Can We Be FriendsMore About Jesus Seminar #1 Guide

The devil has created misconceptions of what God is like.

Some say that....

God is behind all the disasters that happen, such as in the phrase insurance companies use, "an act of God" to describe earthquakes, tornado's etc.

God is only a God of justice. Eternally burning hell fire that punishes man forever. "An evil God".

God is only an all loving God who is going to save everyone.

The Santa Claus God. You pray when you need something but that's it.

God isn't as interested in being our friend as much as Jesus is.

Colossians 1:16 - 23The "Message" Bible paraphrased.

...For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And...

when it comes to the church,he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.18-20 He was supreme in the beginning,leading the resurrection parade,& He is supreme in the end.From beginning to end Hes there,towering far above everything, & everyone.So spacious is He, so roomy, that everything of Godfinds its proper place in Him without crowding.Not only that,but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universepeople and things, animals and atoms willget properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies,all because of His death,Because of His blood that poured down from the cross.21-23 You yourselves are a case study of what he does.[At one time you all had your backs turned to God,thinking rebellious thoughts of him,giving him trouble every chance you got.]

The KJV (King James Version) says that last part this way... [ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,]

MessageBut now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to Gods side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence.

KJV[ yet now hath he reconciled, in the body of His flesh through death,to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:]

~ You dont walk away from a gift like that! ~

KJV[ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled,and be not moved away from the hope of the gospelwhich ye have heard, and which was preachedto every creature which is under heaven;]MessageYou stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust,constantly tuned in to the Message,[Christ our Savior is the message]careful not to be distracted or diverted.There is no other Messagejust this one.Every creature under heaven gets this same Message.I had a problem with the translation of the verse in pink since it doesn't even come close to saying anything like this in the KJV.How does the hope of the gospel which ye have heard,translate to There is no other Message, just this one.

Then I realized that all down through the ages, beginning with Adam and Eve, this same message [the hope - the gospel] of a Savior who would come to save all of mankind from the wages of sin, has been passed along from generation to generation, ever since the beginning of sin. It IS the only message that has always been told from Adam on down.

Why did God create man? To increase the circle of love.

God is looking for friends. God wants a relationship with everyone of us.

The whole Bible is filled with stories about God trying to restore a lost friendship with man,

It is NEVER God who breaks the friendship, or leaves the relationship,but it is always God who is striving to get it back.

How do you think God feels being constantly rejected by man? A good example was Jesus crying over the city of Jerusalem and saying how he had wanted to gather the Jewish nation in like a hen gathers her chickens, but they would not come.

He seeks an entrance into the over-crowded hearts of menHe's continuously brushed aside,and yet His search continuesdespite the constant rejection.

Isaiah 53:3-5 (KJV)&(NIV) mixedHe is despised and rejected by mankind,a man of sorrows, and familiar with grief:Like one from whom people hide their faces;he was despised,and we held him in low esteem.Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering:yet we considered him punished by God,stricken and afflicted by Him,But He was pierced for our transgressions,He was bruised for our iniquities:the punishment that brought us peace was on Him,and by His wounds we are healed.

And through it all, God is STILL simply trying to find more men and women who are interested in becoming friends with Him. Does God NEED our friendship?

Absolutely!Revelation 3:20 Common English Bible (CEB)Look! Im standing at the door and knocking.If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,I will come in to be with them,and will have dinner with them,and they will have dinner with me.

Is there anything more enjoyable than having a great meal with friends?

Summary:... continue in the faith grounded and settled,(You dont walk away from a gift like that!)and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel,(constantly tuned in to the Message which ye have heard),which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;(Everyone gets this same Message.)You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust,careful not to be distracted or diverted.(There is no other Message,just this one.)~The message isJesus Christ, the Son of GOD, IS the Free Gift of Salvation.He was born, lived & died; He paid in fullthe penalty for OUR SINS &A loving, saving relationship with Himis ALL that matters in this life! That's The Whole Truth!

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