Archive for the ‘Discipleship’ Category
September 8th, 2010
“He appointed twelve–designating them apostles–that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.” Mark 3:14 (NIV)
Can you imagine the honor of being chosen by Jesus to serve as one of His twelve apostles? You would have a starting position on the varsity team that Jesus coached. You would have access to His life behind the scenes in the locker room and on the practice field. You would want to spend all your time in His shadow and under His personal touch ministry. To be like Him, you would want to watch His every move and to capture every word He articulated. It would be so refreshing to be that connected to the Son of God.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, you have that kind of connection with the Son of God. At the moment of your conversion experience, you were adopted into God’s family and placed on the winning team. You have the privilege of drawing near to the Lord and learning how to enjoy His presence.
God did not save you so that you could stay in the huddle. God rescued you from eternal damnation and placed you into His forever family and filled you with His Holy Spirit so that you could continue the ministry of Jesus on the earth. You have been chosen by God to be sent out to portray His love and to proclaim the saving news of Jesus. You have been armed with the cure to the cancer of sin. Every single person who places their faith in Jesus alone for salvation will be saved and adopted into the family of God. You are chosen by God to build that relational bridge to those who are lost. Tag! You’re it!
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
August 11th, 2010
“Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’” Luke 5:10 (NIV)
If you’re not fishing, you’re not following. Following Christ will result in faithfully and intentionally fishing for souls. When you follow your Rabbi, Jesus, you go where He goes and you do what He does.
Jesus alleviated Simon’s fear by clarifying his life-focus. Instead of fishing for fish, Simon was being invited to a life of fishing for souls.
- “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.” Prov 11:30 (NIV)
- “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Philem 1:6 (NIV)
- “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear–hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Jude 1:22-23 (NIV)
Focus your life on that which is closest to the heart of Jesus. Souls! Focus your life on fishing for souls. Join God in His redemptive activity by bringing others into a saving relationship with Jesus. Share your personal salvation story (I Pt. 3:15-16) and invite others to become followers of Jesus Christ. Focus your life on souls! Eternity is at stake!
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
June 14th, 2010
“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’” Mark 1:17 (NIV)
Jesus invites us into a relationship that is progressive. We move from just believing that Jesus is God’s Son and the Savior of the world to following Him as Lord. We follow Jesus in order to do what He did. Our belief determines where we will spend eternity. Our behavior determines the level of spiritual maturity we attain before going to heaven.
Think about the spiritual environments you are in on a daily and weekly basis. The greenhouse for spiritual maturity is found in private devotion and small group connection. You grow spiritually as you engage in daily communion with the Lord through a daily quiet time. Reading God’s Word, meditating on God’s Word, praying, listening to God’s voice, journaling, and obeying God’s directives form a greenhouse for maturation. Are you making room for unhurried time alone with God? Are you guarding your daily intimacy with God?
A healthy relationship with God and with other believers will produce growth. Are you in a small group with other believers? Are you doing life with a small group of followers of Christ? That small group is made up of vital members of your spiritual family who impact your spiritual development. The environment of small group interaction allows you the opportunity to love and be loved, to know and to be known, to care and to be cared for. Jesus modeled the value of having a small group as He did life with His disciples.
What condition is your greenhouse in? Are you connecting with God daily through private devotion? Are you connecting with a small group of believers weekly in order to inspire and to experience life transformation? Nurture your relationship with Jesus and your relationships with other believers for the glory of God.
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
April 22nd, 2010
“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” Heb 5:11-12 (NIV)
How long have you been a child of God? When did you have your conversion experience? Recount the moment you turned from your sin and confessed Jesus as Lord of your life. Now take a look at your life now compared to then. How much have you grown spiritually since the day of your salvation? What has changed over the years related to your spiritual maturity?
As you grow spiritually, you develop an appetite for the meat of God’s Word. You move from the elementary truths of God’s Word to the deeper things of God. There is a clear process of movement from milk to meat. If you have been a follower of Christ for several years, then your appetite ought to give evidence to the level of your spiritual maturity.
If you are slow to learn, then it is time to examine your level of teachability. When you are teachable, you receive, believe, and apply God’s Word. Your teachability enables you to experience progress in your spiritual journey. Feeding on God’s Word becomes a delight instead of a duty.
What is your level of spiritual maturity? What is keeping you from reaching your God-given potential? God has designed you for physical and spiritual growth.
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
April 6th, 2010
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Romans 7:15 (NIV)
Sometimes your greatest obstacle is you.
Paul gave us insight into the civil war within him. Though a seasoned believer and a mature follower of Jesus Christ, Paul wrestled with his old sin patterns. His flesh kept calling him back to the old ways. He experienced the gravitational pull of the flesh.
In the Old Testament, the children of Israel had witnessed the mighty acts of God. Think about it. They participated in the crossing of the Red Sea on dry ground. They ate manna from Heaven and drank water from the rock. Their shoes did not wear out after forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The opportunity to enter the Land of Promise, the land flowing with milk and honey, was right before them. Yet, they were unwilling to embrace God’s abundant life for them. They wanted to go back to Egypt where they were slaves.
- “And they said to each other, ‘We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’” Num 14:4 (NIV)
- “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)
Paul demonstrated the discipline of being crucified with Christ. When your flesh wants to go back to the bondage of Egypt and fulfill the cravings of your sin nature, choose to crucify the flesh. Remember, whatever you feed grows and whatever you starve dies. Starve the flesh! Feed your love relationship with God! Nourish the life of Christ in you!
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
February 2nd, 2010
“You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Thess 1:6 (NIV)
Paul, Silas, and Timothy modeled Christ before the new believers in Thessalonica to the extent that they were motivated to imitate them. The new believers imitated Paul, Silas, Timothy, and the Lord.
If people imitated you, would they be imitating the Lord? Are you living in such close communion with Jesus and doing what He did, that others would notice that you are imitating Christ? As you bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, you become their spiritual parent. They look to you to see what the Christian life is supposed to look like. They imitate you as you imitate Christ. What kind of example are you portraying for others to follow?
As followers of Christ, we are to live the Gospel missionally by presenting living proof of a loving God to a watching world. God wants us to be an irresistible influence for His glory. Will others come to know Christ as a result of our love relationship with Him? Does our conversation and conduct demonstrate a consistent loyalty and devotion to Christ?
Be fully yielded and fully surrendered to the Lordship of Christ and allow Him to live His life through you to touch lost souls. May others welcome the message of Christ into their lives as you faithfully sow the seed of the Gospel. Imitate Christ by loving people and showing them how they can have heaven and eternal life.
If others are imitating you, will they become fully devoted followers of Christ? Will their daily walk with God be infused with passion and enthusiasm?
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
March 4th, 2009
“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.’” Luke 9:23 (NIV)
Every day is a new beginning. Each day provides you with new opportunities to experience God’s presence and to join Him in His activity. The new day is a launching pad for your daily decision to fully surrender to the Lordship of Christ. To live in moment-by-moment union with Christ demands a daily decision to deny self, take up His cross, and to follow Him. To be a follower of Jesus is more than just believing that Jesus died and rose again. Following Jesus is a daily experience of walking in His steps and doing what Jesus did.
Being a follower of Jesus Christ is a conscious decision to know Him personally and intimately. Your love relationship with Christ is to be vibrant and growing. What needs to change in your daily routine in order to grow in your walk with Christ? As John Maxwell wrote, “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.” The power of daily is evidenced by your devotion to make decisions that will benefit your relationship with Christ.
What adjustments do you need to make in order to become more like Christ? Is your life Christ-centered or self-focused? Are you choosing to follow the way of Jesus or drifting into the current of the world?
What do you need to stop doing? What do you need to start doing? Each day matters and each decision you make will enhance or inhibit your walk with Christ.
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
February 12th, 2009
“After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.” Luke 5:27-28 (NIV)
Tax collectors in Jesus’ day were despised. Levi was a Jew who collected taxes for the Roman government. In order to increase his personal income, Levi required more from his countrymen than the government demanded. Levi’s fellow Jews despised him and deemed him as a traitor.
Jesus calls the least likely candidates to join His team. Levi was chosen by Jesus and willingly left everything to follow Jesus. Levi was willing to leave his career and forfeit his income in order to be on mission with Jesus. Following Jesus involved trusting Jesus with his life and his future.
There’s not a person on earth Jesus can’t use. There’s not a person alive that Jesus cannot transform. Jesus calls us to Himself in salvation and transforms us for His service. Jesus factors in our past and our sin when He saves us and sets us apart for His mission of seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10).
Is there anyone in your sphere of influence who reminds you of Levi? Do you know of someone whom you would consider despised and unfit for the kingdom of God? God has created that person for a divine purpose. Will you allow God to use you to bring that person into an abiding relationship with Jesus?
You can build intentional relationships with people so that the salvation story can be shared and received. The people you think are unreachable are actually prime candidates for the personal experience of receiving the gift of eternal life. There’s no one beyond the reach of God’s grace.
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
April 20th, 2008
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Col 2:6-7 (NIV)
Continue to live in Christ.
Your daily decisions determine what you become. If you want to become a fully devoted follower of Christ, then you must make daily decisions that will produce that reality. If you want to be physically fit, then you must make daily decisions that will produce that reality.
- “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” I Tim 4:8 (NIV)
- “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” Matt 16:24 (NIV)
A decision to follow Jesus daily as Lord requires discipline and devotion. Becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ demands a daily death, a daily denial, and a daily determination. The daily decision to continue in the life of full surrender to Jesus reaps immediate and eternal benefits. Your passion should be to be conformed to the image of Christ. Whatever is in your life that does not reflect Christ has no right occupying space in your life. Your daily decisions include deciding what you are going to give your allegiance to and what you are not going to give your allegiance to. Deciding to continue to live in Christ means to give Him first place in your life.
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor