Giving God Pleasure
We were planned and created for God's pleasure
He was not bored or stuck for something to do when He made the human race. God wanted to create
creatures who would, of their own free will choose to love Him and relate to Him.
To make that possible He allowed evil into this lovely setting, and gave us a
command to be obeyed -- or disobeyed. Naturally, we (in Adam and Eve) made the
wrong choice, but God had a plan to reconcile us through the death of
His beloved Son, so that we still could make a deliberate choice to love Him.
When we make that choice, and give him praiseful worship, we bring God His most
ultimate pleasure. That's what He had in mind all along! That's why we're here!
So there's this intelligent Creator Being who watches our every move, and
listens to our very thoughts - all like a devoted and proud Daddy. (True He is
still the Judge of all the universe, but for now, let's become familiar with
this familial side of God).
What does it take to make God smile?
He most wants a continuous, daily relationship with each of us. To start it we
must believe He is there, and His word as recorded in the Bible. We must admit
that we do need a Saviour to take our place in death, and choose quite
deliberately to accept His proffered gift of life. Abundant, wonderful, and
fulfilling life!

That daily relationship involves checking often to see what God says in His Word
(the Bible), and trusting Him, and obeying His commandments as wholeheartedly
as we can. Even if things and people in our lives tend to turn us away from God.
Look at Noah. He had such a close friendship with Him, that God gave him
instructions for the Ark, something no one had ever seen before. He withstood
the taunts and mocking of the neighbours for 120 years. No doubt his own family
went through stages of being dreadfully embarrassed by him. But Noah did not
waver. He worked on - and on.
When we praise and thank God, we make Him smile.
When we use the abilities He gave us He is greatly pleased too. The famous
Olympic runner, Eric Liddell, of the Chairots of Fire film, is a good example. He
said, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when
I run I feel God's pleasure." Later he said, "To give up running would be to hold
Him in contempt."
So use your abilities, and develop them to the nth degree. Not for your own
glory, but to please God.
When I make craft things, I often have the feeling God is smiling and saying,
"Good. That's My kind of work too!"
The heart of worship is surrender - surrendering all we have and are and hope
to be to God. Many people, even believers in Christ, are afraid to give up so
much, for fear there will be nothing left of themselves. However, those that
do, discover a marvellous secret; that's when we gain a new and delightful
personality! When we become saturated with our relationship with God, His
light and power begins to shine through us, and that's when we can
really sparkle like a jewel.
There are various styles of worship
But that is because God made us
as unique individuals. We must be totally honest and authentic with Him, but
He is great enough to enjoy enormous variety in plants, animals, geography,
planets, - you name it, so we should not expect everyone to worship in precisely
the ways we do.
We should however, be accurate, and not make God out to be something that makes
His Word, the Bible, a lie. It is important to keep checking often to see that
we are not misrepresenting God.
There are naturalists who are inspired to worship when in outdoor, nature
settings. They stand in awe of His creative powers.
|
|
Some get totally involved with their sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste
when they worship. These are sensates. (They could be athletic too).
Traditionalists like beautifully planned programs of worship, and they like it
repetitive, so it becomes all familiar and dear to them. Generally, they like the
rituals, liturgies, and symbols in church.
There are activists who love God best when they are fighting injustices,
confronting evil, and rescuing the underdogs of society. They have a good sense
of God's holiness and justice and peace. They want others to recognize it too.
Caregivers love God by loving people, and nursing them, or fixing their problems
in whatever ways or skills they have. God's great love makes the biggest
impression on them.
We need the contemplatives too. They can sit quietly for a long time doing
nothing but adoring God. They think much about His nature and revel in His
goodness.
There may be others, but I'm aware yet of intellectuals. They apply their
brilliant minds to studying and sorting out great and profound theological ideas.
They usually write books or teach classes on these subjects.
Friends with God
Ultimately though, we are to become Best Friends with God, and this has always
been a passion of mine since I was a young girl. I did it first and then
learned about it. There is such a special love relationship in this,
that it is easier to give up the possibility of marriage (mind you, I had
struggles over that for quite a while), and if other friends fail - well, I
still have the best, most healthy friendship possible.
|
That is why, when I wrote my first novel, I
wanted to show the world what this sweet fellowship was like, and so I made the heroine, Ruthe Veer,
reveal her intimate friendship with Christ throughout the book.
|
I know that many people hunger for this kind of intimacy with God, but they don't always broadcast
it. If you are such a person, I want to share with you through the book and through my web site,
Ruthes-SecretRoses.com , how you can develop such a
blessed friendship with our precious Lord Jesus.
It is developed over time. It can start instantly, but it takes years to mature
and deepen. God is more eager for this relationship than you are, so He's going
to bend forward to help you.
The key ingredients you need to work into your life to help God nurture this
intimacy, are meditation in His Word, and prayer. Lots of totally honest,
real-you prayer.
How to start this intimate friendship
Maybe at first, all you can fill is five or ten minutes. Start with that. The
more you fall in love with God, and get to know about Him and His Son Jesus,
and the more you involve Him in all the details of your life, the more you'll
pine to spend more time with Him. It will become a pleasure, not a chore.
(Although dull times do creep in too. Just do not give up!)
After a while you'll have those Ruthe-type running, or conversational prayers.
You should still have blocks of time for specific praying, but while you are on
the way some where, or doing something physical and mechanical that doesn't
require total mental focus, chat with the Lord about whatever you see before you,
or whatever absorbs your mind. Speak respectfully, and humbly, but feel free
to ask advice, and help with everything.
When ideas slip into your mind moments later, say, "Thank you, Lord!" and go
ahead and try that.
Too Presumptuous?
Now, there are some who've tried to tell me that such a lifestyle is too
presumptuous. I'll try to answer that at another time and place, on another page,
but I observe that they don't have the joy of intimacy with Christ, they don't
have His comfort when frightened or upset, they don't have a sense of direction and
purpose. So why would I give up this priceless treasure? No, I hold on the
tighter!
But, what about you? Do you have this intimate friendship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
Do you know the joy of He loves you and goes with you everywhere, all day long?
Do you need a Best Friend to whom you can confide every thought and emotion?
Perhaps like me, you are very sensitive and thoughtful, and people around you just don't
seem to understand or care, or if they do, they have not got time to listen to
you hours on end. Jesus does!
Nor are you keeping Him from ministering to anyone else, when you have His
undivided attention. Wonderfully, as the Son of God, and by the Holy Spirit, He
is able to be wholly present with you, and with me, and with everyone else who
needs Him at any given time. He is God, after all, isn't He?
Are you moaning, "I wish I knew Him like that! This is all so new to me. How
exactly do you do this?"
You know, it would help if you could watch someone who lives this way, right?
It happens that in my novel, Ruthe's Secret Roses the heroine, Ruthe Veer,
does exactly that. You can go with her through her daily adventures, and see how
she prays about various things and gets answers that she knows are Jesus' or
God's response to her. I think it would be of great help to you to read this
book. Of course, I try to be available to answer questins and to correspond
with you by email, but as I have found often through my life, human friendships
can only go so far. The only perfect one is the one we are invited to have with
the Lord Jesus - by faith.
|
Let me urge you to click this book cover, or this link,
Ruthe's Secret Roses
(at Booklocker.com) to order this novel. It has 72 chapters so you will have
a worthy read ahead. As you vicarously experience her life, you will also
learn how to have your own personal Friendship with Jesus!
|
The e-book editions cost less, but you will need to read it on your computer,
or else print out the whole 467 pages from the PDF format on your home printer.
See this order page for e-books.
If you would like to talk to me or have questions to ask, use this form to ask me.
You are on the site, Intimacy a sub-domain of Ruthes-SecretRoses.com
Novel: Order --
Author --
FAQs --
Read it Online! --
Reviews --
Releases --
Song --
History --
Home --
Resources Gate --
Sharing Library --
RoseBouquet blog/
Place --
Best Friend --
Media --
Reach Me --
Privacy --
Site map --
webrings
© 2005-2009 Ruth Marlene Friesen
Bouquet of Enterprises
903 23rd Street West, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
(306)956-7785
|