Day 11 – Becoming Best Friends with God

Purpose Driven Life –
My posts are what I considered “highlights” from the book. I am not re-writing the whole chapters, so if my scriptures and my words doesn’t add up then that is why. If you would like to look into the book more I suggest to buy the book. I love the book, it is easy to read and follow and so much more. I do not copy from another blog, this is my personal blog, just for what I want to do with it. The high points are what brought attention to myself as I read the book. I am using my blog as a personal journal, you can either skip my Purpose Driven Life posts by simply not clicking the “Day __ – whatever the title might be”. Thank you for my followers who do like it and comment 🙂

God is your Creator, Maker, Lord and Master, Judge, Redeemer, Father, Savior, and much more. Almighty God yearns to be your Friend.

Psalm 95:6
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Psalm 136:3
Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever
1 John 3:1
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
Isaiah 33:22
(For the Lord is our Judge, The Lord is our Lawgiver, The Lord is our King; He will save us)
Jude 1:4
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ
Isaiah 47:4
As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.
Psalm 89:26
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’

Fear of God, not friendship, was more common in the Old Testament. He paid for our sins on the cross, the veil in the temple that symbolized our separation from God was split from top to bottom, indicating that direct access to God was once again available.

Romans 5:11
And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Friendship with God is possible only because of the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:18
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation
1 John 1:3
that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians 1:9
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 Corinthians 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

The word friend in this verse does not mean a casual acquaintance but a close, trusted relationship. The same word is used to refer to the best man at a wedding.

John 3:29
He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.

and a King’s inner circle of intimate, trusted friends.
That God would want me for a close friend is hard to understand.

Exodus 34:14
(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)
Acts 17:26-27 (msg)
“The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?
Jeremiah 9:24
But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

Becoming A Best Friend Of God
1) Through Consistent Conversation

You will never grow a close relationship with God by just attending church once a week or even having a daily quiet time. Friendship with God is built by sharing all your life experiences with him.

– Daily Devotional Time

Talk to him about everything.

1 Thessalonians 5:17
pray without ceasing

Converse with God while doing everyday tasks. A common misunderstanding is that spending time with God means being alone with him. The key to Friendship with God is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. Worship is not an event to attend, but a perpetual attitude.

Ephesians 4:6
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
pray without ceasing

Your goal is not feeling, but a continual awareness of the reality that God is always present. That is the lifestyle of Worship.

2) Through Continual Meditation

Think about His Word throughout the day. This is called meditation, the Bible repeatedly urges us to meditate on who God is, what he has done, and what God has said.

Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 143:5
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.
Psalm 145:5
Iwill meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.
Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.

You can’t love God unless you know him, and you can’t know him without knowing his Word.

1 Samuel 3:21
Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Mediation is simply focused thinking. Thinking about a problem continually is worry. Thinking about God’s Word continually is mediation. Switch your attention from your problems to Bible Verses.

Job 23:12
I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.
Psalm 119:97
Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
Psalm 77:12
I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds.
Genesis 18:17
And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing”
Daniel 2:19
Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
1 Corinthians 2:7-10
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, ⁸which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹But as it is written:“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”¹⁰But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

When you read your Bible or hear a sermon or listen to a tape, don’t just forget it and walk away. Develop the practice renewing the truth in your mind, think about it over and over. Prayer lets you speak to God, meditation lets God speak to you.

Point to Ponder: God wants to be my best friend
Verse to Remember: Psalm 25:14 – The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.
Question to Consider: What can I do to remind myself to think about God and talk to him more often throughout the day?

I do think about God a lot, but probably need to do more with my “thinking” when someone talks to me about God or the Bible I automatically start asking myself “What is true” and so on.
I am internal with God then external because I know the Bible can bring up a lot of arguments, a lot of resentment, a lot of different translations, so I usually don’t listen to people. I do my studying on my time, well God’s time in my own house. I rarely trust people to talk to, but that is something I have to work on myself, and I have been sorting it out for a while.
Every time I feel my mood shift to negative I need to connect to God, immediately start talking to him, rather if it is loneliness, tired, being resentful, etc.

Day 1 – It’s Not About Me
Day 2 – You are Not An Accident
Day 3 – What Drives Your Life
Day 4 – Made to Last Forever
Day 5 – Life from God’s View
Day 6 – Life is a Temporary Assignment
Day 7 – The Reason for Everything
Day 8 – Planned For God’s Pleasure
Day 9 – What Makes God Smile
Day 10 – The Heart of Worship