He offers his friendship to the godly (Prov 3:32 NLT) You are as close to God as you choose to be

Like any friendship you must work at developing your friendship with God. It won’t happen by accident. It takes desire, time and energy.

(1)                        I must chose to be honest with God. In the Bible, God allowed Abraham to question and challenge Him over the destruction of the city of Sodom. God listened patiently to David’s many accusations of unfairness betrayal and abandonment. God did not slay Jeremiah when he claimed that God had tricked him. Job was allowed to vent his bitterness during his ordeal. Read Exo 33:12-17 on Moses.                                                                     2. I must choose to obey God in faith. Every time you trust God’s wisdom and do whatever He says, even when you don’t understand it, you deepen your friendship with God. However, Jesus made it clear that obedience is a condition of intimacy with God. (Jn 25:14; 1Sam 15:22     3. I must choose to value what God values. Paul said, “The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much this is the passion of God burning inside me” (2Cor 11:2)                                                                   4. I must desire friendship with God more than anything else. David passionately desired to know God above all else. (Ps 27:4) Paul was another man passionately for friendship with God. This is the reason God used Paul in such a great way (Phil 3:10) (Rick Warren)

PRAYER LINE: O for a faith that will not shrink though pressed by many a foe, That will not tremble on the brink, Of any earthly woe -Bathurst

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Courage is not the absence of fear – it is the mastery of it.