As I was reading this verse today, I couldn’t help but look at it from “both sides of the story”.

Acts 16 16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Written by Luke, the book of Acts shows us the actions of a few Spirit-led saints.

They SPENT their lives doing everything they could to get this Word, this beautiful and vital work of art, in our hands today.

Their obedience to the Lord, their conviction from the Holy Spirit, and their devotion to Jesus Christ should inspire us to walk in the same call.

Today —  The Lord has convicted me to talk about cost.

To Paul and Silas, and everyone in their circle, the cost was worth paying.  Fully devoted, they SPENT their days, their money, and their effort to give the gospel to the world.  In this case, it caused them great agony.  They were stripped and beaten and imprisoned for their actions.  

But what about the owners of the slave girl?  What about their actions?  To them, the end-all was to make money.  And at what cost?  They were willing to enslave, to deceive, to seek a master who was destined for the pits of hell … and for what?  Money.  Money had become their god.  And that god was driving every decision that they made.

I am a fan of America.

I believe that we have something to fight for.

Freedom.

Capitalism.

One Nation Under God.

I am proud of the men who set up what we have today—for all Americans.

But, that being said, we need to make a couple things clear.

Capitalism, without God, can turn into something hideous.  Men and women, filled with greed, can turn to things that are hideous—JUST LIKE THE MEN IN THE STORY.  The love of money can lead people to the wrong end.  And, as Jesus said:

Matthew 16  26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?

Indeed.

What good is it?

When we say the words:  One Nation, Under God

We need to take heed.

Because without the Under God part of that statement, there is no One Nation.

We have work to do my friends.

It is to Go And Make Disciples, To Love Others, and To Love Our God With All Of Our Hearts.  All of these things are IMPOSSIBLE without the power of God working in us.

Holy Spirit—

Move On Us This Very Day

That We Might Influence

And Love

And Bring Your Gospel To The World

No Matter The Cost

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FHwdx5BIvc

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Coach J

Some of us walk directly into what God has called us to do.

NOT.

God has called us to greater things.  To things that we can not fathom.  To things that will ultimately fill us beyond measure.

But there is a problem with this plan.

Us.

I have contemplated this verse for a week.

Exodus 2  ¹¹ One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. ¹² Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

…

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.

It seems to me that God had the perfect plan for Moses, and the Hebrew people.

He infiltrates the palace of Pharaoh.

He raises up a prince.

He sets his people free.

But angry servants make lousy followers.  And before you know it an Egyptian soldier is dead and Moses is running for his life.

The rest of the story is awesome.

But today, I want to talk about the walk from the palace to Midian.  I have to think that Moses questioned his heart, his choices, his destiny.  I have to think that he concluded that he had ruined God’s plan over his life.  Had his choices and sin and anger ruined God’s plan over his life?

It had not.

The testimony of Moses is incredible.  He walked in unity with God for much of his life.

And yet, he was full of sin and had to learn many things the hard way.

And so it is with us.

Sometimes the thing in front of us is the long walk to Midian, fleeing for our lives, and pondering our purpose.

But God.

But God overcomes and redeems.

He forgives and restores.

He empowers and allows.

In the freedom  He gives us there is error.  Our error.

2000 years ago, God made an incredible power play to cover up for that error.  In the person of Jesus Christ.

So walk to Midian.

And don’t be afraid to hang your head for a bit.

But don’t leave it there long.

God has a plan.

A plan that works with sin and bad choices and mistakes.

A plan that will be the best thing that has ever happened to you.

BE BLESSED.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

As I stood and worshipped at a men’s conference last weekend, I was deeply convicted as we sang the words to a song:

“Faithful You are

Faithful forever You will be

Faithful You are

All Your promises are yes and amen

All Your promises are yes and amen…”

I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with gratitude and adoration for the Living God.

In reflection, I think that one of the reasons that I was so convicted was that so often I am rooted in a mindset …

A mindset that lacks faith.

I am sometimes guilty of doubting His promises.

Perhaps many of us are.

God made a promise in Genesis 49.

Genesis 49 ¹⁰ “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes,

The Jews (Judah) were assured, by God, that they held the keys to capital punishment (the scepter).  But in 6 AD, a Roman Procurator named Caponius removed the legal power of the Sanhedrin.  In their eyes, the scepter had been removed, and the word of God had been broken. They were DEVASTATED. They covered their heads with ashes and their bodies with sackcloth, and they marched around the city. The word of God, the Torah, had been BROKEN. It had FAILED!   (Reference:  Chuck Missler and Koinonia House https://www.khouse.org/articles/1999/187/)

Keep in mind that this was 6 AD.

And indeed the scepter had been removed.

What slipped the minds of the Sanhedrin was that perhaps God’s word had not been broken.

And indeed it had not.  In Nazareth, the young son of a carpenter was growing into a man.  The scepter had departed because Shiloh had come!

God doesn’t break promises.

Not in His word.  And not in our lives.

His promises are not conditional, they aren’t bendable, and they aren’t revoked.

His promises are, in fact, one of the only things that we have that lasts forever.

As we go into this week let’s remember this very truth.

The world can crumble, but the Word can not.

Man can betray and let us down, but God can not.

The enemy can work against each step that we take, but Jesus died so that he would never gain a foothold on our lives.

God’s word will not return void.

Isaiah 55 ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

My wife used to listen to an incredible teacher named Beth Moore.  I couldn’t help but pull up a chair and listen when she spoke.  One awesome thing that she would open up her talks with was this:

God is who He says He is.

God can do what He says He can do.

I am who God says I am.

I can do all things through Christ.

God’s Word is alive and active in me.

We have work to do.

Not to join the world as it burns, and fights, and politicizes, and hates, and fears.

But to show it something different.

When Jesus shows up in Nazareth and religious leaders miss it because they are marching around a city in utter despair, then we can miss it too.

And indeed we do miss it.  But not today.  Hit the reset button.  Fill up your faith.  Believe.  Follow.

“Faithful You are

Faithful forever You will be

Faithful You are

All Your promises are yes and amen

All Your promises are yes and amen…”

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I think the prophet Jeremiah said it best:

 

Jeremiah 10 6  No one is like you, LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.

 

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaP8fKAR2Og

 

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Coach J

I always thought that this verse was a threat to the believer.  And maybe it is.

 

Matthew 7  1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

 

But either way I want to leave a couple of thoughts:

• The homeless man who sleeps on the ground because he has spent his life savings on alcohol and will do anything for the next drink is not living the HIGH LIFE.
• The man who gets caught up in lust finds that it is a never satisfied desire.  One man caught in a prostitution ring later confessed:  “I paid to make myself disgusting.”  He wasn’t living the HIGH LIFE.
• The woman in the casino who has gambled for hours and hours and hours mindlessly hits buttons and, even when she wins, has no celebration.  Even a small jackpot doesn’t bring her joy.  She is not living the HIGH LIFE.
• The thief soon finds that he is rich and has no needs, but his trust of people is gone.  He wonders if he truly has enough and constantly wonders if “everyone” else is trying to do what he did.  He is not living the HIGH LIFE.

 

There is no joy in sin.  It is a PRISON.  And it is a prison that cannot be broken out of …

 

But God.

 

But God knew this and God operates in the IMPOSSIBLE.

 

People caught in sin are often in a situation that they simply cannot remove themselves from—and my proof of that lives in my own existence.  God has freed me from bad habits, but I have never been successful in breaking one on my own accord.  Never.

 

My wife and I often talk about being able to say:  “I am not above that”.  And when we say that, we mean ANY sin.  We do not want to give a foothold for the enemy to reign in our lives.  In Jesus, we are free of sin … but without Him?  We are sitting ducks for hell and all the misery that it has to offer.

 

As you go through your day today, understand this:

Jesus died for us to defeat three things:  Satan, Sin, and Death

 

I often believe that two of those are true, but sometimes act like one is not.  I KNOW that He will crush the head of the serpent in due time.  I KNOW that He has prepared place for me.  But I often act like I am not sure that He has truly defeated sin.

 

I am asking God today to give me the faith to KNOW that He defeated sin as well.

 

I have to think that will give me more compassion for those who fall short … including myself.

 

The God of Wonders sits on the hill and waits.

He waits for us to turn, fully, to Him.

He waits for His time to be released into a new era.

And He waits for the day that He can crush the head of the serpent, the sting of death, and the wrath of sin … FOREVER.

 

There is no reason to wait for those three things in our own individual lives; it is the very reason that we say:

‘Thy Kingdom Come’

 

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

I know that I have played this song before.  But for today, I found it wholly appropriate.  Enjoy.  And watch those men worship.  They belong to Jesus as much as you or I.

Hallelujah.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WtV1XtqsW0

 

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Coach J

This verse is worth memorizing:

Hebrews 12   1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

As I walked to school this morning: this song, and these lyrics,  resonated over me.

 

There’s a man

Who’s wrapped in light

With eyes of fire 

Burning bright

With feet like bronze

And a blinding glow

A golden sash

And hair like snow

He is King

And He is judge

He is mercy

And He is love

 

Jesus is the only thing that makes sense.

He is the only thing that truly works.

 

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIE33oW1m1E

 

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J

This verse is worth memorizing:

Hebrews 12   1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

Today, let’s talk about:

“so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

I have to think that Jesus was devastated as He sat on the hill on Gethsemane, alone.  Wouldn’t He have had to wonder:

“If I don’t have any friends now, then when will I have a friend?”

 

To me, “growing weary and losing heart” has to look a lot like hopelessness.

 

And I have to believe that Jesus got a full helping of sabotage that would bring all of us to:

Hopelessness

 

What did He do with it?  He quoted scripture and made a verbal commitment to God when things got tough.  He endured it and renewed His faith.  

 

 

Before I get to that, I want to stay in Hopelessness for a bit.

 

 

When I hit Hopelessness, the term “bottomless pit” makes perfect sense to me.

 

When we lost my wife’s mom, when my father was dying, and when my mom was dying I went to that place.  There were times when I wondered if I would be able to climb out of it.

 

But I am not just limited to those instances.  I can find hopelessness at work, as a parent, as a husband, as a teacher, and as a coach.

 

I think the enemy has a master’s degree in how to inflict it.

 

 

But our God, our Jesus, has looked Hopelessness in the face.  And He has defeated it.

 

It must be devastating to watch those you love leave you in the hands of the very devil that you are trying to save them from.

 

Abandoned, Betrayed, and Falsely Accused, He was left to deal with the full punishment of all man.

 

For all the times that we look to heaven and say “where are you God?” there must be millions of times where He could have said the same to us.

 

But Jesus declared war not just on sin, and Satan, and death, I have to believe that He declared war on Hopelessness.

 

When He got on a donkey and rode into Jerusalem, and they weren’t expecting it—-even though Daniel told them the exact day that He was coming——–He still lived in hope.

When Peter ran away, He found hope.

When men betrayed Him, He stood in hope.

When He struggled to breathe and dealt with the writhing pain of crucifixion and watched them mock Him, He hung onto hope.

When Thomas doubted, and the Pharisees accused, and even when His own brother chastised Him, He walked in hope.

 

 

 

Hebrews 11:1 says that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for …”  Again—how many times have we lacked so much faith—-that we didn’t even know what to hope for?

 

 

As I was pondering “hope” on the way to church yesterday, this song came on in the car.

 

I have heard it many times but not truly listened to it.

 

It makes me want to run into a stadium full of worshippers and jump up and down to this blaring worship song.

 

Jesus is worth worshipping.

He is worth relying on.

He is worth hoping for.

When the end comes—He will come with it.

And He will do something to the end that none of us can fathom.

He will make it a new beginning.

 

 

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB2YrV_O24M

 

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Coach J

This verse is worth memorizing:

Hebrews 12   1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

Today, let’s talk about:

3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men,

 

Jesus wasn’t just walking a hard life.

 

He lived the impossible and did the impossible so that He could finish with the impossible.

 

Jesus won in the face of incredible odds.

 

This isn’t some Disney Movie.  It is the inspiration for the Disney movies.

 

Because from the beginning of His mission, He was hunted and sabotaged like no one in the history of the world.

 

And He came out victorious.

 

He came out victorious when men came to kill Him.

Matthew 2 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 

 

He came out victorious when tempted.

Matthew 4 1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him

 

He came out victorious from being forgotten, abandoned, betrayed, denied, and forgotten.

Matthew 26  73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.”

74Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

 

He came out victorious when He endured an unfair trial.

John 18 19Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

20“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

22When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

 

He came out victorious.

 

Me mentioning just a few of the troubles He faced does not discount or undervalue ALL THE OTHER THINGS HE FACED.

 

And He faced them again and again and again.

 

 

Consider Jesus when you are in the eye of the storm

John 16 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

If anyone could understand what it would be like to endure being attacked.  It would be Him.

 

But more than that … He figured out how to win.

 

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYy1f6VjDHU

 

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J

This verse is worth memorizing:

Hebrews 12   1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

Today, let’s talk about:

“who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

 

Jesus made a bold decision.  And as I read this line it instantly made me think of Philippians 2—ANOTHER VERSE WORTH MEMORIZING.

 

Philippians 2  5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

   6Who, being in very nature God,

       did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

   7but made himself nothing,

       taking the very nature of a servant,

       being made in human likeness.

   8And being found in appearance as a man,

       he humbled himself

       and became obedient to death–

          even death on a cross!

   9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Amen.

 

So as we fix our eyes on Jesus, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”, we understand this:

 

• He Became A Servant

 

• • • When the Prodigal Son returns to his father in Luke 15, he says, to his father, what we should all say to God:  “Father, I have sinned against heaven and I have sinned against you.  I am no longer worthy to be your son.  Make me one of your hired servants.”  Amen.  To be His servant is the greatest purpose we could have.

 

• He Humbled Himself

 

• • • God is clear in James about WHO we are to be, that true religion is taking care of widows and orphans, and not considering the rich man greater than the poor.

 

• He Was Obedient

 

• • • As my wife said to my daughter:  “Obey.  Then Understand”.  Amen

 

Be blessed today.

 

And remember who you belong to.

 

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYy1f6VjDHU

 

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J