Category: Something Great

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Availability Something Great Think Big

Think Big

Think big…because God is a big God. “Then King David said to the whole assembly: ‘My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God.’” 1 Chron 29:1 (NIV) Have you ever been invited to participate in a God-sized task? Maybe you are facing something right now that is God-sized. God enjoys bringing us into His story. He is not limited by our limitations. We spend so much time evaluating ourselves in relation to others. We feel inadequate or unqualified and wonder if God could really use us. God specializes in using those deemed useless by the world’s standards. We bring pleasure to God when we simply say, “Lord, I’m Yours! Use me!” God doesn’t need you to do something great for Him. Actually, He is big enough to fulfill His plan with or without you. The beauty of God’s love is that He chooses to enable you to do something great for Him. Will you make yourself available for God’s use? I would have never dreamed that God wanted me to surrender to preach. Yet, on February 23, 1986, God allowed me to get involved in a Jet Ski accident that almost took my life. While struggling to stay alive in the intensive care unit, God called me to preach. I was only sixteen years old. Think big…because God is a big God. He can do something great through you regardless of your age or life stage. Are you willing to make yourself available to God 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

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Persistence Prayer Something Great

Persistent Prayer

Do something great by praying it through. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6-7 (NIV) What are you anxious about right now? Is there anything keeping you up at night? It sounds like you are in need of the peace of God. How do you get to the place of peace? Pray everything through. Notice the process that Paul establishes. Instead of being anxious, be thankful as you present your requests to God. Replace anxiety with gratitude for what God is going to do in and through your situation. Take every item and pray it through. Before Jesus chose His twelve disciples, He spent the entire night praying it through. Read carefully and discern the process Jesus embraced. “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:  Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” Luke 6:12-16 (NIV) Jesus took everything to God in prayer. If Jesus, being God’s Son, valued prayer at that level, what about us? Do something great by praying it through. 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

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Eternity Heaven Perspective Something Great

Eternal Perspective

Do something great by keeping an eternal perspective. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Phil 1:21 (NIV) Imagine flying at an altitude of thirty-thousand feet and scanning the colorful blocks of land on the earth’s surface. There is something about the view that gives you such a unique perspective on life. You begin to realize how small you are and how big the earth is. How do you view your life? Are you just breathing oxygen and taking up space or are you living on purpose by keeping an eternal perspective. God’s story is both massive and eternal. His plan includes you. You are an integral part of God’s redemptive story. God saved you, filled you with His Spirit, and gifted you to fulfill His purposes in your lifetime. Paul embraced an eternal perspective. He never lost sight of his win-win situation. If he lived, Christ lived with him. If Paul died, then he would live with Christ. Paul allowed his eternal perspective to fuel his courage and boldness for the Lord. “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) Will you choose to live this year with eternity in mind? Remember, there’s more to this life than what you see. There is life beyond the grave! 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

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Blessing Rejoice Something Great

Something Great for God (5)

Rejoice…God will bless you. “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.”1 Chron 29:9 (NIV) God blesses obedience. Nothing brings more joy to the heart of God and to the child of God than obedience. When you give freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, you expand your capacity to rejoice. Joy overflows as you align your life with God’s plan. David and the people rejoiced. David had a reason to rejoice; he gave freely and wholeheartedly. The people rejoiced because of the willing response of their leaders. God blessed their obedience. Are you that kind of leader? Do those in your sphere of influence rejoice because of your faithfulness to God? God has demonstrated His gracious generosity by building the ultimate bridge to you and me. If you ever need a reason to rejoice, simply look up to your Heavenly Father and realize how blessed you are to have a loving Heavenly Father who freely and wholeheartedly gave His Son to be your Savior. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Faith Provision Something Great

Something Great for God (4)

Stretch…God will help you. “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: three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?” 1 Chron 29:3-5 (NIV) Love has an amazing influence. We know that God is love. God has demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). God gave us His best by allowing Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin and to provide eternal life. Love is an attribute of God’s character that is clearly expressed in the redemptive process. You will never stretch beyond the capacity of God’s love. David was willing to give God his best and to consecrate himself before the Lord in response to God’s love. God’s love in us and for us energizes us to do something great for God. God’s love compels us to sacrifice in order to benefit others. God’s love mobilizes us to look beyond ourselves. Has God allowed you to come into a situation that has caused your love to be tested? Do you sense that God is stretching you in order to demonstrate that He is more than enough to sustain you in the situation and to deliver you through the situation? Trust in God’s abundant provision. Respond to God’s love by giving your best and consecrating yourself and your service to Him. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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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

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Best God's Worth Something Great

Something Great for God (2)

Do your best…God is worth it. “With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God–gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble–all of these in large quantities.” 1 Chron 29:2 (NIV) David was willing to give God his best for the preparation of the construction of the temple. Though David would not be the one to build the temple, David gave his best in order for Solomon to carry on the work. David made an investment that would outlive him and outlast him. Is God worth your best? Do you value your relationship with God in a tangible way? Are you giving evidence of your love relationship with God through giving Him your best? “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.” Phil 1:9-11 (NIV) “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15 (NIV) God deserves your best in conversation, in conduct, and in contemplation. God deserves your best even when your actions go unnoticed. Make a commitment to do something great for God by giving Him your best. God is worthy! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Availability Something Great Think Big

Something Great for God (1)

Think big…because God is a big God. “Then King David said to the whole assembly: ‘My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God.’” 1 Chron 29:1 (NIV) Have you ever been invited to participate in a God-sized task? Maybe you are facing something right now that is God-sized. God enjoys bringing us into His story. He is not limited by our limitations. We spend so much time evaluating ourselves in relation to others. We feel inadequate or unqualified and wonder if God could really use us. God specializes in using those deemed useless by the world’s standards. We bring pleasure to God when we simply say, “Lord, I’m Yours! Use me!” God doesn’t need you to do something great for Him. Actually, He is big enough to fulfill His plan with or without you. The beauty of God’s love is that He chooses to enable you to do something great for Him. Will you make yourself available for God’s use? I would have never dreamed that God wanted me to surrender to preach. Yet, on February 23, 1986, God allowed me to get involved in a Jet Ski accident that almost took my life. While struggling to stay alive in the intensive care unit, God called me to preach. I was only sixteen years old. Think big…because God is a big God. He can do something great through you regardless of your age or life stage. Are you willing to make yourself available to God for His glory? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

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Dependency Obedience Reliance Something Great

Something Great (7)

Do something great by relying on Christ’s strength. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Phil 4:13 (NIV) Jesus has saved us to represent Him on the earth. He has instructed us to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us, to forgive our debtors, to judge not, to go the extra mile, and to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 (NIV) “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:19-20 (NIV) It is impossible to obey Christ’s instructions without His power. Jesus does not expect us to obey Him without His enablement. The Christian life is a life of total dependency upon Jesus and His provision. How did Paul accomplish so much in the Lord’s service? Paul lived in full surrender to Christ and in total dependency upon Christ’s strength. Are you relying on Christ’s strength? You can do everything Christ calls you to do in the strength He provides. God can accomplish more through your life in six minutes than you can accomplish on your own in sixty years. Will you be found faithful? Rely on the strength Christ provides. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care

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Persistence Prayer Something Great

Something Great (6)

Do something great by praying it through. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6-7 (NIV) What are you anxious about right now? Is there anything keeping you up a night? It sounds like you are in need of the peace of God. How do you get to the place of peace? Pray everything through. Notice the process that Paul establishes. Instead of being anxious, be thankful as you present your requests to God. Replace anxiety with gratitude for what God is going to do in and through your situation. Take every item and pray it through. Before Jesus chose His twelve disciples, He spent the entire night praying it through. Read carefully and discern the process Jesus embraced. “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:  Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” Luke 6:12-16 (NIV) Jesus took everything to God in prayer. If Jesus, being God’s Son, valued prayer at that level, what about us? Do something great by praying it through. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care

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Forgiveness Memory Redemption Solitude Something Great

Something Great (5)

Do something great by releasing the past. “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 3:13-14 (NIV) Don’t allow your past to prevent you from doing something great for God in the future. Everyone has a past. Everybody has pollution at some level in their past. We have made decisions we regret, said hurtful words we regret, and have had impure thoughts. We have caused pain in the lives of others and we have also been the recipient of pain from others. Living in a fallen world becomes evident by looking into the rearview mirror. Paul enjoyed the favor of God. While participating with God in the redemptive process, Paul also encountered the trauma of severe persecution. His rearview mirror included scenes of immense failures and tremendous successes. Paul understood the vital importance of releasing the past and embracing the future. Memory has power. Satan uses memory to immobilize us. God uses memory to remind us of the depth of His love. God wants to do something great through your life in spite of your past. God factored in your sin before you were even born. God made provision for your sin and your success by allowing Jesus to pay your sin debt in full. Find a private place of solitude. Take out a notepad and ask God to reveal un-confessed sin in your life. In the quietness of the moment, begin to write down what God reveals to you. Specifically confess each sin by agreeing with God that you have broken His heart and missed the mark. Now receive God’s cleansing for your sin and release the past. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care

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Selflessness Serving Something Great

Something Great (4)

Do something great by serving others. “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Phil 2:4 (NIV) Analyze your family tree for a moment. Think about those in your family tree who have consistently proven themselves as tender, compassionate, thoughtful, and generous. You may want to pause right now and pray a prayer of thanksgiving for them and their impact in your life. Now think about those in your family tree who have exhibited selfish behavior consistently. They are always looking to see how people can benefit them and satisfy them. Selfishness is our natural propensity. We are by nature selfish and self-centered. Until we allow Jesus to take full control of our lives, we will be self-absorbed. Once we allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives, then His life will be lived in us and through us. Jesus is the ultimate example and model of selflessness. “‘For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.’” Luke 19:10 (NIV) “‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” Mark 10:45 (NIV) “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Phil 2:5-7 (NIV) You are never more like Jesus than when you are serving. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care

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Eternity Heaven Perspective Something Great

Something Great (3)

Do something great by keeping an eternal perspective. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Phil 1:21 (NIV) Imagine flying at an altitude of thirty-thousand feet and scanning the colorful blocks of land on the earth’s surface. There is something about the view that gives you such a unique perspective on life. You begin to realize how small you are and how big the earth is. How do you view your life? Are you just breathing oxygen and taking up space or are you living on purpose by keeping an eternal perspective. God’s story is both massive and eternal. His plan includes you. You are an integral part of God’s redemptive story. God saved you, filled you with His Spirit, and gifted you to fulfill His purposes in your lifetime. Paul embraced an eternal perspective. He never lost sight of his win-win situation. If he lived, Christ lived with him. If Paul died, then he would live with Christ. Paul allowed his eternal perspective to fuel his courage and boldness for the Lord. “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) Will you choose to live this year with eternity in mind? Remember, there’s more to this life than what you see. There is life beyond the grave! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care

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Dream Life Partnership Something Great

Something Great (2)

Do something great by partnering with others. “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 1:4-6 (NIV) Has God given you a dream that cannot be accomplished without others? As you study the Old Testament and the New Testament, seek to identify the partnerships that God blessed. From the Old Testament, I immediately think of Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Caleb, David and Jonathan, Naomi and Ruth, Elijah and Elisha. From the New Testament, I immediately think of Peter, James, and John, Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Silas, Paul and Titus, and of course, Paul and Timothy. As John Maxwell says, “Teamwork makes the dream work!” Paul understood the power of partnership. Writing from his imprisonment in Rome, Paul affirms his partnership with the church at Philippi. His relationship with the church family brought him great joy. Paul needed them and they needed him.   Do you sense the value of being connected to a small group of Christ followers? Consider taking your partnerships to a new level this year by participating in a short term mission trip somewhere to spread the fragrance of Christ. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care

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Grace Life Peace Salvation Something Great

Something Great (1)

Do something great by extending God’s grace and peace. “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Phil 1:2 (NIV) You cannot give what you do not have. On this first day of the year, reflect on your salvation event. Remember, salvation is an event followed by a process. Where were you when you responded to God’s offer of salvation? Think about the moment you confessed your sin and invited Jesus to take over your life. You became a recipient of God’s grace. Grace is something you cannot earn nor deserve. Grace is a gift from God based on the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. You received God’s riches at Christ’s expense. In God’s grace, you received the gift of eternal life. Your eternal destination is secure. Yet, there’s more. The result of receiving God’s grace gift is peace. You are now in a right relationship with God in that Jesus took on the full wrath of God for your sin. The righteousness of Christ has been imputed to your account. Peace is the fruit of your love relationship with God made possible by Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Peace is not connected to circumstances. You can be in the midst of a trying situation and yet have the peace of God in your life. You can be facing adversity in your daily living and still have the peace of God. Now that you have the grace and peace of God, are you willing to share that eternal gift with others? Is there anyone in your sphere of influence who is in need of God’s grace and peace? Begin praying for them by name and allow God to use you in the process. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care