Friends of GOD and heart of GOD (II)

Last week, we understood that, the fact that Abraham’s heart was large enough to desire the best not only from people who were not his family members, but even to desire the salvation of people that GOD Himself had called despicable was one of the reasons why he became a friend of GOD.

Nowadays, we Christians often spend our time watching the news, not in order to pray and intercede for the world, but rather to comment, tweet or condemn. There is an earthquake somewhere? GOD must be judging them for…whatever. A typhoon has just devastated one area of the USA? GOD is judging the nation for all the aborted children! I speak of things that I’ve read on Christian forums more than once. I just wonder if all these people have ever actually spent time praying, fasting and leading for these nations before making such comments. GOD help us!

Before going on to the next biblical character, I first would like to draw our attention on the fact that GOD shared his secret with Abraham because He knew that Abraham would intercede. However, most of the time, we want GOD to reveal things to us – about people, the nation or in His Word – simply out of spiritual voyeurism or pride. We don’t plan to do anything concrete with the information. If we had been in Abraham’s shoes and GOD had told us about His plans for Sodom and Gomorrah, we would have probably either reacted like this: “Thank you LORD for this revelation. Please spare my nephew and his family” or like that: “Well, thank you LORD. Too bad for Lot! That ingrate betrayed me and he is now paying for it. I’m his uncle and yet, he dared chose the land before me (Gen 13.8-12) forgetting that I am the one who brought him out of Ur and made him rich.” And then we would have spread the news around: “GOD has revealed something to me. He’s going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah!” And, finally, after the events have taken place: “Did I not tell you?”

So, often, GOD doesn’t say anything to us because He is looking for someone who would plead and give Him arguments against what He has purposed to do; and He knows we are not that person. He is looking for advocates; criminal lawyers; and not gossip columnists or news broadcasters. This is the change that must take place in us, if we want to become friends of GOD.

Have a great week pleasing GOD and pleading for people.

Friends of GOD and heart of GOD (I)

August is our Friendship Month in my church; and this year, we are mainly focusing on what friends of GOD are entitled to and can expect from Him: blessings, rest/protection, secrets and increased productivity. To make sure I don’t miss any of these, I have identified a few friends of GOD in the Bible and tried to understand what GOD loved in them. Let’s start with Abraham. 

Three men visited him and as they were about to leave, one of them, the Lord, wondered: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” and he revealed a secret to him. He told him that He was coming down because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great and their sin was very grave (Gen 18:17, 20). Abraham understood that this was not going to be a simple inspection. He understood that GOD was set to destroy those cities and he began to plead: “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?” He was not selfish. he was not a tribalist or a nepotist. He could have made a quick mental count of his nephew’s family of less than ten people and then plead for them only; but he negotiated way above that count. The first lesson I take from this is that if we are to become friends of GOD, we must have a large heart. We must learn to sincerely care for those who are not our friends or family members. This is why Jesus asked the disciples: If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same (Lk 6:32-33).

Finally, Abraham traded the salvation of the city for ten righteous people. He did not go further down because he never envisioned the possibility that some members of his nephew’s household would not be saved. He was convinced that none of them were concerned by GOD’s judgement. By settling down for ten people, he actually thought he could save one, two or three other citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah. But the Bible tells us that when GOD’s messengers told Lot to take everything that belonged to him out of the city because of its impending doom, Lot spoke to his sons-in-law but they refused to listen to him. So he only left with his wife and the two daughters who were not yet married (Gen 19:12-15). He lost other daughters, sons-in-law and maybe some grandchildren as well in the fire – and we know what eventually happened to his wife. Likewise, many parents usually fail to realize that their children do not share their faith and are from the LORD. They think that dragging them to church every Sunday is enough and they are not aware of the fact that if GOD were to come down, their little darlings would inevitably miss the call.

The second lesson that I get from Abraham’s intercession is that if he had known that there were not even ten righteous in the city, he would have kept on pleading. He stopped because he was certain ha had “won”. His goal was not to save his family – if not, he would have never started the negotiations at 50 but at 10. His goal was to save those cities, in spite of their despicable sins. Nowadays, many Christians spend their time not interceding – pleading for – but inviting GOD to strike and destroy everything that they deem detestable. This is how the sons of thunder, James and John, wanted to command fire to come down from heaven and consume the Samaritans who had refused to receive Jesus. Jesus rebuked them sternly and reminded them that He had not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them (Lk 9:52-56).

All this is just a reminder that we need to be compassionate and merciful as our Father is. It is a reminder that, actually, GOD does not desire the death of the wicked at all. On the contrary, His will is for the sinner to repent, convert, be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1Tim 2:4). The friends of GOD love His will above everything else. May His will – to save the sinners – be done. GOD loved Abraham because he had a large, compassionate and merciful heart like His. 

Have a great week in Christ Jesus, pleading for people and becoming friend with Him.

He knows your heart

“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart… And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.” 1Sam 16:7 & Isa 29:13

On Sunday, I enquired about a lady who has not been in church for months. I wanted to know if she was attending another church, at least. Her friend told me that she just stays at home and that we needed to pray because she has a lot of problems. I know the lady has gone through tough times in the past and, as far as I am aware of, nothing much has changed to make a bearable situation, all of a sudden unbearable.

The truth of the matter is that many people come to church not because they genuinely love the LORD, but because they expect something from Him; and if He doesn’t deliver on their expectation, they think they are entitled to look for another “supplier”. However, GOD knows our hearts. I can fool people around. I can impress them with my church attendance, bible quotes etc. They may even wonder why my request is still not granted, with a devotion like mine; because they judge based on appearances; but GOD, who knows my heart, knows where I really stand. He knows whether I stand with Daniel’s friends [who told the king that they would continue to serve their God faithfully, even if He would not deliver them] or if I am with the children of Israel [who complained bitterly and were ready to go back to Egypt after the first setbacks].

GOD knows our hearts. He knows the real reason why each and every one of us actually comes to church. Those who truly love Him are in a relationship similar to that of marriage with Him: they are together for better and for worse; in the good and in the bad days; in prosperity ad in adversity. Whereas, those, whose hearts are far from Him, take GOD for a retailer. If they don’t find what they came to buy, they just stop coming and change shops. To the firsts, GOD withholds NO good thing (Ps 84:11). But He will resist the seconds until they surrender and understand, eventually, that He knows what He is doing; He is the only One who can help them; He doesn’t take orders or advices from anybody and they’d better have Him as a friend.

Have a 'wonderblessed' week trusting the LORD your GOD.