A Reason for Me (and you!!)

Have you ever wondered why you even exist?  Why on earth we’re all here on earth?  This is a question most of us will ponder at least once in our lives.   We live, we eat, we grow, we learn, we get, we die, and it starts all over with the next generation.  What since does it all make?

There really is a reason....
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 
Genesis 2:7-8; 15 - And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 
Genesis 3:8 - And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:

God made everything for His glory.  He simply spoke and things came into being.  When He was finished speaking He looked at all of it, and declared it good.  According to these verses man was created to walk with God.  Adam and Eve had a job to do in the garden.  They had a life together, but the real reason they were made was to honor and glorify God; to make Him happy. 

Man, however was not forced to be only good.  He was given a choice.  He could love God and do right out of that love, or he could do his own thing and bring sin to the perfect world.  (who wants forced love?  Wouldn't you rather someone love because they want to love you?)  Adam and Eve chose to eat the one fruit in the garden God told them not to eat.

Their punishment was banishment from the garden, hard work, and eventually physically death.  They would still be able to walk with God, but not as before.  They would still enjoy the presence of God, but not in the perfection of the garden.  Their relationship was forever changed. 

Later, we find Abraham who was declared to be “the Friend of God”!!
James 2:23, And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Think of that!  Abraham was God’s friend!  We can be God’s friend too!

We know that God is our Friend.  He gave His only Son to die for us.  He provides for us.  He loves us and takes care of us. We know all these things about God.  To have a relationship with someone you must get to know THEM not just ABOUT them!

The Question is: Are you God's Friend?Sometimes we think we know God because we’ve grown up in church and/or we know all the Bible stories.  We’ve memorized verses we know the books of the Bible in order, and we know all kinds of fun facts about the Bible.  But none of that proves a relationship WITH Him.  Do we truly KNOW Him??

Acts 4:13 – Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. 

People can tell when we’ve been with Jesus – when we’ve TRULY been with Jesus!  Friendship goes both ways.  A friendship with God is not different.  What do we do for Him?  Are you HIS friend?  Do you walk with Him daily?  Do you talk with Him?  Do you trust Him with more than your salvation?  Do you discuss everyday activities and decisions with Him? 

To be God's friend we must simply...
Put our faith into action!

Hebrews 11:33 – Who through faith...obtained promises…

We can be included in the “Hall of Faith” by simply having our prayers answered (obtaining promises)!! 

Our prayers are not answered because we are good at praying.  They are answered because we have a Faithful God who wants to answer our prayers! 

Why do we doubt that He will answer when He promised He would?  We read the stories in the Bible and marvel because God did such wonderful things, but the truth of the matter is that God is still God.  We serve the same God Abraham, Esther, and Moses served.  We serve the same God that walked on water and died on the cross.  He’s the same yesterday, today and forever, so why do we think those wonderful works are a thing of the past?  He can do the same things in and through us! 

Just as Adam and Eve, we can walk with God.  We can spend time sharing every part of our lives with Him.  We can talk to and tell Him every detail of our lives.  We can put our faith into action by praying and seeing results!  We can be God's friend!

 

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