2 MINUTE WARNING

I was inspired by a story told to me by a Vietnam vet.  He and his team were in heavy combat, running missions in a helicopter to cover the boats that patrolled the Mekong River.  Casualties were high, combat was fierce, and the intensity of the days were overwhelming.  Because of this, they would be given “leave” to an aircraft carrier.

During leave, the team would go to the back of the ship and do pull-ups in the dark, often challenging each other to do more before they were pulled back onto the ship.  As one man hung in agony, the others challenged him to do more pullups, to toughen in the face of pain, and to be out on the ledge longer in the face of danger.

Falling off of a ship in the night is certain death, and when I inquired as to why a group of men might do that, he answered that they WANTED to.  He claimed that it kept them “sharp” and this was the inspiration for the theme I gave my football team this season:

Trust Is Built By Going On The Ledge

This is a biblical principal.

Going On The Ledge requires vulnerability.  And this is probably the most important aspect of building trust.  To expose yourself for who you really are takes courage, and it allows a team to be real with each other.

Going On The Ledge requires unselfishness.  It means showing others that you will give an effort that they can count and on, and it puts others in front of you.

Going On The Ledge requires toughness.  Doing things the right way is hard.  And it is even harder when it is required with repetition.

When Jesus came to be with us on earth, it was the epitome of Going On The Ledge.  And He did this so that we could TRUST Him.

In a world where it is hard to know what, or who, to trust, we have an assurance.  That assurance, is Jesus.

He was vulnerable, and unselfish, and tough, so that we could look to Him and trust Him.

John 15 ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

I encourage you to search the whole world over, to look into the past and to the future.  I encourage you to look into all that you could be doing and what you aspire to do.

You have no greater offer in all of the universe than the one that Jesus gives.

He goes to the cross, and dies, and takes the blame for you.

You trust in Him … and receive Him.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

The disciples were fully confident that Jesus would be King.

They were confident that He was going to overthrow the Roman Empire, the religious rule of the Jews, and the sinful ways of the gentiles.

And, indeed, that was Jesus’ plan.  But not in the way that any of us could have ever imagined.  Jesus has taken claim over the eternal kingdom.  The spiritual kingdom.  The only kingdom that will last or be of any use at all.

Time and again Jesus told His disciples:

“My time has not yet come”

“My time has not yet come”

“My time has not yet come”

And, indeed, it hadn’t.

But in Mark 11, He orchestrated it.  He told His disciples to go to a village and get Him a donkey.  And in doing so, He was fulfilling a prophecy written about Him 500 years prior.

Zechariah 9 

⁹ Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

    righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

I want to encourage you to start your day with the Lord’s Prayer and to remember what we actually say in that prayer:

Hallowed be thy Name~  “Your name is HOLY and You are above ALL THINGS.”

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors~  “Forgive me the same way that I forgive others.”  (Scary!  This inspires me to pray:  “Lord, help me to forgive”)

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory~  “You own EVERYTHING, control EVERYTHING, and deserve ALL OF OUR FOCUS.”

And, for today:

Thy Kingdom Come~  “This is not about me.  It is about YOU, God.  It is about You being the center of our world, my world.  It is about YOU, God, bringing your kingdom to us, to me … Because what I have to bring to you … is worth nothing.”

Remember This:  Jesus came to claim the spiritual kingdom and to claim OUR SPIRITUAL KINGDOM.  Because what happens to us in the spirit will leak out into what we see and what we hear and what we do.  It is inevitable.

Surrender.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

One thousand years before Jesus showed up, Isaiah SAW Him.  How he saw Him, I cannot comprehend.  But he saw Him.

And he described Him.  He knew His ancestors, and His countenance, and His purpose.  And he knew that He would be a sacrifice for all of us.

And he wrote as if he knew Him.

Isaiah 53  Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  ² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  ³ He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.  Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.  ⁴ Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.  ⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.  ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  ⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.  Yet who of his generation protested?  For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.  ⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.  ¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

How can this be?

How could Isaiah know Jesus before Jesus?  And yet, he did.  And he knew Him with great faith.

He knew that He would be a healer of men, that He would redeem prostitutes, that He would cast out demons, and that He would forgive sin.  (Verse 4)

He knew that He would be arrested and accused yet be silent before His accusers.  (Verse 7)

He knew that the sin of the world would be placed upon Him, that He would die for that sin, and that He would be crucified.  

(Verse 5)

He knew that His execution would be between two thieves AND that Joseph of Arimathea would buy a grave plot for Him that would be suited for the noble.  (Verse 9)

And … He knew that this was God’s plan all along.  All along!  (Verse 10)

This is just one of many.  Men from different eras, in different countries, who spoke different languages.  They were different races, lived in different cultures, and lived in incredibly diverse economic conditions.  Yet … they knew Him.

And they knew that He was coming to redeem—to save—to do something that NO ONE ELSE could do.

Your eternity, and the eternity of all you love, stands in the balance.  He is not only the hope of nations, He is the hope of individuals.  He is not only the King of the world, He is the One who has come to be your counselor, your advocate, your defender and redeemer.  He has a mother’s love and father’s heart.  And He has one, and only one, focus.

YOU.

John 1 ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Be a child today.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

The disciples were fully confident that Jesus would be King.

They were confident that He was going to overthrow the Roman Empire, the religious rule of the Jews, and the sinful ways of the gentiles.

And, indeed, that was Jesus’ plan.  But not in the way that any of us could have ever imagined.

Time and again He told them:

“My time has not yet come”

“My time has not yet come”

“My time has not yet come”

And, indeed, it hadn’t.

Jesus’ plan was to overthrow the world—in the spiritual kingdom.  And He has.  On the cross on Calvary, He declared:  “It is PAID IN FULL.”

And it has been.

Satan, Sin, and Death were all defeated in one swift excruciating breath.  

He stands on the head of the snake.

He declares life over all life.

He forgives all sins.

And His one sacrifice freed the multitudes.

As we celebrate Halloween we have one thing right.  The spiritual kingdom is BIG.  It is important.  It is eternal.  And it is MUCH MUCH BIGGER THAN THE PHYSICAL ONE THAT WE LIVE IN NOW.

Do not lose sight of this.

When we say “Thy Kingdom Come” that is the very thing that we pray for, and the very thing that He came to conquer.

Our spiritual eternity.  And we must continue to pray that it comes and overwhelms us now.

Those who have gone before us are in it.  They have seen it.  And I guarantee you that they would set us straight to focus on it with everything that we have.

God came into our world to show us how to live here:

Hebrews 2:14-18 ¹⁴ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁷ For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

We can chase after everything the world has to offer.

We can strive and stress and fight and wallow in the world’s issues.  And we will never run out of them.

We can celebrate and rejoice in our flesh and spend our money and party and drink and celebrate like we will never die.

We can dress up in costumes tonight or decorate our children or rejoice in how cute the kids are, or how great the party is, or how great it is to party and “live the life”.

But …

Remember This …

Jesus came here to assure us that this is not our place.

It will never be fixed, or without sin, and there is no celebration that will put us into a place where we are good forever.

Our home is with God.

It is with RECEIVING Jesus.

It is walking into the victory that only He can bring.

And once we find that, the other stuff means nothing.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

One thousand years before Jesus showed up, Isaiah SAW Him.  How he saw Him, I cannot comprehend.  But he saw Him.

And he described Him.  He knew His ancestors, and His countenance, and His purpose.  And he knew that He would be a sacrifice for all of us.

And he wrote as if he knew Him.

Isaiah 11 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. ² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

How can this be?

How could Isaiah know Jesus before Jesus.  And yet, he did.  And he knew Him with great faith.

When Peter declares that we have a “more sure word” about Jesus, he is surely referring to this great miracle.

And this very thing is what makes the Bible so miraculous, so incredible, so absolutely vital to each and every one of us.

And so I ask you today:

Who is this God who calls you to His throne from a place that existed before you were born?

Who is this God that inspired a broken woman, a seeking Israelite, and countless others to come and meet the One who “told them everything they ever knew”.

This is Jesus.

The Teacher.

The Priest.

The King.

But more than that … the friend of sinners.

Your friend.

And the only hope that you could ever have.

Believe in your heart.

And confess with your mouth.

That Jesus Christ is King.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

2000 years ago, a man walked into the synagogue and read a verse from 3000 years ago:

Isaiah 61 ¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

I am sure that this Jesus from Nazareth was regarded as a very knowledgeable “commoner”.

But that was not His intention.  His intention was to proclaim that He was God.

And when He said:  “Today, this scripture is fulfilled upon your hearing”, He set in motion the plans for His execution.

When the Jewish historian Josephus described Jesus in the history books, he was described as man who was executed for his actions.

He wrote.

About this time lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was the achiever of extraordinary deeds and was a teacher of those who accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks.

But, with respect to the historian, Jesus was no “wise man”.  And He did not claim to be a wise man.

Jesus claimed that He was a “fulfillment of the scripture”.  He was claiming to be God.

And in 2021, we have a choice.  Jesus claimed that He was God, acted like God, and was crucified for these claims on a cross between two thieves.

And those who followed Him, even though they were scattered at His execution, and even His rising, championed His cause with their lives—that we might have the scriptures that we read today as a result of God inspiring them to spread it.

This is the greatest story I have ever read.

It is the hope of all mankind.

And it has rescued me from my greatest enemy … myself.

Our destiny is that we will live a short life.

We will be here today, and gone tomorrow.

But Jesus … He is in it for the long haul.  And those who follow will belong to Him.

As you search the world over for your purpose, for your direction, ask yourself if you are missing this.

You were created in God’s image.

You were filled with sin as a result of choice.

And you were invited back to God by Jesus.

It isn’t just for later, He offers to save us NOW.

He knows you.

Yet He loves you anyway.

The apostle John says:  

“those who would RECEIVE Him would be given the right to be children of God.”

RECEIVE Him this very day.  It is my conviction that this will be the greatest thing that you have ever done.

Thank You Lord.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Luke 4  ¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵ He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

    because he has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

    and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

John was not executed like Peter was.

He was exiled.

And on Patmos this fisherman wrote the book of Revelation.

It is hard to believe that the same man who so simply wrote the book of John also wrote Revelation.

But that’s the point.

John saw into the spirit—he saw into heaven.  And what he saw was indescribable in the world where we live today.

Revelation 5  Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴ I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

What God did through Jesus on Calvary cannot be fully explained or appreciated.

He saved humanity.

He did something that we COULD NOT DO.

As I enjoyed this song by Chris Tomlin, I marveled at all that I do not understand about Jesus, and God.

John paints a picture of the mystery of God in Revelation.

The universe is big … we are small … and He …

is EVERYTHING 

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

As I sat in church 3 weeks ago, I began to write the 23rd Psalm in “my own version”.  The reason that I am releasing it 3 weeks late is because I am weak, and broken, and cowardly.  Lord, forgive me for my lack of faith.

Lord, let what I write today bring Honor and Praise to You.

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

3  he refreshes my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

4  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6  Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So here it is in my translation:

God watches over me.

And He provides for me in ALL situations.

He brings me Peace … and Rest … and Forgiveness.

Even when I screw up everything — He makes it so that I can be reinstated.

He makes me important so that, somehow, others can know that He is important.

And when I walk into an ambush, or bad health, or to meet with men who hate me—He STANDS LIKE A LION.  He protects with vicious loyalty.

And not only does He protect, He prepares a victory celebration AS IF I AM THE ONE who won the battle.  And that celebration is epic.  As I sit in awe of Him, He taunts, and punishes, those who would dare oppose Him or anyone who would stand with Him.

And He does this—all of this—every day.

So I tell you today.

Do Not Fear.

Walk in Confidence and Love and Victory.

The valley that you fear and the opponents who are daunting and the mountain that is unclimbable—

All Are Temporary.

God is preparing an eternal home

A protection for eternity

And a place with no tears, no pain, and no enemy.

It is a home that you will never, ever, want to leave.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

In ministry, I often ask God to speak me to everyone.  And I pray that as I speak to everyone, He would speak to just one.

Jesus, at times, would speak to one.  And He would speak to one so powerfully that it would impact EVERYONE.

Today, I am talking to one.  Because I know that by talking to one I can talk to many.

Today, I speak to the one who is cursed.  I speak to the one who feels like they can never break away from their sin.

Today, I speak to the one who is abandoned.  I speak to the person who has been betrayed by someone who they trusted.

Today, I speak to the devalued.  I speak to the person who feels worthless … inadequate … broken.

God wants to change your position TODAY.  He doesn’t want you Cursed, Abandoned, Devalued.

God wants you free.

And He wants you free so badly that He went all in to make sure that it would be done.

When Jesus talks about leaving the 99 to go get the 1, He is talking about you.  He is talking about leaving his 2 Billion dollars in a bag on the sidewalk while He chases down the penny that is 3 blocks away.

And that is because God puts eternal and uncountable value on us.

And He does it … with EVERYTHING that He has.

Romans 5 ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While We Were Still Sinners, Christ Died For Us.

2021 is significant.

It is significant because we are keeping track.  We are counting.  Not our sins, but the time in world history when the eternal God made One more important than anything else.

And that One is you.

On a cross on calvary some 2000 years ago, Jesus made a decision.

He made a decision to be cursed so that you could DELIVERED.

He made a decision to be ABANDONED so that you could be SURROUNDED BY A LOYAL BAND.

He made a decision to give up His value so that you could be HIS GREATEST TREASURE.

There is no greater love than this.  That He would lay down His life for His friends.

As I listened to this Jeremy Camp song this morning on the way to school, I thought that it was appropriate for me … and for you.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J