“One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they set out.” Luke 8:22 (ESV) God will get you to the other side. His plan for you is personal. God designed you with His purpose in mind. You […]
Author: Stephen Trammell
“Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.’” Exodus 18:17-18 (ESV) Living in a fallen world has immediate and progressive challenges. Sinfulness and selfishness dominate […]
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Amplify the Voice of Truth
“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’” Luke 5:4 (ESV) Jesus had been teaching the crowd from Simon’s boat. The water’s surface propelled the teachings of Jesus with clarity to the hearers. Simon was in the boat with Jesus […]
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Gift of Life
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” 1 John 5:11-12 (ESV) Where do you go to find life? Are you waiting for life to come sometime in the future? Are you putting life off until you have paid off your car, paid off your home, or […]
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A True Delight
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 (ESV) A true delight is knowing God’s will and doing God’s will. A true delight is having the peace of God in the midst of life’s storms. A true delight is having the assurance of heaven and eternal life. John Piper […]
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV) Can you imagine life […]
“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:14 (ESV) Love is the fuel that ignites compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. As you experience God’s love personally, you will unleash His love freely. Loving others will be a byproduct of your personal encounter of God’s love for you. God […]
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With You Forever
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17 (ESV) Jesus had a vibrant prayer life and a vigilant […]
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) The Christian life has an exciting destination, but don’t minimize the value of the journey. You will experience a varying cadence through the seasons of your life […]
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Grace for the Race
“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” Galatians 2:21 (ESV) You need grace for the race called life. In Christ, we have experienced the mercy of God in that God did not give us what we deserved. We deserved separation, alienation, and punishment for our […]
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (ESV) You cannot live the Christian life. Keep […]
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Justified by Faith
“Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” […]
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Reverse the Curse
“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:18-19 (ESV) How would God reverse the […]
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:27-28 (ESV) In the Old Testament […]
“In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” Daniel 10:2-3 (ESV) The most common fast among believers is the partial fast. You choose to eliminate certain foods from your diet […]
“Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ‘Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, […]
“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.” Luke 4:1-2 (ESV) God has blessed us with an appetite for food. […]
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Fasting God’s Way
“‘But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’” Matthew 6:17-18 (ESV) Giving and praying are commanded in God’s Word. In the Old Testament, the Israelites […]
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Choose the Right Path
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12 (ESV) Decisions determine direction and direction determines destination. Life is filled with incremental decisions that place you on a particular path. You can be living in the center of God’s will and make one small […]
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Praying for Our Nation
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, […]
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Home Makeover
“‘For does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?’” 2 Samuel 23:5 (ESV) These were the last words of King David. His life was decorated with a […]
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Shaped by the Potter
“And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.” Jeremiah 18:4 (ESV) Whenever you purchase an item that has an “as is” tag on it, you accept the fact that it may be flawed. […]
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Keep Your Word
“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” Matthew 5:37 (ESV) Decide to live a life of integrity. My favorite description of integrity is when the tongue in your mouth lines up with the tongue in your shoe. Moses demonstrated integrity by refusing to succumb to the […]
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Portray Christ
“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 (ESV) In the language of the New Testament, the word perfect (Greek: telios) means nothing necessary for completion, finished, mature, complete, having reached the end. Upon conversion, you received the imputed righteousness of Christ. You were made fit for heaven. The righteousness […]
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Protect Your Castle
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” Matthew 5:31-32 (ESV) Jesus affirmed the value of marriage. […]
“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the […]
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Pray For Your Enemies
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:44-45 (ESV) Several […]
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Giving an Account
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV) What you do with Christ during your brief stay on planet earth will determine whether you spend eternity in […]
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Pain and Growth
“And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.” Genesis 32:24-25 (ESV) Have you ever wrestled with God? […]
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God’s Sovereignty
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:11-12 (ESV) Has your life ever become complicated […]