2 MINUTE WARNING

There are a lot of things that I do not know.

I am stubborn.  I am prone to anger.  I am easily offended.

But I know the Answer.  And I can give testimony after testimony to declare His goodness.

He cares about me.  

• In the fall of 1987, I found out something on the shower floor of an old locker room.  I sat without hope.  Fear, shame, and failure were all I could think or feel.  But God showed up.  And He showed up so strongly that He changed my entire being.  He cared about me.
• In 1993, when I realized that I had completely corrupted my dating and life, He showed me that I was doing it the wrong way.  After He worked me over on who I was, I met a girl named Angela Brooke Tuominen.  My life has never been the same.  He cared about me.
• In 2007, when I spent too much money and bankrupted our family, Angie and I sought Him.  In prayer, and discussion, and reading the word, we came up with a plan.  Slowly and surely, He walked us out of the depths of debt.  And in doing so, He brought us TOGETHER.  He cared about me.
• In our struggle to financially recover, God convicted us that we were not done with having kids.  And so, against the advice of those closest to us, Angie and I had another child—Justine Carissa Johnson.  No one would doubt Carissa’s value … or purpose.  God cared about us.
• In 2010, when my father died a terrible death, He asked me to speak at the funeral.  In my anger and sadness at that assignment, I soon learned that He had me speak SO THAT HE COULD BRING HEALING TO ME!  God cared about me.

Over and over and over again, He has showed up.

And I continue to write these things because I want you to know that if He can show up for me—He can show up for you.  He WILL show up for you.

He is none other than Jesus.

And He has written us a love letter from the other side of history.

With His Word, another God-seeking believer, and His Spirit, you have all that you need.

And His word never returns 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.

No matter where you are.

Or what you are going through.

Or what mountain stands between you and your dreams.

He is there.

And He has climbed that mountain again and again.  He is patient.  He forgives.  He works sometimes IN SPITE OF YOU.  And He will fight for you to the end of Himself.

• When you fall short of payment, He will show up with a checkbook.
• When you do something that embarrasses Him, He will stand beside you and take accountability.
• When you fail, He will cry.
• When you succeed, He will dance.

There is not better place to be than in the good graces of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

Do not look for answers. 

Look for the Answer.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5d_gm9zrnY

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Coach J

Do You Know Your Situation In The Kingdom?

Did you know that He will cover not just ALL of your needs, but ALL of your wants?

Did you know that He would bring peace upon you as if you were laying in a cool valley, beside a beautiful stream, in a place so beautiful that you would not be able to comprehend it?

Did you know that, even if you totally screw up and go the wrong direction, that He would recalibrate, redirect, and revive your entire being—for YOUR OWN GOOD?

Did you know that when your enemies surround you that He will stand in the gap, defend you, and protect you?

Did you know that your enemies will soon stand around you and helplessly watch as you eat a feast that He has prepared?

Did you know that He and His promises are infinite, renewable, and beyond our desires?

Psalm 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

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 goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

When you stand and look at the world today—DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED.

BRING HIS PROMISES, THIS WORD, TO THE BROKEN.

IT MIGHT BE THE ONLY TIME THEY EVER HEAR IT.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGbQ90kYZrI

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Coach J

More than any other blog, I would like to emphasize the song that I have attached to it.  It captures the heart of what I am trying to convey.

In this trying time, we must NEVER LET GO of what God offers or the incredible blessing that comes from having His hand on all that we do.

Why?

Because God changes nations through individuals and this is the most incredible miracle (besides all of the others) in the Bible.

It is the idea that rather than conquering all—He would choose to have the devotion of one.

Think about it?

This radical thought and movement is the reason that all of us say it is 2020.

Jesus moved through the hearts of individuals SO MIGHTILY that He captured nations.

Case in point:

1.  He ministered to an outcast woman at a well, breaking Jewish law and sending a message TO ALL OF US:  Do we love individual people or do we love cliques, movements, political parties, or governments?  John 4.
2.  He met Paul on the road to Damascus, sending a message TO ALL OF US:  Are we truly willing to forgive, and even collaborate with, someone who is our enemy?  Acts 9.
3.  He met Nathanael after watching Him under the fig tree.  He INVESTED TIME in knowing Nathanael and Nathanael ALONE.  In doing this, Jesus is sending a message TO ALL OF US:  Do we love individual people?  John 1.

I can remember being offended as a man spoke in our church and made fun of his Sunday school class, his church experience, and his disdain for going to church with his parents.  I can remember him talking about his incredible fear that God was going to send him to Africa to be a missionary where he would eat bugs, live on the ground, and do things that he hated.

What was he really saying?

I think that today I finally understand.  I think that He was saying that He had no idea that God wanted to know him—him!  That he had no idea that He wanted to know him as an individual!

Where did this speaker end up?  In Africa.  But it was his choice AFTER God got a hold of him.  Because once He understood that God loved him for who he was, going to Africa was easy.

What about you?

Has God gotten ahold of you?

I am praying that this very day——He does.

Jesus is using this time to break into “group thinking”.  While it is powerful to be in a political party or a union or an association, membership to these should NEVER take away our ability to think individually.  Jesus does not want us to bury our identity in a group, but to bury our identity in Him … and Him alone.

And salvation and connection to God, only works in a group when all the individuals have done so on their own accord.

To make my point, I want to finish with a testimony.

God moved in my life in a big way in 2002.  Due to the evil actions of a colleague at work, I was alone, depressed, not sleeping, and in a place where I was going to resign from my job and move on to do something else.

But God showed up to rescue me.  

When a man does not sleep, he begins to slowly go crazy, but he has plenty of time to bare his heart to the Lord.  And I, indeed, had a full measure of both.  And though my flesh became crazy, my spirit has never been more clear.  And God told me two things:

• “I will protect you with rumors”
• “I will choose you for the big battles”

God protected me with rumors—nothing could be more true.  It was incredible how the Lord used something usually meant for evil to protect me.  And as far as the battles—the Lord always tells me, or convicts me, when it is time to stand up.

But this is not the story of the blog today.

The story of the blog today is about YOU.

• It is about the fact that He has created you–that He knew you as you were knitted together in your mother’s womb.  
  • Psalm 139:13  For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
• It is about the fact that He has seen you, and you alone, in ALL of your life.
  • John 1:48  “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
• It is about the fact that God wants to move in YOU in a way that uses who YOU are.
  • Exodus 3:12  And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

I am fully able to misrepresent the God of our universe.  A pastor is fully able to misrepresent the God of our universe.  A church is fully able to misrepresent the God of our universe.  And so today, I challenge you to follow the advice of David:

Psalm 34:8

Taste and see that the LORD is good

As we see in today’s world, people and groups are capable ruining everything—especially individuals.  But God?  He is not.  And that is because God doesn’t use groups to change the individual, He uses individuals to change the world.  And never forget …

He knows you.  He loves you.  He wants to carry out all of your hopes and your dreams.  And He wants to use you to love others by testifying of His love for you.

He is in the business of YOU

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew0g1xnOT30

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Coach J

What has brought us to this place?

• Police Brutality
• Riots
• Looting
• Political Unrest
• Violence Against Innocent Police Officers
• Innocent Americans Having Their Businesses Burned To The Ground

Who Will Take The Blame For All Of This?

My answer to this very question might surprise you, but I stand behind it with all of my heart.

There are two desires that live within almost every person that I know:

1.  An Unfaltering Demand For Justice
2.  A Strong Desire For Mercy

To hear both of those in equal measure, one only needs to hang out in a court room all day.

The victims want JUSTICE.  They want ACCOUNTABILITY and PUNISHMENT and sometimes even REVENGE.

And in many cases they are right.

Someone who is totally innocent is wronged and ripped off for no good reason.  Who wouldn’t want someone looking out for them? Who wouldn’t want crime reduced because people have a fear of being punished for their actions?

And who wouldn’t want the perpetrator to fairly pay for the pain they have inflicted on someone else?

Who wouldn’t want justice?

I can tell you that I have called for justice WITH EVERY OUNCE OF MY BEING.  I HAVE CRIED OUT FOR SOMEONE TO PAY FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE.  And, chances are, you have too.

And what about mercy?  We have all asked for mercy…at least I have.  I have asked the officer to give me a break on speeding, or being late through a yellow light, or for messing around in a vehicle.

I have asked for it for others as well.  I have tried to lessen or shorten or reduce the punishment given.

And many times I have done it based on my perspective of INTENT.

But the reality is this:

Most of us measure ourselves by what we INTENDED to do … but we measure others by what they DID.  I do.

I want forgiveness for something because I did not INTEND for it to be done that way … but then I turn right around and expect ACCOUNTABILITY for what someone else DID.

I have figured out why I do that.  The answer is simple.  I do that because I AM TWO FACED.  Scripture calls that “being blown and tossed by the wind”.  I have also heard it referred to as duplicity.

And the cold hard reality is this:

WE ALL NEED BOTH JUSTICE AND MERCY.

And how does that happen?

There is a simple answer to this question.  And it is one that we do not look to …

Isaiah 53 6 … and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

It is the greatest verse in the Bible (Besides all of the other ones).

Isaiah 53 is but one of the descriptions of Jesus BEFORE He arrived on earth (Prophesies–hundreds of them–describe Messiah in vivid detail.  They are accurate, specific, exact, and unfathomable.  And Peter tells us that they are MORE CERTAIN assurances than him seeing Jesus with his own eyes.  MORE CERTAIN!!  2 Peter 1:19)

But more than the certainty of Jesus is the tremendous and absolute need for Him.  How can we possibly win without it?  You see, The only place where JUSTICE and MERCY can truly meet and coexist together is at the cross of Jesus Christ.

The cold reality is that we can not succeed without it.  We don’t have a prayer without Him–not a chance in Hell.

And that’s just the point.

We need Jesus.

Our communities need Jesus.

And the world needs Jesus.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cco9s770KQM

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Coach J

In 2008 I found myself facing incredible debt and a financial situation beyond my control.  In July of that year, my family sold our dream house, uprooted from Longmont, and moved to a small townhome in Commerce City.

The victim of real estate fraud, full of guilt, and brimming with failure, I also had a good amount of ANGER.

I HATED the man who had swindled us, and many other people, out of our hard earned money.

But God changed my heart.  And I began to well up with compassion for the man who thought that $40,000,000, or ANY amount of money, might bring him happiness.  It won’t.  We will all stand before God.  And God plays no games.

The following was written by the same uneducated fisherman who wrote the book of John.  To me, John “saw in the spirit” and put what he saw into his best description.  And his testimony, inspired by God, makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Revelation 20 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.  Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

God is good at all He does … And He does ACCOUNTABILITY.

I did not need to go after the man that robbed me.  God would take care of it—and He would take care of my family.

And God will take care of things now:

• He will take care of dishonorable police officers
• He will take care of corrupt politicians
• He will take care of people who steal, destroy, loot, and assault innocent people
• He will take care of gossips and those who distort facts and portray a “different truth” for their own personal gain

My Jesus was an amazing Lamb.

In scripture it also says that He is a Lion.

We have not seen Him as a Lion.  When He sat silent before His accusers, accepted His execution, and told God that “it was paid in full” He demonstrated all of the qualities of a Lamb.

Turn on Youtube and watch a male lion deal with hyenas who mess with a member of his pride.

And remember that Jesus IS the Lion of the Tribe of Judah—and no one—and I mean no one—messes with His pride.

He was an incredible LAMB.  And He is going to be an incredible LION.

PRAY for your enemies.

PRAY for those who persecute you.

PRAY for forgiveness when you make mistakes.

Seek the Lord with all of your heart.

Because at the end of the day, our goal is to build His Kingdom and stand before Him where He says:

“Well Done, Good And Faithful Servant.”

Because when we stand before Him, it will be the most overwhelming and powerful experience that we have ever endured.

Be in good standing right now

And if you are not—REPENT—and find Jesus

He is our only hope

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSxocnIaN0A

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Coach J

What Would Jesus Do?

As hard as things were when blog 259 was released, they have gotten worse.

Where will we turn…and who will we turn to?

Jesus said:  I am the Way and the Truth and the Life

Nothing is more true than that.

He is our Way.

He is our Truth.

He is our Life.

And so I encourage you to pray for unity in this country, to be unity in this country, and to live out the call of scandalous love that He has given to each of us.

As people question me about whether we will return to football in the fall, I can only say that I do not know.

But I have thought about why it is absolutely imperative that we do.

In football …

In our locker room …

We have had a great mix of black and white and hispanic …

A mix of democrat and republican and independent …

A mix of tall and short and skinny and stout …

A mix of rich and poor and hurting and prospering …

A mixture as diverse as the world we live in.

But our greatest mixture?  A mixture of love, and loyalty, and togetherness.

A mixture of “I got your back” and “you can do it” and “I love you”.

As I walk and pray around the field before the game and ask God to cover us in love—I believe that He answers that prayer.  And He has never not answered that prayer—WE ARE ALWAYS … COVERED IN LOVE.

For all the pressure to perform and competition and nervousness that we face … something is always greater.

The love that we have for each other.

It is God’s love — Agape Love.  The Love that sacrifices and gives and selflessly devotes to something that is bigger.

It is the Love of Jesus as well as I can see it.

In a polarizing and political time, He broke the mold.

He hung out with a Samaritan woman at the well even though it did not look good to His squad.

He called out religious leaders even though it did not look good to His people.

He ate with a tax collector even though it made Him look like a hypocrite.

He allowed the town harlet to cry and wash His feet even though it made Him look suspect.

He showed ALL OF US how we should be as His followers—willing to WALK WITH, EAT WITH, AND TALK WITH people who might not be in our circle—with people who might be considered enemies.

One of my good friends always says:  “I can show you easier than I can tell you.”  And Jesus did just that:

• He showed us that by meeting with a Samaritan, that He cared nothing for the Jewish belief that they were not to talk to Samaritans.
• He showed us that by calling out a religious leader that He cared nothing about His religious position or perception.  That He just cared about what was true.
• He showed us that by eating with a tax collector (that everyone else hated) that He did not care about cool or popular or political—just leading a man to go the right way.
• He showed us that by allowing the woman to cry at His feet He was seeking to DO THE RIGHT THING over LOOKING LIKE He was doing the right thing.

What Would Jesus Do?

I think we all need to ask this question.

My brother and I can have some loud arguments.  It might even sound like hatred to those who might observe.  But I can assure you that it is not.  Our LOVE for each other is so far above our opinions that there is no room for opinions to chip away at that love.  Because our opinions, at the end of the day, hold NOTHING on our love for each other—and they NEVER WILL.

Spread the love.  We need a lot of it these days.  But God in Jesus?  He has an everlasting supply.

John 3  16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgHfJq5uN_M

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Coach J

2000 years ago, in a political climate as nasty as we could ever imagine, He came to be.

A dark-skinned, illegitimate, son of a carpenter… He would escape an assassination attempt on His life only due to the warning of a regal prophet and obedient parents.

And none of His qualities would be extraordinary.

None, except for His heart, His character, His obedience …

For being sent to a foreign land is tough.

But being sent there at the resistance of the very people you have come to save — that is impossible.

John 1–  “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.”

And His first (noticed) public appearance was riotous, violent protest in the middle of the Passover Feast.  (John 2)

Yes …

My Hero, the One who I look to for all guidance, was in a protest.

A One Man Protest.  A Violent Protest.  And He was intimidating.

This is not a call for violence.

It is a call for surrender.

When despair shows up, it is a tidal wave.  It sucks us under and there is not even vision of where the surface even is.  And in our hopelessness, we tend to make terrible decisions.

But HOPE can also show up.  And it can be more overwhelming.  And it is not a feeling, or a distant dream.  It is a person.  And that person is Jesus Christ.

If despair is a tidal wave, then HOPE the person is a TSUNAMI.

Romans 5 20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The radical move of Jesus TO FORGIVE is the most important single event in human history.

It is the hope of the nations and of individual man.

It is the hope for our country, of all countries.

It is the only thing that can truly save all of us—any of us.

As we repent

And pray

And cry out for mercy

Let us pray for the broken

Let us have faith in the power of the Living God

Let us worship and glorify like at no time in human history

The world is in dire need of a Savior, a King, a Lion, and a Lamb.  It is in need of a Redeemer, a Counselor, a Friend.

Let’s make sure we look to the One True God, because the gods we look to now can only make it worse.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmGnz2xoseI

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Coach J

I have seen and watched a lot of horrible things.

But, without question, the worst thing I have ever laid eyes on was the last minutes of George Floyd’s life.

Murdered.  In broad daylight.  As he, and those around him, begged for mercy and pleaded for his life.

In the midst of a national macro crisis—we get an awful picture of what is going on at the micro (or personal) level.

What has happened?  How did we get here?  And where is God in this?  I have been asking these questions all day today, holding back the tears as I think about that horrible video from Minnesota.  As I asked these questions, I felt convicted to start with the last one:

Where Is God In This?

The answer to this is a simple one word answer.  UNINVITED.  He…our only hope…is UNINVITED.

He is not here because He is not invited to be here.  

Revelation 3:20 states it very simply:  “Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”  Our God is a gentleman.  He does not go where He is not invited.  He has given us freedom to accept or to reject, to invite or deny, to live—or to die.

And reject we have.

And it has brought us to this point.

• Politicians are yelling and blaming and advancing agendas.
• Big business and big government are growing exponentially and some have completely forgotten about the little guy.
• Violence and disrespect have grown to an all-time high.
• The evil and darkness that are being shared, viewed, and callously enjoyed in our social media and entertainment is literally destroying our moral conviction.
• All of us—all of us—must be willing to police ourselves to discern and assign both evil and good.  The prophet Isaiah warns us about this very thing in chapter 5 verse 20.  “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

Today…take a minute (or 10 minutes–or an HOUR) to cry out to your Lord.

Let’s all invite Him back.  To be a part of our schools, our families, our communities, and our government.

Let’s make a point to honor His Name.

Let’s make a point to pray in gratitude for our police officers who do it right, for our big businesses who do actually care for the little guy, for our government officials who do care about people more than political gain.

Let’s make a point to understand that MOST Americans are on the same team.  While we might disagree on policies and political affiliations, we should be able to find common ground on:

• Violence not being okay.
• Police brutality not being okay.
• Looting and burning not being okay.
• Attacking someone because of their race not being okay.

For we are the land of the free, the home of the brave.  We have employed a government for the people by the people and of the people.  And we are ONE Nation, UNDER God.

QUESTION:  When we get away from these founding principles, what happens?

ANSWER:  What we have now.

Repent.

Convince others to do the same.

Seek His face.  Turn from wickedness.  Ask for forgiveness.  Realize that He, and He alone, holds the keys to eternal life.  Pray in humility.

And when you are done…

Do it again.

Because without Jesus, we have no country, no hope, and no future.

2 Chronicles 7 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkT6U0K1jLs

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

As my good friend opened up his son’s broken I-Phone to pull out the battery, the 30 year engineer proclaimed to me:

“It is amazing how complicated this phone is…but it doesn’t touch a simple cell.”

The “simple cell” to which he was referring to is the ones that make up our bodies.

More complicated in structure than a city, they are the building blocks of life.

And that is really it, isn’t it?  You either believe that those simple cells came to be through random process…or through organized design.

I am of the mindset of the latter.

Psalm 139  14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

Take a minute today to think about at your thumb, the structure of your eye, the inner workings of your nervous system.

And then think about that verse.

When God says, in Genesis, that it was good, we should perhaps think about what that truly means.

Because His “good” is our INCREDIBLY FULFILLING, EXHILARATING, AND MIRACULOUS.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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

Coach J