“And Josiah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.” 2 Chronicles 34:33 (ESV) God used Josiah to bring forth a reformation in Israel. Here are a few of the reformation verbs found in II Kings 22-23 and II Chronicles 34-35: removed, burned, did away with, took, ground it to powder, scattered, tore, desecrated, pulled down, smashed, cut down, covered, defiled, slaughtered, got rid of, purged, cut to pieces, broke to pieces, tore down, and crushed. Josiah was willing to tenaciously follow God’s lead and remove all the detestable idols. Like his great-grandfather, Hezekiah, Josiah cleansed the nation of idolatry, repaired the temple, restored the worship, and celebrated a great nationwide Passover. Josiah tenaciously renewed the Covenant and reformed the culture. What is keeping you from reaching your God-given potential? What are you giving your life to? Where does your life give evidence of tenaciously following God’s lead? God placed you right where you are so that you could be an irresistible influence for God’s glory. God allowed you to wake up this morning so that you could spread the aroma of Christ through your conversation and your conduct. God did not call you to reflect the environment, but to set the environment. God did not save you so that you would embrace the way of the world. God saved you so that you would tenaciously follow the way of Christ. Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Category: Conviction
Categories
Where Are You?
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” Genesis 3:8-9 (NIV) God cares about you personally and He cares about where you are spiritually. Your condition matters to Him. Throughout the Bible, the thread of God’s redeeming love can be traced. His love for you has no limits. God created you so that you can know Him personally and make His love known globally. Adam and Eve rebelled against God and received immediate consequences. Their eyes were opened to recognize their nakedness and their fellowship with God was inhibited. Their sin hindered their unbroken communion with God. The poison of sin had tainted their spiritual condition. Our God is compassionate. The depth of His love is evidenced as He pursues Adam with a personal question, “Where are you?” Of course, God knew where Adam was both physically and spiritually. His question was not to aid in locating Adam’s whereabouts in the garden. God asked the probing question to get Adam to assess his personal spiritual condition. God’s question was a question of compassion. God could have left Adam and Eve to their own demise. God could have given them an extended silent treatment. Yet, God made the first move toward reconciliation. God went first to restore the fractured relationship. Where are you? How is your love relationship with the Lord? Have you drifted in your daily devotion and intimacy with Jesus? Assess your current spiritual condition. Repent of anything that has hindered your fellowship with the Lord and return to your first love. Enjoy unbroken fellowship with the One who died to give you life eternal and complete. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Where Are You?
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” Gen 3:8-9 (NIV) God cares about you personally and He cares about where you are spiritually. Your condition matters to Him. Throughout the Bible, the thread of God’s redeeming love can be traced. His love for you has no limits. God created you so that you can know Him personally and make His love known globally. Adam and Eve rebelled against God and received immediate consequences. Their eyes were opened to recognize their nakedness and their fellowship with God was inhibited. Their sin hindered their unbroken communion with God. The poison of sin had tainted their spiritual condition. Our God is compassionate. The depth of His love is evidenced as He pursues Adam with a personal question, “Where are you?” Of course, God knew where Adam was both physically and spiritually. His question was not to aid in locating Adam’s whereabouts in the garden. God asked the probing question to get Adam to assess his personal spiritual condition. God’s question was a question of compassion. God could have left Adam and Eve to their own demise. God could have given them an extended silent treatment. Yet, God made the first move toward reconciliation. God went first to restore the fractured relationship. Where are you? How is your love relationship with the Lord? Have you drifted in your daily devotion and intimacy with Jesus? Assess your current spiritual condition. Repent of anything that has hindered your fellowship with the Lord and return to your first love. Enjoy unbroken fellowship with the One who died to give you life eternal and complete. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the LORD their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the LORD, the God of their fathers.” 2 Chron 34:33 (NIV) God used Josiah to bring forth a reformation in Israel. Here are a few of the reformation verbs found in II Kings 22-23 and II Chronicles 34-35: removed, burned, did away with, took, ground it to powder, scattered, tore, desecrated, pulled down, smashed, cut down, covered, defiled, slaughtered, got rid of, purged, cut to pieces, broke to pieces, tore down, and crushed. Josiah was willing to tenaciously follow God’s lead and remove all the detestable idols. Like his great-grandfather, Hezekiah, Josiah cleansed the nation of idolatry, repaired the temple, restored the worship, and celebrated a great nationwide Passover. Josiah tenaciously renewed the Covenant and reformed the culture. What is keeping you from reaching your God-given potential? What are you giving your life to? Where does your life give evidence of tenaciously following God’s lead? God placed you right where you are so that you could be an irresistible influence for God’s glory. God allowed you to wake up this morning so that you could spread the aroma of Christ through your conversation and your conduct. God did not call you to reflect the environment, but to set the environment. God did not save you so that you would embrace the way of the world. God saved you so that you would tenaciously follow the way of Christ. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Where Are You?
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” Gen 3:8-9 (NIV) God cares about you personally and He cares about where you are spiritually. Your condition matters to Him. Throughout the Bible, the thread of God’s redeeming love can be traced. His love for you has no limits. God created you so that you can know Him personally and make His love known globally. Adam and Eve rebelled against God and received immediate consequences. Their eyes were opened to recognize their nakedness and their fellowship with God was inhibited. Their sin hindered their unbroken communion with God. The poison of sin had tainted their spiritual condition. Our God is compassionate. The depth of His love is evidenced as He pursues Adam with a personal question, “Where are you?” Of course, God knew where Adam was both physically and spiritually. His question was not to aid in locating Adam’s whereabouts in the garden. God asked the probing question to get Adam to assess his personal spiritual condition. God’s question was a question of compassion. God could have left Adam and Eve to their own demise. God could have given them an extended silent treatment. Yet, God made the first move toward reconciliation. God went first to restore the fractured relationship. Where are you? How is your love relationship with the Lord? Have you drifted in your daily devotion and intimacy with Jesus? Assess your current spiritual condition. Repent of anything that has hindered your fellowship with the Lord and return to your first love. Enjoy unbroken fellowship with the One who died to give you life eternal and complete. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
The Fall of Man
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” Gen 3:6-7 (NIV) Sin has consequences. When Eve chose to doubt God’s Word and to succumb to the temptation presented by the serpent, she fell from her position of being right with God. For a moment, Eve was in her fallen state and Adam was not. Yet, when Eve gave Adam the fruit of the tree to eat, he ate it without reservation. Adam knew better. God had already communicated with Adam personally about the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:16-17). Adam failed to protect himself and Eve from the devastation produced by their disobedience. It makes you wonder if Adam made God’s revelation clear to Eve. Adam and Eve recognized their nakedness and sought to cover up their shame. Their relationship with God and their relationship with each other shifted into the reality of their fallen state. Their sin had immediate and direct consequences that affected not only them, but also every generation since their fall. You can trace the root of your sin throughout your family tree all the way back to Adam and Eve. The sin nature you combat today is a direct result of the sin nature you inherited from Adam and Eve. Their struggle is now your struggle. Their battle is now your battle. Attempting to cover your own shame and sin would be considered futile. In and of yourself, you do not have the capacity to provide the covering and cleansing necessary to be in right standing with God. Praise God that He was willing to come to our rescue! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell