“He said to them, ‘Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.’” Luke 13:23-24 (NIV) Can you visualize the front door to the home you grew up in? You can probably describe the color, texture, and specific features of that door. Access to your home was granted through that door. Jesus said that we must enter through the narrow door to gain access into eternal life and heaven. In order to access salvation, we are to strive to enter through the narrow door. The door to salvation is Jesus. “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” John 10:9 (NIV) “’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) You cannot work your way to heaven and you cannot get to heaven on your own. Even on your best day, your righteousness is not sufficient to gain salvation. There is no other way to get to heaven outside of the redemptive plan of God. God provided for the forgiveness of your sin through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. You access this salvation by placing your faith in Jesus alone. The gift of eternal life has been made available. Your response to God’s offer of salvation will determine where you spend eternity. Enter through the narrow door. The door is Jesus! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
Category: Heaven
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Cor 4:16-18 (NIV) Adversity is not terminal, but it produces eternal results. Our current adversity is achieving for us an eternal glory. One day we will receive our glorified body. We will be delivered from this fallen world. We have been justified by God’s grace. We are being transformed into the likeness of Christ and we will be glorified. The best is yet to come. Don’t give up! Don’t throw in the towel! “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed–in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” 1 Cor 15:51-53 (NIV) “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Rev 22:3-5 (NIV) Adversity will cease and God’s peace will reign. Our battle with sin, sorrow, and sickness will end. God’s glory will be revealed and we will reign with Him forever and ever! Are you ready for Heaven? Fix your eyes on Jesus! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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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
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Cor 5:10 (NIV) Everyone will live forever somewhere. What you do with Christ during your brief stay on planet earth will determine whether you spend eternity in heaven or hell. Your response to God’s offer of salvation is the deciding factor to your eternal destination. As Bruce Wilkinson says, “Your belief determines where you will spend eternity; your behavior determines how you will spend eternity.” “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” Romans 14:10 (NIV) “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:9-11 (NIV) Every human being will stand before God to give an account for his or her life. Every person will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Those who reject God’s offer of salvation while living on earth will still bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, but it will be eternally too late. Believers will go to the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive reward and heaven while unbelievers will go to the White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15) to receive punishment and hell. Live circumspectly! Live in full awareness of God’s holiness, purity, and justice! Take as many people with you to heaven as you possibly can in full surrender to the Spirit’s control. Make the most of every opportunity! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
“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 happen within the hour, are you ready? Are you rapture ready? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
“‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’” John 14:3 (NIV) There’s more to explore. God has so much more in store for you than what you have currently in view. There’s so much more on the other shore. God is growing you and grooming you in this life in preparation for the life to come. God’s nature is that of integrity. God keeps His word. He is the real Promise Keeper. As a follower of Christ, you will go to heaven either through the doorway of death or the reality of the rapture. You will either go to Jesus upon your death or Jesus will come to you via the rapture of the church. “Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Luke 23:43 (NIV) “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” 1 Thess 4:16-17 (NIV) You will experience the ultimate reunion with Christ and your believing loved ones who have gone before you. The ultimate trade-in will occur as you trade-in your current body for the glorified body that God has for you. There will be no more cancer, no more arthritis, no more heart disease, no more diabetes, no more multiple sclerosis, no more Alzheimer’s, no more macular degeneration, no more mosquitoes, and no more humidity. Are you ready for Jesus to come back? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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Heaven (3)
“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2 (NIV) Heaven is a place you can call home. When Jesus spoke these words of comfort to His disciples, He affirmed the reality of heaven and the specific rooms, mansions, or abodes in heaven. Jesus was not going to build what was already in heaven. Rather, Jesus was indicating that He was preparing a place for them and us in heaven by going to the cross to pay the penalty of their sin and our sin. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Heb 1:3 (NIV) “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Phil 3:20-21 (NIV) Jesus has prepared a place for you in heaven by becoming the atoning sacrifice for your sin. Jesus has purchased your salvation with His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. As a result, your citizenship is in heaven. You are an alien on this earth. God made you not for time, but for eternity. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose hope. Don’t get too enamored by this life on planet earth. You aren’t home yet. Heaven is your home! There’s no place like home… Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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Heaven (2)
“No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Josh 1:5 (NIV) God’s presence brings comfort. You will never go through anything that Jesus hasn’t already endured on your behalf. Jesus knows grief, suffering, rejection, humiliation, betrayal, loneliness, and death on a first name basis. Yet, Jesus reigns in victory. If you will allow Jesus to reign in your life, you will reign in victory. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Phil 1:21 (NIV) “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy–to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 1:24-25 (NIV) Joshua, Paul, and Jude can testify with clarity and confidence that God’s presence sustains you while you live the life God has given on this earth. While you wait for your glorified body and your glorious reunion with Jesus and your loved ones in heaven, God’s abiding presence enables you to endure the hard seasons of life. What’s troubling you today? Is there anything causing you to lose sleep or to agonize in the sea of worry? Has fear darkened your vision or diffused your passion? Surrender every fiber of your being to the Lord right now in prayer. Invite God to make His presence known in your life. I enjoy quoting aloud each day the following excerpt from Beth Moore’s book, Believing God: God is who He says He is God can do what He says He can do I am who God says I am I can do all things through Christ God’s Word is alive and active in me…I’m believing, I’m believing, I’m believing God! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
“‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me.’” John 14:1 (NIV) God designed you for eternity. Everybody will live somewhere forever. As Bruce Wilkinson says, “Your beliefs determine where you will spend eternity; your behavior determines how you will spend eternity.” When you choose to live the life God has given, you experience abundant life on earth and you enjoy the reality of eternal life in heaven. In this earthly existence, you live on a broken planet with the presence of sin. As a result, problems become part of the landscape of life. The disciples were troubled as Jesus revealed the reality of His imminent death. “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” John 13:1 (NIV) As you can imagine, the disciples were grieving. Jesus offered them words of comfort by exhorting them to trust in God. They could trust God’s timing and they could trust God’s plan. Jesus included the appeal for the disciples to trust in Himself. Jesus had faithfully walked with them and taught them. The disciples had come to know Jesus in close proximity. Now they would have to trust in Jesus as He submitted to death on the cross. Trust in God to do what He has promised. God keeps His word. God has provided the resolution for the problem of sin. Trust God to carry you through this life into the life to come. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
Your best life is not your life. Your best life is God’s life for you. Who created you? What is the purpose of your existence? Why are you where you are right now? God created you to fulfill His purposes and His plan. You are not an accident. You have been appointed by God to join Him in His redemptive activity. Every thought you have today matters. Every conversation you engage in today matters. Every interaction you initiate today matters. God has saved you by His grace, sealed you with His Holy Spirit, and set you apart to serve others for His glory. “‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’” Matt 7:13-14 (NIV) You could not dream of a better life than the one that God has for you on the narrow road. The same road that leads to eternal life leads to abundant life. God does not save you so that you can experience life once you get to heaven. God saves you so that you can have eternal security and abundant life now on the narrow road. Your best life is not your life. God’s life for you is truly your best life. There is not a better option. The best option is always God’s option. The best way is always God’s way. The best path is always God’s path. Are you living the life God has for you? If not, why not? What adjustments do you need to make in order to live the life God has for you? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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Something Great (3)
Do something great by keeping an eternal perspective. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Phil 1:21 (NIV) Imagine flying at an altitude of thirty-thousand feet and scanning the colorful blocks of land on the earth’s surface. There is something about the view that gives you such a unique perspective on life. You begin to realize how small you are and how big the earth is. How do you view your life? Are you just breathing oxygen and taking up space or are you living on purpose by keeping an eternal perspective. God’s story is both massive and eternal. His plan includes you. You are an integral part of God’s redemptive story. God saved you, filled you with His Spirit, and gifted you to fulfill His purposes in your lifetime. Paul embraced an eternal perspective. He never lost sight of his win-win situation. If he lived, Christ lived with him. If Paul died, then he would live with Christ. Paul allowed his eternal perspective to fuel his courage and boldness for the Lord. “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Phil 3:20-21 (NIV) Will you choose to live this year with eternity in mind? Remember, there’s more to this life than what you see. There is life beyond the grave! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care
Heaven is eternal life. Jesus has come to bring us abundant life on earth in the here and now. You don’t have to delay the reality of heaven on earth. Eternal life can be a present reality in your life. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV) Jesus has prepared your eternal habitation. You may or may not live in a mansion now, but in heaven, your mansion awaits. But heaven is more than a mansion; heaven is enjoying eternal fellowship with Jesus. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:3 (NIV) How can you get in on the Good News that God has provided in His son, Jesus? “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) Would you like to receive God’s forgiveness by trusting in Christ as your personal Savior and Lord? If you do not believe, you will not receive. God has done His part to provide eternal life to you. Now, it’s your turn respond by faith to God’s provision. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care