Friday, March 20, 2009

Devotional 200309

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. The whole world seems to be wrapped with moisture. This is like a green house filled with mist. Thank God for nurturing us with His daily provision. It is serene to rest in the bosom of God. He is not only my trusted mother and father; God wants to be my trusted friend. It is His friendship with Abraham that God made this comment, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" (Genesis 18:17)

It is Delightful. This chapter brings out the delight of real friendship with God as compared with occasional feelings of His presence in prayer. To be so much in contact with God that you never need to ask Him to show you His will, is to be nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you are rightly related to God, it is a life of freedom and liberty and delight, you are God's will, and all your common-sense decisions are His will for you unless He checks. You decide things in perfect delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will always check; when He checks, stop at once.

It is Difficult. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He was not intimate enough yet to go boldly on until God granted his desire, there was something yet to be desired in his relationship to God. Whenever we stop short in prayer and say - "Well, I don't know; perhaps it is not God's will," there is still another stage to go. We are not so intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as He wants us to be - "That they may be one even as we are one." Think of the last thing you prayed about - were you devoted to your desire or to God? Determined to get some gift of the Spirit or to get at God? "Your Heavenly Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him." The point of asking is that you may get to know God better. "Delight yourself also in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Keep praying in order to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.

How beautiful this picture the Bible has painted before us; God treasures His friendship with Abraham. God wants to be ‘transparent’ to His good friend to tell Him everything regarding Abraham. God watched out for Abraham for his well-being. With God as our committed friend, we really don’t need to worry about anything. As a matter of fact, Jesus said the similar thing to His disciples, “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:14-15). Jesus is eager to tell His trusted and loyal friends everything that He knows, just as God did not withhold anything from Abraham. And the way to build this friendship with God is obedience – do what He commands us to do. This is a simple yet difficult law of spiritual formation. Jesus said, “Now that you know these things (to serve with agape love), you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:17). Let’s put His love to practice in where God puts you to serve today.

Love you as a servant of God,
Lawrence

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