July 30 - 神与我们的关系5

[`char]

朋友：亲密沟通~了解主心意

约 15：15 上
15 以后我不再称你们为仆人，因仆人不知道主人所作的事。我乃称你们为朋友；

John 15:15
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends,


约 15：14
14 你们若遵行我所吩咐的，就是我的朋友了。

John 15:14
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

[VicHetrot]

What some of us loves to do~ Dictionary.com!

friend

–noun
1.
a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
2.
a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.
3.
a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?
4.
a member of the same nation, party, etc.
5.
( initial capital letter ) a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

Praise the Lord for giving us this relationship!

[Malcom]

How true, we are friends of God.. Because God has shown His business in the bible for us..

His business was to save the ones He had created from eternal death and bring us back to Him..

Victor has given us some meanings of a friend. What I feel is very important is that friends are connected through feelings. God loves us, we love Him.
Love is a feeling we have between each other..

When we have problems, God gives us assistance, He supports us and gives us strength..

Oh! What a great friend I have in Jesus..

[peacekeeper]

God is our friend cause he want us to share our feeling to him when we can't find a person we think we can share to.

befriend with Jesus and tell him all your trouble

peace to all

peacekeeper

[luna_skye2002]

Jesus showed us His love that because He regards us as friends, that's why He died for us on the cross.

And God's command is for us to love others, just like He has loved us. Reflection: How much did God love us? Ans: He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us on the cross. How is our love towards other people? Is it to the extend that we are willing to be courageous and share the Good News of eternal life to them?

Friends know what friends think about. That's why they're called friends, and not merely acquaintances. But how do we know what the other person is thinking about, if we only spend a little amount of time with him/her? Friends spend alot of time together. They talk to each other about EVERYTHING. They are concerned about what the other person is concerned about.

That's the kind of friendship God wants us to have with Him! He is EAGER to spend time with us, know about all the tiny details in our lives and He is concerned about what we are concerned about!!! How about us??! Have we been doing our part?? If we call ourselves friends of God, we need to have the life that proves our point.


In Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says:
The word Jesus used when He called us 'friends' could refer to the 'friends of the King' in a royal court. While these close companions had special priviledges, they are still subject to the King and had to obey His commands. We are friends with God, but we are not His equals. He is our loving leader and we follow Him. We obey God, not out of duty or fear or complusion, but because we love Him and trust that He knows what is best for us. We want to follow Christ out of gratitude for all He has done for us, and the closer we follow Him, the deeper our friendship becomes.

[Jie]

First Jesus says:
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13

Then he says:
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. ~ John 15:15

Then he put his words into action by dying on the cross for us, friends. Seriously, what a way to Lead by example.


Whats more, Jesus is our king, our lord. Yet, he calls us "friend" and minds OUR business.
Shouldn't we, as friends of God, start to mind HIS business?


And just as malcom says; Oh! What a great friend I have in Jesus!

[chengling]

Thank you peeps for all the sharing...
I really 领受 alot, really, from all of you.

As to this 2 verses, I always find it hard to know the balance.
How to serve the Lord in reverence and at the same time to be as close like friends with Him.
Sometimes I think it'll take forever to find a balance, or perhaps, there is no balance?

Nevertheless, I remembered the times when I feel like a true servant of God - Mission trip preparations.
Not only me, but I think many brothers and sisters can agree to what I mean by "servant of God".
Because you run from this area to that area, clearing things one by one.
Multi-tasking like crazy and then the brain refuses to stop running at high speed even when you hit the bed.
That's when I feel so servant-like...

However, that's the most joyful times in my serving, when I go all out.
That's the most meaningful period of serving, when my whole brain runs wild for God.
That's the time I grow so close to God, like a friend.
I think it's the closest understanding I have of being God's friend...
There's actually no lapping in seeing Lord as the highest Majesty and seeing Him as Father of love or a friend who cares.

Whatever it is, the secret to grow our relationship with God to the most desired level:

John 15:14
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

Orh...
I got it

[shalom]

To know our friends inside out, we will have to have frequent and deep talk with the person. That is how we are going to know how the person will think, react to certain that happen. God has already know us inside out, before we were born, He has counted the number of hair that is on our head. To know what are the things that pleases Him, do His way, act according to what He thinks, we too need to know our God. For us to know Him, a few ways to do that, thru QT, thru testimonies, thru bro and sis sharing and also thru our own life experiences with God.

Let's keep a close contact with our Almighty God, cos He is the one that gives us the strength and wisdom to handle all trials.

[Meilian]

主耶稣感谢您所赐的应许。您即是最怜悯的神，也最明白人的软弱。

我为着那些现在迫切需要救恩的人向您祷告。在我们看是困难，但在神凡事都能。我把他们交托在您的圣手当中，求神照着您的旨意成就。阿门！

[-sKyz-]

I was just wondering about this verse....
"You are my friends if you do what I command."?

So friends can command each other?

Or is this just specially reserved for us and God..
Like cause He is still God afterall.

But stilllll, I'm really glad that God is my friend, my bestest ever friend.. =)
I think, friends can be called friends, not only because they share with each other, know what each other is thinking, though that is indeed very important..
But also because, they've gone through experiences together, be it good or bad...
And since God is always there for us, it's up to us whether we want to go through EVERYTHING with Him, to experience with Him, to experience Him, His LOVE!

[`char]

I like the title! 朋友：亲密沟通~了解主心意

It's a growing process, this relationship in God. Thus why we always say 'grow IN Him'.
We start out as a acquaintances, understanding who God is, getting curious as to who He is and what He did and how is that connected to us..
Then slowly after knowing more we accept and enter the church, slowly increasing our awareness of God in our lives..
And then? As friends we learn to 'complain' to God about our troubles, and pray for deliverance, and of cause, God's Word starts to play a part in how we live life.
At the higher level (I won't say highEST cause it's a never-ending growing process!), yes, we tell God everything, seek His will, and does what He commands, not because we're forced to, but cause we know He knows what's best better than we do.

In this whole process I think, that communication and searching has never been absent. And what is important is the ACTION. Christianity can't just stay as a religion, it must be a lifestyle. It's not just about having a divine being to dump our frustrations on or to seek solace in, but to maintain a relationship with, and to experience life with.

*Thumbs up*

[yehosaphat]

I was just wondering about this verse....
"You are my friends if you do what I command."?

So friends can command each other?

I do not think this is meant this way. I believe the key message here is to highlight the differences in status between Master-servant and friend-friend relationship. The master commands his servant to accomplish certain things. The servant may choose to do it half-heartedly cos there is no real relationship between them. But when we are friends, there is love. And it is because of this love that we choose to obey God's commands. Get it? :p

有了主还要什么，我心与主心相连... 我一起誓要跟随主，永不改变... 最知心的朋友