February 3, 2005

Day 12 - Developing Your Friendship with God

You are as close to God as you choose to be!

“Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.” James 4:8 (NLT)

Like any friendship, you must work at developing your friendship with God. It won’t happen by accident. It takes desire, time, and energy.

The first building block of a deeper friendship with God is complete honesty—about your faults and your feelings. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, but he does insist on complete honesty. Every time you trust God’s wisdom and do whatever he says - even when you don’t understand it - you deepen your friendship with God.

We don’t normally think of obedience as a characteristic of friendship - that’s reserved for relationships with a parent or the boss or a superior officer - not a friend. However, Jesus made it clear that obedience is a result of intimacy with God. He said, “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.” John 14:15 (Msg)

There is nothing—absolutely nothing—more important than developing a friendship with God. Paul told Timothy, “Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life—they don't know God.” 1 Timothy 6:21a (LB)

Have you been missing out on the most important thing in life? You can do something about it starting now. Remember, it’s your choice. You are as close to God as you choose to be.

One More Thought

“When Jesus speaks of the new heart, He means the mind, the life, the whole being. To have a change of heart is to withdraw the affections from the world, and fasten them upon Christ. To have a new heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, new motives. What is the sign of a new heart?-- A changed life. There is a daily, hourly dying to selfishness and pride.” {MYP 72.1}

Pastor Dan