Devotion to God

E.M. Bounds, in his book On Prayer, writes that there is no substitute for a devotion to God for the founding of our character and conduct. While his comments specifically address pastors, Bounds words on where our loyalty lies hold true for all Christians: "Devotion to a church, to opinions, to an organization, to orthodoxy--these are paltry, misleading, and vain when they become the source of inspiration, the animus (attitude) of a call."

Bounds explains that God must be the "mainspring" of effort, "the fountain and crown" of toil.

He goes on to say, "The name and honor of Jesus Christ, the advance of his cause, must be all in all. The preacher (and we too) must have no inspiration but the name of Jesus Christ, no ambition but to have him glorified, no toil but for him." The only aim, Bounds writes, is to have God with us, and that is an ambition to cherish perpetually.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me." Philippians 1:20-22