Category: God’s Activity

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God's Activity Joining God Moses

Moving with God

“Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.” Exodus 40:36-38 (ESV) God makes His Presence known. For the children of Israel, God revealed His Presence through the glory cloud. God would guide the Israelites by the visible manifestation of the cloud during the day and fire by night. When the cloud lifted and shifted, the Israelites moved. The Tabernacle was constructed in a way that emphasized ease of mobility. This enabled the Israelites to move when God moved. As God’s workmanship, where did Moses learn that kind of sensitivity to God’s movement? Did he learn it in the palace during his first forty years on the earth or perhaps during the second forty years of his life as a shepherd in the desert? The burning bush experience obviously made an abiding difference in his sensitivity to God’s Presence. God is always at work. Are you sensitive to His activity? You can experience God’s Presence moment by moment as you commune with Him through prayer and feed on His Word. You can experience God’s Presence as you maintain a posture of expectation and anticipation. You always find what you are looking for. If you are looking for the activity of God, you will find it. Recognition of God’s activity is proportionate to your sensitivity. Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

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God's Activity Moses Sensitivity

Responding to God’s Activity

“In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out–until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.” Exodus 40:36-38 (NIV) God makes His Presence known. For the children of Israel, God revealed His Presence through the glory cloud. God would guide the Israelites by the visible manifestation of the cloud during the day and fire by night. When the cloud lifted and shifted, the Israelites moved. The Tabernacle was constructed in a way that emphasized ease of mobility. This enabled the Israelites to move when God moved. As God’s workmanship, where did Moses learn that kind of sensitivity to God’s movement? Did he learn it in the palace during his first forty years on the earth or perhaps during the second forty years of his life as a shepherd in the desert? The burning bush experience obviously made an abiding difference in his sensitivity to God’s Presence. God is always at work. Are you sensitive to His activity? You can experience God’s Presence moment by moment as you commune with Him through prayer and feed on His Word. You can experience God’s Presence as you maintain a posture of expectation and anticipation. You always find what you are looking for. If you are looking for the activity of God, you will find it. Recognition of God’s activity is proportionate to your sensitivity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Experiencing God God's Activity Sensitivity

Seeing God at Work

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.’” John 5:19-20 (ESV) Are you experiencing God? I remember the major shift that took place in my Christian journey after my wife and I went through Henry Blackaby’s workbook, Experiencing God. Instead of seeking to do something for God, we began embracing the discipline of allowing God to do His work in us and through us. The first of seven realities of Experiencing God is recognizing that God is always at work around you. If you want to see God at work, then ask God to heighten your sensitivity to His activity. Jesus was sensitive to God’s activity. Even at age twelve, Jesus announced to His earthly mom and dad, “I must be about my Father’s business.” Orient your life around God’s activity. Remember, 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. Jesus oriented His life around God’s activity so that He could join God in His activity. Place your “yes” on the altar and make yourself completely available for the Lord’s use. Ride the wave God creates. Look to see where He is at work so that you can join Him in His activity. Seek to turn interruptions into opportunities to join God in what He is doing. Pray this prayer with me: “Lord, I’m Yours! Help me to see where You are at work today so that I can join You!” Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
God's Activity Moses Sensitivity

Responding to God’s Activity

“In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out–until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.” Ex 40:36-38 (NIV) God makes His Presence known. For the children of Israel, God revealed His Presence through the glory cloud. God would guide the Israelites by the visible manifestation of the cloud during the day and fire by night. When the cloud lifted and shifted, the Israelites moved. The Tabernacle was constructed in a way that emphasized ease of mobility. This enabled the Israelites to move when God moved. As God’s workmanship, where did Moses learn that kind of sensitivity to God’s movement? Did he learn it in the palace during his first forty years on the earth or perhaps during the second forty years of his life as a shepherd in the desert? The burning bush experience obviously made an abiding difference in his sensitivity to God’s Presence. God is always at work. Are you sensitive to His activity? You can experience God’s Presence moment by moment as you commune with Him through prayer and feed on His Word. You can experience God’s Presence as you maintain a posture of expectation and anticipation. You always find what you are looking for. If you are looking for the activity of God, you will find it. Recognition of God’s activity is proportionate to your sensitivity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
God's Activity Joining God Moses

Moving with God

“In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out–until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.” Ex 40:36-38 (NIV) God makes His Presence known. For the children of Israel, God revealed His Presence through the glory cloud. God would guide the Israelites by the visible manifestation of the cloud during the day and fire by night. When the cloud lifted and shifted, the Israelites moved. The Tabernacle was constructed in a way that emphasized ease of mobility. This enabled the Israelites to move when God moved. As God’s workmanship, where did Moses learn that kind of sensitivity to God’s movement? Did he learn it in the palace during his first forty years on the earth or perhaps during the second forty years of his life as a shepherd in the desert? The burning bush experience obviously made an abiding difference in his sensitivity to God’s Presence. God is always at work. Are you sensitive to His activity? You can experience God’s Presence moment by moment as you commune with Him through prayer and feed on His Word. You can experience God’s Presence as you maintain a posture of expectation and anticipation. You always find what you are looking for. If you are looking for the activity of God, you will find it. Recognition of God’s activity is proportionate to your sensitivity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Christian Conduct God's Activity God's Word

Making Room for God’s Word

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Col 3:16 (NIV) Is God’s Word at home in your heart? Are you reading and feeding on God’s Word? Your daily intake of God’s Word will help you grow spiritually and develop relationally. God’s Word will help you know the nature and character of God and His plan. Henry Blackaby shared in a message at the Gideon Convention the following insight: “God is the center of His own activity and He invites us to join Him in His activity.” As you read God’s Word, you come to learn how to detect the activity of God. Constant intake of God’s Word increases your awareness of His activity and heightens your sensitivity to His redemptive activity. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalms 119:105 (NIV) “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim 3:16-17 (NIV) Do you have room for God’s Word? You must place a high value on spending time in God’s Word. Don’t rush your daily reading. Slow down and meditate on God’s Word. Be discipline to journal what God is saying to you through His Word. Seek to write down specific application steps that you will incorporate in your day. Align your life with God’s Word and embrace His agenda. Make room for God’s Word to take root and to bear fruit through your life and your lips. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

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God's Activity God's Will Journey On Mission

Joining God (3)

“Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” Acts 11:25-26 (NIV) Why did Barnabas need Saul? It would have made more sense for Barnabas to go back to Jerusalem and get Nicolas, one of the early deacons who happened to be from Antioch. Instead, Barnabas searched with intensity to locate Saul in order to bring Saul into the journey of what God was doing in the church in Antioch. Barnabas was very familiar with the calling God placed on Saul’s life. “But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’” Acts 9:15-16 (NIV) “When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.” Acts 9:26-27 (NIV) Barnabas included Saul in God’s activity in the church in Antioch. Partnering in ministry, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers for a whole year (Acts 11:26). Can you imagine sitting under the teaching of Barnabas and Saul for a year? The Christian life is not a solo flight. God wants you to bring others into the journey. Right now there are people in your sphere of influence who would benefit greatly by joining God in His redemptive activity as a result of your invitation. Be willing to search for them just as Barnabas searched for Saul. We do better together! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Barnabas God's Activity God's Agenda Grace

Joining God (2)

“News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” Acts 11:22-23 (NIV) What did the evidence of the grace of God look like when Barnabas arrived in Antioch? What did he see about the church in Antioch that made him think of the grace of God? He noticed that the Lord’s hand was with them and that great numbers of people were brought to the Lord (Acts 11:21,24). He witnessed sacrificial and spontaneous giving (Acts 11:27-30). The church in Antioch was serious about prayer, fasting, Christ-exalting worship, and missions (Acts 13:1-3). Had Barnabas not been willing to leave his comfort zone in Jerusalem and travel 300 miles north to Antioch, he would have missed seeing the evidence of the grace of God in the church in Antioch. Barnabas would have missed joining God in His redemptive activity in Antioch. Barnabas would have missed personally seeing the free expression of the loving kindness of God at work in the midst of Jews and Greeks worshiping together. What is keeping you from joining God in His redemptive activity? As Henry Blackaby says, “You cannot stay where you are and go with God.” For you, it may not mean a physical relocation. Joining God always produces a spiritual change in you so that you surrender fully and completely to His agenda. Be willing to leave your comfort zone in order to join God in His redemptive activity. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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God's Activity God's Agenda Obedience

Joining God (1)

“Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.” Acts 11:19-20 (NIV) Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire next to Rome and Alexandria. It was located three hundred miles north of Jerusalem. The city was a pagan metropolis with a population of about 500,000 people. Those who had been scattered by the persecution in Jerusalem in connection with Stephen were sharing the message of Christ with Jews in Phoenicia, Cypress, and Antioch. Some men from Cyprus and Cyrene began to share the message of Christ with the Greeks in Antioch. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” Acts 8:1 (NIV) “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” Acts 8:4 (NIV) The believers were willing to bloom where God planted them. Even though relocated as a result of persecution, they chose to share the good news of Jesus wherever they went. To join God in His redemptive activity, you must be willing to bloom where God plants you. Think about your current life situation. Think about those in your sphere of influence. God has you right where you are so that you can share Christ with those He has brought into your path. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Depression Elijah God's Activity One Month To Live

Living The Dash (4)

“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’” 1 Kings 19:3-4 (NIV) What kind of life am I living? As you assess your current reality, you will find that life has a rhythm. You will experience a season of highs and a season of lows and a season of in-betweens. Life will be marked by mountain top experiences, valley experiences, and uneventful plateaus. Life has a certain rhythm that requires our faith to be anchored to the Rock, Jesus Christ. Elijah had a mountain top experience on Mount Carmel and the power of God fell in a mighty demonstration. This would be considered a major spiritual marker in Elijah’s life as well as a major spiritual victory over the prophets of Baal and the prophets of Asherah. Yet, Elijah descends into major depression following this mountaintop experience to the point of wanting God to take his life. Now that’s pretty low! God came to Elijah’s rescue and provided him with rest, refreshment, revelation, and relationship. That’s the rhythm of life. Our life today is similar in that we will experience major spiritual victories as well as some personal defeats that knock the wind out of us. The question becomes: What kind of life am I living? In the midst of the realities of life on a broken planet in a fallen world, am I living the life God has for me? Am I joining God in His activity? If you had one month to live, what would be different about your response to the rhythms of life? How would you respond to adversity? How would you respond to victory? Would you choose to draw near to God or would you choose to drift in your love relationship with Him? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor