Category: Faithfulness of God

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Faithfulness of God Fellowship Intimacy

Faithful Fellowship

“God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” 1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV) The Christian life is not about your story that you invite God into. The Christian life is about God’s story that He invites you into. What are you doing with the standing invitation issued by God? You have been invited into the most amazing story of redemption that not only benefits your life personally, but also benefits others. God calls you to Himself in salvation and He calls you to Himself through the ongoing process of sanctification. Your love relationship with Jesus is rooted in the faithfulness of God. Perhaps you have been deeply wounded by someone who was unfaithful to you. Maybe they inflicted pain in your life by their infidelity. If you have ever experienced the trauma of a ruptured relationship, you quickly come to place a tremendous value on the commodity of faithfulness. God created you to enjoy unbroken fellowship with His Son and our Savior, Jesus. God designed you to know Him personally and intimately so that you can join Him in making Jesus known intentionally. Your life matters to God! He establishes your love relationship with Jesus in the abundant soil of His faithfulness. God has never been unfaithful to you. He will never forsake you. Union with Christ gives you eternal security and perpetual intimacy. You can enjoy the eternal and immediate benefits of God’s faithfulness by delighting in the fellowship with Jesus promised by God. When the veil of the temple was torn in two, it was torn from top to bottom. God initiated the love relationship we get to enjoy. Through the death of Christ on the cross, the way for us to enter into God’s Presence was granted. What are you doing with the sacred privilege of fellowship with the Lord? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Abraham Circumstances Faithfulness of God

Focus Your Faith

“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age–and Sarah herself was barren–was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.” Hebrews 11:11 (NIV) Is the level of your faith determined by the intensity and severity of your circumstances or by the One in whom you are placing your faith? Abraham and Sarah’s situation was desperate and seemingly impossible. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was ninety years old and barren. Don’t miss the blessing behind “even though.” Even though Abraham was past age and Sarah was barren, God enabled them to become parents because Abraham considered God faithful. God had already made the promise of blessing Abraham with offspring (Gen. 12:2-3). Abraham believed God! “And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Heb. 11:12 (NIV) “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” Ps. 55:22 (NIV) Instead of focusing on your circumstances, focus on the faithfulness of God. You can bring your burdens to the Lord with openness and transparency. You can bear your soul before the Lord as you navigate the terrain of a fallen world. God formed you and fashioned you for His glory. Your circumstances will not derail the purposes of God from being fulfilled in your life. Trust God to demonstrate His faithfulness to you. Be sensitive to God’s activity today in the midst of your circumstances. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Faith Faithfulness of God Trust

Be Still

“‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” Psalm 46:10 (NIV) Knowledge is liberating. We long to know truth and we long to know the reality behind the perplexities of life. Being able to see clearly gives us security. Clarity elevates our peace and enlivens our motivation to continue down the dusty road of life. We like to know where we are going and what it will look like when we get there. The unknown has a tendency to spray confetti onto the canvas of our minds. Our thoughts become cluttered with the darkness that looms in the wake of the unknown. The unknown stunts our progress and stifles our vision. What are we to do in those seasons of uncertainty? What should our response be during those periods of unrest and ambiguity? Be still! Hit the pause button. Stop trying to figure things out. Stop trying to fix everything. Just hit the brakes and embrace the cessation of motion. We feel more productive when we are in motion. We feel more valuable when we are characterized by movement and accomplishment. Yet, God wants us to learn to be still. In order to be still we have to learn to trust. We have to trust that God will speak to us in our stillness. We have to trust that God will reveal Himself to us in our stillness. Know that He is God! We may be unclear about the immediate future, but we can anchor our faith in the reality that God is God and there is no other. God will be exalted among the nations and in the earth. Will we choose to exalt Him in our lives by being still before Him intentionally and by trusting Him completely? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Faithfulness of God Moses Trust

Preparing for God’s 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 this planet called 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 for the purpose of delivering 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 Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Faithfulness of God Fellowship Intimacy

Faithful Fellowship

“God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” 1 Cor 1:9 (NIV) The Christian life is not about your story that you invite God into. The Christian life is about God’s story that He invites you into. What are you doing with the standing invitation issued by God? You have been invited into the most amazing story of redemption that not only benefits your life personally, but also benefits others. God calls you to Himself in salvation and He calls you to Himself through the ongoing process of sanctification. Your love relationship with Jesus is rooted in the faithfulness of God. Perhaps you have been deeply wounded by someone who was unfaithful to you. Maybe they inflicted pain in your life by their infidelity. If you have ever experienced the trauma of a ruptured relationship, you quickly come to place a tremendous value on the commodity of faithfulness. God created you to enjoy unbroken fellowship with His Son and our Savior, Jesus. God designed you to know Him personally and intimately so that you can join Him in making Jesus known intentionally. Your life matters to God! He establishes your love relationship with Jesus in the abundant soil of His faithfulness. God has never been unfaithful to you. He will never forsake you. Union with Christ gives you eternal security and perpetual intimacy. You can enjoy the eternal and immediate benefits of God’s faithfulness by delighting in the fellowship with Jesus promised by God. When the veil of the temple was torn in two, it was torn from top to bottom. God initiated the love relationship we get to enjoy. Through the death of Christ on the cross, the way for us to enter into God’s Presence was granted. What are you doing with the sacred privilege of fellowship with the Lord? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Abraham Circumstances Faithfulness of God

Focus Your Faith

“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age–and Sarah herself was barren–was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.” Heb 11:11 (NIV) Is the level of your faith determined by the intensity and severity of your circumstances or by the One in whom you are placing your faith? Abraham and Sarah’s situation was desperate and seemingly impossible. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was ninety years old and barren. Don’t miss the blessing behind “even though.” Even though Abraham was past age and Sarah was barren, God enabled them to become parents because Abraham considered God faithful. God had already made the promise of blessing Abraham with offspring (Gen. 12:2-3). Abraham believed God! “And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Heb 11:12 (NIV) “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” Psalm 55:22 (NIV) Instead of focusing on your circumstances, focus on the faithfulness of God. You can bring your burdens to the Lord with openness and transparency. You can bear your soul before the Lord as you navigate the terrain of a fallen world. God formed you and fashioned you for His glory. Your circumstances will not derail the purposes of God from being fulfilled in your life. Trust God to demonstrate His faithfulness to you. Be sensitive to God’s activity today in the midst of your circumstances. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Faith Faithfulness of God Trust

Be Still

“‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” Psalm 46:10 (NIV) Knowledge is liberating. We long to know truth and we long to know the reality behind the perplexities of life. Being able to see clearly gives us security. Clarity elevates our peace and enlivens our motivation to continue down the dusty road of life. We like to know where we are going and what it will look like when we get there. The unknown has a tendency to spray confetti onto the canvas of our minds. Our thoughts become cluttered with the darkness that looms in the wake of the unknown. The unknown stunts our progress and stifles our vision. What are we to do in those seasons of uncertainty? What should our response be during those periods of unrest and ambiguity? Be still! Hit the pause button. Stop trying to figure things out. Stop trying to fix everything. Just hit the brakes and embrace the cessation of motion. We feel more productive when we are in motion. We feel more valuable when we are characterized by movement and accomplishment. Yet, God wants us to learn to be still. In order to be still we have to learn to trust. We have to trust that God will speak to us in our stillness. We have to trust that God will reveal Himself to us in our stillness. Know that He is God! We may be unclear about the immediate future, but we can anchor our faith in the reality that God is God and there is no other. God will be exalted among the nations and in the earth. Will we choose to exalt Him in our lives by being still before Him intentionally and by trusting Him completely? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Faithfulness of God Moses Trust

Preparing for God’s 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 this planet called 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 for the purpose of delivering 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 Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Abraham Faith Faithfulness of God

Taking God at His Word

“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age–and Sarah herself was barren–was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.” Heb 11:11 (NIV) Is the level of your faith determined by the intensity and severity of your circumstances or by the One in whom you are placing your faith? Abraham and Sarah’s situation was desperate and seemingly impossible. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was ninety years old and barren. Don’t miss the blessing behind “even though.” Even though Abraham was past age and Sarah was barren, God enabled them to become parents because Abraham considered God faithful. God had already made the promise of blessing Abraham with offspring (Gen. 12:2-3). Abraham believed God! “And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Heb 11:12 (NIV) “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” Psalms 55:22 (NIV) Instead of focusing on your circumstances, focus on the faithfulness of God. You can bring your burdens to the Lord with openness and transparency. You can bear your soul before the Lord as you navigate the terrain of a fallen world. God formed you and fashioned you for His glory. Your circumstances will not derail the purposes of God from being fulfilled in your life. Trust God to demonstrate His faithfulness to you. Be sensitive to God’s activity today in the midst of your circumstances. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Faithfulness of God Heart Portray Reverence

Stick Out Your Tongue

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matt 12:33-34 (NIV) Do you remember the days when the nurse would ask you to stick out your tongue in order to insert a thermometer? The process was to detect your physical temperature. Your tongue is also an indicator of your spiritual temperature. The words you speak reflect what’s in your heart. Jesus affirmed that the mouth speaks out of the overflow of the heart. Biting your tongue is not sufficient. It’s really not about your tongue. It’s about your heart. Whatever is in your heart will be displayed by your speech. The way you speak to others will exhibit what’s in your heart. Just as a good tree will bear good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit, your words will bear fruit based on the spiritual condition of your heart. Open your mouth and stick out your tongue. What has your tongue revealed about your heart this week? Examine the words you have spoken. Have you been gracious and kind in your conversations? Have your interactions revealed a heart aligned with God’s heart? 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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Faith Faithfulness of God God's Provision Trust

When Storms Come

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.” Psalms 18:2 (NIV) Who are you relying upon? What is your faith anchored to? Where do you run when the storm comes? Where do you go when life doesn’t make sense? Can you affirm these words? The LORD is my rock. He provides my stability! The LORD is my fortress. He provides my serenity! The LORD is my deliverer. He provides my solidarity! The LORD God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He provides my safety! We are in desperate need of God’s moment by moment provision. He is still on His throne and has given us everything we need to live out His plan and fulfill His purpose. God is not limited by our limitations. God is eternal, holy, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is sovereign. His love endures forever and His mercies are new every morning. You can take refuge in Him. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
Faith Faithfulness of God God's Provision Trust

When Storms Come

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.” Psalms 18:2 (NIV) Who are you relying upon? What is your faith anchored to? Where do you run when the storm comes? Where do you go when life doesn’t make sense? Can you affirm these words? The LORD is my rock. He provides my stability! The LORD is my fortress. He provides my serenity! The LORD is my deliverer. He provides my solidarity! The LORD God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He provides my safety! We are in desperate need of God’s moment by moment provision. He is still on His throne and has given us everything we need to live out His plan and fulfill His purpose. God is not limited by our limitations. God is eternal, holy, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is sovereign. His love endures forever and His mercies are new every morning. You can take refuge in Him. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
Choices Faithfulness of God Temptation

Real Temptation (1)

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Cor 10:13 (NIV) Temptation is an opportunity to honor God. Our response to temptation will determine whether we honor God or dishonor God. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are not temptation exempt. Living in a fallen world and retaining our sin nature guarantee the presence of temptation. It is not a matter of if we will face temptation, but a matter of when we will face temptation. Even Jesus was tempted. Temptation is a common feature in this life. Of course, temptation comes in different forms depending on where we are most susceptible. Satan knows what our weaknesses are and what will entice us toward sin. We are not left alone to fend for ourselves. God is here! God is faithful! We can anchor our faith to the faithfulness of God. He will never leave us. He will not abandon us. In fact, God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear with Him. Temptation is a constant reminder of our dependency upon God. We need God! God will also provide an exit strategy. When temptation knocks at our door, we don’t have to submit to the temptation. God will always provide a way of escape so that we can stand up under the load and stress of the temptation. How will you respond when temptation comes your way? Will you seize the opportunity to honor God? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor