Renew and Render

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 (NIV)

There is an immense gravitational pull to succumb to the allurements of the world. We combat the pattern of this world, the flaming arrows of the evil one, and the cravings of the flesh. Choosing to conform to the path of worldliness dilutes our spiritual passion and distorts our spiritual focus. We will bypass God's best for us. We will forfeit God's good, pleasing, and perfect will.

God gives us the freedom to choose our path. We do not have to travel down the lane of lust or the highway of hostility or the sidewalk of selfishness. Floating down the river of culture and allowing the current of compromise to corrode our character is not God's will for us. God did not sacrifice His only Son in order for us to drift into sin.

Renew your mind by replacing sin with Scripture, by replacing falsehood with truth, and by replacing self-centeredness with Christlikeness. Scrape off the peeling paint of improper thinking and apply the fresh paint of God's Holy Word. Your life is too valuable to allow corrupt thinking to occupy your mind. God's plan for your life is too important to waste another moment allowing toxic thoughts to contaminate your mind.

Unload your mind! Make room for God's Word to take full possession of your mind. Make a commitment to feed on God's Word daily. Seek to memorize a verse each week, internalize that verse, and then align your thinking with that verse.

Renew your mind and render your transformation. Let God control your thinking.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Lead Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

First Things First

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

If you have become a child of God through faith in Jesus alone, then you are a priest before God. Your new identity in Christ has given you direct access to God. You do not need to go through a human mediator. The priesthood of every believer is the reality for those adopted into God’s forever family.

As a priest before God, start your day with God. Make it your daily spiritual discipline to start your day with the One who saved you. Do as Jesus did during His earthly ministry. "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (Mark 1:35 NIV). Carve out time to start your day with your Creator.

Start your day with God by feeding on His Word, communing with Him in prayer, and receiving His daily provision. Guard your daily intimacy with the Lord. You will have to strive to protect this most important daily spiritual discipline. Many other things will tug at your time, energy, and attention.

What needs to change in your daily routine in order to start your day with God? Have you found a place to have your time alone with God without interruption? Prepare for this daily spiritual discipline. Develop a plan for reading through the Bible. Try to read at least one chapter from the Bible each morning. If you choose to read four chapters each day, you will read through the entire Bible in one year.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Lead Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Employing God's Priorities

"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Luke 24:49 (NIV)

Your priorities will determine how you invest your time and energy. If you value what God values then His priorities will be reflected in your schedule. For example, after Jesus rose from the dead and revealed Himself to the disciples He affirmed that He would send what His Father promised.

If the disciples value what God values, then they are going to Jerusalem to await the coming of the promised Holy Spirit. Their number one priority is obeying God. Their priorities will be validated by their obedience to the command of Jesus. The good news is that 120 believers gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem and experienced ten days of anticipation and obedience.

They were willing to value what God values. They were willing to allow God's priorities to be their priorities. As a result, they cleared their schedule and allocated their time and energy to obey Jesus. What was the result? The day of Pentecost, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the salvation of 3,000 souls!

What will your schedule look like today? How will your time be allocated? Dave Ramsey says, "Tell your money where to go!" You must also tell your time and energy where to go. You have 86,400 seconds to allocate within the next twenty-four hours.

Now let's take a look at your life. What does your schedule say about your priorities? What do you value? Are you willing to make necessary adjustments to bring your life into alignment with what God values? Take the initiative!

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Lead Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Complete Unity

“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:22-23 (NIV)

Jesus prayed that believers would be brought to complete unity. Jesus reconciled us to God through His atoning death on the cross. Every believer has been adopted into God’s forever family. Our unity in the midst of diversity is a witness to the watching world that Jesus has loved us just as the Father has loved Him.

Unity is not natural. Displaying unity in the midst of apparent diversity is supernatural. Our new identity in Christ enables us to experience authentic community with other believers. As we deny ourselves and seek to consider others better than ourselves, we will exhibit the unity that brings glory to God.

• “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:28 (NIV)

• “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Eph. 4:3 (NIV)

In Christ, we are one with other believers. The Trinity, namely, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit model unity. We are to exhibit that same unity with those who are children of God. Are you seeking to keep the unity of the Spirit in the relationships you have with other followers of Christ?

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Lead Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Instant Comfort

"Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.' At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, 'It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.'" John 5:8-10 (NIV)

What brings you personal comfort? What do you long for each day? Maybe you desire to be rid of relational tension. Maybe your idea of comfort is being nestled behind a good book. Perhaps you long for the mornings when you are winding up or you long for the evenings when you are winding down. The environment that brings you comfort may be that of peace and quiet or laughter and passionate verbal interaction.

The invalid of thirty-eight years received the comfort of instant healing when Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." And "at once" that man was healed. There was no delay. After thirty-eight years, the lame man's healing came instantly.

The comfort of his instant healing was strained by the poison of legalism. The Jews were unable to celebrate the miracle of this man's healing because they were so transfixed on the fact that Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath. Their legalism kept them from recognizing the Lord.

Legalism bypasses relationship. God has not saved you from your sin and sealed you by His Holy Spirit so that you will live in the bondage of legalism. In Christ, God has saved you so that you can walk in the freedom of your new identity in Christ.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Motivation from God

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Where would we be without God's mercy? The mercy we have received from God motivates us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. His mercy is our motivation. God became like us so that we could become like Him. In His mercy, God allowed us to experience the forgiveness of our sins and He replaced our unrighteousness with the righteousness of Christ.

Apart from God's mercy, we have nothing to offer. Think about that for a moment. The only way we can fulfill our spiritual act of worship as living, holy, and pleasing sacrifices is by receiving and reciprocating God's mercy. Only the redeemed can present a living sacrifice. God's mercy makes us fit for that service. What we have to offer God through our spiritual act of worship is packaged in God's mercy.

The marvelous mercy of God embodies His love, grace, kindness, forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, righteousness, faith, justification, sanctification, and glorification. God's mercy is displayed by what we have received from God as revealed in Romans 1-11. God's mercy is demonstrated by what we choose to give to God in response to His mercy as revealed in Romans 12-16.

Do you offer your body as a living, holy, and pleasing sacrifice to God? This is the spiritual act of worship that God's mercy makes possible. Identify what you have received from God. Celebrate your identity in Christ and the eternal security you have in Christ. Rejoice in the reality of your personal and eternal relationship with Christ. Keep God's mercy in view and be consistent in offering your body as a living sacrifice to honor God and to benefit others.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Comfort from God

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

God is the Father of compassion. He is the God of all comfort. God comforts us so that we can comfort others. God blesses us with experiences that elevate our need for Him. We come to realize our dependency upon God and how desperate we really are for God.

Grief is an ongoing pain that resides within us as we try to navigate a path without someone who has meant so much to us. Grief can be encountered as a result of job loss, a shift in our personal health status, or a shattered dream. Are you currently experiencing any level of grief in your life? Can you identify the source of your grief?

God does not bring comfort into our lives in order for us to be comforted alone. God brings comfort into our lives during seasons of pain and difficulty so that we can also comfort others who go through trying circumstances. We come to know God by personal experience. We become better equipped to bring comfort to others. Who are you building a bridge of comfort to? Who has God brought into your path lately who simply needs to know God's comfort through you? That's one of the many ways that God redeems your pain.

Have you been the recipient of God's compassion? Have you come to know His comfort through personal experience? Dispense the compassion you have received to serve others. Build a bridge to those in need of God's comfort.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Reaching the Lost

"For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:2-3 (NIV)

Jesus values reaching lost people. As Jesus was praying in the Upper Room, the Disciples had the privilege of overhearing the sacred communication. Jesus identified the authority He had been given to give eternal life. Then Jesus defined eternal life as that of knowing God and knowing the One whom God had sent.

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). His mission was to bring salvation to fallen humanity. The entirety of Jesus’ life and ministry was centered upon reconciling the world to God. Jesus provided eternal life through His atoning work on the cross.

• "'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.’" John 3:36 (NIV)
• “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV)

Do you place the same value on reaching lost people that Jesus did in His earthly ministry? If His life was focused upon bringing people into the kingdom of light, shouldn’t that be our mission? Decide to view people through the eyes of Jesus. He established our value and their value on the cross. The price Jesus paid for the penalty and removal of our sins is far too much to calculate. If you ever wonder how much Jesus values reaching lost people, just look to the cross.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

For His Glory

“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.’” John 17:1 (NIV)

Jesus values bringing glory to God. There are 650 prayers in the Bible and the Gospels record nineteen occasions upon which Jesus prayed. The longest prayer we have of Jesus is found in the twenty-six verses of John 17. Jesus prays for Himself, He prays for the Disciples, and then He prays for future followers, which includes us.

You can discover what is important to people by listening to their prayers. The Disciples had the privilege of overhearing this prayer of Jesus while they were in the Upper Room. As Jesus prayed to His Father in heaven, He requested to be glorified by God so that He in turn could bring glory to God.

As you study the life of Christ in the Gospels, you will discover that Jesus oriented His life around the focus of bringing glory to God. Everything Jesus said and everything Jesus did was to bring glory to God. His message, His miracles, and His personal touch ministry were featured to bring glory to God.

What do you value? What have you been praying? Your prayers indicate what you value. Do you value bringing glory to God? Eliminate motives that are contrary to God’s heart. Eradicate the corrosive attitudes that dishonor the Lord. Bring your life to the place of living to bring glory to God. God deserves all of the glory for what He has rescued you from and saved you for.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

God's Compassion

"The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion." Psalm 116:5 (NIV)

The prodigal son's father exhibited God's nature and character as he embraced his repentant son. The father's compassion demonstrated that he valued his son's return more than he judged his son's rebellion. What does righteousness in action look like? Well, it looks like a father showing compassion to a wayward son.

God's resources are unlimited. Try to measure the depth of God's love. Seek to weigh the hand that keeps the planets in orbit. Ponder the expanse of God's consistent flow of gracious compassion.

David painted a portrait of the nature and character of God as that of being full of compassion. Aren't you eternally grateful that our Living God is the God of Compassion? His compassion is His righteousness in action. "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6 NIV).

What does compassion look like in your life? When have you experienced the compassion of God? Imagine your life without God's righteousness in action. What if God withdrew His compassion from your life today?

Pray with me: "Father, thank You for being a God of communication. We praise You for making Your compassion known to us even while we were living in rebellion and disobedience. We marvel at Your patience with us. Enable us to live in light of Your compassion today. Empower us to extend Your compassion to others in the measure that You have extended Your compassion to us. May others see Jesus in us through every interaction and interruption that You allow. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell