Category: Devotion

Categories
Concentration Devotion Discipline Focus New Life

First Love (3)

“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Rev 2:5 (NIV) Jesus exposed the true spiritual condition of the church in Ephesus. He graciously gave them the opportunity to repent and return to their first love. Their gospel influence was at stake. The kingdom impact they could make for the Lord in Ephesus was limited to their level of devotion in their love relationship with Christ. God is not a God of disorder (I Cor. 14:33). God has establish priorities for your life. Your top priority is your love relationship with Jesus. If your devotion to the Lord has become diluted, then repent and return. Change your mind about your current reality and your changed behavior will follow. Repent of those things that are causing you to drift in your love relationship with Jesus and return to your first love. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matt 6:33 (NIV) “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Phil 3:12 (NIV) Your influence in this generation is directly linked to your love relationship with Jesus. Is He number one in your life? Is Jesus the object of your devotion and affection? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
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

Categories
Choices Day by Day Decisions Devotion Discipleship

Life on the Narrow Road (2)

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Col 2:6-7 (NIV) Continue to live in Christ. Your daily decisions determine what you become. If you want to become a fully devoted follower of Christ, then you must make daily decisions that will produce that reality. If you want to be physically fit, then you must make daily decisions that will produce that reality. “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” I Tim 4:8 (NIV) “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” Matt 16:24 (NIV) A decision to follow Jesus daily as Lord requires discipline and devotion. Becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ demands a daily death, a daily denial, and a daily determination. The daily decision to continue in the life of full surrender to Jesus reaps immediate and eternal benefits. Your passion should be to be conformed to the image of Christ. Whatever is in your life that does not reflect Christ has no right occupying space in your life. Your daily decisions include deciding what you are going to give your allegiance to and what you are not going to give your allegiance to. Deciding to continue to live in Christ means to give Him first place in your life. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
Devotion First Priorities

First

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” Rev 2:4 (NIV) When I was a teenager, I raced motocross. One afternoon I was on a track with my brother and some friends practicing in the heat of the day. At this point, I was in the lead and throttling through a sandy turn when my dirt bike slide out from under me at a high speed which slammed my body to the ground. The pain was so immense and the heat was so intense that I began to see stars. I was nauseated and just knew that I had broken my wrist. My brother came to my rescue and said, “Come on man! Ride it out! Let’s keep riding!”  After my visit to the emergency room and a cast secured to my right arm, I proudly walked up to my brother and confirmed my suspicion that my wrist was broken. The X-ray enabled the physician to see what we could not see. The X-ray provided information that was not attainable from an external view of my arm. Jesus has the unique ability to X-ray the church and to X-ray our heart. Jesus detects the internal workings. Jesus weighs motives and our current reality. Jesus knows the reality of our priorities. “Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Rev 2:5 (NIV) Remember, repent, and return. Remember the former intensity of your love relationship with Jesus. Repent of those things that have caused you to drift from your first love. Turn away from those things that have robbed you of your devotion to the Lord. Return to daily surrender and full devotion to Jesus as your first love. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor