Give Your Relationships to God: Pt. 1 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

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Transcript

Good morning. As we get going in a new work week, I hope you’re looking forward to this week.

And you know, one of the things we do at the start of each weekday is take a little bit of time to open God’s word, the Bible, and spend some time with God, just listening to Him, letting Him shape our lives, shape our perspective on life.

There are several things that are so important to every one of us. Our time is so important to us. Our relationships are so important to us. Our money is so important to us. And you know, the Bible challenges us to bring each one of these things in our lives and give them to God. And this week I want to focus in on that second one, our relationships.

And God wants you to give your relationships to Him.

Well, what in the world does that look like?

What does it mean to give your relationships to God?

Well, the Bible talks about our role in this world and how God wants to work through us in the lives of other people, and it presents us with a picture that everything about our lives when we are walking with God in a good relationship with Him.

Everything about our lives should be intentional.

Right, that there should be purpose behind it, that there’s this idea that we have been sent into our lives by God to represent Him and to be used by Him in the lives of the people around us to call them into a closer relationship with God, to disciple them, to help them grow in their life in the way that God designed life to be.

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Give your relationships to God, live with a sense of intentionality.

And I want to suggest to you today, first of all, think about your children. Give your children to God, your relationship with your children. I want to read a few verses to you from the beginning of Paul’s second letter to Timothy in the Bible.

He says this in 2 Timothy in chapter 1 verse 3.

I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you, Timothy, constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you that I may be filled with joy.

Listen to verse 5. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. And now I am sure dwells in you as well.

Isn’t that interesting? Here’s Lois.

Who got married and had a daughter named Eunice, and she recognized that God had reached into her life and opened up a relationship with him that was having such an impact on her own life, and she knew that before God she was responsible to pass on to her daughter Eunice the faith that she had in God.

A living faith, not just a set of things she believed, not just that she went to synagogue, but a faith that impacted her life, her way of living, her relationships, and she poured that into her daughter Eunice. Her daughter Eunice grew up and got married and had a little boy named Timothy.

And she recognized that just as her mother had built into her a relationship with God, a living faith that changed her life, she wanted to pass that on to Timothy as well, and the apostle Paul knew Eunice.

He also knew Lois, the grandmother, and he saw in Eunice just what he saw in Lois this relationship with God. And when he encountered Timothy and saw how Timothy related to God, he knew that Timothy had gotten that from Eunice who got it from Lois.

Well, this should be your attitude with your kids as well. If God is making a difference in your life, don’t just live your own Christian life. Pass it on to your kids. Be intentional, have conversations with them about your relationship with God.

Teach them to take time with God in His word every day. Teach them to talk to God in prayer and to listen to Him as they read their Bibles. God wants to work through you in the lives of your kids. Give those relationships to Him.

I’m John North.

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

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