Category: Priorities

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Commitment Marriage Priorities

Make Room for Marriage

“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Eph 5:33 (NIV) Being selfish requires no effort. Selfishness comes naturally to us. If we aren’t careful, we will operate our lives on the assumption that life revolves around us. Being self-centered and self-absorbed is the antithesis of marriage. In the marriage relationship, the husband and wife must release selfishness and embrace selflessness. The husband is to love his wife as he loves himself. The wife is to respect her husband. In his book, Love and Respect, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs identifies what he calls the Crazy Cycle: “When a husband feels disrespected, he has a natural tendency to react in ways that feel unloving to his wife. When a wife feels unloved, she has a natural tendency to react in ways that feel disrespectful to her husband.” Our culture is not marriage-friendly. The pace of life and the demands on our time can strain a marriage relationship. As a partner, you have to make room for marriage. You have to conscientiously and intentionally make room for the one you love. In order to have a healthy, vibrant, and growing marriage, you have to create space for the relationship. It takes time to nurture a meaningful relationship with your spouse. Busyness is the prominent enemy to intimacy. We divert our energy to parenting, to our career, to recreation, and to other things to the neglect of our marriage relationship. It is so easy to neglect the sacred union God calls us to with our spouse. We can give our best to others and give our spouse the crumbs. That’s a recipe for an unhealthy marriage. Remember, you will make room for what you value! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

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Intimacy with God Priesthood of the Believer Priorities

Start Your Day with God

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) If you have become a child of God through faith in Jesus alone, then you are a priest before God. Your new identity in Christ has given you direct access to God. You do not need to go through a human mediator. The priesthood of every believer is the reality for those adopted into God’s forever family. As a priest before God, start your day with God. Make it your daily spiritual discipline to start your day with the One who saved you. Do as Jesus did during His earthly ministry. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”(Mark 1:35 NIV). Carve out time to start your day with your Creator. No one knows you as intimately as God does. No one loves you as intensely as God does. You are His treasure. Start your day with God by feeding on His Word, communing with Him in prayer, and receiving His daily provision. Guard your daily intimacy with the Lord. You will have to strive to protect this most important daily spiritual discipline. Many other things will tug at your time, energy, and attention. What needs to change in your daily routine in order to start your day with God? Have you found a place to have your time alone with God without interruption? Prepare for this daily spiritual discipline. Develop a plan for reading through the Bible. Try to read at least one chapter from the Bible each morning. If you choose to read four chapters each day, you will read through the entire Bible in one year. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

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Discipline First Integrity Priorities

Priorities

“‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’” Matt 6:33 (NIV) What is competing for “first” in your life? What gets the majority of your time, energy, and attention? Maybe you feel like you have too many plates spinning and several wobbling. Maybe you are overwhelmed with the tugs on your life and you wonder how you are going to pull it all off before each deadline. Jesus understands the allurements and tugs of life. He had to say “no” to the wrong things so that He could say “yes” to the right things. Jesus had to say “no” to the good opportunities so that He could say “yes” to the best opportunities. Jesus had to guard His mornings so that He could have unbroken fellowship and communion with our Heavenly Father. Jesus had to strategically carve out time to simply rest and be away from the crowds and the demands on His life. There is only so much of you to allocate. You cannot please everyone and you cannot satisfy every request. Some of your spinning plates will have to crash. The wonderful news is that God’s Will can be accomplished within the 24 hours that He has given you each day. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 (NIV) “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:15-16 (NIV) Make room in your life for Jesus to occupy “first” place. Guard your daily intimacy with Him. Create margins in your life to foster balance. No one can do this for you. Only you can enthrone Jesus to the “first” position of prominence in your life. What adjustments do you need to make right now? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor (This devotional was originally posted in ’07 or ’08. I’m taking a break from writing for a season of personal renewal.) Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Devotion First Priorities

Your First Love

“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 (This devotional was originally posted in ’07 or ’08. I’m taking a break from writing for a season of personal renewal.) Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Abraham Obedience Priorities

Guarding Your Top Priority

“When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” Gen 22:9-10 (NIV) Is there anything in your life that takes priority over your relationship with Jesus? Are there any allurements sifting your affection away from your devotion to Christ? Do you have an Isaac in your life that you are unwilling to sacrifice? Abraham demonstrated absolute loyalty and devotion to God by his willingness to sacrifice his promised son. Abraham and Sarah were beyond child bearing years. Yet, God provided the miracle of Isaac’s conception. Now God is asking Abraham to sacrifice that which was promised to him. What is standing in the way of your realization of unbroken fellowship with God? What is taking the number one place of prominence in your life which is reserved for God? Whatever that item, ambition, or person is may be your Isaac. Could it be that God wants you to sacrifice that Isaac in your life to enable God to have top priority in your life? God wants first place in your daily walk. God wants to be the supreme object of your energy and affection. He not only deserves it, but He demands it. Spend a few moments taking inventory of your current priorities and identify what is preventing God from being your top priority. 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
Discipline First Integrity Priorities

First

“‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’” Matt 6:33 (NIV) What is competing for “first” in your life? What gets the majority of your time, energy, and attention? Maybe you feel like you have too many plates spinning and several wobbling. Maybe you are overwhelmed with the tugs on your life and you wonder how you are going to pull it all off before each deadline. Jesus understands the allurements and tugs of life. He had to say “no” to the wrong things so that He could say “yes” to the right things. Jesus had to say “no” to the good opportunities so that He could say “yes” to the best opportunities. Jesus had to guard His mornings so that He could have unbroken fellowship and communion with our Heavenly Father. Jesus had to strategically carve out time to simply rest and be away from the crowds and the demands on His life. There is only so much of you to allocate. You cannot please everyone and you cannot satisfy every request. Some of your spinning plates will have to crash. The wonderful news is that God’s Will can be accomplished within the 24 hours that He has given you each day. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 (NIV) “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:15-16 (NIV) Make room in your life for Jesus to occupy “first” place. Guard your daily intimacy with Him. Create margins in your life to foster balance. No one can do this for you. Only you can enthrone Jesus to the “first” position of prominence in your life. What adjustments do you need to make right now? 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

Categories
Ambition Order Priorities

Ambition

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” 1 Thess 4:11-12 (NIV) Where there is order there is fruitfulness. Strive earnestly to live a disciplined life. What does that look like? It looks like a life that is orderly and balanced. It is a life that is disciplined and focused. Allow these words to be absorbed in your spirit: order, balance, discipline, and focus. Lead a quiet life. Mind your own business. Work with your hands. Maximize your potential and do not be dependent on anybody. That is not to say that you don’t need others. You need others, but your dependency is not to be a result of laziness or passive neglect. What is the goal of a balanced life? Is it to produce personal happiness? Is it to minimize stress? Those are certainly by-products of a balanced life. However, the goal of a balanced life is to be an irresistible influence for Christ in our culture. Your life is to be lived in such a way as to win the respect of outsiders. Those who are outside of the family of God should be able to view your life and be drawn to Christ. Your life should be magnetic and convincing. Do you lack order, balance, discipline, and focus? Maybe you have too many plates spinning. Maybe it is time to simplify your life. Identify and remove the clutter from your life. Create some space. It may be the most spiritual thing you do this week.   Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
Priorities Time Management

Priorities

What will your schedule look like today? How will your time be allocated? Just as Dave Ramsey says, “Tell your money where to go!” You must also tell your time and energy where to go. You have 86,400 seconds to allocate within the next twenty four hours. Your priorities will determine how you invest your time and energy. If you value what God values then His priorities will be reflected in your schedule. For example, after Jesus rose from the dead and revealed Himself to the disciples He offered these words: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high”(Luke 24:49 NIV). If the disciples value what God values, then they are going to Jerusalem to await the coming of the promised Holy Spirit. Their number one priority is obeying God. Their priorities will be validated by their obedience to the command of Jesus. The good news is that 120 believers gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem and experienced ten days of anticipation and obedience. They were willing to value what God values. They were willing to allow God’s priorities to be their priorities. As a result, they cleared their schedule and allocated their time and energy to obey Jesus. What was the result? The day of Pentecost, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the salvation of 3,000 souls! Now let’s take a look at your life. What does your schedule say about your priorities? What do you value? Are you willing to make necessary adjustments to bring your life into alignment with what God values? Take the initiative! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care

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Priorities

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