Becoming Strong in the Lord: Part 3 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

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All this week, John North is focusing on becoming strong in the Lord, and shares from the apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus:

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. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Transcript

Good morning. I’m John North. I’m here to help you start your day right.

We are going to start our day this morning the best way possible. We’re going to start it listening to God.

What does God have to say to you today?

We’re talking this week about becoming strong in the Lord.

We’ve seen that the foundation of the spiritual life that you are building, the blueprint is the Bible. It is your blueprint for your spiritual life. It shows you how to act, how to think, how to relate to God in a healthy way, how to respond to different situations. Learn to put the Bible as the foundation of your life. That’s why we start our morning this way each day.

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Not only that, but the second crucial thing in becoming strong in the Lord is learning to obey God. I mean, there’s no reason for going to the Bible if you don’t intend to obey what God is wanting to say to you. In fact, it’ll have a more negative impact on your spiritual life to spend time in the Bible if you have no intention of obeying it.

If you have no intention of obeying God, then why call yourself a Christian. A Christian, a Christ one, is a person who has put God at the centre of their life and says, God, I want to obey and honour you.

And today we come to Romans chapter 8. In verses 28 to 30.

Paul says:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, for whom He foreknew. He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son. That he, Jesus, might be the first born among many brethren. And whom he predestined these he also called, and whom he called these he also justified and whom he justified these he also glorified.

What these verses really show us is that God has a goal in your life, and it’s that goal of God and you aligning yourself with God’s goal in your life that gives spiritual strength to your life, because without a goal we live aimless lives. We’re just trying to get by, trying to make life the easiest, the best, the most pleasurable that it can be. None of those are meaningful.

Strength comes from having a goal, and God’s goal for your life is that you would be conformed to the image of His Son. Literally, the Greek word is transformed from the inside out. Metamorphosis is the Greek word.

God is wanting to change you, to transform you, to be like His Son Jesus.

You can’t do that in your own strength, but God can do that in you. And when you make that your great goal in life, to know God, to walk with God, to be changed by God as you walk with Him.

Then there is a reason for living the way you live. There’s a reason to resist temptation in your life. There’s a reason to pursue Christlikeness.

J.I. Packer says, What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we have in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God. What is the best thing in life? To know God. What in humans gives God most pleasure? To know God.

I’m John North.

To go deeper in your faith, visit AFCI.com.au.

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