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Psalm 25:14 says, \\u201cThe LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.\\u201d

Is the God you believe in real to you?

How do you reconcile that relationship?

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How can we have a deeper friendship with God? How can we grow in intimacy with him, so that he reveals himself in such a way that we can more effectively worship him and serve others?

I was down in the dumps, you know that is where I hang out now since my wife had her surgery, the dumps.\\xa0 And I was drinking my morning coffee trying to get the caffeine to perk me up a little.\\xa0 I was readying a text a long test from a musician and guitar builder.\\xa0 He went all in and told me in the longest text message of 2022 this:\\xa0

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I am an atheist and don\\u2019t understand faith in a higher power but know there will never be comfort in atheism.\\xa0

I will tell you for the last year or two, I have been getting signals from somewhere on a daily basis. I am thoroughly convinced there is something more. I personally think both the the concept of a god as well as the concept of evolution are completely and equally absurd. No way evolution is naturally occurring and no way there is a god controlling everything. It\\u2019s also absurd there are only 2 possibilities ever discussed.\\xa0

I have this conversation regularly with a friend who is a Greek Orthodox, born again Christian and an Injury Lawyer. He is finally agreeing with me. It\\u2019s clear to me the Bible is man made. There is zero evidence of a higher being. All the stories contain only things that were known to man at that time. Any conversation with a higher being would have contained content not known to man \\u201cat that time.\\u201d When you talk to a scientist, they don\\u2019t tell you things you know. They tell you things they see under a microscope. Things you clearly do not know from your vantage point. A higher being who created all we know and all we don\\u2019t know would have revealed something! Things under the ocean, animals not indigenous to that area, the single celled animal\\u2026something in outer space, other planets or galaxies. There would have been a clue or some clear evidence of something people could not have known.\\xa0

Their are 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Stars are suns, suns have planets. What is occurring here on earth would have to be occurring a zillion times on other planets. A hundred billion stars. Do you realize how many that is?

If you could count one integer per second, it would take about 35 years to count to a billion. So figure 3500 years of seconds. Each one of those \\u201cseconds\\u201d represents\\xa0 a star in our galaxy.\\xa0 Each planet, like ours can have 6 billon people. A hundred billion planets times 6 billion people, a calculator doesn\\u2019t calculate that high. And, there are other galaxies!

Tell me how a higher being can have any control over a single person. Nobody does the math. You won\\u2019t hear that in a church.\\xa0

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It\\u2019s right up there with Santa Claus can fill up a sleigh with toys for ever kid living on the planet, travel around the world, hit every home in a single night\\u2026all powered by reindeer that can fly. And, can eat a cookie at every stop!

And I only know one thing for sure. We will never know\\u2026and we have to be satisfied with that. Just take things as they come. Fight the fights you can win and surrender to the ones you can\\u2019t.\\xa0

That\\u2019s my 2 cents of unsolicited therapy. Sorry if it goes against everything you believe. Hope you don\\u2019t find it offensive.\\xa0

Happy to hear you are doing better. Let\\u2019s talk soon if I didn\\u2019t offend you with my view of life.\\xa0

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I sipped my coffee, re-read his post and thought about it all for a minute.\\xa0 You ever wonder about all of this stuff?\\xa0 You ever wonder if it is a load of crap?\\xa0

I took a sip of coffee and texted him back.\\xa0 Hey man, good morning.\\xa0 I received your text.\\xa0 God has been my friend since I was a kid.\\xa0 We are close.\\xa0

He wrote back, I am happy for you.\\xa0

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I have never seen God, but I know Him.\\xa0 I have heard His voice.\\xa0 I have seen where He has been.\\xa0 I\\u2019ve seen His Work.\\xa0 I\\u2019ve read His Word.\\xa0 I talk to Him often.\\xa0 He has saved my life physically several times. I love Him.\\xa0 And scared of HIM. But like you and I \\u2013 we have never met.

Do you have friends you have never seen?\\xa0 What do you consider me? Aren\\u2019t we friends?\\xa0 How would you get to know me better?\\xa0

FaceTime, video chat, call, write, visit in person.

\\xa0 It is not that God didn\\u2019t have many friends in Scripture, he did. But there were some he was closer with. Abraham was one of them. In fact, one of the greatest forms of intimacy is going to somebody\\u2019s home. God visits Abraham\\u2019s home in physical form and shares intimate secrets about Sodom, that even the Sodomites and Lot, who lived there, were unaware of. God had a deep friendship with Abraham, which afforded him many great privileges.

The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, \\u201cIf I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way\\u2014now that you have come to your servant.\\u201d \\u201cVery well,\\u201d they answered, \\u201cdo as you say.\\u201d So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. \\u201cQuick,\\u201d he said, \\u201cget three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread.\\u201d Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. \\u201cWhere is your wife Sarah?\\u201d they asked him. \\u201cThere, in the tent,\\u201d he said. Then the LORD said, \\u201cI will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.\\u201d Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, \\u201cAfter I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?\\u201d Then the LORD said to Abraham, \\u201cWhy did Sarah laugh and say, \\u2018Will I really have a child, now that I am old?\\u2019 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.\\u201d Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, \\u201cI did not laugh.\\u201d But he said, \\u201cYes, you did laugh.\\u201d When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the LORD said, \\u201cShall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him\\u2026 (Genesis 18)

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What are characteristics of God\\u2019s friends? How can we grow in intimacy with our Lord?

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In this text, God miraculously shows up at Abraham\\u2019s home in the form of a man, with two other men who were angels. Abraham prepares a feast for them, and God reaffirms his covenant with Abraham. He tells him that within a year\\u2019s time, Sarah would birth a child. When the three visitors are about to leave, God decides to share with Abraham his plan to visit Sodom and Gomorrah, confirm their sins, and then destroy the land. Then we see Abraham intercede for Sodom and Gomorrah and move God\\u2019s heart.

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Can one have friends without first showing himself friendly (Prov 18:24, KJV)? James even declared, \\u201cDraw near God and he will draw near you\\u201d (James 4:8).

It seems clear that Abraham knows these visitors are special and that one of them is God. In fact, he calls one of them \\u201cmy lord\\u201d in verse 3. One of the three was clearly prominent, as he was God incarnate. To further support this, Abraham said to him, \\u201cIf I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by\\u201d (v. 3). The implication is that Abraham had a previous relationship with the prominent one; otherwise the comment wouldn\\u2019t make sense. He had just met these gentlemen. It seems like a fair conclusion that Abraham knew the man was God with two angelic guests.

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Worship is a natural response for those who know God intimately. Worship comes from the fact that one recognizes how \\u201cworthy\\u201d an object or person is. Abraham had known God for over twenty years; he knew God\\u2019s beauty and his characteristics. Abraham, therefore, bowed in worship to the Lord and reverence towards the two angels.

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Zelle\\xa0 - pastor@SpeakLifeChurch.net

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You can support the ministry by check or money order by sending it to Speak Life Church, PO BOX 2, upper Marlboro, MD 20772

Rev. Kenn Blanchard\\xa0

kenn.blanchard@gmail.com\\xa0

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