Category: Consequences

Choose or Refuse

“But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.” Jonah 1:4 (ESV) God gives you the freedom to choose to obey His will or to reject His will. You can run from God or you can run to God. If you choose to disobey God’s will and embrace your own direction, God will allow you to go your own way. Thankfully, God will pursue you with His redeeming love. Running from God activates the disciplinary process that can ultimately produce restoration. Running from God generates a natural flow of consequences that God will use to bring you back into fellowship with Himself (Prov. 3:11-12). Sometimes God will allow pain to come into your life to signal that something is out of balance. C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Pain is an effective tool that God may choose to use in order to pursue you. Jonah was not a storm-chaser, but God used a storm to chase Jonah. Notice the progression of God’s pursuit of Jonah: “God sent a great wind (v.4), a violent storm (v.4b), the sea was getting rougher and rougher (v.11), the sea grew even wilder than before (v.13), and the raging sea (v.15).” Sometimes God has to turn up the volume in your life to get your undivided attention. How is God pursuing you with His redeeming love? Is there anything out of balance in your life that dishonors God? God loves you and will pursue you to reconcile you and restore you. Following Jesus Every Day, Stephen Trammell

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2 Chronicles Consequences Pride

The Pride Slide

“But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, ‘It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.’” 2 Chronicles 26:16-18 (ESV) Uzziah did right in the eyes of the Lord and as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. Over a period of time, pride began to seep into Uzziah’s life resulting in a slide that had devastating consequences. “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.” Prov 16:5 (ESV) “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Prov 16:18 (ESV) Uncover the poison of pride. You will never reach your full redemptive potential while fertilizing pride in your life. Pride has no place in the Christian life fully yielded to the Lordship of Christ. The poison of pride will inhibit the fruit of the Spirit and stifle your effectiveness in the kingdom. Avoid the pride slide. Instead of an ego trip, we need to go on an integrity trip. Get honest about your destitution and your spiritual poverty before God. Identify and eliminate any fraction of pride in your life. Embrace the way of humility and recognize your dependency upon God and His abundant grace. Riding HIS Wave, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Tags Devo

Consequences Disciple Jonah

Facing Consequences

Consequences Decisions Wisdom

Making Wise Decisions

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!’” Luke 15:17 (ESV) Do you have someone in your life who is currently suffering the consequences of their poor choices? Everything within you wants to shift into rescue mode. You want to pull them out of reaping what they have sown. Their trial has become your trial because of the love you have for them. The prodigal son traveled down the road filled with the potholes of selfish choices. The consequences of his sinful lifestyle were in full bloom. The fast lane had not delivered what it promised. What I admire most about his father is that he allowed the natural consequences to flow. Instead of rescuing his son, the father gave God room to work and to produce deep conviction in his straying son’s life. Yes! It took a pigpen experience for the son to come to his senses. What if the father would have interrupted the process? What if the father would have chased the son down and prevented him from reaching the pigpen? “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Heb. 12:11 (ESV) Sometimes we just need to give God room to work to bring those He has created back to Himself. There are times when God wants to use us in the process of bringing a rebelling son or daughter back into alignment. Don’t bypass God’s disciplinary process. Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Choices Consequences Discernment

Weigh the Benefit

“What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!” Romans 6:21 (NIV) Sin never delivers what it promises. Sin promises pleasure, but produces pain. Sin promises escape, but produces entrapment. Sin promises freedom, but produces bondage. When you look into the rear view mirror of your life, you will quickly discern the reality of sin’s consequences. Think of the shame that clutters the landscape of your past as a result of poor choices. Weigh the benefit of the things you are now ashamed of. I’m sure that if you could go back into your past, there are choices you would love to retrieve and mistakes you would love to remove. In Christ, you are forgiven. The penalty of your sin has been paid in full by the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. Yet, it is a healthy exercise to think through the benefit you reaped as a result of your poor choices. The reality that poor choices produced death brings you to the place of walking in the fear of the Lord. You recognize that God is all-knowing and all-seeing. What does victory look like in a fallen world? The portrait of victory is a child of God thinking through the consequences of sin before stepping through a door that is dishonoring to God. Victory comes in the form of a wise decision to weigh the benefit of walking in the way of the Lord. “Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.” Prov. 4:26 (NIV) “In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them.” Prov. 22:5 (NIV) Weigh the benefit! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

2 Chronicles Consequences Pride

The Pride Slide

“But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, 18 and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, ‘It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.’” 2 Chronicles 26:16-18 (ESV) Uzziah did right in the eyes of the Lord and as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. Over a period of time, pride began to seep into Uzziah’s life resulting in a slide that had devastating consequences. “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.” Prov 16:5 (ESV) “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Prov 16:18 (ESV) Uncover the poison of pride. You will never reach your full redemptive potential while fertilizing pride in your life. Pride has no place in the Christian life fully yielded to the Lordship of Christ. The poison of pride will inhibit the fruit of the Spirit and stifle your effectiveness in the kingdom. Avoid the pride slide. Instead of an ego trip, we need to go on an integrity trip. Get honest about your destitution and your spiritual poverty before God. Identify and eliminate any fraction of pride in your life. Embrace the way of humility and recognize your dependency upon God and His abundant grace. Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 189: 2 Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 26) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Choices Consequences Discernment

Weigh the Benefit

“What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!” Romans 6:21 (NIV) Sin never delivers what it promises. Sin promises pleasure, but produces pain. Sin promises escape, but produces entrapment. Sin promises freedom, but produces bondage. When you look into the rear view mirror of your life, you will quickly discern the reality of sin’s consequences. Think of the shame that clutters the landscape of your past as a result of poor choices. Weigh the benefit of the things you are now ashamed of. I’m sure that if you could go back into your past, there are choices you would love to retrieve and mistakes you would love to remove. In Christ, you are forgiven. The penalty of your sin has been paid in full by the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. Yet, it is a healthy exercise to think through the benefit you reaped as a result of your poor choices. The reality that poor choices produced death brings you to the place of walking in the fear of the Lord. You recognize that God is all-knowing and all-seeing. What does victory look like in a fallen world? The portrait of victory is a child of God thinking through the consequences of sin before stepping through a door that is dishonoring to God. Victory comes in the form of a wise decision to weigh the benefit of walking in the way of the Lord. “Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.” Prov 4:26 (NIV) “In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them.” Prov 22:5 (NIV) Weigh the benefit! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Consequences Disciple Jonah

Facing Consequences

“Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.” Jonah 1:4 (NIV) God gives you the freedom to choose to obey His will or to reject His will. You can run from God or you can run to God. If you choose to disobey God’s will and embrace your own direction, God will allow you to go your own way. Thankfully, God will pursue you with His redeeming love. Running from God activates the disciplinary process that can ultimately produce restoration. Running from God generates a natural flow of consequences that God will use to bring you back into fellowship with Himself (Prov 3:11-12). Sometimes God will allow pain to come into your life to signal that something is out of balance. C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Pain is an effective tool that God may choose to use in order to pursue you. Jonah was not a storm-chaser, but God used a storm to chase Jonah. Notice the progression of God’s pursuit of Jonah: “God sent a great wind (v.4), a violent storm (v.4b), the sea was getting rougher and rougher (v.11), the sea grew even wilder than before (v.13), and the raging sea (v.15).” Sometimes God has to turn up the volume in your life to get your undivided attention. How is God pursuing you with His redeeming love? Is there anything out of balance in your life that dishonors God? God loves you and will pursue you to reconcile you and restore you. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Consequences Decisions Wisdom

Making Wise Decisions

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!’” Luke 15:17 (NIV) Do you have someone in your life who is currently suffering the consequences of their poor choices? Everything within you wants to shift into rescue mode. You want to pull them out of reaping what they have sown. Their trial has become your trial because of the love you have for them. The prodigal son traveled down the road filled with the potholes of selfish choices. The consequences of his sinful lifestyle were in full bloom. The fast lane had not delivered what it promised. What I admire most about his father is that he allowed the natural consequences to flow. Instead of rescuing his son, the father gave God room to work and to produce deep conviction in his straying son’s life. Yes! It took a pigpen experience for the son to come to his senses. What if the father would have interrupted the process? What if the father would have chased the son down and prevented him from reaching the pigpen? “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Heb 12:11 (NIV) Sometimes we just need to give God room to work to bring those He has created back to Himself. There are times when God wants to use us in the process of bringing a rebelling son or daughter back into alignment. Don’t bypass God’s disciplinary process. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Consequences Death Glory Life Sickness Sin

Living the Life (3)

“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 the solution to problems in this life. You can trace sin, sickness, and death back to the garden when man fell. The residual effect of sin permeates every generation. We live our lives in a world that straddles daily the consequences of sin. As Steve Farrar writes in his book, Finishing Strong, “Sin will take your farther than you want to go, keep you longer that you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” God does not originate our problems, but He orchestrates the solution to our problems. The origin of our sin is linked through our family tree back to Adam and Eve. The solution to our sin is linked to God’s provision of forgiveness through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. “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) “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 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 8:28-29 (NIV) Martha and Mary grieved the death of their brother, Lazarus. They also grieved the fact that Jesus did not come to their rescue according to their personal preference of time. Jesus identified a higher purpose behind their problem. Jesus declared that it was for God’s glory. Watch to see how God reveals Himself and His glory through your circumstances. God’s glory can radiate in your present circumstances and in the midst of your perplexing problems. God has a purpose behind every problem. Allow God’s glory to shine even when the solution to your problems is delayed from your standpoint. God purpose will always prevail. Nothing can derail God’s glory. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor