Category: Conformity

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Conformity God's Purpose Sovereignty

Master Conductor

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:11-12 (NIV) Has your life ever become complicated and messy? Have you traveled down a road you never thought you would navigate? Living in a fallen world tends to cause us to experience unexpected turns in life. Sometimes we make poor choices and sometimes the decisions of others negatively affect us. It could be that a relationship has diverted into unhealthy patterns or personal behaviors have drifted away from God’s best. The good news is that God is sovereign. He rules and He reigns. He always has the final say in any and every situation. Even when you make a disastrous move, God can orchestrate your path for your good and His glory. Notice how our Bible verse says that God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. He is God! There is nothing that is impossible with Him. He can handle your situation. He can handle your relationships. God orchestrates everything we encounter to bring about His will. Right now your current challenge may seem like an uphill climb dragging two dead elephants. God can take any difficult situation and orchestrate the details to conform to His plan. Are you willing to surrender your hurts, your frustrations, your disappointments, and your fears to God? Release them and entrust them to God’s sovereign care. He is the master conductor in the orchestra called life. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Christlikeness Conformity Romans

Tools God Uses

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29 (NIV) God saved you to become like Christ. Your sin has been forgiven and your eternal destiny has been secured. In Christ, you are adopted into God’s family and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Now you are in the process of becoming who you are in Christ. God predestined that you be conformed to the image of Christ. You get to participate in the process of that transformation. What are some of the tools God uses to conform us to the likeness of Christ? Sometimes God uses the hammer of adversity and the chisel of suffering to bring us into conformity with the character of Christ. Other times, God may use seasons of silence to test our faith and to prove our devotion. God allows fully yielded and fully devoted followers of Christ to come into our path to model likeness of Christ. They give us a portrait of what we can become as we mature in our faith. Assess your current reality? How is God conforming you to the likeness of Christ? Are you being responsive to His prompting? Allow God to chip off anything in your life that does not bring honor to Christ. Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal any area of your life that distracts from your spiritual progress. Daily surrender to the Lordship of Christ and seek His face in prayer. Embrace the reality of God’s will. God desires that you become more and more like Christ each day. God uses various tools to conform you into the image of Christ so that you can be an effective tool for His glory on the earth. Your life matters to God. Every detail matters to Him. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Christlikeness Conformity Romans

Predestined to be Conformed

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29 (NIV) How did we make it into the family tree of Christ? We are products of the grace of God. The only way in is through the doorway of God’s grace. “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). Are you thankful that God made a way for us to know Him personally and intimately? You are in the Royal Family through the grace of God as evidenced in your faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Now that you have been adopted into His family, God wants you to become like Christ. The process of sanctification follows salvation. Once you are saved, God places you on a path to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. We have the wonderful privilege of participating with God in the process of conformity. God seeks to remove anything in us that doesn’t look like Jesus. Sometimes God will use the chisel of adversity and sometimes God will use the hammer of silence. God will allow us to go through seasons of uncertainty to conform us into the likeness of Christ. Reflect for a few moments on the level of Christ-likeness that has been attained in your journey thus far. What behavior and attitudes do you exhibit currently that just don’t line up with Christ-likeness? Will you participate with God in the process of conformity? Spend time studying the life of Christ and emulating His life. You have received His imputed righteousness. Now work out what He has worked in. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Conformity God's Purpose Sovereignty

Master Conductor

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” Eph 1:11-12 (NIV) Has your life ever become complicated and messy? Have you traveled down a road you never thought you would navigate? Living in a fallen world tends to cause us to experience unexpected turns in life. Sometimes we make poor choices and sometimes the decisions of others negatively affect us. It could be that a relationship has diverted into unhealthy patterns or personal behaviors have drifted away from God’s best. The good news is that God is sovereign. He rules and He reigns. He always has the final say in any and every situation. Even when you make a disastrous move, God can orchestrate your path for your good and His glory. Notice how our Bible verse says that God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. He is God! There is nothing that is impossible with Him. He can handle your situation. He can handle your relationships. God orchestrates everything we encounter to bring about His will. Right now your current challenge may seem like an uphill climb dragging two dead elephants. God can take any difficult situation and orchestrate the details to conform to His plan. Are you willing to surrender your hurts, your frustrations, your disappointments, and your fears to God? Release them and entrust them to God’s sovereign care. He is the master conductor in the orchestra called life. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Christlikeness Conformity Romans

Tools God Uses

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29 (NIV) God saved you to become like Christ. Your sin has been forgiven and your eternal destiny has been secured. In Christ, you are adopted into God’s family and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Now you are in the process of becoming who you are in Christ. God predestined that you be conformed to the image of Christ. You get to participate in the process of that transformation. What are some of the tools God uses to conform us to the likeness of Christ? Sometimes God uses the hammer of adversity and the chisel of suffering to bring us into conformity with the character of Christ. Other times, God may use seasons of silence to test our faith and to prove our devotion. God allows fully yielded and fully devoted followers of Christ to come into our path to model likeness of Christ. They give us a portrait of what we can become as we mature in our faith. Assess your current reality? How is God conforming you to the likeness of Christ? Are you being responsive to His prompting? Allow God to chip off anything in your life that does not bring honor to Christ. Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal any area of your life that distracts from your spiritual progress. Daily surrender to the Lordship of Christ and seek His face in prayer. Embrace the reality of God’s will. God desires that you become more and more like Christ each day. God uses various tools to conform you into the image of Christ so that you can be an effective tool for His glory on the earth. Your life matters to God. Every detail matters to Him. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Christlikeness Conformity Romans

Predestined to be Conformed

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29 (NIV) How did we make it into the family tree of Christ? We are products of the grace of God. The only way in is through the doorway of God’s grace. “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” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV). Are you thankful that God made a way for us to know Him personally and intimately? You are in the Royal Family through the grace of God as evidenced in your faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Now that you have been adopted into His family, God wants you to become like Christ. The process of sanctification follows salvation. Once you are saved, God places you on a path to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. We have the wonderful privilege of participating with God in the process of conformity. God seeks to remove anything in us that doesn’t look like Jesus. Sometimes God will use the chisel of adversity and sometimes God will use the hammer of silence. God will allow us to go through seasons of uncertainty to conform us into the likeness of Christ. Reflect for a few moments on the level of Christ-likeness that has been attained in your journey thus far. What behavior and attitudes do you exhibit currently that just don’t line up with Christ-likeness? Will you participate with God in the process of conformity? Spend time studying the life of Christ and emulating His life. You have received His imputed righteousness. Now work out what He has worked in. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

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Conformity Wrestling with God

A Night of Wrestling

“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.” Gen 32:24-25 (NIV) Have you ever wrestled with God? Who won? Wrestling is part of being God’s workmanship. Jacob, as God’s workmanship, came to know God in a new way after a night of wrestling. Just like in weight training, without resistance there is no growth. God allows us to go through seasons of uncertainty. God allows us to experience seasons of silence and yes, even seasons of suffering. We wrestle with God in those seasons. Our faith is challenged and often our prayer life is stretched. We come to know God by experience. Sometimes that experience involves pain. As God’s workmanship, Jacob came away from the night of wrestling with a limp and a new name. You don’t come into close proximity with the living God and leave the same. God gave Jacob the name Israel, which means God prevails. Jacob was known as a deceiver, but God gave him a new name to live up to. Jacob would become the patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel. God is for you. He is willingly to go to any length to bring you into a vibrant, intimate, and growing relationship that is eternal. God will pursue you and groom you so that you will be conformed into the image of Christ. Your life matters to God. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Conformity

Conformity

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29 (NIV) How did Bathsheba make it into the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1:6? How did you make it into the family tree of Christ? Bathsheba and you are products of the grace of God. The only way in is through the doorway of God’s grace. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph 2:8-9 (NIV) You are in the Royal Family through the grace of God as evidenced in your faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Now that you have been adopted into His family, God wants you to become like Christ. The process of sanctification follows salvation. Once you are saved, God places you on a path to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. You have the wonderful privilege of participating with God in the process of conformity. God seeks to remove anything in us that doesn’t look like Jesus. Sometimes God will use the chisel of adversity and sometimes God will use the hammer of silence. God will allow us to go through seasons of uncertainty to conform us into the likeness of Christ. Reflect for a few moments on the level of Christ-likeness that has been attained in your journey thus far. What behavior and attitudes do you exhibit currently that just don’t line up with Christ-likeness? Will you participate with God in the process of conformity? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care