Categories
Delays Hannah Omniscience Suffering Trials

Being Misunderstood

“As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, ‘How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.’” 1 Sam 1:12-14 (ESV) Have you ever been misunderstood? When you are hurting, your emotions will be expressed through anger, suppression, depression, or grief. At some point, your hurt will manifest. For Hannah, her pain was being expressed through heartfelt prayer. She was unveiling her broken heart before the Lord. Hannah was barren. Eli misinterpreted her pain as that of being drunk. That was far from the truth of Hannah’s condition. She wasn’t drunk. She was devastated with the reality of her circumstances. Can you relate? “But Hannah answered, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.’” 1 Sam 1:15-16 (ESV) “They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the Lord.’” 1 Sam 1:19-20 (ESV) God knows what you are feeling right now. God knows where you are and where you are headed. Nothing catches God by surprise. Maybe you are experiencing a delay that just doesn’t make sense to you. Know that God has a purpose for every delay we endure. God understands our feelings and our frustrations even when others may not understand. God is all-knowing. God has the final say! For those who have misunderstood you, will you entrust them to God? For the delays you are experiencing, will you entrust them to God as well? Following Jesus Every Day, Stephen Trammell

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Devotion Job Omniscience

Fully Devoted

“‘But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.’” Job 23:10-12 (ESV) Job was fully devoted to God. Both in private and in public, Job was cognizant of the omniscience of God. Job recognized that God was all-knowing and all-seeing and that nothing escapes God’s attention. As a result, Job was conscientious about the paths he took, he was cautious about the decisions he made, and he was committed to the ways of God. Your decisions determine your direction and ultimately your destination. The decisions you make each day have immediate and eternal implications. Therefore, your decision-making process is vital. Are you doing life God’s way? Are you making decisions based on God’s will or based on your own personal agenda. Job did not make decisions in a vacuum. Job had a heightened awareness of God’s activity. In revering God, Job lived his life in view of God’s purpose and plan. He did not want to make a decision that would violate God’s nature and character. Job wanted to live his life consistent with God’s will. God knows the way you take. When He has tried you, will you come out as gold? Hold fast to God’s steps. Keep His way and do not deviate from His path. Do not depart from His commandments. Ask God to show you what you need to stop doing, what you need to continue doing, and what you need to start doing? Be a fully devoted follower of Christ and passionately pursue His will. Riding HIS Wave, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell  

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God's Perspective Omnipresence Omniscience

God’s Perspective

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” 2 Peter 3:8 (NIV) Perspective is everything. When you view life from your own perspective, the view can be incomplete. In our humanity, we may only view ten yards at a time on the football field. God sees the entire field of our lives. God is not limited by time or space. God is eternal. God was never born and God will never die. God is not decaying nor growing old. God is immutable in that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). In other words, God is. God is omnipresent. There is nowhere God is not. God is omniscient. There is nothing God does not know. Nothing ever occurs to God. Nothing catches God by surprise. Nothing happens without God’s permission. God is sovereign. He rules and He reigns. From our human perspective, a thousands years is a long time. For us, it is more than twelve times our life expectancy. God views a thousand years like a day. From God’s perspective, a day is like a thousand years. God does not operate in the confines of our human perspective. God is not limited by our finite comprehension of His eternal nature. Choose to live your life in light of eternity. Realize that there is more to this life than what you see. There is life beyond the grave. Every moment counts. Therefore, make every moment of your life count for God’s glory. View others through the reality of eternity. Live in such a way as to compel those outside of the family of faith to become followers of Jesus Christ. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Devotion Job Omniscience

Fully Devoted

“‘But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. 11 My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. 12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.’” Job 23:10-12 (ESV) Job was fully devoted to God. Both in private and in public, Job was cognizant of the omniscience of God. Job recognized that God was all-knowing and all-seeing and that nothing escapes God’s attention. As a result, Job was conscientious about the paths he took, he was cautious about the decisions he made, and he was committed to the ways of God. Your decisions determine your direction and ultimately your destination. The decisions you make each day have immediate and eternal implications. Therefore, your decision-making process is vital. Are you doing life God’s way? Are you making decisions based on God’s will or based on your own personal agenda. Job did not make decisions in a vacuum. Job had a heightened awareness of God’s activity. In revering God, Job lived his life in view of God’s purpose and plan. He did not want to make a decision that would violate God’s nature and character. Job wanted to live his life consistent with God’s will. God knows the way you take. When He has tried you, will you come out as gold? Hold fast to God’s steps. Keep His way and do not deviate from His path. Do not depart from His commandments. Ask God to show you what you need to stop doing, what you need to continue doing, and what you need to start doing? Be a fully devoted follower of Christ and passionately pursue His will. Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 9: Job 21-23) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
God's Perspective Omnipresence Omniscience

God’s Perspective

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” 2 Peter 3:8 (NIV) Perspective is everything. When you view life from your own perspective, the view can be incomplete. In our humanity, we may only view ten yards at a time on the football field. God sees the entire field of our lives. God is not limited by time or space. God is eternal. God was never born and God will never die. God is not decaying nor growing old. God is immutable in that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). In other words, God is. God is omnipresent. There is nowhere God is not. God is omniscient. There is nothing God does not know. Nothing ever occurs to God. Nothing catches God by surprise. Nothing happens without God’s permission. God is sovereign. He rules and He reigns. From our human perspective, a thousands years is a long time. For us, it is more than twelve times our life expectancy. God views a thousand years like a day. From God’s perspective, a day is like a thousand years. God does not operate in the confines of our human perspective. God is not limited by our finite comprehension of His eternal nature. Choose to live your life in light of eternity. Realize that there is more to this life than what you see. There is life beyond the grave. Every moment counts. Therefore, make every moment of your life count for God’s glory. View others through the reality of eternity. Live in such a way as to compel those outside of the family of faith to become followers of Jesus Christ. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

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Omniscience Petition Prayer

Before You Pray

“‘And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.’” Matt 6:7-8 (NIV) Before you pray, consider the One you are praying to. God has invited you into the most amazing conversation you will ever have. Prayer is having face-time with the One who designed you. God thought of you long before you thought of Him. You are privileged with the communication that will continue for eternity. Your love relationship with God is continual, perpetual, and eternal. God does not respond to your prayer based on the number of words you articulate. Unleashing a barrage of words does not give you favor with God. The prayer relationship God invites you into does not depend on excessive verbiage, but rather on the sufficiency of God’s omniscience. God knows everything about you and every detail of every situation surrounding your life. God is fully aware of your current reality. He knows where you have been, where you are, and where you are going. God knows your inmost fears and frustrations. Don’t be like the pagan who thinks he will be heard because of his catalogue of words. God knows exactly what you need before you ask Him. Prayer is not bringing God up on your circumstances, but bringing you up on God and His sovereignty over your circumstances. When you pray, be mindful of God’s activity in your life. Be alert to the awesome nature and character of God. The reality of prayer is an abiding comfort in that your lifeline to God is always connected. You have direct access to the One who gave His one and only Son to grant that access. What will you do with the honor and privilege of prayer? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

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Delays Life Omniscience Sovereignty Unmet Expectations

Painful Delays

“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” John 11:5-6 (NIV) Delays are painful. We understand that God is all-knowing and that God is love, but we just don’t always fully understand God’s timing. When God doesn’t respond in the time frame that we have established, we wonder if God really cares. Delays intensify our fears and magnify the reality of our meager faith. Have you ever been between a rock and hard place and wondered if God would come through for you? Have your circumstances ever taken you to a place you never thought you would go? God allows us to go through those seasons and experience those places in order to come to know the depth of His love. God is for us. God always has our best interest in mind. Nothing happens to a child of God without His permission. If God permits it, then God will use it for your good and for His glory. Martha and Mary experienced the full impact of a delay. Their brother, Lazarus, was sick and died before Jesus got there. They knew firsthand the trauma of unmet expectations. They had seen Jesus speak life into the dead. They had seen Jesus restore sight to the blind, speech to the mute, mobility to the lame, and hearing to the deaf. Yet, Jesus did not operate according to their personal time preference. Jesus delayed. Why doesn’t God show up to resolve your dilemmas sooner? Why does God seem to delay His response to your need for divine intervention? God’s timing is perfect. He is never late. God, in His sovereignty, takes the confetti of our lives and produces a portrait of His grace. Do you trust God? Are you entrusting your life and your circumstances to His care? Are you willing to obey God in the midst of a perceived delay? 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

Categories
All Knowing Attributes of God Omniscience Omniscient

Omniscience

“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” Psalms 139:1-4 (NIV) God is all-knowing. There is nothing that God does not know. Has it ever occurred to you that nothing ever occurs to God? Even when you pray, you are not bringing God up on your situation or circumstances.  In His teaching on prayer, Jesus said, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him”(Matt 6:8 NIV). God knows everything you have faced, everything you are facing, and everything you will face.   God knew you before you were conceived by your parents. “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations’”(Jer 1:4-5 NIV). God knew exactly what He wanted to do in you and through you to fulfill His purposes during your lifetime on planet earth. It is hard to fathom, but God even knew the choices you would make up to this point and knows what choices you will make today. The beauty of God’s love is that in His omniscience, knowing everything about us and our decisions, He chooses to love us and He chooses to use us for His glory.   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

Categories
Delays Hannah Omniscience Suffering Trials

Real Trials (5)

“As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, ‘How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.’” 1 Sam 1:12-14 (NIV) Have you ever been misunderstood? When you are hurting, your emotions will be expressed through anger, suppression, depression, or grief. At some point, your hurt will manifest. For Hannah, her pain was being expressed through heartfelt prayer. She was unveiling her broken heart before the Lord. Hannah was barren. Eli misinterpreted her pain as that of being drunk. That was far from the truth of Hannah’s condition. She wasn’t drunk. She was devastated with the reality of her circumstances. Can you relate? “‘Not so, my lord,’ Hannah replied, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.’” 1 Sam 1:15-16 (NIV) “Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the LORD for him.’” 1 Sam 1:19-20 (NIV) God knows what you are feeling right now. God knows where you are and where you are headed. Nothing catches God by surprise. Maybe you are experiencing a delay that just doesn’t make sense to you. Know that God has a purpose for every delay we endure. God understands our feelings and our frustrations even when others may not understand. God is all-knowing. God has the final say! For those who have misunderstood you, will you entrust them to God? For the delays you are experiencing, will you entrust them to God as well? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
Delays Life Omniscience Sovereignty Unmet Expectations

Living the Life (2)

“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” John 11:5-6 (NIV) Delays are painful. We understand that God is all-knowing and that God is love, but we just don’t always fully understand God’s timing. When God doesn’t respond in the time frame that we have established, we wonder if God really cares. Delays intensify our fears and magnify the reality of our meager faith. Have you ever been between a rock and hard place and wondered if God would come through for you? Have your circumstances ever taken you to a place you never thought you would go? God allows us to go through those seasons and experience those places in order to come to know the depth of His love. God is for us. God always has our best interest in mind. Nothing happens to a child of God without His permission. If God permits it, then God will use it for your good and for His glory. Martha and Mary experienced the full impact of a delay. Their brother, Lazarus, was sick and died before Jesus got there. They knew firsthand the trauma of unmet expectations. They had seen Jesus speak life into the dead. They had seen Jesus restore sight to the blind, speech to the mute, mobility to the lame, and hearing to the deaf. Yet, Jesus did not operate according to their personal time preference. Jesus delayed. Why doesn’t God show up to resolve your dilemmas sooner? Why does God seem to delay His response to your need for divine intervention? God’s timing is perfect. He is never late. God, in His sovereignty, takes the confetti of our lives and produces a portrait of His grace. Do you trust God? Are you entrusting your life and your circumstances to His care? Are you willing to obey God in the midst of a perceived delay? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
Heart Omniscience Passion Something Great

Something Great for God (3)

Put your heart into it…because God knows. “Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple…” 1 Chron 29:3 (NIV) What are you passionate about? What makes you come alive? Whatever you are passionate about will determine how you allocate your time, energy, and focus. Your passion follows your devotion. David was fully devoted to God. As a result, David was passionate about loving what God loved and hating what God hated. In his devotion to God, David expressed his passion by giving generously to the Lord’s work. He willingly gave his personal treasures to provide for the building of the temple.   “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matt 6:21 (NIV) “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Cor 4:18 (NIV) Is your heart right with God? God knows what makes you come alive. God knows what you are passionate about. Being all-knowing and all-seeing, God knows the level of your devotion to Him. What changes do you need to make in your priorities to reflect full devotion to God? God will do something great with a life fully devoted to Him. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Categories
All Knowing Attributes of God Omniscience Omniscient

Omniscience

“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” Psalms 139:1-4 (NIV) God is all-knowing. There is nothing that God does not know. Has it ever occurred to you that nothing ever occurs to God? Even when you pray, you are not bringing God up on your situation or circumstances.  In His teaching on prayer, Jesus said, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him”(Matt 6:8 NIV). God knows everything you have faced, everything you are facing, and everything you will face.   God knew you before you were conceived by your parents. “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations’”(Jer 1:4-5 NIV). God knew exactly what He wanted to do in you and through you to fulfill His purposes during your lifetime on planet earth. It is hard to fathom, but God even knew the choices you would make up to this point and knows what choices you will make today. The beauty of God’s love is that in His omniscience, knowing everything about us and our decisions, He chooses to love us and He chooses to use us for His glory.   Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor