Colossians 1: Part 4 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

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All this week, John North says what the Bible teaches us guards us against false “truths”. The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Colossae, highlighting the true message that came to them through Jesus.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people – the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world – just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Colossians 1:3-8

Transcript

Good morning.

As we head into this day, we’re going to start the day like we do each weekday morning at this time, just opening the Bible and saying, God, what do you have to say to me about my life?

You know, your life will never be the same if you make that the regular practice of your life, not just as a religious habit that you think you should do because you’re a Christian. No. As something that comes from your heart.

With a real expectation that God wants to meet with you. God wants to be involved in your life and your heart – it is open to him and it’s saying – God please speak to me today through your word, the Bible. When you do that, God loves to answer that prayer. He loves to get so involved in our lives.

God loves getting involved in our lives

We’ve been looking this week at the beginning of Paul’s letter to the church at Colossi in the Bible in the Book of Colossians, and he’s talked about the difference he’s heard about in their lives since they’ve come to really know God based on the truth of the gospel.

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And he goes on from there to say, starting in verse 9 of Colossians 1.

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

See, he wants them to know what God’s will is, so that they know how to walk in a way that really represents God in this world, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power according to His glorious might for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience. Joyously giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

What a great prayer he prays for them, but I want you to notice that one part in the middle in verse 10.

So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects. And then here are the two aspects of pleasing God in all respects, he says, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God and the word that’s translated into English from the original language, there is, is an emphatic word, the real knowledge of God.

So He wants you to bear fruit in every good work.

To represent God in this world, but also to increase in the real knowledge of God. And these two things deserve equal priority in our lives, because sometimes in our society we’re kind of an activistic society and, and it’s too easy to give all of our attention to sort of this idea that we need to do things.

We need to work, we need to serve God. It, it’s all about doing, doing, doing, and busyness can be one of our biggest spiritual downfalls in life because we need to also learn to just be with God.

To grow in real knowledge of Him, and the problem is that we will not bear the fruit in our outer life unless we grow with God in our inner life and allow God to really reveal Himself to us. We’ve got to take time alone with Him.

Kay Arthur has said: ‘Are you weak, weary, confused, troubled, pressured. How is your relationship with God? Is it held in its place of priority? I believe the greater the pressure, the greater your need for time alone with Him.‘

I’m John North.

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

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