“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11 (NIV) What are you passionate about? What are you giving your time, energy, and resources to? What gets the best of you? Your answer unveils your zeal. God placed zeal in you. Your passion is an expression of your spiritual DNA. God gives you the ability to be passionate in this life. However, it is possible to misdirect the passion God gives you. Your passion can be diverted to areas that are unhealthy or unfruitful. You can channel your passion to outlets that dishonor God or even to good things that rob God’s best for you. God’s Word teaches us to keep our spiritual fervor. Our passion in action should be vertical in nature. We are to be passionate for God. Our zeal for God and His Kingdom should never experience a deficit. As we nurture our passion for God, we are to keep our passion channeled in the paths that God provides. Are you passionate about the things of God? Does your life give evidence to the passion God desires from you? Take some time to assess your current reality. See if your passion is misdirected. Examine your life to the level of identifying the source of your passion and the expression of your passion in action. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Category: Contagious Christianity
Categories
Adding Value to Others
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10 (NIV) Be devoted. People matter to God and as followers of Jesus Christ we view others through the lens of God’s redemptive activity. Be devoted to demonstrating brotherly love to one another. You can add value to others by loving them with the same love you have graciously received from God. Be humble. Value those God has placed in your life. Treat the next person you meet as the most important person on the planet. Honor others above yourself. Humility is a constant challenge in that we are by nature selfish. To put others first is a supernatural activity empowered by the Holy Spirit living in us. It is natural to think of yourself first; it is supernatural to think of others first. Yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and elevate others in your life. Show them that they matter and that you value them. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Phil. 2:3 (NIV) “But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’” Acts 9:15-16 (NIV) Ananias chose to consider Saul better than himself. God had affirmed His redemptive activity in Saul’s life and invited Ananias into the process. You could imagine the fear that gripped Ananias after hearing so many reports about Saul being a persecutor of the church. Now God was calling the persecutor of believers to become a preacher of the gospel. Seek to add value to others by viewing them through the cross. Make yourself available for God’s use and join God in His activity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Sincere Love
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9 (NIV) Are you contagious in your Christianity? Your influence for Christ is propelled by sincere love. Love that is genuine, authentic, and without hypocrisy is the kind of love that makes your Christianity contagious. This kind of love originates with God and emanates from your life as you yield to His control. Choose to hate what God hates and love what God loves. Hate what is evil. Despise those things that break the heart of God. Fortify your life from poison of sin and the pollution of worldliness by hating evil and clinging to what is good. Consider those things that bring glory to God and cling to those things. Be discerning. Decipher the tactics of the enemy and embrace the way of the cross. Don’t give the devil a toehold which can become a foothold and ultimately become a stronghold in your life. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the schemes of the devil. Run from sin and run to Christ. Flee the impulses of immorality and pursue the purity of the Prince of Peace. Turn from the terrain of trespass and walk in the way of God’s Word. Allow the sincerity of God’s unconditional love permeate your life. Allow God’s love to illuminate your world and to influence the people He brings into your path. As you hate what is evil and cling to what is good, let the river of God’s love flow through you in order to bring hope and healing to a world in desperation. God loves you so much and desires that you be a channel of His love to a hurting world. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11 (NIV) What are you passionate about? What are you giving your time, energy, and resources to? What gets the best of you? Your answer unveils your zeal. God placed zeal in you. Your passion is an expression of your spiritual DNA. God gives you the ability to be passionate in this life. However, it is possible to misdirect the passion God gives you. Your passion can be diverted to areas that are unhealthy or unfruitful. You can channel your passion to outlets that dishonor God or even to good things that rob God’s best for you. God’s Word teaches us to keep our spiritual fervor. Our passion in action should be vertical in nature. We are to be passionate for God. Our zeal for God and His Kingdom should never experience a deficit. As we nurture our passion for God, we are to keep our passion channeled in the paths that God provides. Are you passionate about the things of God? Does your life give evidence to the passion God desires from you? Take some time to assess your current reality. See if your passion is misdirected. Examine your life to the level of identifying the source of your passion and the expression of your passion in action. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Adding Value to Others
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10 (NIV) Be devoted. People matter to God and as followers of Jesus Christ we view others through the lens of God’s redemptive activity. Be devoted to demonstrating brotherly love to one another. You can add value to others by loving them with the same love you have graciously received from God. Be humble. Value those God has placed in your life. Treat the next person you meet at the most important person on the planet. Honor others above yourself. Humility is a constant challenge in that we are by nature selfish. To put others first is a supernatural activity empowered by the Holy Spirit living in us. It is natural to think of yourself first; it is supernatural to think of others first. Yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and elevate others in your life. Show them that they matter and that you value them. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 (NIV) “But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’” Acts 9:15-16 (NIV) Ananias chose to consider Saul better than himself. God had affirmed His redemptive activity in Saul’s life and invited Ananias into the process. You could imagine the fear that gripped Ananias after hearing so many reports about Saul being a persecutor of the church. Now God was calling the persecutor of believers to become a preacher of the gospel. Seek to add value to others by viewing them through the cross. Make yourself available for God’s use and join God in His activity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Sincere Love
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9 (NIV) Are you contagious in your Christianity? Your influence for Christ is propelled by sincere love. Love that is genuine, authentic, and without hypocrisy is the kind of love that makes your Christianity contagious. This kind of love originates with God and emanates from your life as you yield to His control. Choose to hate what God hates and love what God loves. Hate what is evil. Despise those things that break the heart of God. Fortify your life from poison of sin and the pollution of worldliness by hating evil and clinging to what is good. Consider those things that bring glory to God and cling to those things. Be discerning. Decipher the tactics of the enemy and embrace the way of the cross. Don’t give the devil a toehold which can become a foothold and ultimately become a stronghold in your life. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the schemes of the devil. Run from sin and run to Christ. Flee the impulses of immorality and pursue the purity of the Prince of Peace. Turn from the terrain of trespass and walk in the way of God’s Word. Allow the sincerity of God’s unconditional love permeate your life. Allow God’s love to illuminate your world and to influence the people He brings into your path. As you hate what is evil and cling to what is good, let the river of God’s love flow through you in order to bring hope and healing to a world in desperation. God loves you so much and desires that you be a channel of His love to a hurting world. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell