FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD “You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer because the servant does not know what the Master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from myfather(John 15:14 & 15). One very good example of human friendship with the Divine (God) can be well exemplified in the relationship between God and Abraham. That God could not afford to hide His desire from him - Gen. 18:17. “The Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what lam about to do?”. God is delighted in relating with man as friend. In Genesis 2, at the creation of man, we could see how delighted God was in coming to visit the man (Adam) in the cool of the day to discuss like friends, but God was disappointed in that Adam had done what God commanded him not to do. Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is an evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are in God’s will. And all of your common sense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong, He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once He does, you must stop immediately. The mind of Christ for the Church is “that they may be one just as we are one” (Jn. 17:22). And that all believers might be one with Jesus and the Father. When this happens, we fuse with God and no longer doubt what His will for our lives is. When we lack due intimacy with God, we find it difficult to justify our desires with His, that is when we stop short of our true desire in prayer and say, “Well, I don’t know, maybe this is not God’s wiII”. Then we still have another level to God - i.e. The level of intimacy, the level of friendship with God. Think of the last thing you prayed about. Were you devoted to your desire or to God? Was your determination to get some gift of the spirit for yourself or to get to God? “For your father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8). The reason for asking is so you may get to know God better. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). We should keep praying to get a perfect understanding of God Himself. What matter most is our relationship with God. When you have an established friendship relationship BIBA OLORUN D’ORE “Ore mi li enyin ise, bi e base ohun ti emipalase fun yin. Emi ko pe yin li omo-odo mo; nitori omo-odo ko mo ohun Ii Oluwa re nse: sugbon emi pe yin li ore; nitori ohun gbogbo ti mo Ii gbo lati odo Baba mi wa mo ti fi han fun yin” (Johannu 15:14 & 15). A ri apere tio dara nipa ibara-eni-s’ ore laarin Olorun ati eniyan ninu aye Abrahamu - to bee ti Olorun ko lee fi ipinnu Re pamo fun un (Gen. 18:17). “Oluwa si wipe, Emi o ha pa ohun Ii emi o se mofun Abrahamu”, o je ohun idunnu fun Olorun lati ni ibasepo pelu eniyan bi ore-si-ore. Ni Genesisi 2, ni igba iseda eniyan, ale se akiyesi pe mu Olorun dun lati maa be eniyan (Adaamu) wo ni itura ojo ki won sijumo jiroro bii ore, ki o to di wipe wonja Olorun kule nipa aigboran won. Genesisi 18 se afihan ayo ti mbe ninu ibad’ore tooto pelu Olorun, yato si pe eniyan ni iriri nipa iwalaaye Re lekookan ninu adura. Ibanid’ore tumosi ibasepo timotimo pelu Olorun to bee pe lopo igba ni a ko tile nilo lati beere lowo Re lati fi ife Re han Wa. Eleyije eri pe a ti dagbasoke si ibasepo timotimo pelu Re, eyi o nfihan pe a tin sunmo ipele ti o kehin ninu igbe aye Igbagbo wa. Nigba ti o ba duro deede ninu ibasepo pelu Olorun, iwo yoo ni itusile, ominira ati ayo; iwo ni ife Olorun. Gbogbo ipinnu okan wa yoo si wa ni ibamu pelu ife Re fun wa; ayafi ti okan wa ba nfa seyin nipa ikilo Emi Mimo. A ni ominira lati se ipinnu nipa ibad’ore pipe ti o layo pelu Olorun, niwon ti a mo pe bi ife inu wa ba lodi si ti Re yoo fi ife so pe beeko. Nigba ti o ba si se eyi, awa na yoo si gboran lesekanna. Ife inu Kristi fun Ijo ni pe, “Ki won ki o leje okan, gege bi awa ti je okan” (Jn. 17:22), ati pe ki a le je okan pelu Oun ati Baba, nigbati eleyi ba sele, a o ni idapo pelu Olorun, a ko si ni iyemeji mo nipa ohun ti ife Re je fun aye Wa. Nigbati eniyan ba so irepo pelu Olorun nu, yoo soro fun iru eni be lati ni ifokanbale lori ero ati ife arare ni ibamu pelu ni Olorun; nigbana ni iyemeji yoo de ninu adura ti a o si ma wipe “N ko mo, boya ife Olorun ni”. Niru akoko yi a nilo lati lo si ipele miran pelu Olorun, eyi ti ise ipele irepo timotimo pelu Re. E je ki a ronu nipa ohun ti a gbadura le ion sehin. Nje ife ara re lo ka o lara tabi ti Olorun? Nje ebun ti o fe gba lowo Olorun lo ka o lara ju si sunmo Olorun funra Re lo? “Baba yin sa mo ohun ti eyin se alaini ki e to beere lowo Re” (Matt. 6:8). Idi ti a fin beere ni lati lee sunmo O, ki a si le mo O Si. “Se mu didun si Oluwa pelu, On o si fi ife inu re fun o” (Ps. 3 7:4). O ye ki a maa gbadura lati le ni imo/oye pipe nipa Olorun funra Re. Ohun ti o se pataki ju ni ibasepo wa pelu Olorun. Nigba ti o ba ni irepo ti o munadoko pelu Olorun, ko si ohun ti okan re fe ti Olorun ki yio se fun o.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 06:56:59 +0000