“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.” 2 Chron 34:1-2 (NIV) Be Teachable. Can you imagine […]
Author: Stephen Trammell
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The Comfortable Life (5)
“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and […]
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The Comfortable Life (4)
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining […]
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The Comfortable Life (3)
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get […]
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, ‘It is the Sabbath; the law forbids […]
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The Comfortable Life (1)
“One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’” John 5:5-6 (NIV) We know more than we are doing. We know that we are to […]
“So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. […]
“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Philem 1:6 (NIV) Our participation in God’s redemptive activity includes actively sharing our faith. We are commissioned by God and for God to share His redemptive love to […]
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Sharing Your Testimony (1)
“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.” John 4:39-41 (NIV) God uses […]
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The Frustrated Life (5)
You will find what you are looking for. If you begin to look for the activity of God, you will find Him at work. God is always at work around us. His activity is constant. God’s redemptive activity is immediate and global. God is working right now and God is working around the world. Jesus […]
“‘Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.’” John 4:23-24 (NIV) In His interaction with the woman at the […]
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The Frustrated Life (3)
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” John 4:13-14 (NIV) Nothing in this life will satisfy like the water Jesus provides. […]
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” John 4:13-14 (NIV) Nothing in this life will satisfy like the water Jesus provides. […]
“Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’” John 4:10 (NIV) A man was on the side of the road with the hood of his car propped open. Another man drove up, stopped behind […]
Have you been there, done that, and left frustrated? Life is filled with unlimited options and unimaginable opportunities. We are bombarded with advertisements which are positioned to convince us that we need the product being promoted. Our landscape is littered with attractions and allurements which compete for our attention. It seems that the more we acquire, […]
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Living the Life (7)
“When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’” John 11:43-44 (NIV) Are you living the life God […]
“So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’” John 11:41-42 (NIV) Jesus prayed. When you […]
“Jesus wept.” John 11:35 (NIV) Jesus wept aloud when He stood over unrepentant Jerusalem in their failure to recognize Him as Savior. But when Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus, He shed a tear. Jesus’ expression of grief was not a loud lament but rather an intimate display of grief over the reality of […]
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Living the Life (4)
“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) The value of life seems to go up when you come face to face with death. If […]
“When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’” John 11:4 (NIV) God has a purpose behind every problem. Living the life in a fallen world includes unfavorable circumstances. The sin factor affects both the cause and […]
“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” John 11:5-6 (NIV) Delays are painful. We understand that God is all-knowing and that God is love, but we just don’t always fully understand God’s timing. When God doesn’t respond in […]
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Living the Life (1)
Are you living the life God has for you now? Jesus is alive and the tomb is empty. Shouldn’t that reality make an eternal difference in your life now? For some reason, we put life off until another day. We believe that life is right around the corner. It seems as though that corner never comes. Life is […]
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He Has Risen
“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’” Matt 28:5-6 (NIV) Are you looking for Jesus? He has risen! Death has been […]
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Eph 4:32 (NIV) Extending forgiveness is intentional and perpetual. The words “just as” are powerful. In our key verse above, they mean to imitate and to emulate God’s forgiveness. We are to forgive each other just as in Christ God […]
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Forgiveness (4)
“‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’” Heb 8:12 (NIV) Forgiveness includes memory. God, in His omniscience, has the capacity to remember our sins no more. God is infinite and we are finite. We do not have the capacity to forgive and forget. Of course, it seems at times that we forget what we […]
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matt 6:14-15 (NIV) Forgiveness is immediate; trust takes time. Would it not be hypocritical to receive God’s forgiveness personally and then refuse to […]
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Forgiveness (2)
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Col 3:13 (NIV) Forgiveness is an event, followed by a process. Perhaps you have found yourself in situations where you have had a hard time forgiving those who have wounded you. Maybe you have been […]
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Forgiveness (1)
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matt 6:12 (NIV) Forgiveness is always the best decision. The Bible teaches us multiple facets of forgiveness. We have the privilege of receiving God’s forgiveness provided by the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. This vertical forgiveness initiated by God allows us to be in a right relationship with God. […]
“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” Psalm 125:1 (NIV) Can God use a shepherd boy to slay a giant? We all face giants in this life. Sometimes the giants are related to health, sometimes related to family or friends, and sometimes related to finances. The […]
“I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” Psalm 91:2 (NIV) When answers are beyond your reach, trust in God. When your circumstances produce an element of fear, trust in God. When you feel as though the road of life has become filled with […]