Other books in the God’s Love series: GOD’S LOVE FOR MOTHERS GOD’S LOVE FOR COUPLES GOD’S LOVE FOR FATHERS
2nd edition, 1st printing 2015 Selection and arrangement © Scandinavia Publishing House 2014. Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. A co-production from Scandinavia Publishing House, Drejervej 15, 3rd floor, DK-2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark. E-mail: info@sph.as Web: www.sph.as All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. Quotations and paintings selected by Scandinavia Publishing House Edited by Tomas Vium Olesen Design by Ranilo Cabo / Line14 Cover painting by William Henry Midwood Printed in China ISBN 9788771324747
ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE WORD OF GOD
God’s
Love
For Friends
God’s Love for Friends is the fourth book in the “God’s Love” series. The book explores the many aspects of relating to others and building close relationships. It is amazing to see how much the Bible talks about relationships, and like a golden thread, this key point in the Word of God is interwoven throughout the fabric of Scripture. The apostle John begins his gospel by stating, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In the beginning, before anything else existed, was the relationship between God and the Word, Jesus Christ. Mankind was created to join this relationship, but man sinned against God. In order for God to reunite with His creation, He gave away His own Son in order to overcome the barrier of separation. We all need close friends to join us during both the dark and light times of life. Friends are a blessing and a support, and friendships, though they take effort to maintain, are crucial for our wellbeing and growth.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15
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Contents God’s Promises for Individuals...........................................................15 Foundation...............................................................................17 Identity......................................................................................20 Loneliness.................................................................................22 Searching..................................................................................24 Direction...................................................................................25 Discernment.............................................................................29 God’s Promises for Friends.................................................................33 Commitment............................................................................34 Confidence...............................................................................37 Patience.....................................................................................40 Responsibility...........................................................................43 God’s Promises for Relationships.......................................................47 Caring.......................................................................................49 Refuge.......................................................................................51 Intimacy....................................................................................54 Giving.......................................................................................57 Receiving...................................................................................60
God’s Promises for Breaking Down Barriers......................................63 Reconciliation...........................................................................64 Honesty.....................................................................................67 Humility....................................................................................71 Devotion...................................................................................73 Repentance...............................................................................76 Forgiveness................................................................................79 God’s Promises in Dark Times...........................................................83 Distance....................................................................................84 Injury........................................................................................87 Rejection...................................................................................90 Comparison..............................................................................93 Trials.........................................................................................94 Sorrow.......................................................................................96 God’s Promises in Light Times..........................................................101 Healing.....................................................................................102 Edification................................................................................104 Blessing.....................................................................................107 Joy.............................................................................................110 Peace.........................................................................................112
God’s Promises for Your Spiritual Life...............................................117 Submission...............................................................................118 Obedience.................................................................................120 Prayer........................................................................................123 Unity.........................................................................................126 Love...........................................................................................129 Fellowship.................................................................................131 God’s Promises for Your Future.........................................................135 Faithfulness...............................................................................136 Provision...................................................................................138 Persistence.................................................................................140 Growth......................................................................................143 Eternity.....................................................................................146
GOD’S PROMISES FOR INDIVIDUALS
GOD’S PROMISES FOR FRIENDS
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EDWARD WILKINS WAITE
Foundation
Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:12-14
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”— before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain. Ecclesiastes 12:1-2
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The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Psalm 118:22-23
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19-20
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GOD’S LOVE FOR FRIENDS
GUSTAV KLIMT
GOD’S PROMISES FOR INDIVIDUALS
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Identity
He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created. Genesis 5:2
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:16
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Mark 8:34-37
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“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us...?” The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon asked, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together, leaving none alive” Judges 6:13-16
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
GOD’S PROMISES FOR INDIVIDUALS
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Loneliness
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. Psalm 25:16-17
God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Psalm 68:6
In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Psalm 71:1-2
For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children; 22
GOD’S LOVE FOR FRIENDS
for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. Psalm 69:7-9
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:37-38
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Matthew 27:45-46 GEORGE PIERRE SEURAT
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Searching
The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. “Have you seen the one my heart loves?” Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the room of the one who conceived me. Song of Songs 3:3-4
While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17
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GOD’S LOVE FOR FRIENDS
Direction
“But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” Genesis 45:7-8
So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon feast, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his home town, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’ If he says, ‘Very well,’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me. As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the Lord.” 1 Samuel 20:5-8
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PAUL GAUGUIN
The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. Proverbs 12:15
A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way? Proverbs 20:24
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:12-15
GOD’S PROMISES FOR INDIVIDUALS
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PIERRE AUGUSTE RENOIR
Discernment
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives. Proverbs 11:30
Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. Proverbs 13:20
The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out. A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines. Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart. Proverbs 18:15-18
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Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. Mark 3:13-15
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” John 1:47-50
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