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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to daily devotions with Pastor John. I'm John Stangey,

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Speaker 1: and today's devotion is inspired by Ephesians chapter two, verse ten,

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Speaker 1: which says, for we are His workmanship created in Christ

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Speaker 1: Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we

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Speaker 1: should walk in them. You are not an accident. You

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Speaker 1: have been intentionally designed by God and created in his image.

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Speaker 1: Before you were born. He fashioned you in your mother's womb,

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Speaker 1: and He has an unfolding, beautiful plan for your life.

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Speaker 1: When you came to faith in Jesus, you likewise became

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Speaker 1: a new creation. In that moment. You were born spiritual,

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Speaker 1: and God continues to foster your growth and your maturity.

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Speaker 1: When Jesus saved you, he didn't do so with the

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Speaker 1: intent that you would become a museum piece merely to

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Speaker 1: be stared at. His desire is that you would devote

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Speaker 1: yourself to the good works he has intentionally equipped you

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Speaker 1: to do. There are people he wants you specifically to

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Speaker 1: connect with. There are tasks he has intentionally equipped you

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Speaker 1: to do in order to help others, and serve as

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Speaker 1: a visible testimony of His power and presence. We can

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Speaker 1: devote ourselves to many things in this world, but God's

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Speaker 1: word encourages us to be devoted to Him as we

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Speaker 1: walk with him. Use the efforts of your mind to

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Speaker 1: glorify Christ. Use the actions of your hands to glorify Christ,

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Speaker 1: without grumbling and without reservation, serve others in His name.

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Speaker 1: Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your word, and

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Speaker 1: we thank you for the privilege that it is to

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Speaker 1: be able to look at this portion of scripture from

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Speaker 1: the Book of Ephesians. And Lord, we're grateful for the

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Speaker 1: ways that you have intentionally fashioned us. Sometimes we look

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Speaker 1: at our lives and we might be tempted to think

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Speaker 1: that it would be better if we were fashioned differently.

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Speaker 1: But when we look at this portion of your word,

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Speaker 1: you remind us that we are your workmanship. And not

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Speaker 1: only have we been naturally created, we have been created

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Speaker 1: new in your son, Jesus Christ. And you've equipped us

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Speaker 1: for good works that you've prepared for us beforehand. So Lord,

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Speaker 1: we pray that we would rejoice in this kind of

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Speaker 1: intentionality that you've shown to our lives. We pray that

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Speaker 1: we would be devoted to doing the things that you've

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Speaker 1: called us to do, and that we would rely on

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Speaker 1: your strength and your power to supply us with the

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Speaker 1: energy that we need for the tasks at hand. But Lord,

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Speaker 1: we also pray that as we look at a portion

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Speaker 1: of scripture like this, that we would be mindful of

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Speaker 1: the fact that you have given us a mission. We

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Speaker 1: haven't been placed on this earth to walk around aimlessly

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Speaker 1: not understanding what you've called us to do. You've called

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Speaker 1: us as your followers, as new creations in your son

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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, to go about the mission that you've ordained

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Speaker 1: for our lives. You want us to glorify your name.

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Speaker 1: You want us to live as your disciples. You want

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Speaker 1: us to help others become devoted disciples of yours as well.

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Speaker 1: And there's a task that you have specifically outlined for

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Speaker 1: us and equipped us to do that we have the

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Speaker 1: privilege to glorify your name in the midst of So

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Speaker 1: thank you, Lord for these blessings, and thank you for

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Speaker 1: this reminders we've looked at your word together today. We

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Speaker 1: pray that we would value all of these things and

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Speaker 1: take them seriously as long as we live. And we

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Speaker 1: thank you for this all in Jesus' name. Amen,