John 15:10 KJV)
David was always in prayer, in worship, in praise, in love with God. David always had faith in God, no matter what. The word relationship is serious.
Your relationship with God is a barometer for all your other relationships, and if there's a divide between you and God, there will be a divide between you and other people. If God's love isn't manifested in you, then you'll love people with a warped love.
We see this with men who hit their wives, and some men view it as the expression of their love. Some women think their men don't love them if they don't beat them. This is not the love of God! Boyfriends tell girlfriends that if they loved them they'd have sex with them, but this is not the love of God! If you're in this type of relationship you and your partner need deliverance! If you're abusive, there's a spirit attached to that and you need to pray to God to show you the root and get delivered! If you allow yourself to be victimized, deliverance is needed. We are not to be victims, we are to be victorious!
So say what you want about David, as people sometimes do to make themselves feel better, but you can't say he didn't love the LORD. Don't worry about what David did, he's already died and gave his account to God. Worry about what you're doing, because your fiscal period has not ended, and your account is still being prepared.
It’s spring cleaning time, let the blood of Jesus clean it up! Clean that dust from the past out!
Saints, are you in Season?
Apage
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