Category: Consecration

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Consecration Obedience Prayer

Right with God?

“’Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?’” 2 Samuel 23:5 (NIV) These were the last words of King David. His life was decorated with a colorful past and a perpetual reaping of what he had sown. David was known as a man after God’s own heart. His question is worthy of our consideration. Is not your house right with God? Let’s think through that question in two layers. The first layer reminds us that your body is a house. In fact, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Is your body right with God both spiritually and physically? Are you feeding your house spiritually? Are you walking with God and giving evidence to a growing relationship with Christ? Examine your life physically. Are you embracing a healthy lifestyle including diet and exercise? Let’s transition to the second layer of this question. Is not your house right with God? Think in terms of your family. How’s your marriage? How’s your parenting? Is your home a holy place where God is honored and where your family is encouraged to grow spiritually? Is your house in order spiritually? Getting your house right with God begins with your daily intimacy with Christ. Your private time alone with the Lord is the secret to getting your house right with God. In the solitude of daily intimacy with God, you will learn to hear His voice and respond to His prompting. When something in your life or in your family is out of order, the Holy Spirit will bring that to your attention specifically. Consecrate yourself before the Lord and allow Him to illuminate the areas of your life and your family that need adjusting. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Consecration Obedience Prayer

Right with God?

“’Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?’” 2 Sam 23:5 (NIV) These were the last words of King David. His life was decorated with a colorful past and a perpetual reaping of what he had sown. David was known as a man after God’s own heart. His question is worthy of our consideration. Is not your house right with God? Let’s think through that question in two layers. The first layer reminds us that your body is a house. In fact, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Is your body right with God both spiritually and physically? Are you feeding your house spiritually? Are you walking with God and giving evidence to a growing relationship with Christ? Examine your life physically. Are you embracing a healthy lifestyle including diet and exercise? Let’s transition to the second layer of this question. Is not your house right with God? Think in terms of your family. How’s your marriage? How’s your parenting? Is your home a holy place where God is honored and where your family is encouraged to grow spiritually? Is your house in order spiritually? Getting your house right with God begins with your daily intimacy with Christ. Your private time alone with the Lord is the secret to getting your house right with God. In the solitude of daily intimacy with God, you will learn to hear His voice and respond to His prompting. When something in your life or in your family is out of order, the Holy Spirit will bring that to your attention specifically. Consecrate yourself before the Lord and allow Him to illuminate the areas of your life and your family that need adjusting. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Assessment Consecration Prayer

Getting Your House Right with God

“’Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?’” 2 Sam 23:5 (NIV) These were the last words of King David. His life was decorated with a colorful past and a perpetual reaping of what he had sown. David was known as a man after God’s own heart. His question is worthy of our consideration. Is not your house right with God? Let’s think through that question in two layers. The first layer reminds us that your body is a house. In fact, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Is your body right with God both spiritually and physically? Are you feeding your house spiritually? Are you walking with God and giving evidence to a growing relationship with Christ? Examine your life physically. Are you embracing a healthy lifestyle including diet and exercise? Let’s transition to the second layer of this question. Is not your house right with God? Think in terms of your family. How’s your marriage? How’s your parenting? Is your home a holy place where God is honored and where your family is encouraged to grow spiritually? Is your house in order spiritually? Getting your house right with God begins with your daily intimacy with Christ. Your private time alone with the Lord is the secret to getting your house right with God. In the solitude of daily intimacy with God, you will learn to hear His voice and respond to His prompting. When something in your life or in your family is out of order, the Holy Spirit will bring that to your attention specifically. Consecrate yourself before the Lord and allow Him to illuminate the areas of your life and your family that need adjusting. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

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Confession Consecration Prayer

Preparation for God’s Demonstration

“Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.’” Josh 3:5 (NIV) Have you experienced the thrill of anticipation? When you are anticipating something special, it seems as though time stands still. You live with a sense of urgency and you embrace a sense of expectancy. Joshua knew that God was up to something special that included his participation and preparation. It was vital for Joshua to have the people consecrate themselves in preparation for what God was going to do in their midst. They were to set themselves apart for God’s use. Their sin was to be confessed, their relational strife was to be released, and their motives were to be pure. God wanted the children of Israel to prepare for a demonstration of His power. Joshua declared that the Lord would do amazing things among them. Are you prepared for a move of God in your life? Have you consecrated yourself before the Lord? Have you confessed known sin and received God’s forgiveness? Make sure that your motives are pure and that your focus is on God. God wants to do amazing things among you. However, God wants you to prepare for the demonstration of His power. Prepare for your daily time alone with God through intensive soul-searching prayer. Invite the Holy Spirit to search your heart and to reveal anything in you that is displeasing to God. Ask Him to reveal any attitudes that are inconsistent with the character of Christ. Ask Him to show you areas of your life that have not been submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Stay close and clean as you walk with God and anticipate His redemptive activity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

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Consecration Forgiveness Repent Response

First Love (2)

“Remember the height from which you have fallen!” Rev 2:5a (NIV) Think back to the time when your relationship with Jesus exhibited true intimacy. Do you remember how sweet your daily time alone with Him was? Do you recall how you could not wait to read the Bible and to practice His presence? Do you remember how you would hunger and thirst for Jesus? Can you remember the height of your relationship with Jesus? So where are you now in your love relationship with Jesus? What is your current level of intimacy? If your commitment has become cluttered and your devotion to the Lord has become diluted, it is time to remember the height from which you have fallen. It is time to identify what has caused you to drift from your intimacy with Jesus. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” Mark 12:30 (NIV) “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:3-4 (NIV) God has provided the way for you to know Him personally and intimately through your saving relationship with Jesus. Now that you have a right relationship with God based on the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, you can draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Consecration Devotion Love Priorities

First Love (1)

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” Rev 2:4 (NIV) Jesus affirmed the church at Ephesus for their good deeds, hard work, perseverance, and discernment. They had endured hardships for His name. The church at Ephesus appeared to be healthy from an external point of view. However, Jesus confronted the reality of their spiritual condition. They had forsaken their first love. One of Satan’s primary tools to oppose the work of God is to get God’s children to do ministry in the flesh. It is possible to perform good deeds and to help others while neglecting your love relationship with Jesus. When you bypass your love relationship with Jesus you bypass the spiritual energy He provides. God wants you to do His work His way. God’s work is motivated by love. The most important relationship in your life is your love relationship with Jesus. He is to be your first love. When you forsake your first love, your life drifts into imbalance, your motives become tainted, and your fruit becomes tarnished. Make Jesus your top priority. He not only demands first place, He deserves first place. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Concentration Consecration Forgiveness New Life

Align for 2009 (3)

“And the people said to Joshua, ‘We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.’” Josh 24:24 (NIV) Joshua exhorted the children of Israel to review their spiritual markers and to remove their idols. God had spoken through Joshua to bring the children of Israel into alignment with God’s best. God’s Word demands a response. They responded with a commitment to serve the Lord and to obey Him. As you review the past 365 days and anticipate the fresh start of the New Year, recapture your devotion to God. Don’t neglect your love relationship with God. Assess your devotion by looking at your time allocation. How much time do your carve out to read the Bible and to pray? How much time to do you spend in the spiritual disciplines of solitude and meditating on God’s Word? Do you live with a continual heightened awareness of God’s presence? “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” 1 John 2:28 (NIV) “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” 1 John 5:21 (NIV) You have a clean slate and a new beginning. What will you do with this New Year that God has given you? Will you serve the Lord and obey Him? Recapture your devotion to God. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
Concentration Consecration Forgiveness Idolatry New Life

Align for 2009 (2)

“‘Now then,’ said Joshua, ‘throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.’” Josh 24:23 (NIV) After reviewing the spiritual markers God established for the children of Israel, Joshua called them to a moment of decision. Though they had come out of Egypt, it was now time to get Egypt out of them. Instead of influencing the cultures they conquered, the idolatry of the cultures infiltrated their lifestyles. Joshua exhorted the children of Israel to throw away the foreign gods that were among them. Idolatry comes in many forms. In our modern day technological advances, idolatry has become more easily accessible. You don’t have to go looking for sin, sin will come to you uninvited. As you prepare for the New Year, consider the value of removing your idols. What is an idol? An idol is anything that hinders your love relationship with God. In prayer, ask the Lord to search your heart and to reveal unconfessed sin in your life. “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Prov 28:13 (NIV) “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9 (NIV) Whatever you cover, God will uncover. Whatever you uncover, God will cover. You may want to spend some time looking back over every year of your life and writing down specific sins that you committed. This is a very personal and private process. After you write down the specific sins the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, confess them one-by-one and claim God’s forgiveness over each one. Destroy the sheet of paper that you use to write on or hit the “delete” button on your computer if you choose to type your list. Now walk in the freedom and forgiveness that God provides. Step into the New Year with the clarity of having removed your idols and confessed your sin. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
Concentration Consecration New Life Spiritual Markers

Align for 2009 (1)

“‘So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’” Josh 24:13 (NIV) The children of Israel drifted from God’s best and slipped into immorality. Joshua called them back into alignment with God’s will and God’s way. Joshua reviewed the spiritual markers that God had established for them. God gave Abraham many descendants and later raised up Moses and Aaron to deliver them from Egyptian bondage. God enabled them to cross the Red Sea on dry ground and to defeat the Amorites. God turned Balaam’s curse into a blessing and delivered them out of his hand. God enabled them to miraculously cross the Jordan. Joshua reminded the children of Israel of the faithfulness of God. The spiritual markers served as reminders of God’s provision. The blessings of God were clearly evident in each of the spiritual markers. Review your spiritual markers. Identify the times in your life when God made Himself known to you in a special way. You may have a spiritual marker that was formed in the midst of adversity where God reminded you of His protection over you. You may have a spiritual marker that was established as a result of God revealing His unconditional love to you through your saving relationship with Jesus. Spiritual markers are vital for the Christian life. As you review your spiritual markers, you will gain a sense of stability. Your faith is strengthened as you review the activity of God in your life. You may want to take a few moments to identify your spiritual markers in writing. Begin to thank God for each spiritual marker in your past and go ahead and begin thanking God for the spiritual markers that He will establish in your future. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor