Category: Repentance

Categories
2 Chronicles Repentance Solomon

Hear, Forgive, and Heal

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (ESV) How do you return to God after you have disobeyed Him? What do you do when you miss the mark of God’s holiness and perfection? Is there hope for you after you have made a poor decision? The wonderful news is that God is good and His steadfast love endures forever. You don’t have to run from God, you can run to God. Even if you have blown it! Even if you have drifted from God! You can run from your sin and you can run to the Lord. Humble yourself before the Lord. Take pride for a ride and get real about your sin. Get real about your current condition. Embrace the reality of your humanity and the certainty of His divinity. Acknowledge your desperation for your gracious God. Don’t stay in your sin. Pray! Don’t accept the detour as your intended path. Don’t go numb and silent. Go verbal with God by engaging in meaningful communication with God. Pray and seek His face. You will seek Him and you will find Him when you seek Him with all of your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). Turn from your sin and turn to the Lord. Repent! Change your mind about your sin and see your sin as God sees it. Run to God and confess your sin! How will God respond? He will hear from heaven and forgive your sin. Be restored to a right relationship with God. Experience His healing. God loves you too much to leave you in your sin. Following Jesus Every Day, Stephen Trammell

Categories
Decisions Joel Joel Repentance

Deliberate Decision

“‘Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.’ Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” Joel 2:12-13 (ESV) Consider going to a part of your life that is somewhat private and assess your normal response when you let God down. What do you do when you choose to disobey God? How do you respond to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Perhaps you seek to hide from God and try to work things out on your on. Maybe you choose to allow sufficient time to elapse so that your sensitivity to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit diminishes. Satan seeks to convince us that we need to delay our return to the Lord. We rationalize our sin and try to justify our choices. Eventually, we come to our senses and realize the foolishness of procrastination. We don’t need to wait to run back to God. We don’t have to get our lives all cleaned up and ordered in order to return to the One who redeemed us with His love. “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Rev. 2:4-5 (ESV) The moment you become conscious of sin, run to God. Don’t hesitate! Confess your sin instantly, specifically, and then receive God’s forgiveness completely. Don’t give the devil a toehold, a foothold, or a stronghold in your life. As soon as you become aware of even a fraction of sin in your life, run to God! Riding HIS Wave, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Jeremiah Judgment Repentance

Dislodge Wicked Thoughts

“O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?” Jeremiah 4:14 (ESV) Your thought-life determines your walk-life. It matters how you think and it matters what you think. Your thoughts prompt your behavior. When impure thoughts linger, your life becomes contaminated. Impure thoughts can stain a pure heart. The word of the Lord came through Jeremiah for the people to wash their hearts from evil so they could be saved. Jeremiah confronted them for their wicked thoughts lodged within them. The same word of the Lord could be spoken over us in our contemporary context in our culture saturated with sinful indulgence. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’” Jeremiah 6:16 (ESV) “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (ESV) Dislodge wicked thoughts. Take every thought captive. Remember when you put garbage in, you get garbage out. Protect your mind and guard your heart. Find the good way and walk in it. Take paths that are firm and that are in alignment with God’s purposes and plan. Find rest for your soul. Instead of conforming to the pattern of this world, be transformed by renewing your mind. Replace falsehood with the truth of God’s Word. Delete deception and embrace truth. Run from sin and run to Jesus. Flee sin and follow after the things of God. Feed on God’s Word and maintain daily intimacy with God. Deliberately draw near to God. Riding HIS Wave, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Isaiah Repentance Revival

Revival Awaits

“Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!” Isaiah 64:1-2 (ESV) We are desperate for revival in America. The slippery slope of sin has eroded the landscape of morality and dulled the point of purity in our society. Defiance and drifting have marked the cultural current of casual Christianity. What was once abhorred in American history is now deemed the new normal. We have accelerated the vast array of sinful indulgence and have become preoccupied with self worship. In the darkest of nights, the light of God’s holiness shines the brightest. We are positioned for a great move of God. God is pursuing us with His redeeming love and we have the capacity to respond to His pursuit. This is not the time to be “at ease in Zion” and settle for mediocrity. Jesus has paid far too high a price for our salvation. Let’s not accept the status quo and let’s refrain from embracing the embers of idolatry. In brokenness over our sin and in humility before the Creator of the universe, let’s pray for revival. Pray that God would open the heavens and come down to reveal His glory, to reveal His holiness, and to usher in revival in America. May the mountains quake at His presence and may the nations tremble at His presence. Confess known sin instantly and completely. Receive God’s forgiveness and surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Passionately pursue God’s agenda. Seek His face with all your heart. Abandon your all. Place your “yes” on the altar and allow God to have His way in your life. Revival awaits! Riding HIS Wave, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor   Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
2 Chronicles Repentance Solomon

Hear, Forgive, and Heal

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (ESV) How do you return to God after you have disobeyed Him? What do you do when you miss the mark of God’s holiness and perfection? Is there hope for you after you have made a poor decision? The wonderful news is that God is good and His steadfast love endures forever. You don’t have to run from God, you can run to God. Even if you have blown it! Even if you have drifted from God! You can run from your sin and you can run to the Lord. Humble yourself before the Lord. Take pride for a ride and get real about your sin. Get real about your current condition. Embrace the reality of your humanity and the certainty of His divinity. Acknowledge your desperation for your gracious God. Don’t stay in your sin. Pray! Don’t accept the detour as your intended path. Don’t go numb and silent. Go verbal with God by engaging in meaningful communication with God. Pray and seek His face. You will seek Him and you will find Him when you seek Him with all of your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). Turn from your sin and turn to the Lord. Repent! Change your mind about your sin and see your sin as God sees it. Run to God and confess your sin! How will God respond? He will hear from heaven and forgive your sin. Be restored to a right relationship with God. Experience His healing. God loves you too much to leave you in your sin. Riding HIS Wave, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell  

Categories
Repentance Salvation Servitude

Transformation and Anticipation

“For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 (ESV) Before you were saved, you were running to sin and running from God. Now that you are saved, you run to God and run from sin. In Christ, you experience an authentic transformation whereby your sins are removed, you are reconciled to God, and you receive the imputed righteousness of Christ. Your appetite for sin is replaced with an appetite for righteousness. You hunger and thirst for God. There are no substitutes for a vibrant love relationship with the Lord. Nothing else will ever satisfy. The orientation of your life is centered on serving the living and true God. The witness of the Thessalonian believers was widespread. Their authentic transformation reverberated throughout Macedonia and Achaia. Their contagious faith had become known everywhere. Turning to God from idols, they embodied the servitude of Christ and served the living and true God. They became an irresistible influence for the Lord. When you experience the transformation Christ provides, you embrace a life of anticipation. You wait expectantly for the return of Christ from heaven. You live in light of His resurrection and His rescue. There is no one else who can rescue you from the coming wrath. God will judge sin. Those who have rejected God’s plan of salvation will spend eternity separated from God. Rejoice! Your transformation in Christ changes your eternal destiny. Hell is not your destination. The transformation you experienced in Christ assures your ultimate destination in heaven. Jesus will come for His church prior to the Tribulation. Jesus will come with His church after the Tribulation to establish His millennial reign upon the earth. Live in light of His return! Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Decisions Prodigal Repentance

Decisions Determine Direction

“So he got up and went to his father.” Luke 15:20 (NIV) God has enabled you to make decisions. As you know, with that kind of privilege comes an awesome responsibility to decide responsibly. There are so many options out there. Think about it. You will decide what to wear today. You will decide how you are going to interact with people today. You will decide where you will go throughout the day. You will decide what kind of attitude you will exhibit today. The prodigal son decided to leave his father’s presence, protection, and provision in order to embrace a lifestyle of instant gratification. His perpetual poor decisions led him down the muddy path into the pigpen. In the midst of the painful and devastating consequences proportionate to his poor decisions, the prodigal son made a decision that radically changed his future. He decided to get up and go back to his father. Joshua illuminates the power of making wise decisions when he says, “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). Don’t delay. Don’t procrastinate. You do not have to get your life in order before you decide to come back to our loving Heavenly Father. Come as you are and allow God to put you back together. His love is unconditional and His plan is personal and eternal. Your decision will determine the direction of your life. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Decisions Joel Joel Repentance

Deliberate Decision

“‘Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.’ Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” Joel 2:12-13 (ESV) Consider going to a part of your life that is somewhat private and assess your normal response when you let God down. What do you do when you choose to disobey God? How do you respond to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Perhaps you seek to hide from God and try to work things out on your on. Maybe you choose to allow sufficient time to elapse so that your sensitivity to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit diminishes. Satan seeks to convince us that we need to delay our return to the Lord. We rationalize our sin and try to justify our choices. Eventually, we come to our senses and realize the foolishness of procrastination. We don’t need to wait to run back to God. We don’t have to get our lives all cleaned up and ordered in order to return to the One who redeemed us with His love. “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Rev. 2:4-5 (ESV) The moment you become conscious of sin, run to God. Don’t hesitate! Confess your sin instantly, specifically, and then receive God’s forgiveness completely. Don’t give the devil a toehold, a foothold, or a stronghold in your life. As soon as you become aware of even a fraction of sin in your life, run to God! Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 255:  Joel) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Jeremiah Judgment Repentance

Dislodge Wicked Thoughts

“O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?” Jeremiah 4:14 (ESV) Your thought-life determines your walk-life. It matters how you think and it matters what you think. Your thoughts prompt your behavior. When impure thoughts linger, your life becomes contaminated. Impure thoughts can stain a pure heart. The word of the Lord came through Jeremiah for the people to wash their hearts from evil so they could be saved. Jeremiah confronted them for their wicked thoughts lodged within them. The same word of the Lord could be spoken over us in our contemporary context in our culture saturated with sinful indulgence. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’” Jeremiah 6:16 (ESV) “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (ESV) Dislodge wicked thoughts. Take every thought captive. Remember when you put garbage in, you get garbage out. Protect your mind and guard your heart. Find the good way and walk in it. Take paths that are firm and that are in alignment with God’s purposes and plan. Find rest for your soul. Instead of conforming to the pattern of this world, be transformed by renewing your mind. Replace falsehood with the truth of God’s Word. Delete deception and embrace truth. Run from sin and run to Jesus. Flee sin and follow after the things of God. Feed on God’s Word and maintain daily intimacy with God. Deliberately draw near to God. Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 220:  Jeremiah 4-6) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Isaiah Repentance Revival

Revival Awaits

“Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!” Isaiah 64:1-2 (ESV) We are desperate for revival in America. The slippery slope of sin has eroded the landscape of morality and dulled the point of purity in our society. Defiance and drifting have marked the cultural current of casual Christianity. What was once abhorred in American history is now deemed the new normal. We have accelerated the vast array of sinful indulgence and have become preoccupied with self worship. In the darkest of nights, the light of God’s holiness shines the brightest. We are positioned for a great move of God. God is pursuing us with His redeeming love and we have the capacity to respond to His pursuit. This is not the time to be “at ease in Zion” and settle for mediocrity. Jesus has paid far too high a price for our salvation. Let’s not accept the status quo and let’s refrain from embracing the embers of idolatry. In brokenness over our sin and in humility before the Creator of the universe, let’s pray for revival. Pray that God would open the heavens and come down to reveal His glory, to reveal His holiness, and to usher in revival in America. May the mountains quake at His presence and may the nations tremble at His presence. Confess known sin instantly and completely. Receive God’s forgiveness and surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Passionately pursue God’s agenda. Seek His face with all your heart. Abandon your all. Place your “yes” on the altar and allow God to have His way in your life. Revival awaits! Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 213:  Isaiah 64-66) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
2 Chronicles Repentance Solomon

Hear, Forgive, and Heal

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (ESV) How do you return to God after you have disobeyed Him? What do you do when you miss the mark of God’s holiness and perfection? Is there hope for you after you have made a poor decision? The wonderful news is that God is good and His steadfast love endures forever. You don’t have to run from God, you can run to God. Even if you have blown it! Even if you have drifted from God! You can run from your sin and you can run to the Lord. Humble yourself before the Lord. Take pride for a ride and get real about your sin. Get real about your current condition. Embrace the reality of your humanity and the certainty of His divinity. Acknowledge your desperation for your gracious God. Don’t stay in your sin. Pray! Don’t accept the detour as your intended path. Don’t go numb and silent. Go verbal with God by engaging in meaningful communication with God. Pray and seek His face. You will seek Him and you will find Him when you seek Him with all of your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). Turn from your sin and turn to the Lord. Repent! Change your mind about your sin and see your sin as God sees it. Run to God and confess your sin! How will God respond? He will hear from heaven and forgive your sin. Be restored to a right relationship with God. Experience His healing. God loves you too much to leave you in your sin. Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 165: 2 Chronicles 6-7; Psalm 136) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Decisions Prodigal Repentance

Decisions Determine Direction

“So he got up and went to his father.” Luke 15:20 (NIV) God has enabled you to make decisions. As you know, with that kind of privilege comes an awesome responsibility to decide responsibly. There are so many options out there. Think about it. You will decide what to wear today. You will decide how you are going to interact with people today. You will decide where you will go throughout the day. You will decide what kind of attitude you will exhibit today. The prodigal son decided to leave his father’s presence, protection, and provision in order to embrace a lifestyle of instant gratification. His perpetual poor decisions led him down the muddy path into the pigpen. In the midst of the painful and devastating consequences proportionate to his poor decisions, the prodigal son made a decision that radically changed his future. He decided to get up and go back to his father. Joshua illuminates the power of making wise decisions when he says, “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). Don’t delay. Don’t procrastinate. You do not have to get your life in order before you decide to come back to our loving Heavenly Father. Come as you are and allow God to put you back together. His love is unconditional and His plan is personal and eternal. Your decision will determine the direction of your life. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Repentance Salvation Servitude

Transformation and Anticipation

“They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead–Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” 1 Thess 1:9-10 (NIV) Before you were saved, you were running to sin and running from God. Now that you are saved, you run to God and run from sin. In Christ, you experience an authentic transformation whereby your sins are removed, you are reconciled to God, and you receive the imputed righteousness of Christ. Your appetite for sin is replaced with an appetite for righteousness. You hunger and thirst for God. There are no substitutes for a vibrant love relationship with the Lord. Nothing else will ever satisfy. The orientation of your life is centered on serving the living and true God. The witness of the Thessalonian believers was widespread. Their authentic transformation reverberated throughout Macedonia and Achaia. Their contagious faith had become known everywhere. Turning to God from idols, they embodied the servitude of Christ and served the living and true God. They became an irresistible influence for the Lord. When you experience the transformation Christ provides, you embrace a life of anticipation. You wait expectantly for the return of Christ from heaven. You live in light of His resurrection and His rescue. There is no one else who can rescue you from the coming wrath. God will judge sin. Those who have rejected God’s plan of salvation will spend eternity separated from God. Rejoice! Your transformation in Christ changes your eternal destiny. Hell is not your destination. The transformation you experienced in Christ assures your ultimate destination in heaven. Jesus will come for His church prior to the Tribulation. Jesus will come with His church after the Tribulation to establish His millennial reign upon the earth. Live in light of His return! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Confession Prayer Repentance

Confessing the Sins of Our Nation

“When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Neh 1:4 (NIV) Nehemiah was a slave in Babylon and served as cupbearer to the king. Once he received word about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile and about Jerusalem, Nehemiah was gripped with a tremendous burden to pray. As he fasted and prayed, Nehemiah confessed his own sins and the sins of the Israelites.  He prayed, “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses”(Neh. 1:6-7 NIV). Did you notice how Nehemiah said “we” Israelites? He took ownership for his own sins and for the sins of his people. Is it possible to confess the sins of our nation? Can we pray for our nation and actually confess the sins of our nation? When you are gripped with a burden to pray for our nation, it will mandate confronting and confessing the sins of our nation. You cannot spend time alone with God in prayer for our nation without being cognizant of the national sin that breaks the heart of God. Our nation is made up of fallen and flawed human beings who sometimes selfishly seek to gratify the cravings of their sin nature. God wants us to be a holy nation. God wants us to be a nation that fears and reveres Him. We can cry out to God on behalf of our nation and confess the sins that God brings to our attention. We can pray for revival and spiritual awakening to come to our nation. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Categories
Devotion Jesus Repentance

Returning to Your First Love

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Rev 2:4-5 (NIV) The church at Ephesus had a lot going for them. They were strong in deeds, hardworking, and known for their perseverance. They sought purity of doctrine, endured hardship, and served diligently. Yet, they bypassed their love relationship with God. The church had forsaken their first love. There are so many things vying for your affection and devotion. You can give your life to an endless array of commitments and neglect the most important relationship. It is possible to give a little bit of yourself to everything and have nothing left for the most vital relationship. Keeping you fragmented is one of Satan’s goals to keep you from nurturing the life-giving relationship that Christ provides. As long as you are distracted from that which is eternal, Satan knows that your effectiveness in the Kingdom of God will be stifled. Do you remember when your love relationship with Christ was your top priority? Measure how far you have drifted from that passionate intimate relationship you had with Christ. Repent! Choose to go a new direction by forsaking those things that hinder your love relationship with Christ. Give your full devotion to the One who died sacrificially so that you could live abundantly and eternally. Return to guarding your love relationship with Christ. Give the best of your life each day to the One who deserves first place in your life. Make a standing appointment with the Lord each morning to spend time with Him. Yield your life to the One who gave you life! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell