“‘Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.’” Josh 24:14-15 (NIV) Joshua’s passion for God was contagious. He was willing to take responsibility for the spiritual condition of his home. Joshua made a bold proclamation that as for he and his household, they would serve the Lord. He did not apologize for his passion to obey God. His loyalty to God was expressed through his passion for God. Joshua’s passion to lead his family spiritually impacted the nation. “‘Now then,’ said Joshua, ‘throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.’” Josh 24:23 (NIV) “And the people said to Joshua, ‘We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.’” Josh 24:24 (NIV) It is interesting that Joshua did not ask the people to do anything he had not already done. Joshua put his passion in action by leading his family to revere and serve the Lord. Now the people could respond to his example and to his exhortation. Are you putting your passion in action in such as way as to impact your family and those in your sphere of influence? Is your passion for God contagious or difficult to detect? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Category: Passion
Categories
Enlightened Zeal
“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Romans 10:1-4 (NIV) Paul identifies the possibility of being zealous for God and yet not being saved. Paul examined the fruit of the Israelites in his day and detected their zeal for God. He noticed that their zeal was not based on knowledge. As a result, their pursuit of righteousness was faulty. They were unwilling to submit to God’s righteousness and as a result they failed to recognize Christ. Don’t allow your zeal to blind you from truth. Before you put your passion in action, make sure you are grounded in the truth of God’s revelation. God has made His salvation plan known. Make certain of your personal born again experience. Revisit your conversion and trace your zeal from that moment to now. What if you had less than one month to live? How would you inform your passion in order to properly unleash your passion for the things of God? Stay in the know. Invest time in securing a daily intake of God’s Word. If you want to know the heart of God, read His Word. If you want to know the blessings of God, obey His Word. God honors obedience! If you want to put your passion in action, be zealous to know and obey God’s Word! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Demonstrating Your Devotion
“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.” Prov 23:17 (NIV) The current of our culture is counter Christian. As you seek to live out your faith in a fallen world, you will quickly discover that walking in reverence to God and in full devotion to Jesus will place you in the minority. You may forfeit popularity in this sin-saturated culture, but you will not forfeit your position in Christ. You may not be affirmed by society for your faithfulness to God, but God will reward you because He is all knowing and takes care of His own. Don’t allow the prosperity of the wicked to distract you in this life. Don’t allow the visible affluence of the disobedient to diminish your passion for the things of God. Always be zealous for the Lord. Guard your heart and fortify your passion for God. Revere God as your Heavenly Father. Revere God as the One who created you, pursued you, rescued you, and empowers you for victorious living. Revere God for His holiness. Revere God for His nature and character. Demonstrate your devotion to God by your unwavering allegiance to His redemptive plan. What if you had less than thirty days to live? How would your loyalty be adjusted? Would your allegiance to God’s agenda expand? How differently would you channel your passion? Let’s live life for God with the intensity of our final days on the earth. God deserves our best! God deserves our reverence and our diligence! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11 (NIV) What are you passionate about? What are you giving your time, energy, and resources to? What gets the best of you? You answer unveils your zeal. God placed zeal in you. Your passion is an expression of your spiritual DNA. God gives you the ability to be passionate in this life. However, it is possible to misdirect the passion God gives you. Your passion can be diverted to areas that are unhealthy or unfruitful. You can channel your passion to outlets that dishonor God or even to good things that rob God’s best for you. God’s Word teaches us to keep our spiritual fervor. Our passion in action should be vertical in nature. We are to be passionate for God. Our zeal for God and His Kingdom should never experience a deficit. As we nurture our passion for God, we are to keep our passion channeled in the paths that God provides. Are you passionate about the things of God? Does your life give evidence to the passion God desires from you? Take some time to assess your current reality. See if your passion is misdirected. Examine your life to the level of identifying the source of your passion and the expression of your passion in action. 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) Be tenacious. 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
Unrelenting Pursuit
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Phil 3:10-11 (NIV) What makes you come alive? What are you passionate about? What gets your focus, attention, and energy? Paul was clear about the pursuit of his life. God had radically transformed his life on the road to Damascus and called him to a life of dangerous surrender. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul gave insight to his unrelenting pursuit of knowing Christ. His passion was to know Christ more. Paul desired to take his love relationship with Christ to a deeper level. He wanted to personally know the power of Christ’s resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings. Paul was not satisfied with religion and routine. He passionately desired the real, authentic, and vibrant love relationship with Christ that no other relationship could offer. Assess your pursuit. Are there fragments of apathy and lethargy? Have you been distracted by worldliness or worry? Living in a fallen world can dilute your passion for the things of God. Recognize those things in your life that have stifled your spiritual appetite. Remove those things that have usurped your hunger and thirst for God. You determine the level of your pursuit of knowing Jesus more. Be unrelenting in your pursuit of a vibrant and growing love relationship with Christ. Emulate Paul’s passion to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. Return to your first love. Guard your heart and passionately pursue Christ! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Passion for His Presence
“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6 (NIV) What kind of person does God use? What are the characteristics that are evident in the person God uses? God uses the person who has a passion for His presence. One of the characteristics evident in the person God uses is passion. Passion is more than a feeling. Passion is the divine energy from God to accomplish His will His way. What are you passionate about? What makes you come alive? You may be passionate about your career, your car, your family, or your finances. You may be passionate about your position, prestige, pleasure, or possessions. You can be passionately devoted to things that are good and yet miss God’s best for you. God has a plan for your life and you will need His passion to accomplish His plan. God uses the person who is passionate in the pursuit of God’s presence. God wants you to seek Him diligently and passionately. God wants you to call on Him while He is near. Don’t allow your passion for temporal things to rob your passion for that which is eternal. “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) Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Col 3:1-3 (NIV) God wants to be sought. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). Ask God to restore your passion for His presence. Confess anything in your life that has diluted your devotion. Return to your first love! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” 1 Tim 1:5 (NIV) Your reputation is based on what others say about you. Your character is based on what you really are when no one is looking. Nothing neutralizes your witness faster than hypocrisy. In reality, you can fool people by projecting a persona that does not line up with the reality of your personal character. However, God sees the unseen and knows the unknown. Paul exhorted Timothy to operate in love from a heart that is pure, a conscience that is well informed, and a faith that is sincere. The value of a sincere faith is immeasurable. Are you for real? Does your public life line up with your private life? Is your faith sincere? God knows the real you. God sees the sincerity of your faith. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalms 139:23-24 (NIV) “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.” Prov 16:2 (NIV) Comparing yourself to others will not add value to your pursuit of becoming like Christ. Allow Jesus to be your standard for measurement. Confess any attitudes or actions that distract and damage your relentless pursuit of Christlikeness. Be willing to pray a dangerous prayer asking God to search your heart. Ask God to reveal anything in your life that brings Him displeasure. A sincere faith is worth finding and worth following. 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
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:12-14 (NIV) Don’t get too comfortable with your level of intimacy with God and your level of spiritual maturity. There’s more to explore! Don’t get too comfortable with your current understanding of the Bible. There’s more to explore! One indication of Paul’s spiritual maturity was his recognition of lack of spiritual maturity. Paul was not satisfied to coast down lazy river. Instead, he embraced the posture of leaning forward to become everything God had purposed for Paul to become. Paul never lost sight of the past God delivered him from, but he focused on the future in order to press on toward the goal to win the prize. Remember who you are in Christ and where God has brought you from. Remember why Jesus died for you and why God raised Him from the dead. Remember that you have been adopted into God’s family and filled by His Holy Spirit. Now forget what is behind. Strain toward what is ahead and press on! Keep your eyes on the prize! Keep your eyes on the prize! Keep your eyes on the prize! 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
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Cor 9:24-27 (NIV) When I read this passage it reminds me of my experience of training for a 5k race. You may think that I meant that I was training for a marathon, but I was training for my first ever 5 kilometer race. I grew up racing motocross, bmx, and Jet Skis. But it wasn’t until I was in my mid-thirties that I embraced the challenge of running this type of race. I discovered that the intensity level in the training phase has proportionate benefits to the racing phase. Training matters! The Christian life is very similar to that of a race. Jesus calls us to run with purpose, focus, and intensity. We are to run in such a way as to get the prize. The focus of the Christian life is not comfort, but change. As we diligently run the race set before us, Jesus transforms us into His image. Knowing that we are going to receive a crown that will last forever, we are to run this race with passion and laser focus. Our lives are to be marked by discipline and self-control. There’s more to this life than preparing for and running in a 5k. God has an assignment tailor made for you to fulfill. God will comfort you as you comfort others and as He changes you. Allow God to empower you for the race. Be committed to finish strong! 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
Passion in Action (7)
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal 2:20 (NIV) Are you dying to live? You can spend your entire life trying to figure out how to really live. Your constant pursuit can be saturated with seeking to discover life. Meanwhile, life happens while you are trying to get a grasp on life. Paul gives tremendous insight into the life God has for you. In order to live, you must die. The life God has for you is really not your life. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you have been crucified with Christ. You have already died to yourself so that Christ can live in you. Don’t miss the parallel. You died so that Christ can live in you and through you. Yet, the life you now live in the body is lived by faith in Jesus, who loved you and gave himself for you. You are dying to live. “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.’” Luke 9:23-24 (NIV) “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” Romans 8:11 (NIV) Put your passion in action by allowing Jesus to live His life in and through you. Give Jesus the reins to your life and let Him have His way in you. Surrender to His Lordship and submit to His prompting. Your passion will be evidenced by your obedience. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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Passion in Action (6)
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Cor 9:24 (NIV) Life is not a sprint, but a marathon. The Greeks had two athletic festivals: the Olympic games and the Isthmian games. Paul’s audience would immediately connect this running imagery with the Isthmian games in their city of Corinth. Instead of receiving a gold, silver, or bronze medal like in our current day Olympics, only one prize was awarded in the Isthmian games. The winning runner would receive a wreath. Nothing was awarded to the runner who came in second or third. Only one person got the prize! Paul is encouraging us as believers to run in such a way as to get that prize. We are to live the Christian life with passion. God desires our best and God deserves our best. So, how are you running the Christian race? Are you running with passion? Too often, we divert our passion to other venues. We rob God and we give our best to that which has no eternal value. How you live is just as important as how much time you have left on this earth. The quality of your life is just as vital as the quantity of your remaining days. How will you live your life? If you had less than one month to live, would your passion in the race of life be vertical? Would your passion for God and His agenda be evident? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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Passion in Action (5)
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:3-6 (NIV) The Apostle Paul demonstrated his love for the church at Philippi by his passionate intercession for them. He prayed with joy because of their partnership in the gospel. He prayed with confidence knowing that God began a good work in them and would bring it to completion. Paul’s prayer life was energized by his love for the believers at Philippi. Paul was not alone. The Holy Spirit joined in the divine communication by interceding for the saints in Philippi. Jesus interceded for them from the right hand of God in heaven. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27 (NIV) “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34 (NIV) When you pray for others, you have the divine privilege of joining the Holy Spirit and Jesus in the ministry of intercession. Put your passion in action by embracing the ministry of intercessory prayer. Who will you begin to pray for today? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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Passion in Action (4)
“‘Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.’” Josh 24:14-15 (NIV) Joshua’s passion for God was contagious. He was willing to take responsibility for the spiritual condition of his home. Joshua made a bold proclamation that as for he and his household, they would serve the Lord. He did not apologize for his passion to obey God. His loyalty to God was expressed through his passion for God. Joshua’s passion to lead his family spiritually impacted the nation. “‘Now then,’ said Joshua, ‘throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.’” Josh 24:23 (NIV) “And the people said to Joshua, ‘We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.’” Josh 24:24 (NIV) It is interesting that Joshua did not ask the people to do anything he had not already done. Joshua put his passion in action by leading his family to revere and serve the Lord. Now the people could respond to his example and to his exhortation. Are you putting your passion in action in such as way as to impact your family and those in your sphere of influence? Is your passion for God contagious or difficult to detect? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
Categories
Passion in Action (3)
“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Romans 10:1-4 (NIV) Paul identifies the possibility of being zealous for God and yet not being saved. Paul examined the fruit of the Israelites in his day and detected their zeal for God. He noticed that their zeal was not based on knowledge. As a result, their pursuit of righteousness was faulty. They were unwilling to submit to God’s righteousness and as a result they failed to recognize Christ. “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.” Prov 19:2 (NIV) Don’t allow your zeal to blind you from truth. Before you put your passion in action, make sure you are grounded in the truth of God’s revelation. God has made His salvation plan known. Make certain of your personal born again experience. Revisit your conversion and trace your zeal from that moment to now. What if you had less than one month to live? How would you inform your passion in order to properly unleash your passion for the things of God? Stay in the know. Invest time in securing a daily intake of God’s Word. If you want to know the heart of God, read His Word. If you want to know the blessings of God, obey His Word. God honors obedience! If you want to put your passion in action, be zealous to know and obey God’s Word! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
Categories
Passion in Action (2)
“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.” Prov 23:17 (NIV) The current of our culture is counter Christian. As you seek to live out your faith in a fallen world, you will quickly discover that walking in reverence to God and in full devotion to Jesus will place you in the minority. You may forfeit popularity in this sin saturated culture, but you will not forfeit your position in Christ. You may not be affirmed by society for your faithfulness to God, but you will be rewarded by God who is all-knowing and who takes care of HIs own. Don’t allow the prosperity of the wicked to distract you in this life. Don’t allow the visible affluence of the disobedient to diminish your passion for the things of God. Always be zealous for the Lord. Guard your heart and fortify your passion for God. Revere God as your Heavenly Father. Revere God as the One who created you, pursued you, rescued you, and empowers you for victorious living. Revere God for His holiness. Revere God for His nature and character. Demonstrate your devotion to God by your unwavering allegiance to His redemptive plan. What if you had less than thirty days to live? How would your loyalty be adjusted? Would your allegiance to God’s agenda expand? How differently would you channel your passion? Let’s live life for God with the intensity of our final days on the earth. God deserves our best! God deserves our reverence and our diligence! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
Categories
Passion in Action (1)
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11 (NIV) What are you passionate about? What are you giving your time, energy, and resources to? What gets the best of you? You answer unveils your zeal. God placed zeal in you. Your passion is an expression of your spiritual DNA. God gives you the ability to be passionate in this life. However, it is possible to misdirect the passion God gives you. Your passion can be diverted to areas that are unhealthy or unfruitful. You can channel your passion to outlets that dishonor God or even to good things that rob God’s best for you. God’s Word teaches us to keep our spiritual fervor. Our passion in action should be vertical in nature. We are to be passionate for God. Our zeal for God and His Kingdom should never experience a deficit. As we nurture our passion for God, we are to keep our passion channeled in the paths that God provides. Are you passionate about the things of God? Does your life give evidence to the passion God desires from you? Take some time to assess your current reality. See if your passion is misdirected. Examine your life to the level of identifying the source of your passion and the expression of your passion in action. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
“The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” 1 Tim 1:5 (NIV) Your reputation is based on what others say about you. Your character is based on what you really are when no one is looking. Nothing neutralizes your witness faster than hypocrisy. In reality, you can fool people by projecting a persona that does not line up with the reality of your personal character. However, God sees the unseen and knows the unknown. Paul exhorted Timothy to operate in love from a heart that is pure, a conscience that is well informed, and a faith that is sincere. The value of a sincere faith is immeasurable. Are you for real? Does your public life line up with your private life? Is your faith sincere? God knows the real you. God sees the sincerity of your faith. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalms 139:23-24 (NIV) “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.” Prov 16:2 (NIV) Comparing yourself to others will not add value to your pursuit of becoming like Christ. Allow Jesus to be your standard for measurement. Confess any attitudes or actions that distract and damage your relentless pursuit of Christlikeness. Be willing to pray a dangerous prayer asking God to search your heart. Ask God to reveal anything in your life that brings Him displeasure. A sincere faith is worth finding and worth following. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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Sincere Faith (6)
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim 3:14-15 (NIV) Make good on what your parents leave you. Financial prosperity may not travel through your family tree, yet sincere faith can. Consider what your parents have left you in the realm of faith. What did they model before you as a child? How did they impart sincere faith throughout your upbringing? Were they instrumental in developing your appetite for reading God’s Word? Did God use them to strengthen your prayer life and to fortify your faith in God? Whatever your parents have left you in the realm of faith, make good on it. Maximize what you have been given. Standing on their shoulders, your sincere faith can grow and even multiply through the relationships in your sphere of influence. Paul instructed Timothy to continue in what he had learned from the holy Scriptures. God’s Word is your best teacher. If your parents pointed you to God’s Word and demonstrated an abiding love for His Word, you are blessed. If your parents did not hand down that kind of passion for God’s Word, don’t allow their neglect to immobilize you. Commit to feeding your appetite for reading the Bible and choose to impart that lifestyle to others. What are you doing with what you have been given? Eliminate excuses and embrace daily spiritual disciplines that will enhance your walk with God and impact others for God’s glory. One of the most powerful investments in your day is the investment of time you allocate to reading the Bible. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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The Comfortable Life (4)
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:12-14 (NIV) Don’t get too comfortable with your level of intimacy with God and your level of spiritual maturity. There’s more to explore! Don’t get too comfortable with your current understanding of the Bible. There’s more to explore! One indication of Paul’s spiritual maturity was his recognition of lack of spiritual maturity. Paul was not satisfied to coast down lazy river. Instead, he embraced the posture of leaning forward to become everything God had purposed for Paul to become. Paul never lost sight of the past God delivered him from, but he focused on the future in order to press on toward the goal to win the prize. Remember who you are in Christ and where God has brought you from. Remember why Jesus died for you and why God raised Him from the dead. Remember that you have been adopted into God’s family and filled by His Holy Spirit. Now forget what is behind. Strain toward what is ahead and press on! Keep your eyes on the prize! Keep your eyes on the prize! Keep your eyes on the prize! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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The Comfortable Life (3)
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Cor 9:24-27 (NIV) When I read this passage it reminds me of my experience of training for a 5k race. You may think that I meant that I was training for a marathon, but I was training for my first ever 5 kilometer race. I grew up racing motocross, bmx, and Jet Skis. But it wasn’t until I was in my mid-thirties that I embraced the challenge of a running race. I discovered that the intensity level in the training phase has proportionate benefits to the racing phase. Training matters! The Christian life is very similar to that of a race. Jesus calls us to run with purpose, focus, and intensity. We are to run in such a way as to get the prize. The focus of the Christian life is not comfort, but change. As we diligently run the race set before us, Jesus transforms us into His image. Knowing that we are going to receive a crown that will last forever, we are to run this race with passion and laser focus. Our lives are to be marked by discipline and self-control. There’s more to this life than preparing for and running in a 5k. God has an assignment tailor made for you to fulfill. God will comfort you as you comfort others and as He changes you. Allow God to empower you for the race. Be committed to finish strong! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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