Author: Stephen Trammell

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Abiding in Christ Connected Fruitfulness

Staying Connected

“‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’” John 15:5 (NIV) God will never ask you to do anything without equipping you to do it. God has an assignment for you to complete during your time on this blue and green planet called earth. God’s assignment requires His empowerment. You cannot fulfill God’s agenda without God provision. God’s assignment for your life flows out of your abiding relationship with Christ. God’s command is not for you to bear fruit, but rather to focus your energy on abiding in Christ. Your fruitfulness will be proportionate to your level of intimacy with Christ. Don’t bypass your love relationship with Christ in order to seek to bear fruit. Your passion is not to be channeled in the area of bearing fruit. As you stay connected to Christ and allow His energy, His strength, and His life to flow through you, you will bear much fruit. Because He is the vine, you are fruitful. Jesus is the source! Stay connected to Him. Guard your love relationship with Him. Protect your daily walk with Christ. Don’t allow anything or anyone to rob your relationship with Him. Ensure that your abiding relationship with Christ gets your best and not your leftovers. Don’t give Jesus your crumbs. He deserves your passionate pursuit. Are you connected? Are you abiding? You are the branch. Remain in Him and He will bear His fruit through you. Focus on abiding! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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I am sayings Life Resurrection and Life

Resurrection and Life

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” John 11:25-26 (NIV) You are born, you live, you die, and then you go to heaven or hell. There’s more to this life than the here and now. There’s more to this life than what is visible. In light of eternity, life on planet earth is brief. Yet, there is life on the other side of the grave. Everyone will face God and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. Those who make that confession before death will go to heaven. Those who fail to make that declaration before death will face God, confess that Jesus is Lord, and then spend eternity separated from God in the literal place called hell. There’s hope! Because Jesus is the resurrection and the life, you are invited to spend eternity in heaven. You are invited to respond to God’s offer of salvation by placing your faith in the redemptive act of Jesus dying on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin. You are invited to receive the gift of eternal life. “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) Receive the gift of eternal life and then spend your remaining days upon the earth inviting others to receive the gift of eternal life before it is too late. How many people will be in heaven because of you? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Display

On Display

  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

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Generosity Serving Stewardship

Rich in Good Deeds

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” 1 Tim 6:18 (NIV) Jesus is our model to follow. Teaching, preaching, casting out demons, praying, and extending personal touch ministry marked Jesus’ life on earth. He was never in a hurry and never late. Jesus maintained a balanced life centered on doing God’s will. Loving God and loving others was the central focus of His life. Jesus came to our planet to reconcile us to God. He willingly gave His life as the sinless sacrifice for our redemption (Col. 1:20). Jesus lived, died, was buried, rose on the third day, and forty days later ascended to heaven. Sitting at the right hand of the Father, Jesus intercedes on our behalf (Rm. 8:34). Your purpose in this life is to continue the ministry of Jesus. You have been saved by grace alone through faith alone to join God in His redemptive activity. God has entrusted every moment of your day to you for careful stewardship. What are you doing with the time God gives you? How are you responding to the opportunities God places before you to continue the ministry of Jesus? Be rich in good deeds. Invest your life by adding value to others. Serve others from a heart of purity seasoned by daily intimacy with Christ. If you are going to continue the ministry of Jesus, then you must operate in His power. Adding value to others will require spiritual nourishment and spiritual energy. Maintain a living connection with Christ through feeding on God’s Word and seeking His face daily. To do what Jesus did mandates that you nurture your love relationship with God. The outflow of your living connection with Christ will be doing good, being generous, and willing to share. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Forgiveness Hate Love

Loving God’s Way

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” 1 John 4:20 (NIV) Is it possible to love God and hate your brother? Can you have the love of God residing in you and at the same time have hatred toward others festering in your spirit? The duplicity seems to be incongruent to the life of love that God calls us to and that Jesus exemplified on the earth. Turn inward for a moment and examine your own current reality. Is there anyone you are fertilizing hatred toward? Do you have someone in your life to whom your love has extinguished and your hatred has ignited? Doing life in a fallen world is inundated with landmines of hatred. You will not lack opportunities to be wounded by hurtful words and by harmful people. People will let you down. You cannot love God and hate others at the same time without your relationship with God being affected. God’s love in you demands expression. When you choose to hate the people God created and the people Jesus died for, you restrict God’s love within you. God wants you to hate what He hates and love what He loves. God passionately hates sin, but passionately loves the sinner. Who is your brother? Who is your sister? How would God define your level of love? You will notice daily tests that reveal the authenticity of your love for others. Do you love God? Do you love others? Loving God and loving people is the entirety of the Bible for present day expression. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Enlightenment

Enlightened Hearts

  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

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Discipline Godliness

Training Yourself to be Godly

“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Tim 4:7-8 (NIV) Godliness involves a lifestyle oriented around living to please God. The believer’s life is marked by godliness when the constant pursuit is that of maintaining a vital relationship with God through Christ. Becoming godly includes a disciplined life centered on fulfilling God’s agenda and practicing God’s presence. Training yourself to be godly requires an awareness of the claims of Christ on your life. You do not drift into godliness. Godliness is the byproduct of the intentional daily surrender to the Lordship of Christ. “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Tim 6:6 (NIV) “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” 1 Tim 6:11 (NIV) What are you pursuing? You will become what you are becoming right now. Take care of your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Don’t neglect your health. Eat properly, exercise consistently, and rest completely. Physical training is of some value. However, choose to nurture your inner life. Nourish your soul through a vibrant, healthy, and growing relationship with Christ. Maintain a living connection to Christ and allow Him to live His life through you (Gal. 2:20). Godliness impacts eternity. Your life in Christ continues beyond the grave. You will trade-in your physical body for the glorified body God has for you. Your love relationship with Jesus continues for eternity. Pursue godliness by loving what God loves, hating what God hates, and valuing what God values. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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God's Splendor Grace Workmanship

Displaying God’s Splendor

“Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.” Isaiah 60:21 (NIV) Salvation is a gift, not a reward. You cannot perform enough good works to earn salvation. You receive the gift of eternal life by the grace of God through faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross. If salvation is a gift, how do good works add value? He graciously gave His best, Jesus, to pay the sin debt you owed. It is a gift. If you try to pay for the gift one has given, then you cheapen the gift. What can you add to the finished work of Jesus on the cross? His atoning work is complete. You were uniquely designed by God and for God. You are His masterpiece, His treasure, and the apple of His eye. You are His workmanship. He formed you and fashioned you for His glory. You are not an accident! You are here on purpose! “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph 2:10 (NIV) You cannot add to the salvation that God provided to you by His grace alone through faith alone. However, as His workmanship, you are created to do good works. You don’t work for salvation; you work as a result of the salvation gift you have received. Good works are a result of a grateful heart. Gratitude for what God has initiated and what our faith has activated results in good works. Are you willing to display God’s splendor today? You are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works! Who will benefit from your life today? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Boldness Faith Obedience

Faith in the Fire

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’” Dan 3:16-18 (NIV) Has your faith ever been tested? Have you ever been in an environment that provided you with an opportunity to make a bold stand for the Lord? Maybe your home is a place where your faith is put to the test. Maybe your work environment has been a difficult place for you to express your faith. Swimming upstream is always a challenge. Whenever you decide to go in the opposite direction of the cultural current, you will face resistance and opposition. In the midst of impending death if they chose not to abide by the king’s command, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego where willing to obey God at all costs. Instead of bowing to the golden image erected by king Nebuchadnezzar, they chose to honor God even if it meant death. They demonstrated their belief in God’s ability to save them from the blazing furnace. They went a step further by declaring that even if God did not deliver them that they would not worship the image of gold. Do you have that kind of “but even if God does not” faith? Are you willing to obey God in the face of opposition and in the face of being misunderstood by your family or peers? Even if God does not deliver you from your difficult circumstances, are you willing to obey Him and honor Him? The good news is that God delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They did not bow, they did not bend, they did not budge, and they did not burn! God brought them through the blazing furnace. God allowed them to go through the fire unharmed. Now that’s a life changing experience! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Availability Isaiah Obedience

Available for God’s Use

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’  And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” Isaiah 6:8 (NIV) Isaiah had a life changing experience. He looked up and saw the Lord in all of His holiness. Isaiah looked inward and recognized his own sinfulness in light of God’s holiness. Isaiah then looked outward and detected the sinful condition of others. In this life changing experience, Isaiah heard God’s call and responded with instant obedience. Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me!” Will you make an impact upon every generation? Are you willing to allow God to call you to a new level of living? God’s grace always matches His assignment for your life. Where God  guides He always provides. There is never a better moment than now to obey God instantly and make yourself totally available for His use. God can do more in you and through you in the next six months than all the previous years of your life combined. God values the work He does in you more than the work He does through you. Before God used Isaiah to make an eternal impact, God had to do an internal work in Isaiah’s life. The internal work always impacts the external and the eternal work. Don’t bypass what God wants to do in you. Isaiah came face to  face with the holiness of God in worship. Isaiah’s worship led to a personal assessment of  his own morality and then the morality of those around him. After God did this great work in Isaiah, He invited Isaiah to join His world redemptive activity. You have a chance to make an eternal impact. Are you available? Look upward! Look inward! Look outward! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Burning Bush Moses Preparation

Preparation for Your Next Assignment

“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’” Ex 3:11 (NIV) Who am I? Why am I here? These two basic questions are innate in every human being. We long to know who we are and we strive to discover why we are placed on the earth. Our security is proportionate to our understanding of our identity. God allowed Moses to experience forty years in the palace and then forty years in the desert. God wanted Moses to learn some things about his personal identity through a desert experience that he could not learn in the palace. God was preparing Moses to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The burning bush encounter was a life changing experience for Moses. The encounter enabled Moses to come to know God in a personal way. God revealed His holiness to Moses and then unveiled His plan for Moses to embrace. As you can imagine, Moses could not visualize himself as the deliverer of the children of Israel. They had been slaves for over 400 years. Moses began making excuses and tried to deny his usefulness to God. Moses began to focus on what he lacked and missed the reality of God’s ability to do the extraordinary through ordinary people. Have you ever doubted your usefulness to God? Have you ever tried to convince God that you are not fit for His plan? God is not impressed with our abilities or our inabilities. God is not limited by our limitations. Are you willing to yield to God’s control and allow Him to have His way in your life? God is willing to take you through a desert experience to prepare you for His assignment. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Forgiveness Joseph Sovereignty

Sovereignty of God

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Gen 50:20 (NIV) The sixty-six books of the Bible provide us with a string of pearls demonstrating God’s redemptive activity. Long before we were born, God took the initiative to rescue us from our fallen condition. God factors in our poor choices and even the decisions others make that affect our lives. How refreshing to know that God has the final say. Your past, present, and future circumstances will never circumvent the mighty acts of God. Joseph had a life changing experience through the gateway of betrayal. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery and tried to cover up their sin through deception. God elevated Joseph to Potipher’s house where he was later falsely accused by Potipher’s wife. Joseph went from the pit to the palace and then to prison. His life’s circumstances appeared to be most unfortunate. Yet, God knew right where Joseph was and what Joseph needed most. God was with Joseph and delivered him from prison and promoted him to second in command over Egypt in preparation for the upcoming famine. When Joseph’s path intersected that of his brothers, he demonstrated the life giving grace of God. Instead of having his brothers pay for their sin, Joseph forgave them and acknowledged God’s sovereignty. Have you had the ultimate life changing experience by placing your faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross? Are you living out the reality of God’s transforming power? Have you experienced God’s forgiveness at the level of being able to forgive others in the same measure? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Bodily Resurrection End Times Rapture

Coming Back for You

“‘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) 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. If you live, Christ lives with you. If you die, you live with Christ. As a believer, it is a win-win! 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. Jesus has prepared a place for you. There isn’t a place on earth to compare to the glorious mansion Jesus has built for you in Heaven. Jesus has also provided the way for you to get to Heaven. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Are you ready for Jesus to come back? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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End Times Rapture Readiness

Rapture Ready?

“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) If you are a child of God, then there is no need to fear death. You will either experience the Rapture or the resurrection. If you are still alive when Jesus comes for His Bride, you will be raptured. You will be snatched up from your earthly existence. However, if you die before the Rapture occurs, you will not experience the sting of death (I Cor. 15:55). To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6-8). The moment you take your last breath on earth, you are ushered instantaneously into the Presence of the Lord. Are you Rapture ready? Have you solidified your spiritual status? Do you have the assurance of salvation? The Bible is clear that you can know that you have eternal life. “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV) “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13 (NIV) Revisit the day of your salvation. Spend some time tracing the spiritual markers in your life. Thank God for His assurance of your salvation. Now that you are Rapture ready, invest your life in making a Kingdom impact for the glory of God. Make your life count for eternity! Pursuing God Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Ambassador Imputed Righteousness Reconciliation

Express the Message

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor 5:20-21 (NIV) Express the message; you became the righteousness of God. God took the initiative to do for you what you could not do for yourself. God built the bridge you could not build. He established the only way for you to come into a vibrant love relationship with Him. How did God make this eternal relationship possible? God made Jesus to be sin for you so that you could become righteous like Him. At the moment of your salvation, you received the imputed righteousness of Christ. God justified you through your faith in Christ. As a result of the divine transaction, your identity has shifted from that of a lost person to that of a saved person. You are now in Christ and reconciled to God. In Christ, you have been called and commissioned to share the most important message on the planet. You have been armed with the cure for the cancer of sin. The message of reconciliation that brought you into a growing relationship with Jesus is the same message you are to share with others. You are an ambassador for Christ. God has saved you and filled you with the Holy Spirit to enable you to continue the ministry of Jesus on the earth. Express the message of reconciliation. Just as you have become the righteousness of God in Christ, you can share the message of reconciliation with others. Will you allow God to use you as an ambassador for Christ? Will you continue the ministry of Jesus on this broken planet full of broken people? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Memorial Day Ministry Reconciliation

Extend the Ministry

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Cor 5:18-19 (NIV) Extend the ministry; you are reconciled to reconcile. The freedom we enjoy in America comes at a great price. Thousands of men and women have given their lives in service to our country to preserve our freedom. We are blessed to worship God corporately without fear of invasion. Thank God for our fallen warriors and their families. Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for our reconciliation. Jesus died to provide for the forgiveness of our sins and to remove the barrier separating us from Holy God. Jesus was obedient to death on the cross to satisfy the righteous requirements of God (Phil. 2:8). As the sinless sacrifice, Jesus provided to us heaven and eternal life. Now that you have been reconciled to God, extend the ministry of reconciliation to those disconnected from Christ. You are reconciled in order to reconcile. You have been given this life-changing ministry from God. God has empowered you to be a minister of reconciliation. Build intentional relationships with those who are disconnected from Christ. Join God in reconciling the world to Him. Your reconciliation qualifies you to partner with God in reconciling others through Christ. Extend the ministry as God gives you opportunities this week to bring others into a saving relationship with Jesus. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Miracle New Creation

Exhibit the Miracle

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Cor 5:17 (NIV) Exhibit the miracle; you are a new creation. In Christ, you are a new creation. The light of God’s love has illuminated your life and transformed your forever. You are no longer bound by the past. You are no longer a prisoner of sin. You have been purchased with the shed blood of Jesus. God has placed you in the display window of life to present to others the grace He has lavished on you. You are a living exhibit of the grace of God. You were shown mercy in order that Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience in you as an example to others (1 Tim. 1:15-16). Portray the grace you have received. Encourage others in their journey by displaying the new creation God has redeemed you to be. The new has come. In Christ, you have been re-created to bear His image and to bring forth His message of salvation. God has chosen you to exhibit the miracle you are in Christ. Don’t hide the grace God has extended you. Don’t conceal the mercy you have received. Continue to grow in your love relationship with Christ and choose to glow in this dark world. Allow the light of God’s love to radiate through the brokenness in your life. Portray the love of God by treating others the way God has graciously treated you. You are a living miracle of the gracious work of God. He has pursued you with His unfailing love and rescued you from eternal damnation. God has made you a new creation. Exhibit the miracle you are in Christ. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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End Times Patience Salvation

God’s Patience

“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) Have you ever lost your patience? Waiting in a fast food line for an extended period of time has a way of testing your capacity to embrace patience. In our instant gratification saturated society, we just don’t wait well. Our lifestyles have been conditioned through advancing technology to expect everything to come to fruition in a matter of seconds. Aren’t you thankful that God is patient with us? God has graciously given us time to respond to His salvation love gift. God has been patient with us in the process of our spiritual development. In the midst of our sins of omission and sins of commission, God patiently conforms us into the image of Christ. God forgives us of our sins and cleanses us of our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). God’s patience means salvation! The heart of God is for everyone to come into a vibrant love relationship with Him through Christ. God does not want anyone to spend eternity in hell. God wants everyone to come to repentance. Yet, God has given us the freedom to choose Him or to reject Him. God did not create us to be robotic, but rather to be relational. Will some perish and experience eternal separation from God? Yes! Those who fail to confess Jesus as Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead will spend eternity in hell (Rom. 10:9-10). God has provided the way for those who believe in Jesus to not perish (John 3:16). Everlasting life has been made available by God’s grace alone through faith in Christ alone. Have you come to repentance? Will you invest the rest of your life helping others come into a growing relationship with Jesus? Remember to be patient with others just as God has been patient with you. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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End Times God's Perspective

God’s Perspective

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” 2 Peter 3:8 (NIV) Perspective is everything. When you view life from your own perspective, the view can be incomplete. In our humanity, we may only view ten yards at a time on the football field. God sees the entire field of our lives. God is not limited by time or space. God is eternal. God was never born and God will never die. God is not decaying nor growing old. God is immutable in that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). In other words, God is. God is omnipresent. There is nowhere God is not. God is omniscient. There is nothing God does not know. Nothing ever occurs to God. Nothing catches God by surprise. Nothing happens without God’s permission. God is sovereign. He rules and He reigns. From our human perspective, a thousands years is a long time. For us, it is more than twelve times our life expectancy. God views a thousand years like a day. From God’s perspective, a day is like a thousand years. God does not operate in the confines of our human perspective. God is not limited by our finite comprehension of His eternal nature. Choose to live your life in light of eternity. Realize that there is more to this life than what you see. There is life beyond the grave. Every moment counts. Therefore, make every moment of your life count. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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End Times Grace Judgment

Leading Others to the Ark

“By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:6-7 (NIV) Sin infected the earth God created. In Noah’s day, man’s wickedness had become great (Gen. 6:5). In His holiness and righteousness, God judged sin by destroying life on earth. “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark–you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.” Gen 6:17-19 (NIV) God will not tolerate sin. Rebellion against God will not go unnoticed. God is omniscient, which means that He is all knowing. Nothing escapes the scope of God’s view. God judges sin. Just as God’s wrath was unleashed in Noah’s day with water, God’s wrath will be released to destroy the heavens and earth by fire. This day of judgment will bring about the destruction of ungodly men. God demonstrated His mercy and grace in Noah’s day by providing the ark of safety for Noah and his family. Noah was righteous in God’s eyes and he was rewarded for his obedience. In the same way, God wants us to live a life of instant obedience. God has lavished us with His love and provided for our salvation. The ark of safety became our reality through the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Knowing of the future destruction by fire, are you motivated to share God’s rescue plan with those who are disconnected from Christ? Are you willing to lead them to the ark of God’s salvation found in God’s grace alone through faith alone? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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End Times Purity

Being Right with God

“First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.” 2 Peter 3:3 (NIV) We are living in the last days. Don’t be surprised by the turbulence of the times. Those who laugh at the things of God and dismiss the activity of God will continue to increase in number. Scoffers will litter the landscape of this life as we get closer to the coming of Christ. Wickedness will increase and love will deteriorate (Mt. 24:12). The fleshly desires of the unsaved will be fertilized and fed. Understand your current reality. Where do you fit in the flow of end time events? Are you on the winning team? Have you received God’s offer of salvation in Jesus and turned your life over to Him? If you are in Christ, you are secure for eternity. However, you must be cognizant of the features of the end times. Sin will parade the property on this fallen planet. The scoffers will obey the cravings of their sin nature. Their behavior will reflect their disregard for plan of God. Be alert to the presence of sin. Be mindful of the pervasiveness of sinful conduct. Satan realizes that his time is short, so he will spare no time to unleash his assault. As the deceiver, the enemy specializes in convincing scoffers to unleash their personal rebellion against God and God’s family. If there were ever a time to get right with God, the time is now! Crucify your flesh and seek to please God with your life and your lips. Make sure that the tongue in your mouth lines up with the tongue in your shoe. Live with integrity as you surrender to the full control of the Holy Spirit in your life. Confess sin. Live above reproach. Stay close and clean. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Beliefs End Times Revelation

Embracing Wholesome Thinking

“Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.” 2 Peter 3:1-2 (NIV) The Bible was written over a period of 1,400 years by forty human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament is made up of thirty-nine books and the New Testament is made up of twenty-seven books. The sixty-six books are God’s revelation to us. God has revealed Himself to us through His Word so that we can know His plan and experience His love. The common thread throughout the Bible is God’s redemptive love. God pursues us with His everlasting love. In Christ, we are reconciled to God. In his second letter, Peter writes to remind his readers of the revelation they have received from God through the holy prophets and through the apostles. The message of Christ has been conveyed. Peter reminds them in order to produce unmixed and uncontaminated thinking. In Christ, right thinking produces right behavior. Wholesome thinking involves knowing God’s will and obeying God’s will. To be unmixed in your thinking is to operate your life in alignment with God’s purpose and plan. God reveals His truth so that you can live out His truth. God’s reveals His agenda so that you can fulfill His agenda. Recall what you have learned. Recite the Bible verses you have memorized. Apply God’s truth in your daily decisions. Prepare for the future by obeying God’s Word today. Are you obeying what God has already revealed to you? Are you walking in the light God has provided? Is your thinking pure, unmixed, and uncontaminated? Where there is purity there is clarity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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God's Timing Sovereignty Trust

Trust God’s Timing

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:4-6 (NIV) God is working. His purpose and plan will be accomplished. Satan cannot thwart God’s will. Even when you experience doubts, delays, and distractions, God is still fulfilling His agenda. God is sovereign. He rules and He reigns. God factors in our sin. God factors in the reality of demonic opposition. God is not surprised by our surprises. God’s master plan includes you. It is God’s will for you to be saved, to grow spiritually, and to join Him in His redemptive activity. Jesus took on the full wrath of God for your sin so that you could be set free to have a vibrant love relationship with God in Christ. You were filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment of your conversion so that you could continue the ministry of Jesus on this broken planet. God will complete the good work He began in you. What God starts, He always finishes! God is not through with you. You are still in the process of becoming who God has made you to be. God is molding you and shaping you into the man or woman of God He created you to be. Will you allow God to continue His work in you so that He can accomplish His work through you? Are you willing to trust God’s timing? God knows where He wants you. God knows what the finished product of His character development in you looks like. God’s timing is perfect. Entrust your life to His care. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Moses Worship

The Object of Your Affection

“And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’” Exodus 3:12 (NIV) How’s your worship? Is God the object of your affection and the recipient of your relentless pursuit? God wants you to worship Him and no other. God wants you to display your love and affection for Him both in private worship and in public worship. Moses encountered God at the burning bush. This divine appointment was a life-changing experience for Moses. God provided Moses with the blessing of an Egyptian upbringing and now God is teaching Moses some things in the desert that he couldn’t learn in the palace. God reveals Himself to Moses. Moses comes to know God in His holiness and righteousness. God instructs Moses to deliver the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and to bring them to the mountain to worship God corporately. God demands our worship. God deserves our worship. Spend some time in private worshiping God for who He is. Express your love to God by praising Him. Make a commitment to take your private worship to church. Join other believers in public worship. Seek to express your love to God with fellow believers in worship just like you do in your private worship. God alone is worthy of your worship and your praise! Assess your worship. Is your private worship consistent and persistent? Do you draw near to God? How’s your public worship? Are you joining other believers in a weekly celebration of God’s Presence? Do you give God your best in your expression of worship? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Adversity Spiritual Maturity Trials

Asking the Right Question

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 (NIV) Have you ever been perplexed by a season of adversity? You look for answers. You search for the source of your adversity and then you try to figure out why this is happening to you. Your mind is flooded with questions. Adversity can immobilize your faith or activate your faith depending on the questions you ask. Instead of asking why, ask what! Humble yourself before the Lord and ask Him what He wants to do through your season of adversity. If God permits adversity to come your way, He will use it to build you into the man or woman of God He desires you to be. In his book, Tempered Steel, Steve Farrar writes, “Spiritual maturity never comes in a package with microwave instructions.” Spiritual maturity is not instant. Spiritual maturity is developed slowly through the process of walking with God in the midst of the diverse terrain of life. God will utilize the hammer of adversity and the chisel of suffering to perfect the character of Christ in you. If God allows adversity to come into your life, He will use it to conform you into the image of Christ (Rm. 8:28-29) and to develop your spiritual maturity. Consider the adverse circumstances you are currently facing. Is it more beneficial for you to know why you are experiencing this season of adversity or to know what God is up to? God knows where you are. God knows how you feel. He knows your fears, your frustrations, and your anxious thoughts. God knows where you will be on the other side of this adversity. Draw near to God (James 4:8) and allow Him to accomplish His work in you. You are God’s workmanship (Eph. 2:10). Perseverance is being developed through the testing of your faith. Will you be mature and complete? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Adversity Assurance Faith

Don’t Bypass Jerusalem

“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.’” Acts 23:11 (NIV) Paul experienced intense opposition as he shared the gospel in Jerusalem. He caused turbulence in the Temple among the crowd and chaos as he faced the court, the Sanhedrin. His body was almost torn into pieces by the mob and almost flogged by the military. Paul’s encounters in Jerusalem produced the fruit of failure from the worldly perspective. However, God was at work in the midst of severe adversity. Don’t bypass Jerusalem; God will use it to get you to Rome. Our natural proclivity is to take the path of least resistance. We dodge the potholes of life and seek the terrain of minimal pain. Yet, God often allows us to go through adversity to get us where He wants us. God will use the hammer of adversity and the chisel of suffering to conform us into the image of Christ and to prepare us for our next assignment. Moses had to leave the luxury of the palace to go to the desert. There are some things God wanted to teach Moses in the desert that he could not learn in the palace. By the way, the bush wasn’t burning in the palace. God used the desert to train Moses in shepherding to equip him to lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Moses had to go through his personal Jerusalem, the desert, to get to his Rome. If God allows adversity in your life, He will use it for your good and for His glory. Jesus comforted Paul with the assurance of testifying in Rome. Paul had a longing to go to Rome to preach the gospel. God was giving Paul the desires of his heart. Just when Paul thought that Jerusalem was the end of the road, God built a bridge through adversity to Rome. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Christian Conduct Partnership

Participating in the Divine Nature

“Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:4 (NIV) We are blessed to have the promises of God at our fingertips. The Bible we treasure is the instrument through which God communicates His Word to us. We are so blessed to have access to the very Word of God. Each promise in God’s Word gives us traction for participation in His divine nature. As we read, study, meditate on, memorize, and apply God’s Word, we unleash His power and realize His nature. God is holy. God is immutable. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. God is eternal. He was never born and He will never die. God is love. God is mercy, grace, and peace. God is infinite; we are finite. God is flawless; we are flawed. How do you escape the corruption in the world? Escaping corruption is made possible as you claim God’s promises and participate in God’s divine nature. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit make up the Trinity. You declare the fullness of God as you apply God’s Word. You participate in the divine nature as you seek to fulfill the Great Commission and live out the Great Commandment. Loving God and loving others requires employing the promises of God. Participating in God’s divine nature takes place when you walk in the Spirit and choose to deny the cravings of the sinful nature. Proximity to God’s promises matters. Begin to recite the promises of God that you have memorized over the years. Open your Bible and search for specific promises related to your current situation. Let God speak and choose to participate with God in His divine nature. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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God's Provision Godliness

Everything You Need

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) God does not expect you to live the Christian life outside of His enablement. In fact, it is impossible to be a fully devoted follower of Christ without God’s provision. You need God’s fuel to accomplish God’s will for your life. God’s mission demands supernatural power that you don’t have outside of His resources. To operate in God’s economy requires God’s energy. God’s divine power has given you everything you need for life! Your union with Christ connects you to the supernatural power needed for living out your faith. Being salt and light on this broken planet will require that you to stay in a vibrant, healthy, and growing relationship with Christ. As you come to know the Lord intimately, your progressive relationship will unlock God’s power in your life. God’s divine power has given you everything you need for godliness! To be godly is to be like God. His heart becomes evident in your heart. His love becomes evident in the way you love others. His compassion becomes apparent as you extend His compassion to those in need. In Christ, you become the conduit through which God displays His power and His grace. Everything you need for godliness is made available to you through your abiding relationship with Christ. Stay connected! Keep your love relationship tender, open, and progressive. Confess known sin. Receive God’s forgiveness. Feed on God’s Word daily and practice His Presence throughout the day. Be conscious of God’s activity in you, through you, and around you. God is working His power in you so that He can display His power through you. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Devil God's Provision Spiritual Warfare

Ready for Battle

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV) The enemy is persistent in his pursuit of your loyalty. The devil is on a mission to neutralize your faith and to tranquillize your passion for God. Prowling around like a roaring lion, the devil seeks to distort your vision of God. If the enemy can rob you of your passion and your vision, then he has accomplished his mission. The devil cannot attack God, so he chooses to attack God’s family. As a child of God, you are on Satan’s radar. Persist to resist. You do not have to succumb to the attacks of the devil. You do not have to yield to his temptation to doubt God’s Word. You do not have to surrender to the enemy’s agenda to thwart God’s will. Remember, you are a child of the King! Jesus purchased you with His own blood. You have received the imputed righteousness of Christ. The Holy Spirit lives in you and there is no vacancy for the devil. The enemy is not welcome in your mind. The devil has no place in the landscape of your life devoted to the Lord. Stand firm in the faith. Remember the confidence you placed in the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Stand firm in the reality of your new identity in Christ. Allow the fruit of the Spirit, self-control, to be released in your life. Starve the flesh and feed the Spirit. Guard your heart. Put on the full armor of God. Be alert! Don’t drift into apathy. Don’t coast into complacency. Stand firm in the faith God has given you. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Comfort God's Provision

The God of All Comfort

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Cor 1:3-4 (NIV) God redeems pain. When you look into the rear view mirror of your life, you can probably recall painful experiences that you have had in your past. Some of those experiences may be the direct result of poor choices that you made and some of those experiences may be related to poor choices that someone else made. You may look back and recognize painful experiences that were not attached to poor choices at all. It may be that you simply encountered pain as a result of living in a fallen world. Grief is an ongoing pain that resides within us as we try to navigate a path without someone who has meant so much to us. Grief can be encountered as a result of job loss, a shift in our personal health status, or a shattered dream. Are you currently experiencing any level of grief in your life? Can you identify the source of your grief? God is the Father of compassion. He is the God of all comfort. God comforts us so that we can comfort others. God blesses us with experiences that elevate our need for Him. We come to realize our dependency upon God and how desperate we really are for God. God does not bring comfort into our lives so that we can become comfortable. God brings comfort into our lives during seasons of pain and difficulty so that we can comfort others who go through trying circumstances. We come to know God by personal experience. We become better equipped to bring comfort to others. Who are you building a bridge of comfort to? Who has God brought into your path lately who simply needs to know God’s comfort through you? That’s one of the many ways that God redeems your pain. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor