“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) Travel down memory lane with me for a moment. Think about your Christmas experiences as a child. What do you remember as the most meaningful gift you received? Can you still feel the excitement of the anticipation of the gift? That experience is locked in your memory because it was special to you. The ultimate gift in this life is the gift of eternal life. There is no greater gift and there is no greater demonstration of God’s love. The moment you recognized your sin and accepted God’s provision for your forgiveness through your faith in Jesus, you received the ultimate gift. Let me ask you a question. Do you know that God is for you? “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5:8 (NIV) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 6:23 (NIV) Consider the individuals currently in your sphere of influence. Have they received the ultimate gift? Have you shared your salvation story with them? Are you willing to be used of God to make Jesus known to those God places in your path? God still uses human instrumentality in the redemptive process. Once you have received the ultimate gift, you can share that gift with others. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Category: Gift
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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
“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) Travel down memory lane with me for a moment. Think about your Christmas experiences as a child. What do you remember as the most meaningful gift you received? Can you still feel the excitement of the anticipation of the gift? That experience is locked in your memory because it was special to you. The ultimate gift in this life is the gift of eternal life. There is no greater gift and there is no greater demonstration of God’s love. The moment you recognized your sin and accepted God’s provision for your forgiveness through your faith in Jesus, you received the ultimate gift. Let me ask you a question. Do you know that God is for you? “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIV) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NIV) Consider the individuals currently in your sphere of influence. Have they received the ultimate gift? Have you shared your salvation story with them? Are you willing to be used of God to make Jesus known to those God places in your path? God still uses human instrumentality in the redemptive process. Once you have received the ultimate gift, you can share that gift with others. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
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
How much of your salvation depends on God and how much depends on you? If you say that it all depends on God, then what role do you play in the salvific process? If you say that it all depends on you, then what role does God fulfill? The danger is to think that you did all you could do and then God did the rest. See if you can detect the clarity of what you bring to the salvation package in this verse. “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) Let’s focus on the phrase, “and this not from yourselves.” We have been saved by grace through faith. Where did that come from? Who made that possible? God! Salvation was not our idea. It was and is God’s idea. God’s redemptive activity is His loving response to fallen humanity. God initiates and we respond. Salvation originates with God. God thought it, Jesus bought it, and the Holy Spirit wrought it. “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” 2 Thess 2:13 (NIV) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care