“With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.” Psalm 78:72 (ESV) Does the tongue in your mouth line up with the tongue in your shoe? Is your talk in alignment with your walk? If so, that’s integrity! Honesty and truthfulness are garments that every child of God should feature. To be a person of integrity is to be honest about who you are and truthful in your conversation and your conduct. Perhaps you know of people who are loaded with talent, but lack integrity. In many cases, their talent took them farther than their character could sustain them. We have watched countless talented men and women fall into grave immorality due to the lack of integrity. In God’s economy, talent and skill are insufficient without integrity. God wants us to use the gifts and abilities He has blessed us with through the avenue of integrity. The level of our integrity determines the veracity of our testimony. Purity, honesty, and authenticity are vital components for the person God uses. Sincere integrity is crucial for being on mission with God in a corrupt world. King David was not perfect. He made some poor choices and leveraged his position to indulge his sinful appetite. Yet, in brokenness and humility, he confessed his sin and received God’s forgiveness. David shepherded the people with integrity. He led the people with skillful hands. God’s grace was more than sufficient for the race. David learned to depend upon God and to trust in His daily provision. If God can make someone like King David into a man after God’s own heart, then there’s hope for us. We can walk in integrity through our daily dependence upon God. Without His ample supply of grace, we have no chance of living a life of integrity. God does not expect us to live the Christian life in our own strength. Let’s surrender completely to the Lord’s control and allow Him to live His life of integrity through us. Drawing Near, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Category: Sincerity
Categories
Sincere Love
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9 (NIV) Are you contagious in your Christianity? Your influence for Christ is propelled by sincere love. Love that is genuine, authentic, and without hypocrisy is the kind of love that makes your Christianity contagious. This kind of love originates with God and emanates from your life as you yield to His control. Choose to hate what God hates and love what God loves. Hate what is evil. Despise those things that break the heart of God. Fortify your life from poison of sin and the pollution of worldliness by hating evil and clinging to what is good. Consider those things that bring glory to God and cling to those things. Be discerning. Decipher the tactics of the enemy and embrace the way of the cross. Don’t give the devil a toehold which can become a foothold and ultimately become a stronghold in your life. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the schemes of the devil. Run from sin and run to Christ. Flee the impulses of immorality and pursue the purity of the Prince of Peace. Turn from the terrain of trespass and walk in the way of God’s Word. Allow the sincerity of God’s unconditional love permeate your life. Allow God’s love to illuminate your world and to influence the people He brings into your path. As you hate what is evil and cling to what is good, let the river of God’s love flow through you in order to bring hope and healing to a world in desperation. God loves you so much and desires that you be a channel of His love to a hurting world. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Sincere Love
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9 (NIV) Are you contagious in your Christianity? Your influence for Christ is propelled by sincere love. Love that is genuine, authentic, and without hypocrisy is the kind of love that makes your Christianity contagious. This kind of love originates with God and emanates from your life as you yield to His control. Choose to hate what God hates and love what God loves. Hate what is evil. Despise those things that break the heart of God. Fortify your life from poison of sin and the pollution of worldliness by hating evil and clinging to what is good. Consider those things that bring glory to God and cling to those things. Be discerning. Decipher the tactics of the enemy and embrace the way of the cross. Don’t give the devil a toehold which can become a foothold and ultimately become a stronghold in your life. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the schemes of the devil. Run from sin and run to Christ. Flee the impulses of immorality and pursue the purity of the Prince of Peace. Turn from the terrain of trespass and walk in the way of God’s Word. Allow the sincerity of God’s unconditional love permeate your life. Allow God’s love to illuminate your world and to influence the people He brings into your path. As you hate what is evil and cling to what is good, let the river of God’s love flow through you in order to bring hope and healing to a world in desperation. God loves you so much and desires that you be a channel of His love to a hurting world. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” Psalms 78:72 (NIV) Does the tongue in your mouth line up with the tongue in your shoe? Is your talk in alignment with your walk? If so, that’s integrity! Honesty and truthfulness are garments that every child of God should feature. To be a person of integrity is to be honest about who you are and truthful in your conversation and your conduct. Perhaps you know of people who are loaded with talent, but lack integrity. In many cases, their talent took them farther than their character could sustain them. We have watched countless talented men and women fall into grave immorality due to the lack of integrity. In God’s economy, talent and skill are insufficient without integrity. God wants us to use the gifts and abilities He has blessed us with through the avenue of integrity. The level of our integrity determines the veracity of our testimony. Purity, honesty, and authenticity are vital components for the person God uses. Sincere integrity is crucial for being on mission with God in a corrupt world. King David was not perfect. He made some poor choices and leveraged his position to indulge his sinful appetite. Yet, in brokenness and humility, he confessed his sin and received God’s forgiveness. David shepherded the people with integrity. He led the people with skillful hands. God’s grace was more than sufficient for the race. David learned to depend upon God and to trust in His daily provision. If God can make someone like King David into a man after God’s own heart, then there’s hope for us. We can walk in integrity through our daily dependence upon God. Without His ample supply of grace, we have no chance of living a life of integrity. God does not expect us to live the Christian life in our own strength. Let’s surrender completely to the Lord’s control and allow Him to live His life of integrity through us. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Heaven: Your Home
“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2 (NIV) Heaven is a place you can call home. When Jesus spoke these words of comfort to His disciples, He affirmed the reality of heaven and the specific rooms, mansions, or abodes in heaven. Jesus was not going to build what was already in heaven. Rather, Jesus was indicating that He was preparing a place for them and us in heaven by going to the cross to pay the penalty of their sin and our sin. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Heb 1:3 (NIV) “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Phil 3:20-21 (NIV) Jesus has prepared a place for you in heaven by becoming the atoning sacrifice for your sin. Jesus has purchased your salvation with His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. As a result, your citizenship is in heaven. You are an alien on this earth. God made you not for time, but for eternity. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose hope. Don’t get too enamored by this life on planet earth. You aren’t home yet. Heaven is your home! There’s no place like home… 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
“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Tim 1:5 (NIV) Does your faith come across to others as sincere? Do others detect the genuineness of your faith? That kind of faith is a positive witness for Christ. Think about those who have modeled that kind of faith for you. Perhaps you can look within your immediate family to find a sincere faith. You may have to go beyond those relationships to identify a sincere faith depending on the spiritual reality found within your family. Paul recognized the sincere faith that lived in Timothy. Paul traced Timothy’s sincere faith through his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois. The sincere faith was modeled faithfully and handed down intentionally. Timothy was blessed to have a godly grandmother and a godly mother committed to the sincere faith that is the fruit of a transformed life. Are you modeling a sincere faith? Are you intentionally handing down the faith to others? Spend a few moments thanking God for the individuals He has placed in your life in the past and in the present who have modeled a sincere faith before you. Consider the impact they have made on your life and give God the glory! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
Categories
Sincere Faith (3)
“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” 2 Tim 1:13-14 (NIV) As you seek to impart your sincere faith, expect opposition. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you will be a threat to Satan and his agenda. Fight to protect that faith. Your faith is worth fighting for. The faith of your family is worth fighting for. As you impart your faith to those in your sphere of influence, you will be impacting their lives for time and eternity. Because of the value God places on your sincere faith, Satan seeks to distract you. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” 1 Tim 4:1 (NIV) “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” 2 Tim 3:1-5 (NIV) Protect the faith God has given you. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Tim 4:12 (NIV) Did you know that you will multiply what you model? Now that is convicting! That means that it truly does matter how you live your life. It truly matters how you conduct your daily living. Your beliefs and your behavior both matter to God and impact others. So how do you impart your sincere faith to others? Model sincere faith before others. Maybe you have heard parents remark that they want you to do as they say and not as they do. Of course, you would define that behavior as hypocrisy. God wants us to live in such a way that we encourage others to do as we say and as we do. We are to strive to live in such a way that the way we live lines up with what we say. What kind of faith does God want you to model? God wants you to model sincere faith. God wants you to set an example for others to follow. In other words, be a model to follow. Model the kind of life that draws others to Christ. Live the kind of life that models the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. What are you multiplying? You know the answer: whatever you are modeling. Model what you want to multiply. May the whole earth be filled with fully devoted followers of Christ as a result of the sincere faith that you are modeling. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Tim 1:5 (NIV) Would those who know you best say that you have a sincere faith? Is your faith genuine? Are you the real deal? If so, then how do you impart that kind of faith to those in your sphere of influence? Make faith a daily priority. Paul affirmed Timothy for his faith. Without hesitation, Paul traced Timothy’s sincere faith through both Timothy’s mother and grandmother. Timothy was the recipient of seeing faith in action in a tangible form through the lifestyles exhibited by his mother and grandmother. They made their faith a daily priority. Each day Timothy examined the sincere faith that lived in his mother and grandmother. Now, Paul identifies that sincere faith in Timothy. Are you imparting your sincere faith to others? Think about the spheres of influence that God has entrusted to your care. The environments may include home, school, work, athletics, recreation, church, and traveling. Your sphere of influence may include children. Is faith a daily priority in your life? Is your faith evident to those in your sphere of influence? God brings people into your life so that you can influence them for His glory. What are you doing with the faith God has given you? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor