“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.“ Ecclesiastes 12:13 (ESV) Imagine enjoying a cup of coffee with one of the wisest men to ever live, Solomon. That’s right! You are sitting across from Solomon and you ask him to share with you what he has learned after experiencing life in a way that few would ever experience in a lifetime. Solomon pursued wealth, wisdom, and women. At the end of his life, he looks into the review mirror and captures what matters most. Let me share the first essential to doing life God’s way: Revere God. Solomon says to “fear God.” In the language of the Old Testament, to fear God means to revere God. It means to hold God in high esteem. We are to place the worth and value on God that He deserves. We are to reverence God for who He is and for what He has done. Revering God involves giving Him first place in your life. Your ambition is to honor God with your life. His agenda becomes the focus of your life. You revere God by aligning your heart with His heart. Revering God is demonstrated by loving what God loves, and by hating what God hates. In his book, Walking with God, John Eldredge writes, “I assume that an intimate, conversational walk with God is available, and is meant to be normal.” As you walk with God and revere Him, your love relationship with God will become intimate. Doing life God’s way always produces intimacy with God and brings Him pleasure. Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Category: Revering God
Categories
Demonstrating Your Devotion
“Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.” Proverbs 23:17 (ESV) The current of our culture is counter Christian. As you seek to live out your faith in a fallen world, you will quickly discover that walking in reverence to God and in full devotion to Jesus will place you in the minority. You may forfeit popularity in this sin-saturated culture, but you will not forfeit your position in Christ. You may not be affirmed by society for your faithfulness to God, but God will reward you because He is all knowing and takes care of His own. Don’t allow the prosperity of the wicked to distract you in this life. Don’t allow the visible affluence of the disobedient to diminish your passion for the things of God. Always be zealous for the Lord. Guard your heart and fortify your passion for God. Revere God as your Heavenly Father. Revere God as the One who created you, pursued you, rescued you, and empowers you for victorious living. Revere God for His holiness. Revere God for His nature and character. Demonstrate your devotion to God by your unwavering allegiance to His redemptive plan. What if you had less than thirty days to live? How would your loyalty be adjusted? Would your allegiance to God’s agenda expand? How differently would you channel your passion? Let’s live life for God with the intensity of our final days on the earth. God deserves our best! God deserves our reverence and our diligence! Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” Malachi 4:2 (NIV) Revering God is a mandate from heaven. We esteem God and revere Him by living life His way. Let’s examine a few steps to revering God. Step 1: Express your love to God in worship privately and publicly. “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (Matt. 6:9 NIV). Honor God’s Name as you commune with Him daily through your daily quiet time. Your private worship is a sacred time of expressing your love to God. Bring your private worship with you to the corporate experience of worship in your local church. Your public worship is a witness. Step 2: Maintain character and integrity. “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” (Jas. 1:27 NIV). Stay close and clean as you cling to God and His Word. Let the character of Christ be formed in you and be a person of integrity. Step 3: Align practically with who you are positionally. “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:12-13 NIV). You are chosen, redeemed, forgiven, included, and sealed. Now work out what God has worked in. Step 4: Hate what God hates and love what God loves. Read Proverbs 6:16-19 and uncover what God hates. Revere God by investing your life in hating what God hates and loving what God loves. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
The Real Zeal
“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.” Proverbs 23:17 (NIV) The current of our culture is counter Christian. As you seek to live out your faith in a fallen world, you will quickly discover that walking in reverence to God and in full devotion to Jesus will place you in the minority. You may forfeit popularity in this sin-saturated culture, but you will not forfeit your position in Christ. You may not be affirmed by society for your faithfulness to God, but God will reward you because He is all knowing and takes care of His own. Don’t allow the prosperity of the wicked to distract you in this life. Don’t allow the visible affluence of the disobedient to diminish your passion for the things of God. Always be zealous for the Lord. Guard your heart and fortify your passion for God. Revere God as your Heavenly Father. Revere God as the One who created you, pursued you, rescued you, and empowers you for victorious living. Revere God for His holiness. Revere God for His nature and character. Demonstrate your devotion to God by your unwavering allegiance to His redemptive plan. What if you had less than thirty days to live? How would your loyalty be adjusted? Would your allegiance to God’s agenda expand? How differently would you channel your passion? Let’s live life for God with the intensity of our final days on the earth. God deserves our best! God deserves our reverence and our diligence! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” Malachi 4:2 (NIV) Revering God is a mandate from heaven. We esteem God and revere Him by living life His way. Let’s examine a few steps to revering God. Step 1: Express your love to God in worship privately and publicly. “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (Matt. 6:9 NIV). Honor God’s Name as you commune with Him daily through your daily quiet time. Your private worship is a sacred time of expressing your love to God. Bring your private worship with you to the corporate experience of worship in your local church. Your public worship is a witness. Step 2: Maintain character and integrity. “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). Stay close and clean as you cling to God and His Word. Let the character of Christ be formed in you and be a person of integrity. Step 3: Align practically with who you are positionally. “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13 NIV). You are chosen, redeemed, forgiven, included, and sealed. Now work out what God has worked in. Step 4: Hate what God hates and love what God loves. Read Proverbs 6:16-19 and uncover what God hates. Revere God by investing your life in hating what God hates and loving what God loves. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
The Real Zeal
“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.” Prov 23:17 (NIV) The current of our culture is counter Christian. As you seek to live out your faith in a fallen world, you will quickly discover that walking in reverence to God and in full devotion to Jesus will place you in the minority. You may forfeit popularity in this sin-saturated culture, but you will not forfeit your position in Christ. You may not be affirmed by society for your faithfulness to God, but God will reward you because He is all knowing and takes care of His own. Don’t allow the prosperity of the wicked to distract you in this life. Don’t allow the visible affluence of the disobedient to diminish your passion for the things of God. Always be zealous for the Lord. Guard your heart and fortify your passion for God. Revere God as your Heavenly Father. Revere God as the One who created you, pursued you, rescued you, and empowers you for victorious living. Revere God for His holiness. Revere God for His nature and character. Demonstrate your devotion to God by your unwavering allegiance to His redemptive plan. What if you had less than thirty days to live? How would your loyalty be adjusted? Would your allegiance to God’s agenda expand? How differently would you channel your passion? Let’s live life for God with the intensity of our final days on the earth. God deserves our best! God deserves our reverence and our diligence! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Eccl 12:13 (NIV) Imagine enjoying a cup of coffee with one of the wisest men to ever live, Solomon. That’s right! You are sitting across from Solomon and you ask him to share with you what he has learned after experiencing life in a way that few would ever experience in a lifetime. Solomon pursued wealth, wisdom, and women. At the end of his life, he looks into the review mirror and captures what matters most. Let me share the first essential to doing life God’s way: Revere God. Solomon says to “fear God.” In the language of the Old Testament, to fear God means to revere God. It means to hold God in high esteem. We are to place the worth and value on God that He deserves. We are to reverence God for who He is and for what He has done. Revering God involves giving Him first place in your life. Your ambition is to honor God with your life. His agenda becomes the focus of your life. You revere God by aligning your heart with His heart. Revering God is demonstrated by loving what God loves, and by hating what God hates. In his book, Walking with God, John Eldredge writes, “I assume that an intimate, conversational walk with God is available, and is meant to be normal.” As you walk with God and revere Him, your love relationship with God will become intimate. Doing life God’s way always produces intimacy with God and brings Him pleasure. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Demonstrating Your Devotion
“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.” Prov 23:17 (NIV) The current of our culture is counter Christian. As you seek to live out your faith in a fallen world, you will quickly discover that walking in reverence to God and in full devotion to Jesus will place you in the minority. You may forfeit popularity in this sin-saturated culture, but you will not forfeit your position in Christ. You may not be affirmed by society for your faithfulness to God, but God will reward you because He is all knowing and takes care of His own. Don’t allow the prosperity of the wicked to distract you in this life. Don’t allow the visible affluence of the disobedient to diminish your passion for the things of God. Always be zealous for the Lord. Guard your heart and fortify your passion for God. Revere God as your Heavenly Father. Revere God as the One who created you, pursued you, rescued you, and empowers you for victorious living. Revere God for His holiness. Revere God for His nature and character. Demonstrate your devotion to God by your unwavering allegiance to His redemptive plan. What if you had less than thirty days to live? How would your loyalty be adjusted? Would your allegiance to God’s agenda expand? How differently would you channel your passion? Let’s live life for God with the intensity of our final days on the earth. God deserves our best! God deserves our reverence and our diligence! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell