James 4:4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
We are thrilled that you made it today! Thank you for coming and making this gathering a part of your weekend. We pray that the Lord will bring you closer to him, to that place of greater surrender to his good and perfect will. The result will be true righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. In the different areas of our lives, we experience many good things if we have the friendship of people in authority (the decision-makers or influencers). Having the good graces of bosses can mean favors, advantages, and privileges that others do not necessarily enjoy. On the other hand, having the “wrong enemies” can mean big trouble for us. Some people do not get promotions, salary increases, and the like because they are not in good terms with the people in authority. Some even lose jobs or get demotions because they have made enemies with some key leaders in the company or organization. Students can go through a lot of unnecessary troubles if they have, by their repeated actions or words, offended their teachers. But those students who are in good standing with their teachers can be given considerations, favors, and the like. Spiritually, we do well to pursue friendship with God. Whether we like it or not, we need him. And it is a thrilling discovery that he is actually a great being who is easy to deal with and loves to give good things to people. On the other hand, we should avoid becoming his enemies, for that would be the scariest of all scenarios. Our pride may tempt us to act arrogantly or rebelliously toward him, but wisdom tells us to deeply respect and honor him because only then can we be truly blessed. Whether we like it or not, we lead borrowed lives on God’s earth and he has all authority to give righteous sanctions when we willfully reject his laws and his leadership. Today, let’s decide that, for the rest of our lives, we will be friends of God. And by all means, let us honor God and avoid becoming his enemies. God is an amazingly good Lord, but he is Lord. Those who choose to reject his lordship (his right over us as owner and master of our lives) will suffer the tragic consequences of their pride and rebellion. Lathur Badoy