Category: Eternal life

The Greatest Possession

(Personal Note: Starting January 1, 2015, I will be transitioning from posting devotionals every day to posting devotional thoughts with you on a weekly basis that will continue to come to your inbox. My desire is to encourage you in your journey with God.) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (ESV) God created you for eternity. You have a birth date that you celebrate and calculate annually. You know exactly how long you have been breathing oxygen and you know the mountaintop and valley experiences of life by name. As you look into the rear view mirror of life, you can trace God’s hand and perhaps identify some specific spiritual markers. You are well acquainted with your life. However, your life is more than your past. Your life is more than your beginning. God has designed you for the greatest possession. Once you receive the gift of eternal life by faith alone through grace alone, you become the recipient of the greatest possession. Nothing you have can compare to having the assurance of heaven and eternal life. Being reconciled to God and living in harmony with God provides you with peace that surpasses understanding. Knowing where you will spend eternity alleviates fear and unleashes joy unspeakable and full of glory. Once you get a vision of living for eternity, your immediate challenges become opportunities for God to reveal His glory and to equip you to live in victory. Embracing a lifestyle of living with eternity in mind creates a life of expectancy and focus. Instead of wasting your life, you invest your life to make an eternal difference. You begin to place an accurate value on that which is temporal and you reorient your life around the reality of eternity. There is so much more that God has in store for you. As you allow the gift of eternal life to take full possession of you, think about what will be different in eternity because of your life fully yielded to the Lordship of Christ. Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Eternal life Hope Jesus

Ready to Live

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12 (ESV) Where do you go to find life? Are you waiting for life to come sometime in the future? Are you putting life off until you have paid off your car, paid off your home, or entered into retirement? What are you waiting for? Life is not around the corner. Life is found in one person. Life is a gift given by God. The life that is eternal is in God’s Son. If you have the Son you have life. If you do not have the Son you do not have life. Until you receive God’s gift of eternal life found in His Son, you will not know life. Until you are ready to die, you are not ready to live. Finding life involves preparing for death. When you accept the reality of your mortality and choose to accept God’s gift of eternal life, then you find life. Life is in God’s Son. Jesus is the answer. Jesus affirmed that He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). Do you know Him? Now that you know Jesus, you have the privilege and responsibility to make Jesus known. Just as you have found life, you can help others find life by sharing Jesus with them. If they have the Son they have life. If they do not have the Son they do not have life. Give them the opportunity to have life! Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Eternal life Heaven Jesus

The Only Way

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.‘” John 14:6 (ESV) There’s only one way. I have often heard people comment that we are all heading to the same place and that we are just taking different paths to get there. All paths do not lead to heaven. There is only one path to heaven. There is only one way to get to heaven. It’s not arrogant to say that Jesus is the only way. Actually, it is arrogant to say that there’s another way. Jesus is the only way. “‘And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’” Acts 4:12 (ESV) “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31 (ESV) On March 28, 1979, I embraced Jesus as the way and the truth and the life by confessing my sin and inviting Jesus to take over my life. I surrendered to His Lordship and have sought to become more like Jesus day by day. I have the assurance of heaven and eternal life, not because of who I am, but because of who He is. Long before I decided what to do with God, He decided what to do with me. What’s your decision? Have you had a life changing experience? Do you know for certain that if you were to die tonight that you would go to heaven? If the rapture were to take place within the hour, are you ready? Are you rapture ready? Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Eternal life Gift John 3:16

Greatest Possession

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV) God created you for eternity. You have a birth date that you celebrate and calculate annually. You know exactly how long you have been breathing oxygen and you know the mountaintop and valley experiences of life by name. As you look into the rear view mirror of life, you can trace God’s hand and perhaps identify some specific spiritual markers. You are well acquainted with your life. However, your life is more than your past. Your life is more than your beginning. God has designed you for the greatest possession. Once you receive the gift of eternal life by faith alone through grace alone, you become the recipient of the greatest possession. Nothing you have can compare to having the assurance of heaven and eternal life. Being reconciled to God and living in harmony with God provides you with peace that surpasses understanding. Knowing where you will spend eternity alleviates fear and unleashes joy unspeakable and full of glory. Once you get a vision of living for eternity, your immediate challenges become opportunities for God to reveal His glory and to equip you to live in victory. Embracing a lifestyle of living with eternity in mind creates a life of expectancy and focus. Instead of wasting your life, you invest your life to make an eternal difference. You begin to place an accurate value on that which is temporal and you reorient your life around the reality of eternity. There is so much more that God has in store for you. As you allow the gift of eternal life to take full possession of you, think about what will be different in eternity because of your life fully yielded to the Lordship of Christ. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Eternal life Eternal security Salvation

Greatest Exclusion

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28 (NIV) God loves you so much that He initiated a love relationship with you. Before you were formed in your mother’s womb, God knew you (Jer. 1:5). Long before you knew anything about God or His love, God chose to do something for you that no other person could ever accomplish. God provided you with the opportunity to leave the broad road leading to destruction so that you could enter through the narrow gate and travel the road that leads to life (Matt 7:13-14). You don’t have to perish. You don’t have to go to hell. You don’t have to live eternally separated from God. You can come into a personal intimate love with relationship with God through Christ. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9 NIV). Be the recipient of the greatest exclusion. Be excluded from hell by receiving the gift of eternal life. If you already benefited from the greatest exclusion, commit to bring others into that saving reality. If you have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and placed in the kingdom of light, then invest the rest of your life sharing the love of God and shining the light of Jesus. May multitudes experience the greatest exclusion because of the faithful witness of your life. Are you excluded from damnation? Have you been delivered from eternal punishment by placing your faith in Jesus alone for salvation? In Christ, you shall never perish and no one can snatch you out of His hand. In Christ, you are eternally secure and personally blessed with the gift of eternal life. Now share the gift you have received with others. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Eternal life Gift John 3:16

Greatest Possession

Eternal life Eternal security Salvation

Greatest Exclusion

Eternal life God's Nature John 3:16

The Greatest Possession

Eternal life Hope Jesus

Ready to Live

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV) Where do you go to find life? Are you waiting for life to come sometime in the future? Are you putting life off until you have paid off your car, paid off your home, or entered into retirement? What are you waiting for? Life is not around the corner. Life is found in one person. Life is a gift given by God. The life that is eternal is in God’s Son. If you have the Son you have life. If you do not have the Son you do not have life. Until you receive God’s gift of eternal life found in His Son, you will not know life. Until you are ready to die, you are not ready to live. Finding life involves preparing for death. When you accept the reality of your mortality and choose to accept God’s gift of eternal life, then you find life. Life is in God’s Son. Jesus is the answer. Jesus affirmed that He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). Do you know Him? Now that you know Jesus, you have the privilege and responsibility to make Jesus known. Just as you have found life, you can help others find life by sharing Jesus with them. If they have the Son they have life. If they do not have the Son they do not have life. Give them the opportunity to have life! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Eternal life Heaven Jesus

The Only Way

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6 (NIV) There’s only one way. I have often heard people comment that we are all heading to the same place and that we are just taking different paths to get there. All paths do not lead to heaven. There is only one path to heaven. There is only one way to get to heaven. It’s not arrogant to say that Jesus is the only way. Actually, it is arrogant to say that there’s another way. Jesus is the only way. “‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.’” Acts 4:12 (NIV) “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31 (NIV) On March 28, 1979, I embraced Jesus as the way and the truth and the life by confessing my sin and inviting Jesus to take over my life. I surrendered to His Lordship and have sought to become more like Jesus day by day. I have the assurance of heaven and eternal life, not because of who I am, but because of who He is. Long before I decided what to do with God, He decided what to do with me. What’s your decision? Have you had a life changing experience? Do you know for certain that if you were to die tonight that you would go to heaven? If the rapture were to take place within the hour, are you ready? Are you rapture ready? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Eternal life Jesus Prayer

Reaching Lost People

“For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:2-3 (NIV) Jesus values reaching lost people. As Jesus was praying in the Upper Room, the Disciples had the privilege of overhearing the sacred communication. Jesus identified the authority He had been given to give eternal life. Then Jesus defined eternal life as that of knowing God and knowing the One whom God had sent. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Lk 19:10). His mission was to bring salvation to fallen humanity. The entirety of Jesus’ life and ministry was centered upon reconciling the world to God. Jesus provided eternal life through His atoning work on the cross. “‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.’” John 3:36 (NIV) “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV) Do you place the same value on reaching lost people that Jesus did in His earthly ministry? If His life was focused upon bringing people into the kingdom of light, shouldn’t that be our mission? Decide to view people through the eyes of Jesus. He established our value and their value on the cross. The price Jesus paid for the penalty and removal of our sins is far too much to calculate. If you ever wonder how much Jesus values reaching lost people, just look to the cross. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Eternal life God's Will Heaven Salvation

God’s Will (5)

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) God’s will is that you be saved. The heart of God is for world redemption. The ultimate price has been paid for world redemption to be made possible. That price was paid by the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus paid the debt we could not pay to purchase the salvation we could not earn. Universalism teaches that all will be saved. However, the Bible is clear that only those who confess Jesus as Lord will be saved. Only those who have been born again will enter the kingdom of heaven. Without receiving the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, a person is without hope and without heaven. This would be an ideal time to take spiritual inventory of your own life and solidify your own salvation. It is God’s will that you be saved. Have you received God’s gift of eternal life? “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NIV) “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”Romans 10:9-10 (NIV) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph 2:8-9 (NIV) God saves you to secure you for eternity in heaven and to empower you to shine His light and to share His love with the lost and dying world that He has placed you in. You are rescued by God so that you can join God is His world redemption activity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor